Bao Xu
| Bao Xu | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "God of Death" (喪門神) |
| Rank | 60th, Savage Star (地暴星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Infantry leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Bandit leader from Mount Deadwood |
| Hometown | Kouzhou (寇州) |
| First appearance | Chapter 67 |
| Weapon | Sword (闊刃劍) |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 鲍旭 |
| Traditional Chinese | 鮑旭 |
| Pinyin | Bào Xù |
| Wade–Giles | Pao Hsü |
Bao Xu is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 60th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 24th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "God of Death".
Background
The Water Margin describes Bao Xu as an ugly-looking man with a face shaped like the bottom of a wok, fierce bulging eyes and lips like a wolf's. He has a thunderous voice that strikes fear in the hearts of his enemies. Bao Xu excels in martial arts and wields a sword in combat. His only passion in life is to kill and plunder and is hence nicknamed "God of Death". Bao Xu becomes the leader of a group of bandits on Mount Deadwood in Kouzhou.
Joining Liangshan
When the outlaws from Liangshan Marsh are attacking Lingzhou, Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen are captured by the imperial generals Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo. They are escorted as prisoners-of-war back to Daming Prefecture (in present-day Handan). At the same time, Li Kui meets Jiao Ting and they travel to Mount Deadwood to meet Bao Xu and succeed in persuading Bao to join Liangshan as well. At that point, the convoy escorting Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen passes by the mountain and Bao Xu, Jiao Ting and Li Kui lead the bandits to attack the soldiers and rescue the captives. They return to Liangshan together later.
Campaigns and death
Bao Xu becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry after the Grand Assembly. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La campaign, Bao Xu and Li Kui are assigned to lead the attack on the northern gate of Hangzhou. Bao Xu slays the enemy general Lian Ming and charges into the city. However, he is caught off guard by Shi Bao, who is waiting in ambush inside the city, and is sliced into two by Shi.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 121. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.
- Buck, Pearl. All Men are Brothers. Moyer Bell Ltd, 2006. ISBN 9781559213035.
- Zhang, Lin Ching. Biographies of Characters in Water Margin. Writers Publishing House, 2009. ISBN 978-7506344784.
- Keffer, David. Outlaws of the Marsh.
- Miyamotois, Yoko. Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits.
- (Japanese) Ichisada, Miyazaki. Suikoden: Kyoko no naka no Shijitsu. Chuo Koronsha, 1993. ISBN 978-4122020559.
- Shibusawa, Kou. Bandit Kings of Ancient China. KOEI, 1989.
External links
- (Chinese) 百度百科