Li Gun 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 65th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 29th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Sky Soaring Great Sage".

Background

Li Gun wears a steel helmet and carries a shield with a beast's head engraved on it. He wields an sword and carries 24 javelins for hurling at enemies. He excels in martial arts and can hit a target a hundred steps away accurately with his javelins. He is nicknamed "Sky Soaring Great Sage".

Joining Liangshan

Li Gun is from Pei County

Pei County

Pei County is a county of Jiangsu, China. It is under the administration of Xuzhou city. It has an area of 1,576 square kilometers and a population of 1,217,400.-External links:**...

, Xuzhou

Xuzhou

Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...

. He is a close friend of Fan Rui and Xiang Chong. The three of them form an army of 3,000 bandits under their command on the nearby Mount Mangdang. They proclaim that they will conquer 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...

 one day, provoking the outlaws from Liangshan to attack them. Shi Jin

Shi Jin

Shi Jin is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 23rd of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Nine Tattooed Dragons".-Background:...

 volunteers to lead the vanguard army to attack Mount Mangdang but is defeated by Li Gun and Xiang Chong in the first battle.

The next day, Gongsun Sheng

Gongsun Sheng

Gongsun Sheng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 4th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Dragon in the Clouds".-Background:...

 deploys the Liangshan troops in the Eight Trigrams Formation to counter Fan Rui. Fan Rui uses magic to darken the sky and conjure a sandstorm to throw the Liangshan troops into confusion. Meanwhile, Xiang Chong and Li Gun lead their men to attack and break the enemy formation. Gongsun Sheng defeats Fan Rui in a battle of magic and both Xiang Chong and Li Gun are lost in the formation and captured. 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 succeed in persuading them to join the Liangshan cause of "delivering justice on Heaven's behalf". Xiang Chong and Li Gun are touched and they return to Mount Mangdang and persuade Fan Rui to join Liangshan as well.

Campaigns and death

Li Gun becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry 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, Li Gun is assigned to attack the enemy city of Muzhou. He pursues the enemy general Zheng Biao

Zheng Biao

Zheng Biao, also known as "Demon Lord Zheng" , is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Zheng Biao is a servant of the rebel leader, Fang La, one of the antagonists and enemy of the 108 Liangshan outlaws. He is also an apprentice of...

in an attempt to avenge Xiang Chong but falls into a stream accidentally and dies under dozens of enemy arrows.