Wang Dingliu

Wang Dingliu is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Living Goddess of Lightning", he ranks 104th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 68th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Background

The novel describes Wang Dingliu as a man with a pointed head, sparkling eyes and a pair of skinny legs. Nicknamed "Living Goddess of Lightning",^{[lower-alpha 1]} he walks at an astonishingly fast pace as if he were flying.

Born in Jiankang Prefecture (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), Wang Dingliu runs a tavern near the Yangtze with his father. Although he has learnt martial arts from many instructors, he has not managed to fully master any of those styles. However, he is an excellent swimmer.

Becoming an outlaw

During his journey to Jiankang Prefecture to find the physician An Daoquan, the Liangshan outlaw Zhang Shun unsuspectingly boards the pirate Zhang Wang's boat and gets into trouble. Zhang Wang robs him, ties him up and throws him into the river. Zhang Shun manages to free himself underwater, swim to the riverbank, and make it to Wang Dingliu's tavern. Wang Dingliu gives him a set of dry clothes and promises to help him take revenge against Zhang Wang. However, Zhang Shun leaves in a hurry because he needs to find An Daoquan as soon as possible to heal Liangshan's chief Song Jiang.

After finding An Daoquan, Zhang Shun frames the physician for murder and forces him to become an outlaw. On the journey back to Liangshan, they pass by Wang Dingliu's tavern again. Wang Dingliu helps them call for a boat to ferry them across the river. It turns out that the boatman is Zhang Wang. Zhang Shun recognises Zhang Wang and gets Wang Dingliu to help him defeat Zhang Wang, tie him up, and throw him into the river. Wang Dingliu decides to become an outlaw too so he follows Zhang Shun and An Daoquan back to Liangshan.

In a later chapter, when the outlaws are on the way to attack Dongping Prefecture (東平府; present-day Dongping County, Shandong), Song Jiang sends Wang Dingliu and Yu Baosi as Liangshan's envoys to meet the prefect of Dongping Prefecture and demand his surrender. Dong Ping, the general in charge of Dongping Prefecture's armed forces, asks the prefect to execute Wang Dingliu and Yu Baosi. The prefect refuses because he is afraid of antagonising the Liangshan outlaws. However, he still orders his men to beat up Wang Dingliu and Yu Baosi and throw them out of the city. The Liangshan outlaws ultimately defeat the government forces and capture Dongping Prefecture.

Campaigns and death

Wang Dingliu becomes one of the scout leaders of Liangshan after the 108 Stars of Destiny come together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He is posted at the tavern to the north of Liangshan, and is in charge of making preparations to receive the imperial emissary from Emperor Huizong after the emperor grants amnesty to the outlaws.

Wang Dingliu later follows the Liangshan heroes on the military campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces within the Song Empire. He dies after being hit by a poisoned arrow at the battle of Xuanzhou (宣州; present-day Xuancheng, Anhui) during the campaign against Fang La's rebel forces.

Notes

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. 211. 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
• Zhang, Lin Ching (2009). Biographies of Characters in Water Margin. Writers Publishing House. ISBN 978-7506344784.