Shan Tinggui

Shan Tinggui is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 44th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 8th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "General of Sacred Water".

Background

Shan Tinggui dons a squarish helmet with a black feather at its peak and a suit of black armour. He rides on a black stallion and is armed with a black spear and a bow and arrows. An accomplished general and strategist, he serves in the imperial army as a drill instructor in his hometown, Lingzhou (凌州; present-day Ling County, Dezhou, Shandong), alongside his colleague Wei Dingguo. He specialises in water-based attacks, which include using the force of nature to flood and drown entire armies. His specialty earns him the nickname "General of Sacred Water".

Becoming an outlaw

After the imperial general Guan Sheng defects to the outlaw band at Liangshan Marsh, the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing recommends Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo to Emperor Huizong to lead the imperial army to eliminate the outlaws. When the outlaws receive news of the attack, Guan Sheng volunteers to lead an army with Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen to engage the enemy. At Lingzhou, Hao Siwen and Xuan Zan are lured into the enemy formation by Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo respectively and captured. Hao Siwen and Xuan Zan are escorted as prisoners of war back to Daming Prefecture (大名府; in present-day Handan, Hebei). Along the way, the bandits from Mount Deadwood (枯樹山), led by Bao Xu and Li Kui, attack the convoy and free the captives.

Guan Sheng challenges Shan Tinggui to a fight outside Lingzhou. Guan Sheng feigns defeat and retreats to lure Shan Tinggui to follow him. He turns around suddenly and knocks Shan Tinggui off his steed with a surprise attack. Shan Tinggui is captured and escorted back to Liangshan. Liangshan's chief, Song Jiang, treats Shan Tinggui with respect and succeeds in persuading Shan to join the outlaw band. Shan Tinggui returns to Lingzhou and successfully convinces Wei Dingguo to join Liangshan as well.

Campaigns and death

Shan Tinggui 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, Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo accompany Lu Junyi's army and aid the Liangshan forces in their conquests of Fang La's cities Xuanzhou (宣州; around present-day Xuanzhou District, Xuancheng, Anhui) and Huzhou. They are later assigned to lead the attack on Shezhou (歙州; present-day She County, Huangshan City, Anhui). They see that the city gates are wide open with no enemies in sight. In their eagerness to earn the top credit for victory, they lead their troops into the city without suspecting that it might be a trap. They fall into a hidden pit and are killed by enemy soldiers lying in ambush.

References

• (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 89. 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, pages 97–98. 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.