The following is a list of characters in Water Margin, one of the Classic Chinese Novels.
108 Heroes
The 108 Heroes are at the core of the plot of Water Margin. Based on the Taoist concept that each person's destiny is tied to a "Star of Destiny" (), the 108 Heroes are formerly 108 demons who were banished by the supreme deity Shangdi. Having repented since their expulsion, the 108 demons are accidentally released from their place of confinement, and are reincarnated as 108 heroes who band together for the cause of justice. They are divided into the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends.
36 Heavenly Spirits The 36 Heavenly Spirits () are:
Song Jiang (), nicknamed "Protector of Righteousness" () and "Timely Rain" () Lu Junyi (), nicknamed "Jade Qilin" () Wu Yong (), nicknamed "Resourceful Star" () Gongsun Sheng (), nicknamed "Dragon in the Clouds" () Guan Sheng (), nicknamed "Great Blade" () Lin Chong (), nicknamed "Panther Head" () Qin Ming (), nicknamed "Fiery Thunderbolt" () Huyan Zhuo (), nicknamed "Double Clubs" () Hua Rong (), nicknamed "Little Li Guang" () Chai Jin (), nicknamed "Little Whirlwind" () Li Ying (), nicknamed "Striking Hawk" () Zhu Tong (), nicknamed "Lord of the Beautiful Beard" () Lu Zhishen (), nicknamed "Flowery Monk" () Wu Song (), nicknamed "Pilgrim" () Dong Ping (), nicknamed "General of Double Spears" () Zhang Qing (), nicknamed "Featherless Arrow" () Yang Zhi (), nicknamed "Blue Faced Beast" () Xu Ning (), nicknamed "Gold Lancer" () Suo Chao (), nicknamed "Impatient Vanguard" () Dai Zong (), nicknamed "Magic Traveller" () Liu Tang (), nicknamed "Red Haired Devil" () Li Kui (), nicknamed "Black Whirlwind" () Shi Jin (), nicknamed "Nine Tattooed Dragons" () Mu Hong (), nicknamed "Unrestrained" () Lei Heng (), nicknamed "Winged Tiger" () Li Jun (), nicknamed "Turbulent River Dragon" () Ruan Xiaoer (), nicknamed "Tai Sui Who Stands His Ground" () Zhang Heng (), nicknamed "Boatman" () Ruan Xiaowu (), nicknamed "Short-lived Second Brother" () Zhang Shun (), nicknamed "White Jumping in the Waves" () Ruan Xiaoqi (), nicknamed "Living King Yama" () Yang Xiong (), nicknamed "Superior to Guan Suo" () Shi Xiu (), nicknamed "Daredevil Third Brother" () Xie Zhen (), nicknamed "Double-headed Serpent" () Xie Bao (), nicknamed "Twin-tailed Scorpion" () Yan Qing (), nicknamed "Prodigal/Wanderer" ()
72 Earthly Fiends The 72 Earthly Fiends () are:
Zhu Wu (), nicknamed "Resourceful Strategist" () Huang Xin (), nicknamed "Suppressor of Three Mountains" () Sun Li (), nicknamed "Superior to Yuchi" () Xuan Zan (), nicknamed "Ugly Prince Consort" () Hao Siwen (), nicknamed "Wood Dog of Well" () Han Tao (), nicknamed "General of a Hundred Victories" () Peng Qi (), nicknamed "General of Heavenly Vision" () Shan Tinggui (), nicknamed "General of Sacred Water" () Wei Dingguo (), nicknamed "General of Holy Fire" () Xiao Rang (), nicknamed "Sacred Handed Scholar" () Pei Xuan (), nicknamed "Iron Faced Magistrate's Clerk" () Ou Peng (), nicknamed "Golden Wings Brushing Against the Clouds" () Deng Fei (), nicknamed "Fiery Eyed Suan-ni" () Yan Shun (), nicknamed "Multicoloured Tiger" () Yang Lin (), nicknamed "Multicoloured Leopard" () Ling Zhen (), nicknamed "Heaven Shaking Thunder" () Jiang Jing (), nicknamed "Divine Mathematician" () Lü Fang (), nicknamed "Little Marquis of Wen" () Guo Sheng (), nicknamed "Comparable to Rengui" () An Daoquan (), nicknamed "Divine Physician" () Huangfu Duan (), nicknamed "Purple Bearded Count" () Wang Ying (), nicknamed "Stumpy Tiger" () Hu Sanniang (), nicknamed "Ten Feet of Blue" () Bao Xu (), nicknamed "God of Death" () Fan Rui (), nicknamed "Demon King of Chaos" () Kong Ming (), nicknamed "Hairy Star" () Kong Liang (), nicknamed "Lonely Fiery Star" () Xiang Chong (), nicknamed "Eight-armed Nezha" () Li Gun (), nicknamed "Sky Soaring Great Sage" () Jin Dajian (), nicknamed "Jade Armed Craftsman" () Ma Lin (), nicknamed "Iron Flute Deity" () Tong Wei (), nicknamed "Dragon Emerging from a Cave" () Tong Meng (), nicknamed "River Churning Clam" () Meng Kang (), nicknamed "Jade Flagpole" () Hou Jian (), nicknamed "Interconnected-Arm Gibbon" () Chen Da (), nicknamed "Stream Leaping Tiger" () Yang Chun (), nicknamed "White Flower Serpent" () Zheng Tianshou (), nicknamed "Fair Skinned Gentleman" () Tao Zongwang (), nicknamed "Nine-Tailed Turtle" () Song Qing (), nicknamed "Iron Fan" () Yue He (), nicknamed "Iron Whistle" () Gong Wang (), nicknamed "Flowery Necked Tiger" () Ding Desun (), nicknamed "Arrow-hit Tiger" () Mu Chun (), nicknamed "Little Restrained" () Cao Zheng (), nicknamed "Knife Wielding Demon" () Song Wan (), nicknamed "Giant in the Clouds" () Du Qian (), nicknamed "Touching the Sky" () Xue Yong (), nicknamed "Superior to Tiger" () Shi En (), nicknamed "Golden Eyed Tiger Cub" () Li Zhong (), nicknamed "Tiger Slaying General" () Zhou Tong (), nicknamed "Little Conqueror" () Tang Long (), nicknamed "Gold Coin Spotted Leopard" () Du Xing (), nicknamed "Demon Face" () Zou Yuan (), nicknamed "Forest Emerging Dragon" () Zou Run (), nicknamed "Single Horned Dragon" () Zhu Gui (), nicknamed "Dry Land Alligator" () Zhu Fu (), nicknamed "Sneering Tiger" () Cai Fu (), nicknamed "Iron Arm" () Cai Qing (), nicknamed "Stalk of Flower" () Li Li (), nicknamed "Life Taking Judge" () Li Yun (), nicknamed "Green Eyed Tiger" () Jiao Ting (), nicknamed "Faceless" () Shi Yong (), nicknamed "Stone General" () Sun Xin (), nicknamed "Little Yuchi" () Gu Dasao (), nicknamed "Female Tiger" () Zhang Qing (), nicknamed "Gardener" () Sun Erniang (), nicknamed "Female Yaksha" () Wang Dingliu (), nicknamed "Living Goddess of Lightning" () Yu Baosi (), nicknamed "God of the Dangerous Road" () Bai Sheng (), nicknamed "Daylight Rat" () Shi Qian (), nicknamed "Flea on a Drum" () Duan Jingzhu (), nicknamed "Golden Haired Hound" ()
Chao Gai's story
He Tao () is a law enforcement officer from Jizhou assigned to the case of the theft of the birthday gifts for Cai Jing. After identifying Chao Gai as one of the seven thieves, he leads his men to arrest them. However, he suffers a disastrous defeat in the area around Liangshan Marsh, and ends up being captured by Chao Gai and his friends. Ruan Xiaoqi cuts off one of his ears before releasing him to report his defeat to the government. He Qing () is He Tao's younger brother. He is coincidentally near Yellow Soil Ridge the day before Chao Gai and his friends steal the birthday gifts. Although he does not know them personally, he recognises Chao Gai as the headman of Dongxi Village. Later, when He Tao is investigating the robbery, He Qing provides him with a lead by saying that he saw Chao Gai and six others suspiciously interacting with Bai Sheng the day before the robbery. Using this information, He Tao tracks down Bai Sheng, finds part of the loot in Bai Sheng's house, and confirms that Chao Gai is one of the thieves. Huang An () is a local militia commander from Jizhou assigned to lead his men to attack Liangshan after He Tao's failed attempt to arrest Chao Gai and his friends. He is killed by Liu Tang while attempting to escape after his defeat.
Song Jiang's story
Yan Poxi () is Song Jiang's concubine. Her mother pressured her to be Song Jiang's concubine as an expression of gratitude after he paid for her father's funeral. Over time, she increasingly resents Song Jiang, who deliberately avoids spending time with her, and starts an affair with Zhang Wenyuan. One night, she discovers Chao Gai's letter to Song Jiang, and threatens to report him to the magistrate for consorting with the outlaws unless he agrees to three conditions: 1) allow her to marry Zhang Wenyuan; 2) let her keep all the clothes, ornaments, property, etc., he has given her; and 3) give her the gold bars from Chao Gai. Song Jiang agrees but cannot fulfil the third condition because he only accepted one of the gold bars mentioned in Chao Gai's letter. Yan Poxi refuses to believe him and continues to threaten him. Song Jiang eventually loses patience and stabs her to death in a fit of anger. He then burns the letter and escapes from Yuncheng County. Zhang Wenyuan () is Song Jiang's assistant at the magistrate's office. He has an affair with Yan Poxi. Shi Wenbin () is the magistrate of Yuncheng County. Liu Gao () is the commandant of Qingfeng Fort. He believes his wife's account and orders Song Jiang's arrest. Along with the rest of his family, he is killed by the Mount Qingfeng outlaws when they overrun the fort. Liu Gao's wife was captured by the Mount Qingfeng outlaws and almost raped by Wang Ying. However, Song Jiang intervenes and manages to convince Wang Ying to release her. Later, she repays Song Jiang's kindness with evil by falsely accusing him of being the outlaw who kidnapped and attempted to rape her. Murong Yanda () is the governor of Qingzhou. He orders the execution of Qin Ming's family after mistakenly believing that the latter has joined the Mount Qingfeng outlaws. Huyan Zhuo comes to Qingzhou to join him after his defeat and helps him in attacking some outlaws in Qingzhou. After the Liangshan outlaws capture Huyan Zhuo and convince him to surrender and join them, Huyan Zhuo tricks Murong Yanda into opening Qingzhou's gates for the outlaws to enter and overrun the city. Qin Ming captures and kills Murong Yanda to avenge his family. Cai Dezhang (), better known as Cai Jiu (), is Cai Jing's ninth son and the governor of Jiangzhou. An unintelligent, greedy and corrupt official, he sentences Song Jiang and Dai Zong to death after believing that Song Jiang is plotting a rebellion. Huang Wenbing (), nicknamed "Wasp's Sting" (), is a petty and scheming man from Jiangzhou who chances upon Song Jiang's seditious poem and reports it to Cai Jiu in the hope of getting rewarded for exposing a rebellious plot. After Song Jiang narrowly escapes execution, he gets the Liangshan outlaws to help him take revenge on Huang Wenbing. The outlaws break into Huang Wenbing's house, kill his family, and burn down his house. Huang Wenbing, who is not at home at the time, tries to escape but gets captured by Zhang Shun, who bring him before Song Jiang and the other outlaws. Huang Wenbing is killed by Li Kui. Huang Wenye (), nicknamed "Buddha Huang" (), is Huang Wenbing's elder brother. In contrast with his wicked brother, he is known for his kindness and for helping those in need. When the Liangshan outlaws kill Huang Wenbing's family, Hou Jian manages to persuade his fellow outlaws to spare Huang Wenye by pointing out that Huang Wenye is a good man. Jiutian Xuannü () is a deity whom Song Jiang encounters on two separate occasions. The first time, he takes shelter in a temple while evading soldiers trying to arrest him, and encounters the deity, who presents him a set of three divine books to aid him in his quest to "deliver justice on Heaven's behalf". The second time, she appears in his dream when he is leading the Liangshan forces to resist the Liao invaders, and teaches him how to break the Liao forces' battle formation.
Lu Junyi's story
Madam Jia () is Lu Junyi's wife. She has an affair with Li Gu, collaborating with him to frame her husband for plotting a rebellion. After Lu Junyi is saved by the Liangshan outlaws, he returns home and takes revenge by executing his wife and Li Gu. Li Gu () is Lu Junyi's steward. He has an affair with his master's wife, and falsely reports to the authorities that his master is plotting a rebellion, using a poem as evidence. Even after Lu Junyi is arrested, Li Gu still feels uneasy so he tries to bribe the guards to murder his master in prison. However, his plans are thwarted by Chai Jin, who bribes the executioners Cai Fu and Cai Qing to take good care of Lu Junyi. After Lu Junyi is saved by the Liangshan outlaws, he goes home and kills his wife and Li Gu.
Lin Chong's story