Gu Dasao

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Gu Dasao
Water Margin character
Nickname "Female Tiger"
母大蟲
Rank 101st, Yin Star (地陰星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends
Scout leader of Liangshan
Origin Tavern owner
First appearance Chapter 49
Names
Simplified Chinese 顾大嫂
Traditional Chinese 顧大嫂
Pinyin Gù Dàsǎo
Wade–Giles Ku Ta-sao

Gu Dasao (literally: "Elder Sister-in-law Gu") is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. She ranks 101st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 65th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. She is nicknamed "Female Tiger".1

1Note that '大蟲', which literally means "big bug", was a slang term for "tiger" in ancient China and was commonly used in place of the conventional term '虎'.

Background

The Water Margin describes Gu Dasao as having thick eyebrows, large eyes, a plump face and a thick waist. She wears several decorative ornaments on her head and wrists. She is different from most women of her time as she does not know how to do household chores like any other typical housewife.

Gu Dasao practises martial arts instead and excels in using the spear and staff. She is a fearsome opponent in combat and can take on 20 to 30 enemies at the same time. She takes great initiative in planning violent killings and raids.

Gu Dasao is married to Sun Xin. She even beats up her husband when she is angry. She earns herself the nickname "Female Tiger" for her fiery temper. They run a tavern in Dengzhou (in present-day Shandong) where her brother-in-law Sun Li works as a garrison major.

Becoming an outlaw

Yue He informs Gu Dasao that her cousins (Xie Zhen and Xie Bao) have been framed and imprisoned and awaiting execution. Gu Dasao discuses with her husband on a plan to rescue the Xie brothers. They enlist the help of Sun Li, Zou Yuan and Zou Run to stage a jailbreak and succeed in rescuing the Xie brothers. They flee to Liangshan Marsh to join the outlaws there after that.

At that time, the Liangshan outlaws are locked in a stalemate during a battle with the Zhu Family Village. Sun Li is a former fellow student of Luan Tingyu, a martial arts instructor of the village. He decides to make use of his relationship with Luan Tingyu to conduct an espionage mission, bringing along those who followed him to Liangshan earlier. They receive a warm welcome from Luan Tingyu and the Zhu brothers.

However, the Zhus are suspicious of Sun Li's allegiance to them initially. Sun Li proves his loyalty by capturing Liangshan's Shi Xiu during a duel. The Zhus then believe that Sun Li is genuinely faithful to them. Sun Li and his team work together with the Liangshan forces to bring down the Zhus and capture the village, making his first major contribution.

Campaigns and later life

Gu Dasao becomes one of the scout leaders of Liangshan after the Grand Assembly and stationed in the tavern east of Liangshan. She is tasked with making preparations to receive the imperial envoy from the emperor, who grants the outlaws amnesty. She follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after that. She survives the campaigns and is granted the honorific title of "Lady of Dongyuan County" (東源縣君) by the emperor in recognition of her contributions. She returns to Dengzhou with her family.

References

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