Lü Fang
| Lü Fang | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Little Marquis of Wen" 小溫侯 |
| Rank | 54th, Aid Star (地佐星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Central Camp Defendant General of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Bandit leader from Mount Duiying |
| Hometown | Tanzhou, Hunan |
| First appearance | Chapter 35 |
| Weapon | "Sky Piercer" (方天畫戟) |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 吕方 |
| Traditional Chinese | 呂方 |
| Pinyin | Lǚ Fāng |
| Wade–Giles | Lü Fang |
Lü Fang is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 54th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 18th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Little Marquis of Wen".
Background
Lü Fang is from Tanzhou, Hunan. He dons a suit of fiery red armour over a flowery robe, along with a silk belt and a headdress. He rides on a red steed similar to the Red Hare. He wields a halberd known as the "Sky Piercer" (方天畫戟). As Lü Fang has been an admirer of Lü Bu and he resembles the mighty warrior in appearance, he is nicknamed "Little Marquis of Wen" after Lü Bu.
Lü Fang was a medicine trader and he made a loss in Shandong and had no money to make his journey home. He becomes a bandit leader on Mount Duiying. He makes his name in the region by defeating many powerful warriors. Guo Sheng hears of Lü Fang's reputation and challenges Lü to a duel. Both of them fight for more than 10 days but neither emerges as the victor.
Joining Liangshan
Song Jiang and Hua Rong's party are on their way back to Liangshan Marsh after the battle at Qingfeng Fort. They pass by Mount Duiying along the way and see the two warriors engaging in a fierce battle. Lü Fang and Guo Sheng's weapons are entangled and Hua Rong fires an arrow to separate them, drawing cheers from the crowd. Lü Fang and Guo Sheng stop dueling and greet Song Jiang, who succeeds in persuading them to join Liangshan as well.
Campaigns and death
Lü Fang becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry and one of the Central Camp Defendant Generals. Together with Guo Sheng, he is in charge of the commander-in-chief's safety during battle. They protect Song Jiang from danger several times during the battles with Liangshan's enemies.
Lü Fang follows the heroes on the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La campaign, Lü Fang is assigned to attack the enemy territory of Black Dragon Ridge. He engages the enemy general Bai Qin in a duel and neither of them is able to defeat his opponent. They discard their weapons and start fighting with their bare hands. Both of them exert too much strength and eventually fall off the cliff to their deaths.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 109. 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, page 91. KOEI, 1989.