Yu Baosi

Yu Baosi is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 105th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 69th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "God of the Dangerous Road".

Background

Yu Baosi has a big and tall stature. He is nicknamed "God of the Dangerous Road" for his gigantic build. He leads a group of about 200 bandits and they rob travellers on the roads in Qingzhou (in present-day Shandong).

Joining Liangshan

Duan Jingzhu once brought a famous steed called "Jade Lion" from the north and wanted to present it to Chao Gai, the chief of the outlaws at Liangshan Marsh. However, Yu Baosi and his men rob him of the Jade Lion and 200 fine horses and present them to the Zeng Family Fortress. Yu takes shelter under the Zengs. When Chao Gai learns about what happened, he is furious and decides to personally lead the outlaws to attack the Zengs, who have already been provoking them for some time. Chao dies after being hit by a poisoned arrow fired by Shi Wengong, a martial arts instructor from the fortress.

Song Jiang succeeds Chao Gai as the chief of Liangshan and leads the outlaws to attack the fortress again later. The Zengs lose a few battles and two of the five Zeng brothers are killed in battle. The Zeng family patriarch, Zeng Nong, tries to make peace with the Liangshan outlaws. Song Jiang agrees, provided that the Zengs fulfil the following conditions: tie up Shi Wengong and Yu Baosi and hand them over; return the Jade Lion and the 200 horses. Zeng Nong returns all the horses except the Jade Lion and hands over Yu Baosi but not Shi Wengong. Around the time, the outlaws receive news that imperial forces are approaching Liangshan, so they decide to halt their attack on the Zeng Family Fortress temporarily and return to Liangshan to defend their base. Song Jiang manages to convince Yu Baosi to join the outlaw band and plants him as a spy in the Zeng Family Fortress. With Yu's help, the outlaws succeed in breaching the fortress and capturing Shi Wengong, who is executed later as a sacrifice to Chao Gai.

In a later chapter, when the outlaws are attacking Dongping Prefecture (東平府; present-day Dongping County, Tai'an, Shandong), Song Jiang sends Yu Baosi and Wang Dingliu as Liangshan's envoys to meet the prefect of Dongping and demand his surrender. Dong Ping, the general defending Dongping Prefecture, suggests to the prefect to execute Yu and Wang. The prefect refuses, but still orders his men to beat up Yu and Wang and drive them out of the city. The outlaws succeed in capturing the prefecture and making Dong Ping join them.

Campaigns and death

Yu Baosi becomes the chief flag bearer of Liangshan for his big stature after the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by Emperor Huizong. Yu Baosi is slain by the enemy officer Du Wei at the battle of Qingxi County (清溪縣; present-day Anxi County, Quanzhou, Fujian) during the campaign against the rebel leader Fang La.

References

• (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 211. 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.