Xue Yong
Encyclopedia
Xue Yong is a fictional character in the Water Margin
, one of the Four Great Classical Novels
of Chinese literature
. He ranks 84th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 48th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Sick Tiger".
, Henan
. He excels in martial arts, in particular, staff
and spear
movements. He earns a living as a medicine peddler by performing martial arts and physical feats on the streets to promote the drugs he sells. He is nicknamed "Sick Tiger".
to sell medicine and he offends the Mu brothers (Mu Hong
and Mu Chun
), the most influential men in town, by failing to acknowledge their presence. The Mu brothers order the townsfolk watching Xue Yong's performance not to pay him or buy his drugs. At the same time, Song Jiang
passes by Jieyang on his way to exile in Jiangzhou (present-day Jiangxi
). He was watching the performance and he pays Xue Yong five silver taels, completely ignoring the Mu brothers' words. Mu Chun is furious and he wants to hit Song Jiang but Xue Yong intervenes and defeats Mu in a fight.
Xue Yong befriends Song Jiang and intends to join him on the trip to Jiangzhou. He returns to the inn and packs his belongings. Unexpectedly, Mu Chun arrives with his brother and a group of lackeys. They capture Xue Yong and beat him up severely before locking him up. They go on to pursue Song Jiang.
Song Jiang boards the pirate Zhang Heng
's boat by mistake and he is almost robbed and killed by Zhang. Luckily, Li Jun arrives in the nick of time and he saves Song Jiang. Li Jun introduces Song Jiang to Zhang Heng and the Mu brothers. They are shocked to recognise him as the famous philanthropist and apologise to him. They become friends after that and Xue Yong is released as well.
storm the execution ground and rescue him and fight their way out of Jiangzhou. They are besieged by pursuing soldiers at White Dragon Temple on the riverbank. Just then, Li Jun, Xue Yong and others arrive on boats and they ferry the outlaws back to Liangshan Marsh safely. Xue Yong joins the Liangshan band. Song Jiang seeks vengeance on Huang Wenbing, the man who framed him for treason earlier. Xue Yong's student, Hou Jian
, works as a tailor in Huang Wenbing's house so Xue enlists Hou's help. Hou Jian works together with the outlaws and they kill Huang Wenbing and his family for revenge.
invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La
campaign, Xue Yong is assigned to attack the enemy territory of Yuling Pass. He is killed by dozens of enemy arrows in the battle along with another four heroes.
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 84th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 48th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Sick Tiger".
Background
Xue Yong is from LuoyangLuoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
. He excels in martial arts, in particular, staff
Gun (staff)
The Chinese word gun refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang , dao , and the jian , called in this group "The Grandfather of all Weapons".-Variants:There are various kinds of gun, and they include the...
and spear
Qiang (spear)
Qiang is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield...
movements. He earns a living as a medicine peddler by performing martial arts and physical feats on the streets to promote the drugs he sells. He is nicknamed "Sick Tiger".
Meeting Song Jiang
Xue Yong travels to JieyangJieyang
Jieyang is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the east, Chaozhou to the northeast, Meizhou to the north, Shanwei to the west, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south.-Administration:...
to sell medicine and he offends the Mu brothers (Mu Hong
Mu Hong
Mu Hong is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 24th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Unrestrained".-Background:...
and Mu Chun
Mu Chun
Mu Chun is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 80th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 44th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Little Restrained".-Background:...
), the most influential men in town, by failing to acknowledge their presence. The Mu brothers order the townsfolk watching Xue Yong's performance not to pay him or buy his drugs. At the same time, 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...
passes by Jieyang on his way to exile in 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...
). He was watching the performance and he pays Xue Yong five silver taels, completely ignoring the Mu brothers' words. Mu Chun is furious and he wants to hit Song Jiang but Xue Yong intervenes and defeats Mu in a fight.
Xue Yong befriends Song Jiang and intends to join him on the trip to Jiangzhou. He returns to the inn and packs his belongings. Unexpectedly, Mu Chun arrives with his brother and a group of lackeys. They capture Xue Yong and beat him up severely before locking him up. They go on to pursue Song Jiang.
Song Jiang boards the pirate Zhang Heng
Zhang Heng (Water Margin)
Zhang Heng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 28th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Boatman".-Background:...
's boat by mistake and he is almost robbed and killed by Zhang. Luckily, Li Jun arrives in the nick of time and he saves Song Jiang. Li Jun introduces Song Jiang to Zhang Heng and the Mu brothers. They are shocked to recognise him as the famous philanthropist and apologise to him. They become friends after that and Xue Yong is released as well.
Joining Liangshan
Song Jiang runs into trouble later in Jiangzhou after writing a poem advocating rebellion against the government when he was drunk. He is framed for treason and sentenced to death. The outlaws from Liangshan MarshMount 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...
storm the execution ground and rescue him and fight their way out of Jiangzhou. They are besieged by pursuing soldiers at White Dragon Temple on the riverbank. Just then, Li Jun, Xue Yong and others arrive on boats and they ferry the outlaws back to Liangshan Marsh safely. Xue Yong joins the Liangshan band. Song Jiang seeks vengeance on Huang Wenbing, the man who framed him for treason earlier. Xue Yong's student, Hou Jian
Hou Jian
Hou Jian is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 71st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 35th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Long Armed Ape".-Background:...
, works as a tailor in Huang Wenbing's house so Xue enlists Hou's help. Hou Jian works together with the outlaws and they kill Huang Wenbing and his family for revenge.
Campaigns and death
Xue Yong becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry after the Grand Assembly. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the LiaoLiao 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, Xue Yong is assigned to attack the enemy territory of Yuling Pass. He is killed by dozens of enemy arrows in the battle along with another four heroes.