Hao Siwen is a fictional character in the Water Margin

Water Margin

Water Margin , also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty,...

, one of the Four Great Classical Novels

Four Great Classical Novels

The Four Great Classical Novels, or the Four Major Classical Novels of Chinese literature, are the four novels commonly regarded by scholars to be the greatest and most influential of pre-modern Chinese fiction. Dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties, they are well known to most Chinese readers...

 of Chinese literature

Chinese literature

Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...

. He ranks 41st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 5th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Wood Dog of Well

Well (Chinese constellation)

The Well mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the southern mansions of the Vermilion Bird.-Asterisms:...

".

Background

Hao Siwen's mother dreamt that the celestial "Wood Dog of Well" is going to be reincarnated into the human world. She became pregnant shortly after that and gave birth to Hao Siwen. Hao Siwen is nicknamed after the celestial creature because he is believed to be its human incarnation. He excels in martial arts and serves the imperial court later as a general. He is also the sworn brother of Guan Sheng

Guan Sheng

Guan Sheng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 5th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Great Blade".-Background:...

.

Becoming an outlaw

When the outlaws from Liangshan Marsh

Mount Liang

Mount Liang is a mountain in Liangshan County, Shandong province, China which rises to 197.9 m above sea level. It is well known as the stronghold of the 108 legendary Song Dynasty heroes of the classic Chinese novel Water Margin...

 besiege Daming Prefecture

Daming County

Daming County is a county of Hebei, China. It is under the administration of Handan city.-Administrative Divisions:Daming County has 6 towns and 14 townships.Towns:...

 (in present-day Handan

Handan

Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...

) to rescue Lu Junyi

Lu Junyi

Lu Junyi is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 2nd of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Jade Unicorn"...

, Grand Secretary Liang Shijie calls for reinforcements from the imperial court. Xuan Zan

Xuan Zan

Xuan Zan is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 40th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 4th of the 72 Earthly Fiends...

 recommends Guan Sheng to the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing

Cai Jing

Cai Jing , style name Yuanchang , was a government official and calligrapher who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty. Cai Jing is also featured as one of the antagonists and nemesis of the 108 Liangshan heroes in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese...

. Guan Sheng is appointed as commander of the imperial army with Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen serving as his deputies and leaders of the vanguard army.

Guan Sheng gains the advantage in the battle against the outlaws initially, but he is lured into a trap by Huyan Zhuo and captured. Xuan Zan fights with Liangshan's Qin Ming

Qin Ming

Qin Ming is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 7th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Fiery Thunderbolt".-Background:...

 and is defeated and captured as well. Hao Siwen fights with Lin Chong

Lin Chong

Lin Chong is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 6th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Panther Head"...

 and Hua Rong

Hua Rong

Hua Rong is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 9th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Little Li Guang".-Background:...

 joins in. Hao Siwen is unable to take on two opponents at the same time and he retreats. He is captured by Hu Sanniang later. Song Jiang

Song Jiang

Song Jiang was the leader of a group of outlaws who lived during the Song Dynasty. The outlaws were active in the present-day provinces of Shandong and Henan before their eventual surrender to the government. Song Jiang is also featured as a character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great...

 treats the captives with respect and succeeds in persuading them to join the Liangshan cause of "delivering justice on Heaven's behalf".

Cai Jing assigns Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo to lead the imperial army after Guan Sheng's defection. Guan Sheng volunteers to lead the attack on the imperial forces with Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen as his deputies. Shan Tinggui lures Hao Siwen into the enemy formation, where he is captured. Hao Siwen is escorted as a prisoner-of-war back to Daming Prefecture. Along the way, the bandits from Mount Deadwood led by Bao Xu

Bao Xu

Bao Xu is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 60th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 24th of the 72 Earthly Fiends...

 and Li Kui attack the convoy and rescue Hao Siwen and Xuan Zan.

Campaigns and death

Hao Siwen becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry after the Grand Assembly. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao

Liao Dynasty

The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125...

 invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La

Fang La

Fang La was a rebel leader who lived during the Song Dynasty. He is also featured as one of the antagonists and nemesis of the 108 Liangshan heroes in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.-Biography:...

 campaign, Hao Siwen and Xu Ning

Xu Ning

Xu Ning is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 18th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Gold Lancer".-Background:...

 are part of the scouting team assigned to watch the northern gate of Hangzhou

Hangzhou

Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...

. The gate unexpected opens and a large enemy force rushes out. Hao Siwen is captured and Xu Ning attempts to save him but is hit by a poisoned arrow. Hao Siwen meets with a gruesome death at the hands of the enemy general Fang Tianding

Fang Tianding

Fang Tianding is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Fang Tianding is a son of the rebel leader, Fang La, one of the antagonists and enemy of the 108 Liangshan outlaws.-Biography:...

, who beheads and dismembers him.