Zhu Fu
| Zhu Fu | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Smiling Tiger" 笑面虎 |
| Rank | 93rd, Hidden Star (地藏星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Brewery master of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Tavern owner |
| Hometown | Yishui County, Yizhou (in present-day Linyi, Shandong) |
| First appearance | Chapter 43 |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 朱富 |
| Traditional Chinese | 朱富 |
| Pinyin | Zhū Fù |
| Wade–Giles | Chu Fu |
Zhu Fu is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 93rd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 57th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Smiling Tiger".
Background
Zhu Fu is the younger brother of Zhu Gui. He runs a tavern and does not join the outlaws at Liangshan Marsh as early as his brother. He is a martial arts student of Li Yun.
Saving Li Kui
When Li Kui goes home to fetch his mother to Liangshan, Song Jiang is worried that Li Kui's fiery temper might bring him into some trouble, so he asks Zhu Gui to watch over Li secretly. As Song Jiang expected, Li Kui does run into some trouble and he is captured in a trap set by Squire Cao. Li Yun leads some soldiers to escort Li Kui to the county office. Zhu Fu and his brother fear Li Yun for his formidable fighting ability and conclude that they have to rescue Li Kui by cunning.
The Zhu brothers prepare food and wine spiked with drugs and wait along the road to the county office and pretend to congratulate Li Yun for his achievement when Li and his men pass by. The unsuspecting Li Yun and his men become unconscious after consuming the food, and the Zhus use the opportunity to free Li Kui. Li Kui kills all the soldiers and wants to kill Li Yun as well but Zhu Fu stops him and they leave for Liangshan. Before long, Li Yun regains consciousness and catches up with them. Zhu Fu stops Li Yun from fighting with Li Kui and succeeds in persuading his teacher to join Liangshan as well.
Campaigns and death
Zhu Fu is placed in charge of brewing wine for Liangshan 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. Zhu Gui falls ill after the battle of Hangzhou during the Fang La campaign and Zhu Fu stays back to take care of his brother. Unfortunately, Zhu Fu falls ill as well and the brothers do not live to see the final victory over Fang La.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 185. 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.