Jiang Jing
Encyclopedia
Jiang Jing 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 53rd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 17th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Divine Mathematician".

Background

Jiang Jing is from Tanzhou, Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...

. He took the imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...

 in his early days but was not a successful candidate. He shifted his focus from academics and literature to military studies instead. He achieves great success after years of efforts and becomes an expert in martial arts, mathematics and military strategy. He earns himself the nickname "Divine Mathematician". Subsequently, he joins the bandits on Mount Yellow Gate and becomes one of their leaders together with Ou Peng
Ou Peng
Ou Peng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 48th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 12th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Golden Wings Brushing Against the Clouds"....

, Tao Zongwang and Ma Lin.

Joining Liangshan

After 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...

 storm the execution ground 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...

) and 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, they pass by Mount Yellow Gate on the return journey. The four bandit leaders stop Song Jiang's party and request to join Liangshan and Song agrees.

Jiang Jing becomes an accountant in Liangshan after the Grand Assembly. He is in charge of keeping record of exports and imports of provisions. 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 and returns to the capital. He accepts an official post from the emperor in recognition of his contributions. However, after holding office for some time, he feels homesick later and resigns. He returns to Tanzhou and leads a peaceful life as a commoner for the rest of his days.
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