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Wu Song
Wu Song (Chinese: 武松; pinyin: Wǔ Sōng), also known as Second Brother Wu (武二郎; Wǔ Èrláng), is a legendary hero recounted since the 13th century; and one of the well-known fictional characters in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classic Novels in Chinese literature.
Nicknamed "Pilgrim", he ranks 14th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Heroes. In folk tales derived from the novel, Wu Song is a martial arts student of Zhou Tong and specialises in Chuojiao. In the novel he fights well with bang (quarterstaff) or a pair of broadswords.
Legends surrounding the heroic figure of Wu Song have existed since the late Song dynasty. A passing mention of a story about Pilgrim Wu (Chinese: 武行者; pinyin: Wǔ xíngzhe) occurs in the 13th-century author Luo Ye's (羅燁) collection Stories Told by an Old Drunkard (醉翁談錄; Zuìwēng tánlù). The earliest record of a tale in which Wu Song fights a tiger comes from a zaju play written by a late-13th-century writer who wrote under the pen name "Red-Tattooed Second Li" (紅字二李), but the play itself is no longer extant. The oldest surviving Chinese drama version of the tiger-slaying episode is the chuanqi or "miraculous" play by Shen Jing (沈環, 1553-1610) dating to the late 16th century, and the earliest editions of the Water Margin that contain the tiger episode also date around the end of the 16th century.
A native of Qinghe County (in present-day Xingtai, Hebei), Wu Song is tall and good-looking with shining eyes, thick eyebrows, a muscular build and an impressive bearing. His parents having died early, he was raised by his dwarfish elder brother Wu Dalang (武大郎; literally "Wu the Older"), whom he respects and cares very much about. Wu Song's nickname Wu Erlang is reference to him being the secondborn son.
Wu Song knocks a man unconscious at his hometown after getting into a fight when drunk. He flees, thinking that the man has died. When taking shelter in the residence of the nobleman Chai Jin, he meets Song Jiang, who is also fleeing the law after killing his mistress Yan Poxi. They become sworn brothers.
Learning later that the man he hit earlier is not dead, Wu Song decides to return home. On the way, he passes by an inn near Jingyang Ridge, which puts out a banner that reads "After Three Bowls, Do Not Cross the Ridge" (三碗不過崗; Sān wǎn bú guò gǎng), and goes in for a break. The innkeeper explains that the inn's home-brewed wine is so strong that customers would get drunk after having three bowls and could not cross the ridge ahead. Still sober after three bowls, Wu Song demands more. By the end of his meal, he has consumed 18 bowls of wine but still looks steady. He is about to leave when the innkeeper stops him and warns him about a fierce tiger on the ridge. Wu Song suspects that the man is hoaxing him to spend the night at his inn. Ignoring the advice, he continues his journey, armed with only a quarterstaff.
Nearing the ridge, Wu Song spots an official notice warning of a tiger ahead. Not to lose face, he could not turn back. As he moves on, he starts to feel the effects of the wine. So he takes a nap on a big rock. As he falls asleep, the tiger leaps out from the woods, shocking him out of his stupor. After narrowly dodging the tiger's first three charges, Wu Song attempts to fight back but breaks his staff on a tree. Unarmed, he summons all his might and manages to pin the tiger face down with his arms. He then rains blows on its head using his bare fists. After punching the tiger unconscious, he picks up his broken staff and whacks the tiger till he is sure it is dead. Exhausted and fearing that another tiger might appear, he then flees the spot after a short rest, and runs into some local hunters, who are amazed to learn of his incredible feat. Impressed, the local magistrate of the nearby Yanggu County (in present-day Liaocheng, Shandong) offers him the job of chief constable. Wu Song accepts it and settles down, and surprisingly runs into his long-separated brother Wu Dalang, who has also moved to Yanggu from Qinghe.
According to some narrations in Yangzhou storytelling, particularly the "Wang school", Wu Song's slaying of the tiger took place "in the middle of the tenth (lunar) month" of the "Xuanhe year [1119]".
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Wu Song
Wu Song (Chinese: 武松; pinyin: Wǔ Sōng), also known as Second Brother Wu (武二郎; Wǔ Èrláng), is a legendary hero recounted since the 13th century; and one of the well-known fictional characters in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classic Novels in Chinese literature.
Nicknamed "Pilgrim", he ranks 14th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Heroes. In folk tales derived from the novel, Wu Song is a martial arts student of Zhou Tong and specialises in Chuojiao. In the novel he fights well with bang (quarterstaff) or a pair of broadswords.
Legends surrounding the heroic figure of Wu Song have existed since the late Song dynasty. A passing mention of a story about Pilgrim Wu (Chinese: 武行者; pinyin: Wǔ xíngzhe) occurs in the 13th-century author Luo Ye's (羅燁) collection Stories Told by an Old Drunkard (醉翁談錄; Zuìwēng tánlù). The earliest record of a tale in which Wu Song fights a tiger comes from a zaju play written by a late-13th-century writer who wrote under the pen name "Red-Tattooed Second Li" (紅字二李), but the play itself is no longer extant. The oldest surviving Chinese drama version of the tiger-slaying episode is the chuanqi or "miraculous" play by Shen Jing (沈環, 1553-1610) dating to the late 16th century, and the earliest editions of the Water Margin that contain the tiger episode also date around the end of the 16th century.
A native of Qinghe County (in present-day Xingtai, Hebei), Wu Song is tall and good-looking with shining eyes, thick eyebrows, a muscular build and an impressive bearing. His parents having died early, he was raised by his dwarfish elder brother Wu Dalang (武大郎; literally "Wu the Older"), whom he respects and cares very much about. Wu Song's nickname Wu Erlang is reference to him being the secondborn son.
Wu Song knocks a man unconscious at his hometown after getting into a fight when drunk. He flees, thinking that the man has died. When taking shelter in the residence of the nobleman Chai Jin, he meets Song Jiang, who is also fleeing the law after killing his mistress Yan Poxi. They become sworn brothers.
Learning later that the man he hit earlier is not dead, Wu Song decides to return home. On the way, he passes by an inn near Jingyang Ridge, which puts out a banner that reads "After Three Bowls, Do Not Cross the Ridge" (三碗不過崗; Sān wǎn bú guò gǎng), and goes in for a break. The innkeeper explains that the inn's home-brewed wine is so strong that customers would get drunk after having three bowls and could not cross the ridge ahead. Still sober after three bowls, Wu Song demands more. By the end of his meal, he has consumed 18 bowls of wine but still looks steady. He is about to leave when the innkeeper stops him and warns him about a fierce tiger on the ridge. Wu Song suspects that the man is hoaxing him to spend the night at his inn. Ignoring the advice, he continues his journey, armed with only a quarterstaff.
Nearing the ridge, Wu Song spots an official notice warning of a tiger ahead. Not to lose face, he could not turn back. As he moves on, he starts to feel the effects of the wine. So he takes a nap on a big rock. As he falls asleep, the tiger leaps out from the woods, shocking him out of his stupor. After narrowly dodging the tiger's first three charges, Wu Song attempts to fight back but breaks his staff on a tree. Unarmed, he summons all his might and manages to pin the tiger face down with his arms. He then rains blows on its head using his bare fists. After punching the tiger unconscious, he picks up his broken staff and whacks the tiger till he is sure it is dead. Exhausted and fearing that another tiger might appear, he then flees the spot after a short rest, and runs into some local hunters, who are amazed to learn of his incredible feat. Impressed, the local magistrate of the nearby Yanggu County (in present-day Liaocheng, Shandong) offers him the job of chief constable. Wu Song accepts it and settles down, and surprisingly runs into his long-separated brother Wu Dalang, who has also moved to Yanggu from Qinghe.
According to some narrations in Yangzhou storytelling, particularly the "Wang school", Wu Song's slaying of the tiger took place "in the middle of the tenth (lunar) month" of the "Xuanhe year [1119]".
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