Zou Run 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 91st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 55th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Single-horned Dragon".

Background

The Water Margin describes Zou Run as a weird looking man with a big stature. He has a large tumor at the back of his head, which earns him the nickname "Single-horned Dragon". He was involved in a quarrel with someone before and rammed his head against a tree trunk in anger, bending it and stunning everyone with his extraordinary ability.

Zou Run is the nephew of Zou Yuan and they are from Laizhou

Laizhou

Laizhou is a county-level city in Yantai Prefecture, Shandong Province, China.As of 2008, Laizhou had a total population of 902,000, out of which 188,000 are urban residents.-External links:* in English...

, Yantai

Yantai

Yantai is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.The largest fishing...

, 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...

. His age is close to his uncle's. He has a reputation for being righteous and honest as well as for being a powerful pugilist. Zou Run and his uncle become the leaders of a group of bandits on Mount Dengyun and they rob the rich to help the poor. They are also close friends of Sun Xin, Yang Lin, Deng Fei

Deng Fei

Deng Fei is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 49th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 13th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Fiery Eyed suan-ni".-Background:...

 and Shi Yong

Shi Yong

Shi Yong is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 99th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 63rd of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Stone General".-Background:...

. The Zous aid Sun Li and his friends in executing a raid on the prison to rescue the Xie brothers, who have been wrongly imprisoned.

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...

 are locked in a stalemate in a battle with the Zhu Family Village. Sun Li and his team have just joined Liangshan after the jailbreak and they volunteer to conduct an espionage mission in the village. Zou Run and his uncle follow Sun Li's team on the mission and contribute greatly to the capture of the village.

Zou Run 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. He is one of the few lucky survivors after the campaigns but his uncle perished in 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. The emperor grants him the official post of "Martial Gentleman of Grace" (武奕郎) in recognition of his contributions to the nation during the campaigns. Zou Run declines the offer and returns home.