Yang Zhi (Water Margin)

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.

Background

Yang Zhi is a descendant of Yang Ye, the patriarch of the Generals of the Yang Family. Standing at about seven chi, he has red whiskers on his chin and a blue birthmark on his face that earns him the nickname "Blue Faced Beast". A highly skilled warrior and archer, he uses either a sabre or a spear in battle. He serves as a low-ranking officer under Grand Marshal Gao Qiu in Dongjing (東京; present-day Kaifeng, Henan), the imperial capital of the Song Empire.

On one occasion, Gao Qiu tasks Yang Zhi with escorting a convoy of rare minerals and plants, known as a huashigang (花石綱), to Dongjing for Emperor Huizong. However, after losing the goods while crossing the Yellow River during a storm, Yang Zhi fears that he will be punished for failing his mission so he does not dare to return to Dongjing. After learning that the emperor has ordered a general amnesty for most non-capital offences, he returns to Dongjing in the hope of being pardoned and reinstated.

On the way back to Dongjing, Yang Zhi passes by Liangshan Marsh and encounters Lin Chong, who wants to kill him and take his head as a pledge of loyalty to Liangshan's chief, Wang Lun. After a long and intense fight, neither of them manages to gain an advantage over his opponent. Wang Lun shows up, stops the fight, and asks Yang Zhi if he wants to join the outlaw band. However, Yang Zhi declines and states that he does not want to tarnish his family's reputation by becoming an outlaw.

Selling his precious sabre

After returning to Dongjing, Yang Zhi reports to Gao Qiu about his failed mission and tries to bribe the Grand Marshal into pardoning him. However, Gao Qiu not only refuses but also fires him.

Left with no money after spending everything he had on bribes, Yang Zhi has no choice but to sell his family heirloom, a precious sabre, at the marketplace. The hooligan Niu Er harasses him and tries to snatch away his sabre. During the scuffle, he accidentally kills Niu Er. He then goes to the magistrate's office to surrender himself. The local residents are grateful to Yang Zhi for helping them get rid of Niu Er, who has been terrorising them, so they plead for leniency on his behalf. The magistrate then spares Yang Zhi from execution and sentences him to face-tattooing and exiles him to a prison camp in Daming Prefecture.

Escorting the convoy of birthday gifts

In Daming Prefecture, Yang Zhi catches the attention of the governor, Grand Secretary Liang Shijie, who has heard of his skills and wants to recruit him as a subordinate. Liang Shijie then arranges for Yang Zhi to test his skills in a contest against Zhou Jin, one of his best warriors. Yang Zhi beats Zhou Jin easily in the three-round contest. However, Suo Chao, another warrior under Liang Shijie, feels jealous and challenges Yang Zhi. They engage in a one-on-one duel on horseback for several rounds but neither manages to defeat his opponent. Liang Shijie, impressed with their skills, decides to promote both men to the same position.

Liang Shijie assigns Yang Zhi to lead a group of soldiers to escort a convoy of birthday gifts to Dongjing for his father-in-law, Imperial Tutor Cai Jing. The group disguise themselves as traders to avoid attracting robbers' attention. However, they still fall for Wu Yong's ruse at Yellow Soil Ridge (黃泥崗), where they unsuspectingly consume wine spiked with drugs that will knock them out. Once Yang Zhi and his men become unconscious, Chao Gai, Wu Yong and their five friends escape with the gifts.

Becoming an outlaw

As Yang Zhi consumed the least amount of the drugged wine, he is the first person to regain consciousness. Feeling depressed that he has failed his mission again, he decides to abandon his men and go on the run. During the journey, he had been very harsh towards his men by pushing them to their physical limits and depriving them of rest. When his men come to, they see that Yang Zhi is gone and decide to make him the scapegoat. They return to Daming Prefecture and lie to Liang Shijie that Yang Zhi collaborated with the robbers to rob the gifts. A furious Liang Shijie issues an order for the arrests of Yang Zhi and the robbers.

In the meantime, Yang Zhi takes a break at Cao Zheng's inn and tries to leave without paying for his meal. A fight breaks out between the two men. Cao Zheng realises that Yang Zhi is no ordinary person so he asks for his name. After Yang Zhi introduces himself, Cao Zheng tells him that he is a martial arts apprentice of Lin Chong. Cao Zheng then advises Yang Zhi to go to Mount Twin Dragons (二龍山) to join the outlaw band led by Deng Long. Along the way, they meet Lu Zhishen, who has been denied entry to the outlaw stronghold. The three men manage to work out a plan to fool Deng Long into opening the stronghold's gates and allowing them to enter. They kill Deng Long and seize control of the stronghold. Yang Zhi then becomes the second leader of the outlaw band.

Death

Yang Zhi joins the outlaw band at Liangshan Marsh after the battle of Qingzhou (青州; in present-day Shandong) against government forces. Following the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars of Destiny, Yang Zhi is appointed as one of the Eight Tiger Cub Vanguard Generals of the Liangshan cavalry. He follows the Liangshan heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces on Song territory after they received amnesty from Emperor Huizong. He dies of illness during the campaign against Fang La's rebel forces after the fall of Dantu County (丹徒縣; in present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu).

Yang Zhi's precious sabre

Yang Zhi's precious sabre is a family heirloom that has been passed down from the time of his ancestor, Yang Ye. The sabre is said to possess three extraordinary properties: it can slice through metal as if it were mud; it can cut a single strand of hair placed on the blade; it is resistant to blood stains. When the hooligan Niu Er challenges him to demonstrate these properties, Yang Zhi cuts through a stack of metal coins with the weapon. Yang Zhi later places a strand of hair on the blade and blows lightly; the strand of hair easily gets sliced into two. Niu Er then insists that Yang Zhi kills a man with the sabre to prove that the blade is resistant to blood stains. Yang Zhi refuses and kills Niu Er by accident during their scuffle.

See also

• List of Water Margin minor characters#Yang Zhi's story for a list of supporting minor characters from Yang Zhi's story.

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. 35. 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. 56, 67, 74, 76–77, 93
• Zhang, Lin Ching (2009). Biographies of Characters in Water Margin. Writers Publishing House. ISBN 978-7506344784.