Zou Yuan

Zou Yuan is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Forest Emerging Dragon", he ranks 90th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 54th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Background

A native of Laizhou, Zou Yuan is famous for his upright character and prowess in martial arts. However, he is also known for being arrogant and intolerant towards people he dislikes. Before becoming an outlaw, he used to roam around and spend his time gambling.

Zou Yuan and his nephew Zou Run, who is around the same age as him, lead a group of outlaws based on Mount Dengyun (登雲山) near Laizhou, where they rob the rich to help the poor. The Zous are also close friends of Sun Xin, Yang Lin, Deng Fei and Shi Yong.

Joining Liangshan

When the Xie brothers (Xie Zhen and Xie Bao) are wrongly imprisoned and sentenced to death in Dengzhou (登州; in present-day eastern Shandong), Sun Xin and his wife Gu Dasao approach the Zous and enlist their help in staging a prison raid to save the Xie brothers. After the successful raid, they flee to Liangshan Marsh and join the outlaw band there.

During the battle between Liangshan and the Zhu Family Village, the Zous join Sun Li's team on an espionage mission in the village. The success of their mission is instrumental to the Liangshan outlaws' eventual victory over the Zhus.

Campaigns and death

Zou Yuan becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry after the 108 Stars of Destiny come together in what is called the Grand Assembly. 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.

During the campaign against Fang La's rebel forces, Zou Yuan is trampled to death by enemy cavalry at the battle of Qingxi County (清溪縣; present-day Chun'an County, Zhejiang).

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. 183. 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.