Lin Chong

Last updated
Lin Chong
Water Margin character
Yoshitoshi-Lin Chong.jpg
Lin Chong in an 1886 block print by Yoshitoshi
First appearanceChapter 7
Nickname"Panther Head"
豹子頭
Also known as
  • "Instructor Lin"
    林教頭
  • "Little Zhang Fei"
    小張飛
Rank6th, Majestic Star (天雄星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits
Right General of the Five Tiger Generals of Liangshan
OriginLance instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards
Ancestral home / Place of originDongjing (present-day Kaifeng, Henan)
Weapon8-foot-long (2.4 m) Snake Spear (丈八蛇矛); Pudao (朴刀)
Names
Simplified Chinese 林冲
Traditional Chinese 林冲
Pinyin Lín Chōng
Wade–Giles Lin Ch'ung

Lin Chong is a fictional character in Water Margin , one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Panther Head", he ranks sixth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits. In some folk tales derived from the novel, he is said to have learnt martial arts from Zhou Tong, who purportedly trained the Song dynasty general Yue Fei in archery.

Contents

Background

Lin Chong resembles Zhang Fei, a general of the Three Kingdoms era, in appearance. Over six chi tall, he has piercing eyes and a head like that of a panther, which earns him the nickname "Panther Head". He is a martial arts instructor of the Imperial Guards in Dongjing (東京; present-day Kaifeng, Henan), the imperial capital of the Song dynasty.

Framed and exiled

Lin Chong introduces himself to Lu Zhishen when he sees the monk working out with his hefty staff and is deeply impressed. Lu tends a vegetable plot for a temple in Dongjing. They become sworn brothers. While they are chatting, Gao Yanei, the play-boy adopted son of Grand Marshal Gao Qiu, runs into Lin Chong's wife in a temple and tries to force himself on her. Lin rushes to the temple and saves his wife in time. Afraid of inviting trouble, he decides not to report the case to the authorities. However, besotted with Lin's wife, Gao Yanei seeks the help of Lin's friend Lu Qian. Lu invites Lin Chong out for a drink, during which Mrs Lin is tricked to go to Lu's house, where Gao Yanei attempts to rape her. Mrs Lin‘s maid escapes and informs her master, who rushes to Lu Qian's house. Gao Yanei flees upon learning that Lin is coming.

Gao Yanei asks his adoptive father to help him get hold of Lin Chong‘s wife. Knowing Lin loves good weapons, Gao Qiu sends a man to trick him to buy a rare sword on the street. The Grand Marshal then summons Lin Chong to his residence claiming that he wants to see his new possession. Lin, carrying the sword, unsuspectingly enters the White Tiger Hall, where meetings on top-secret state matters are held and arms are prohibited. Gao Qiu accuses Lin of wanting to assassinate him and orders his arrest.

Lin Chong is tattooed on the face and exiled to Cangzhou. Before he is on the way, he insists on divorcing his wife so that she can find a better husband. Meanwhile, Gao Qiu bribes the two guards escorting Lin Chong to kill him along the way. During the journey, the escorts mistreat Lin, including scalding his feet at one point. At Wild Boar Forest, just as they are about to kill Lin after tying him to a tree, Lu Zhishen springs out from behind the trunk, disarms them, and wants to finish them off. He is prevented by Lin Chong, who tells him that they are just stooges of Gao Qiu. Lu Zhishen accompanies Lin to Cangzhou and takes leave only after ensuring the escorts would try no more mischief.

In Cangzhou, Lin Chong befriends the nobleman Chai Jin. His impressive skill in thrashing a boastful and arrogant martial arts instructor, who lives off Chai, wins the scion's admiration. Chai provides him money to bribe the jailers not to make his life in prison miserable.

Burning of the fodder depot

Gao Qiu sends Lu Qian and his steward Fu An to Cangzhou on a second attempt to kill Lin Chong. Lu Qian bribes the chief warden and a jailer, and they work out a plan involving assigning Lin to be a solo watchman at a fodder depot.

On the day Lin Chong takes up his new duty, Lu Qian, Fu An and the jailer set fire to the depot after nightfall, certain that he must be trapped in the inferno. However, Lin Chong has earlier gone out to buy wine and upon return found his hut in the depot crushed under the weight of snow. He then took shelter in a nearby temple. Upon seeing that the depot is on fire, he hurries towards it. But he overhears the three men talking outside the temple and learns that the fire is their work. Enraged, he charges out, kills the three men and offers their heads to the deity of the temple. He then flees the scene.

Becoming an outlaw

While on the run, Lin Chong meets Chai Jin again, who suggests he joins the outlaws at Liangshan Marsh. Chai writes a recommendation letter for him addressed to Wang Lun, the chief of Liangshan. Lin comes to an inn, which is an outpost of the stronghold managed by Zhu Gui. Zhu ushers him across the marsh and up the hill.

At Liangshan, Wang Lun fears Lin Chong, with his superior fighting skill, will usurp his position, so he tries to send him away with excuse and gifts. As Lin Chong pleads to stay, Wang Lun sets the condition that he must kill a man in three days and present the person‘s head as his ticket of enrolment. On the third day, Lin Chong encounters Yang Zhi and they fight to a standstill. Wang Lun comes to the scene, stops the fight, and invites Yang to join his band in the hope that he would be a counterweight to Lin Chong. But Yang declines and leaves. Wang Lun reluctantly lets Lin Chong stay and take the fourth position under himself, Du Qian and Song Wan.

When Chao Gai and his six friends come to Liangshan to seek refuge after being discovered by authorities to be the hijackers of birthday gifts in transportation to the Grand Tutor Cai Jing, Wang Lun again feels threatened. He tries to send them away with gifts. Frustrated with Wang Lun's selfishness and incited by Wu Yong, Lin Chong kills the leader. Chao Gai is elected the new chief of Liangshan, with Lin being placed fourth after Wu Yong and Gongsun Sheng. Lin then seeks news about his wife and is sad to hear that she has hanged herself to avoid harassment by Gao Yanei.

Death

Lin Chong is appointed as one of the Five Tiger Generals of the Liangshan cavalry after the 108 Heroes came together in what is called the Grand Assembly.

When Gao Qiu personally leads a military attack on Liangshan, he ends up being captured. Some later editions[ which? ] of Water Margin say Lin Chong wants to kill Gao for reprisal. But an earlier edition said he is resigned to his fate, no longer keen on revenge. The 120-chapter edition of Water Margin depicts him as merely staring at Gao as the latter is escorted into Liangshan's main hall after his capture. The earlier 100-chapter edition does not even mention this. Song Jiang treats Gao as an honoured guest and releases him hoping he will obtain amnesty from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan.

After the amnesty, the Liangshan heroes are sent to fight the Liao invaders and put down the rebel forces of Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La in Song territory. Lin Chong makes significant contributions in the series of campaigns. Just when the missions are all over, Lin Chong is stricken by paralysis. He dies six months later under the care of Wu Song in Liuhe Temple in Hangzhou, where Lu Zhishen had died six months earlier.

Cultural references

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Song Jiang</span> Chinese historical figure

Song Jiang was a Chinese historical figure who led an armed rebellion against the ruling Song Dynasty in the early 12th century. His band marauded over a region straddling the present-day Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan. They eventually surrendered to the Imperial Court. The historical Song Jiang was turned into a fictional character in Water Margin, which became one of the four famous Classic Chinese Novels. He is the central figure in the book, and the leader of the 108 Heroes who come together as bandits in Shandong's Liangshan Marsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lu Zhishen</span> Water Margin character

Lu Zhishen is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. He is the main character in the first segment of the novel, which spans about six chapters. Nicknamed "Flowery Monk", he ranks 13th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yang Zhi (Water Margin)</span> Water Margin character

Yang Zhi is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Blue Faced Beast", he ranks 17th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shi Jin</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gongsun Sheng</span>

Gongsun Sheng is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Dragon in the Clouds", he ranks fourth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chao Gai</span>

Chao Gai, nicknamed "Pagoda-Shifting Heavenly King", is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He is not one of the 108 Stars of Destiny because he dies before the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars. However, after his death, he serves as a spiritual guardian of the outlaws, who from time to time dedicate ceremonial sacrifices to him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chai Jin</span>

Chai Jin is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Little Whirlwind", he ranks 10th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Erniang</span>

Sun Erniang is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Female Yaksha", she ranks 103rd among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 67th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Song Wan (Water Margin)</span>

Song Wan is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Giant in the Clouds", he ranks 82nd among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 46th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Du Qian</span>

Du Qian is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Touching the Sky", he ranks 83rd among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 47th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cao Zheng</span>

Cao Zheng is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Knife Wielding Demon", he ranks 81st among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 45th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhu Gui (Water Margin)</span> Water Margin character

Zhu Gui is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Dry Land Alligator", he ranks 92nd among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 56th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gao Qiu</span> 12th-century Chinese government official

Gao Qiu (1076?–1126) was a Chinese politician who lived during the Song dynasty and served in the court of Emperor Huizong. In the classical novel Water Margin, he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and a nemesis of the protagonists, the 108 Heroes of Mount Liang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhang Qing (Gardener)</span>

Zhang Qing is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Gardener", he ranks 102nd among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 66th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Cai Qing is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Stalk of Flower", he ranks 95th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 59th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

<i>The Water Margin</i> (film) 1972 Hong Kong film

The Water Margin, also known Outlaws of the Marsh and Seven Blows Of The Dragon, is a 1972 Hong Kong film adapted from the Chinese classical 14th-century novel Water Margin. It was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Chang Cheh. Godfrey Ho was assistant director.

<i>The Water Margin</i> (1998 TV series) Chinese TV series or program

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.

<i>All Men Are Brothers</i> (TV series) 2011 Chinese television series

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.

<i>Outlaws of the Marsh</i> (TV series) Chinese TV series or program

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.

References