Deng Fei
| Deng Fei | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Fiery Eyed Suan-ni" 火眼狻猊 |
| Rank | 49th, Whole Star (地闔星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Tiger Cub Scouting General of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Bandit leader |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Xiangyang |
| First appearance | Chapter 44 |
| Weapon | Iron chain with spikes |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 邓飞 |
| Traditional Chinese | 鄧飛 |
| Pinyin | Dèng Fēi |
| Wade–Giles | Teng Fei |
Deng Fei is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 49th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 13th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Fiery Eyed Suan-ni".
Background
Deng Fei is from Xiangyang. He has a pair of fiery red eyes, which earns him the nickname "Fiery Eyed Suan-ni".[notes 1] He wields a long iron chain with spikes in combat. He is one of the leaders of a bandit gang active in the area around Yinma River (飲馬川; in present-day Ji County, Tianjin).
Joining Liangshan
Deng Fei is a close friend of Yang Lin. Once, Yang Lin and Dai Zong pass by Yinma River, where they meet Deng Fei and his gang and befriend them. Dai Zong invites them to join the outlaw band at Liangshan Marsh. Deng Fei, Pei Xuan and Meng Kang disguise themselves as soldiers and travel to Liangshan.
Campaigns and death
Deng Fei becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry 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.
During the campaign against the rebel leader Fang La, Deng Fei follows Lu Junyi to attack the enemy-controlled Dusong Pass (獨松關; located south of present-day Anji County, Huzhou, Zhejiang). Before the battle, Deng Fei, Ou Peng, Li Zhong and Zhou Tong lead a small team to scout the area around the pass. They are caught off guard when a group of enemy soldiers dash out from the pass and kill Zhou Tong while he is distracted. Deng Fei and the others manage to escape in time. The Liangshan heroes defeat Fang La's forces and capture the pass later.
Lu Junyi's army merges with Song Jiang's in a coordinated attack on Hangzhou in the final stages of the campaign against Fang La. Deng Fei, Suo Chao and other heroes are assigned to lead the attack on northern part of Hangzhou. Suo Chao is killed in a fight against Fang La's general Shi Bao. Deng Fei tries to avenge Suo Chao but is no match for Shi Bao, who moves faster than him and slices him into two before he could do anything.
Notes
- ↑ The Suan-ni (狻猊) is a lion-like creature in Chinese mythology. It is one of the nine descendants of the Dragon.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 99. 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.