Gu Dasao | |
---|---|
Water Margin character | |
First appearance | Chapter 49 |
Nickname | "Female Tiger" 母大蟲 |
Rank | 101st, Yin Star (地陰星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
Scout leader of Liangshan | |
Origin | Tavern owner |
Names | |
Simplified Chinese | 顾大嫂 |
Traditional Chinese | 顧大嫂 |
Pinyin | Gù Dàsǎo |
Wade–Giles | Ku Ta-sao |
Gu Dasao (literally "Elder Sister-in-Law Gu") is a fictional character in Water Margin , one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Female Tiger", [lower-alpha 1] she ranks 101st among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 65th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
The novel depicts Gu Dasao as having thick eyebrows, large eyes, a plump face and a thick waist. Although she likes to wear ornaments on her head and wrists, she did not settle into a housewife role as most women did in her time. Instead she behaves like a man often getting into a fight. Specialised in pole weapons such as spear and staff, she could take on 30 men at the same time. She may even beat up her husband Sun Xin if he offends her.
The couple run a tavern in Dengzhou (登州; in present-day eastern Shandong), where Sun Xin's brother Sun Li is the local garrison commandant. Because of her quick temper and pugnacious character, Gu Dasao is nicknamed "Female Tiger".
Gu Dasao is informed by the jailer Yue He of the Dengzhou prison that the hunter brothers Xie Zhen and Xie Bao, who are Gu's cousins, have been jailed and might be murdered. Yue is related to Gu and the Xies as his sister is married to Sun Li, Gu's brother-in-law. The Xies are arrested for smashing up the house of one Squire Mao after they failed to find a tiger they shot that had fallen into the old man's garden. In fact, the squire had sent the tiger to the prefecture office to claim the reward.
Gu Dasao consults with her husband, who invites the outlaws Zou Yuan and Zou Run to help in the rescue. Gu is worried that her brother-in-law Sun Li would stand in their way. So she pretends to be ill and gets Sun Li to visit her. When Sun appears, she threatens him to decide either to join them or fight them. Sun reluctantly signs on to their plan.
Pretending to take food to the Xie brothers, Gu Dasao is let into the prison by Yue He. Yue then frees the Xies, who are locked on a stone bed. Gu assists them to break out of the prison as Sun Li attacks the front gate with the rest. After pulling off the rescue, the group flees to join the outlaws of Liangshan Marsh.
Before going up to the stronghold, Sun Li volunteers to infiltrate the Zhu Family Manor, which Liangshan has failed to take in two offensives. As Sun Li has learnt combat from the same teacher as Luan Tingyu, the martial arts instructor of the manor, he wins the confidence of the Zhus. As soon as Sun Li gives his signal Gu Dasao, together with her husband, Zou Yuan, Zou Run, the Xie brothers and Yue He, goes on a rampage inside the manor, taking it by surprise. The fall of the Zhu Family Manor is a huge contribution by the group before their acceptance into Liangshan.
When Liangshan attacks Dongping prefecture to seize its grain stock, Shi Jin infiltrates the city to stage an internal sabotage. But he is discovered and arrested. Gu Dasao is sent to sneak into the prison to instruct him to break out of jail and unleash havoc within the city when Song Jiang mounts an external attack. Although the plan fails as Shi strikes one day too early, Gu and Shi escape when Dongping falls to the outlaws.
Gu Dasao and her husband are put in charge of an inn which acts as a lookout for Liangshan after the 108 Stars of Destiny came together in what is called the Grand Assembly. Gu participates in the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in the Song territory following amnesty from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan.
Gu and her husband survives all the campaigns. Although conferred the title "Lady of Dongyuan County" (東源縣君), she returns to Dengzhou with her husband to live as a commoner.
Shi Jin is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Nine-Tattoo Dragon", he ranks 23rd among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
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The Water Margin is a 1998 Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's classical 14th-century novel of the same title. It was produced by CCTV with Zhang Jizhong as producer. It was first broadcast in China in January 1998. The series also featured action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping.
All Men Are Brothers is a 2011 Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's 14th century novel Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The series is directed by Kuk Kwok-leung and features cast members from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The series was first broadcast on 8TV in March 2011 in Malaysia.
Outlaws of the Marsh is a Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's classical 14th century novel Water Margin. It was first broadcast on Shandong TV in China in 1983, and was not completed until 1986. The series was one of the earliest television dramas with an ancient China setting to be produced in mainland China. It was divided into different parts, each focusing on the story line of a certain character. Widely regarded, as a classic in mainland China, the series won a Golden Eagle Award.