Yang Chun
| Yang Chun | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "White Flower Serpent" 白花蛇 |
| Rank | 73rd, Latent Star (地隱星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Tiger Cub Scouting General of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Bandit leader from Mount Shaohua |
| Hometown | Jieliang, Puzhou (present-day Yongji, Shanxi) |
| First appearance | Chapter 2 |
| Weapon | Saber |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 杨春 |
| Traditional Chinese | 楊春 |
| Pinyin | Yáng Chūn |
| Wade–Giles | Yang Ch'un |
Yang Chun is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 73rd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 37th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "White Flower Serpent".
Background
Yang Chun is from Jieliang, Puzhou (present-day Yongji, Shanxi). The Water Margin describes Yang Chun as a man with a lean build and long skinny arms. Despite his appearance, Yang Chun possesses great strength and excels in martial arts. He wields a long saber in combat. He is nicknamed "White Flower Serpent".
Yang Chun becomes one of the leaders of a bandit group on Mount Shaohua together with Zhu Wu and Chen Da. The local government is afraid of them. Once, the stronghold lacks provisions and the bandits decide to raid and loot the nearby Huayin County for supplies. They have to pass by Shi Jin's village along the way. Zhu Wu has reservations about the attack as Shi Jin has a reputation for being a powerful fighter and he may stand in their way. Chen Da ignores Zhu Wu's warning and leads his men to attack Shi Jin's village. He is defeated by Shi Jin and captured.
Zhu Wu and Yang Chun travel to Shi Jin's village and plead with him to release Chen Da. Shi Jin is moved by their strong sense of brotherhood and he releases Chen Da. The three bandit leaders become friends with Shi Jin and they often visit and send gifts to each other. The hunter Li Ji discovers Shi Jin's relationship with the outlaws and he reports to the magistrate for a reward. The magistrate sends soldiers to surround the village and arrest the four men. Shi Jin burns down his village and joins the three outlaws in fighting their way back to Mount Shaohua.
Joining Liangshan
Later, Lu Zhishen goes to invite the four outlaws to join the band at Liangshan Marsh. He learns that Shi Jin has been captured by Prefect He and attempts to rescue Shi but fails and he is captured as well. Zhu Wu notifies the Liangshan outlaws who come to the rescue. After the victory, Zhu Wu, Chen Da and Yang Chun follow the outlaws back to Liangshan.
Yang Chun becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry 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, Yang Chun is assigned to attack the enemy territory of Yuling Pass with Shi Jin and another four heroes. Shi Jin is killed by the enemy general Pang Wanchun while the rest of them are killed by dozens of arrows fired at them.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 147. 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.
- Shibusawa, Kou. Bandit Kings of Ancient China, page 97. KOEI, 1989.
- (Japanese) Ichisada, Miyazaki. Suikoden: Kyoko no naka no Shijitsu. Chuo Koronsha, 1993. ISBN 978-4122020559.
- Miyamotois, Yoko. Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits.
- Keffer, David. Outlaws of the Marsh.