Shan Tinggui
| Shan Tinggui | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| First appearance | Chapter 67 |
| Nickname | "General of Sacred Water" 聖水將 |
| Rank | 44th, Unique Star (地奇星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Tiger Cub Scouting General of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Imperial drill instructor |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Lingzhou (in present-day Dezhou, Shandong) |
| Weapon | Black spear, bow and arrows |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 单廷圭 |
| Traditional Chinese | 單廷珪 |
| Pinyin | Shàn Tíngguī |
| Wade–Giles | Shan T'ing-kui |
Shan Tinggui is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "General of Sacred Water", he ranks 44th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 8th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
Background
Shan Tinggui dons a squarish helmet with a black feather at its peak and a suit of black armour when he goes to battle. He rides a black stallion and arms himself with a black spear and a bow and arrows. He serves as a military drill instructor in his hometown, Lingzhou (凌州; in present-day Dezhou, Shandong), alongside Wei Dingguo. He specialises in redirecting water flows to flood and drown enemy units. His specialty earns him the nickname "General of Sacred Water".
Becoming an outlaw
After Guan Sheng defects to the outlaw band at Liangshan Marsh, the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing recommends Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo to lead imperial forces to eliminate the outlaws. When the outlaws receive news of an impending imperial attack, Guan Sheng, along with his deputies Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen, volunteer to preempt the two generals in Lingzhou. During the battle, Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo lure Hao Siwen and Xuan Zan respectively into their battle formations and capture them.
Guan Sheng challenges Shan Tinggui to a one-on-one duel outside Lingzhou. Guan Sheng feigns defeat and retreats to lure Shan Tinggui to chase him. While Shan Tinggui is hot on his heels, Guan Sheng suddenly turns around, knocks Shan Tinggui off horseback with a surprise swing of his guan dao, and captures him. Later, he manages to convince Shan Tinggui to join the outlaw band at Liangshan. 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 108 Stars of Destiny come together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces on Song territory after they received amnesty from Emperor Huizong. During the campaign against Fang La's rebel forces, Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo serve under Lu Junyi and assist him in conquering the enemy-controlled cities of Xuanzhou (宣州; present-day Xuancheng, Anhui) and Huzhou. They are later assigned to lead the attack on Shezhou, where they see that the city gates are wide open with no enemy forces in sight. Eager to gain the top credit for capturing the city, they lead their troops inside and end up falling into a hidden pit. Enemy soldiers waiting in ambush seize the opportunity to attack and kill them.
References
- Buck, Pearl S. (2006). All Men are Brothers. Moyer Bell. ISBN 9781559213035.
- Ichisada, Miyazaki (1993). Suikoden: Kyoko no naka no Shijitsu (in Japanese). Chuo Koronsha. ISBN 978-4122020559.
- Keffer, David. "Outlaws of the Marsh: A Somewhat Less Than Critical Commentary". Poison Pie Publishing House. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- Li, Mengxia (1992). 108 Heroes from the Water Margin (in Chinese). EPB Publishers. p. 89. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.
- Miyamoto, Yoko (2011). "Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits". Demystifying Confucianism. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- Shibusawa, Kou (1989), Bandit Kings of Ancient China, Koei, pp. 97–98
- Zhang, Lin Ching (2009). Biographies of Characters in Water Margin. Writers Publishing House. ISBN 978-7506344784.