Bao Daoyi

Bao Daoyi
Water Margin character
Also known as "Lingying Heavenly Master"
(靈應天師)
Sorcerer of Fang La
Origin Taoist magician
Ancestral home / Place of origin Jinhua, Zhejiang
First appearance Chapter 97
Weapon Xuantian Hunyuan Sword (玄天混元劍)
Names
Simplified Chinese 包道乙
Traditional Chinese 包道乙
Pinyin Bāo Dàoyǐ
Wade–Giles Pao Tao-i
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Bao.

Bao Daoyi is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He serves as a sorcerer under Fang La, a rebel leader who established a separatist regime in southern China against the ruling Song Empire. Fang La is one of the rebel leaders that the 108 Liangshan outlaws have to defeat after they have been granted amnesty by the Song government.

Life

Bao Daoyi is from Jinhua, Zhejiang. He became a Taoist priest at a young age and studied unorthodox Taoist magic. He supported Fang La in his rebellion and used his magic to attack opponents in battle. He wields a magic sword, called "Xuantian Hunyuan Sword", which is capable of killing an enemy within a range of 100 steps. He is also known as "Lingying Heavenly Master" to Fang La's servants. He accepts Zheng Biao as his apprentice.

Bao Daoyi is summoned to Fang La's court when the Liangshan forces loyal to the Song Empire are preparing to attack Muzhou (睦州; in present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), one of Fang's bases. One day before the battle, the astronomer-eunuch Pu Wenying came to see Bao Daoyi and urge him to avoid battle because he noticed an unlucky omen in the stars. Bao Daoyi kills Pu Wenying in anger by slicing him into two with his magic sword.

In his first battle against Liangshan, Bao Daoyi encounters Wu Song, who is charging towards Zheng Biao with his sabers in hand. He uses magic to control his sword and slices off Wu Song's left arm. Wu Song faints due to excessive bleeding, but is saved by Lu Zhishen, who manages to snatch away Bao's sword. In another battle, Bao is observing the duel between Zheng Biao and Liangshan's Guan Sheng. Zheng Biao is no match for Guan Sheng and could only dodge Guan's attacks. Bao uses magic to summon a knight in golden armour to assist Zheng Biao. Fan Rui uses orthodox Taoist magic, which he learnt from his mentor Gongsun Sheng, to summon a more powerful magic warrior, who eventually defeats Bao Daoyi's knight. Guan Sheng uses the opportunity to slay Zheng Biao. Bao Daoyi is blasted into bits by cannon fire from Ling Zhen later.

References