Ou Peng 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 48th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 12th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Golden Wings Brushing Against the Clouds".

Background

The Water Margin describes Ou Peng as a tall and muscular man who walks at a fast pace. He is highly skilled in martial arts and renowned for his ability to catch projectiles, such as arrows, in mid flight. He earns himself the nickname "Golden Wings Brushing Against the Clouds".

Ou Peng is from Huangzhou

Huangzhou District

Huangzhou District is a district of Hubei, China. It is under the administration of Huanggang city....

, Hubei

Hubei

' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...

. He works as a military officer in the county office. Once, he offends an official and becomes afraid of being punished. He resigns and leaves. He becomes a bandit leader on Mount Yellow Gate together with Jiang Jing

Jiang Jing

Jiang Jing is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 53rd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 17th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Divine Mathematician".-Background:...

, Ma Lin and Tao Zongwang.

Joining Liangshan

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...

 rescue 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...

 and Dai Zong from Jiangzhou (present-day Jiangxi

Jiangxi

' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

) and make their journey back to Liangshan. They pass by Mount Yellow Gate along the way. The four bandit leaders stop Song Jiang's party and request to join them. Song Jiang agrees and they return to Liangshan together.

After Huyan Zhuo surrenders and joins Liangshan, Ou Peng and nine others follow Huyan Zhuo to Qingzhou (in present-day Shandong

Shandong

' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

). They trick Governor Murong Yanda into opening the city gates and the outlaws swarm in and capture the city.

Campaigns and death

Ou Peng becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan calvary 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, Ou Peng is assigned to attack the enemy city of Shezhou (present-day She County, Anhui). He fights with the enemy general Pang Wanchun

Pang Wanchun

Pang Wanchun is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Pang Wanchun is one of the military generals serving under the rebel leader, Fang La, one of the antagonists and enemy of the 108 Liangshan outlaws...

. Pang Wanchun feigns defeat and retreats, luring Ou Peng to follow him. Ou Peng is desperate to gain the top credit for victory and he pursues Pang Wanchun, but Pang turns around suddenly and fires an arrow at him. Ou Peng catches the arrow in mid flight. Pang Wanchun then releases a string of arrows consecutively. Ou Peng is unable to catch all of them in time and eventually he is shot down and killed.