Song Jiang
Encyclopedia
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 Classical Novels
of Chinese literature
. He ranks 1st of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Protector of Justice".
and moved south towards the Huai River
Valley. They invaded some ten commanderies and were evidently regarded as being more than merely a nuisance by the imperial court in Kaifeng
.
A palace memorial by Hou Meng survives in the historical text History of Song
, which states: "Song Jiang and 36 others cross Qi and Wei (the central belt of the North China Plain
) at will. Government troops number tens of thousands but none dare to oppose him. His abilities must be extraordinary. In the light of Fang La
and his outlaws from Qingxi, why not grant Song Jiang and his men amnesty and allow them to lead a campaign against Fang La to redeem themselves?"
Song Jiang and his bandits were active in the prefectures of Chuzhou and Haizhou (in present-day central Jiangsu
) in early 1121. A description of their activities and subsequent defeat by government forces is recorded in the official biography of Zhang Shuye, the Prefect of Haizhou. It states: "Zhang Shuye asked his scouts where they had gone. They say that the bandits have made their way to the coast and seized control of ten huge vessels. He recruited 1,000 men and planted an ambush in a nearby city. Next, he sent skirmishers to lure the bandits into battle. The best foot soldiers were stationed by the coast. When the armies clashed, the bandits ships were then burnt. When the bandits heard that, they lost their will to fight. The army lying in ambush then attacked and captured many of the bandits. Then Song Jiang surrendered." The historical Song Jiang's eventual fate is unknown after his surrender to the government.
outlaws has a long history. Folk stories from the Liangshan region speak of "36 huge banners and 72 smaller banners of local bandits", possibly a reference to the original 36 companions of Song Jiang. The Water Margin describes him as having a physical appearance that makes him outstanding from the average person. He has eyes like those of a phoenix, a big squarish mouth and dark complexion. He stands at six chi
, relatively short as compared to the other heroes.
, Shandong
, the swarthy-complected Song Jiang has a reputation for being extremely filial and generous in helping those in need. As such, he earned the nicknames "Timely Rain," "Filial and Righteous Dark Third Son," and "Dark Song Jiang". His official nickname in the ranking of the Liangshan heroes, however, is "Hu Bao Yi", which roughly translates to "Protector of Righteousness". Song Jiang is versed in literary arts and usually portrayed as a scholar. He has an interest in martial arts as well.
Song Jiang maintains a close friendship with the constables Zhu Tong
and Lei Heng
who serve in the same county office as him. Once, he meets Chao Gai
of Eastern Creek Village and befriends him. He overhears that Chao Gai and his six companions have robbed the convoy of birthday gifts for the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing
and are hence wanted by the government. On account of his friendship with Chao Gai, he distracts the constable He Tao, who has been assigned to arrest the seven men, and speeds off to alert Chao Gai and his friends of the imminent danger. With Song Jiang's help, Chao Gai and company manage to escape and finally find refuge on Liangshan.
and seeks refuge in Chai Jin
's residence. He travels to Qingfeng Fort after that to join his friend Hua Rong
. Along the way, Song Jiang befriends the bandits from Mount Qingfeng and saves the wife of Liu Gao, the official in charge of the fort, from being raped by Wang Ying
. However, Liu Gao's wife repays kindness with evil and frames Song Jiang for being in league with the bandits. Song Jiang is arrested and thrown into prison. The Qingfeng bandits help Song Jiang escape and kill Liu Gao and his family for revenge. They follow Song Jiang back to Liangshan but Song is still reluctant to join the outlaw band. He returns home after hearing news that his father had died but is surprised to see that his father is still alive and wants him home as he misses his son.
When he returns home, Song Jiang is arrested again and placed on trial for the murder of Yan Poxi. He is sentenced to face-tattooing and exile in Jiangzhou (present-day Jiangxi
). He leads an easy life in the Jiangzhou prison after befriending the wardens Dai Zong and Li Kui. In Jiangzhou, Song Jiang is overwhelmed by grief after feeling that he has been branded as a criminal. He writes a poem inciting rebellion while he is drunk and forgets about it. Huang Wenbing discovers the poem and reports Song Jiang to the governor Cai Jiu. Song Jiang is arrested again and sentenced to death for allegedly plotting a rebellion. The Liangshan outlaws storm the execution ground and succeed in rescuing Song Jiang from death, after which Song finally decides to join Liangshan.
, who fulfills Chao's dying wish that whoever who captures Shi Wengong (Chao's killer) becomes the new chief of Liangshan. Lu Junyi declines to be the leader and Song Jiang takes up the position of chief reluctantly after his fellows insisted.
Song Jiang holds on strongly to his faith in serving his nation with patriotism and maintains a strong sense of morals. His ideals follow him to the eventual establishment of the Liangshan outlaws' manifesto of "delivering justice on Heaven's behalf". They seek to serve the nation as a means of atoning for their past crimes and be hailed as heroes instead of rebels and outlaws. Song Jiang's dream eventually comes true after Emperor Huizong grants the outlaws amnesty.
invaders and other rebel forces in the south, such as Fang La
. Song Jiang fulfills his oath of becoming a loyal subject to the nation but the campaigns have also led to the deaths of at least two-thirds of the 108 Liangshan heroes. The surviving Liangshan chieftains either take up their official positions as rewards for their contributions or return to civilian life.
Song Jiang assumes office as governor of Chuzhou. However, Cai Jing and Gao Qiu are unhappy with Song Jiang's fate so they plot to have Song killed. They send him a jar of wine, spiked with poison, in the name of the emperor. After realizing that he was poisoned, Song Jiang knows that if Li Kui hears news about his death, he will rebel against the imperial court and attempt to avenge him. He does not want Li Kui to tarnish the reputation of Liangshan, so he invites Li to consume the wine without revealing that it was poisoned until after Li drinks it.
In the last chapter of the Water Margin, the emperor meets the dead heroes of Liangshan in his dream, who seek him to redress their grievances. The emperor awakes from his dream and orders an investigation into their deaths. The key witness, the emissary who delivered the wine, died before returning to the palace, and the investigation comes to naught. Eventually, Song Jiang and several other former outlaws are posthumously granted honorific titles, but those who caused his death are not brought to justice.
Song Jiang then read what he wrote, laughing hysterically as he did. He drank several more cups of wine and started behaving wildly, clapping his hands and dancing with joy. He picked up the ink brush and wrote another four lines as follows:
He then added "Work of Song Jiang from Yuncheng" (鄆城宋江作) at the end.
The poem is interpreted as inciting rebellion against the government mainly because of the last two lines. Huang Chao
started a rebellion in the late Tang Dynasty
, causing the dynasty to be weakened and leading to its eventual collapse. The last two lines were thus interpreted by Huang Wenbing as: "If one day Song Jiang ever gets an opportunity to start a rebellion (against the Song Dynasty), he'll do something greater than Huang Chao."
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. The outlaws were active in the present-day provinces of 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...
and 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...
before their eventual surrender to the government. Song Jiang is also featured as a 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 1st of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Protector of Justice".
Biography
Song Jiang is mentioned in historical texts dating from the time of the end of the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song. His place of birth and base of operations is disputed. One account from Pi Ling Ji notes that Song Jiang rallied some fugitives to form a bandit army and they attacked travellers on the roads of Shandong. Another account from an unknown source states that Song Jiang and his bandits originated from the north of the Yellow RiverYellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
and moved south towards the Huai River
Huai River
The Huai River is a major river in China. The Huai River is located about mid-way between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two largest rivers in China, and like them runs from west to east...
Valley. They invaded some ten commanderies and were evidently regarded as being more than merely a nuisance by the imperial court in Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
.
A palace memorial by Hou Meng survives in the historical text History of Song
History of Song
The History of Song or Song Shi is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China that records the history of the Song Dynasty...
, which states: "Song Jiang and 36 others cross Qi and Wei (the central belt of the North China Plain
North China Plain
The North China Plain is based on the deposits of the Yellow River and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. The plain is bordered on the north by the Yanshan Mountains and on the west by the Taihang Mountains edge of the Shanxi plateau. To the south, it merges into the Yangtze Plain...
) at will. Government troops number tens of thousands but none dare to oppose him. His abilities must be extraordinary. In the light of 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:...
and his outlaws from Qingxi, why not grant Song Jiang and his men amnesty and allow them to lead a campaign against Fang La to redeem themselves?"
Song Jiang and his bandits were active in the prefectures of Chuzhou and Haizhou (in present-day central Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
) in early 1121. A description of their activities and subsequent defeat by government forces is recorded in the official biography of Zhang Shuye, the Prefect of Haizhou. It states: "Zhang Shuye asked his scouts where they had gone. They say that the bandits have made their way to the coast and seized control of ten huge vessels. He recruited 1,000 men and planted an ambush in a nearby city. Next, he sent skirmishers to lure the bandits into battle. The best foot soldiers were stationed by the coast. When the armies clashed, the bandits ships were then burnt. When the bandits heard that, they lost their will to fight. The army lying in ambush then attacked and captured many of the bandits. Then Song Jiang surrendered." The historical Song Jiang's eventual fate is unknown after his surrender to the government.
In fiction
Song Jiang's fictional association with the LiangshanMount 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...
outlaws has a long history. Folk stories from the Liangshan region speak of "36 huge banners and 72 smaller banners of local bandits", possibly a reference to the original 36 companions of Song Jiang. The Water Margin describes him as having a physical appearance that makes him outstanding from the average person. He has eyes like those of a phoenix, a big squarish mouth and dark complexion. He stands at six chi
Chi (unit)
The chi is a traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately equal to one foot. Its length is derived from the length of human forearm and has first appeared during the Shang Dynasty approximately 3000 years ago. Since then it has spread to and adopted by other East Asian cultures, such as...
, relatively short as compared to the other heroes.
Background
Originally a magistrate's clerk in Yuncheng CountyYuncheng County
Yuncheng County is a county in southwest of Shandong province, China. It borders Liangshan County and Jiaxiang County to the east, Juancheng to the west and Juye and Heze to the south.-Notes and references:...
, 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...
, the swarthy-complected Song Jiang has a reputation for being extremely filial and generous in helping those in need. As such, he earned the nicknames "Timely Rain," "Filial and Righteous Dark Third Son," and "Dark Song Jiang". His official nickname in the ranking of the Liangshan heroes, however, is "Hu Bao Yi", which roughly translates to "Protector of Righteousness". Song Jiang is versed in literary arts and usually portrayed as a scholar. He has an interest in martial arts as well.
Song Jiang maintains a close friendship with the constables Zhu Tong
Zhu Tong
Zhu Tong is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 12th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Lord of the Beautiful Beard".-Background:...
and Lei Heng
Lei Heng
Lei Heng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 25th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Winged Tiger".-Background:...
who serve in the same county office as him. Once, he meets Chao Gai
Chao Gai
Chao Gai is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He is widely considered as the founding father of the Liangshan outlaws' cause to serve the nation and deliver justice on behalf of Heaven...
of Eastern Creek Village and befriends him. He overhears that Chao Gai and his six companions have robbed the convoy of birthday gifts for the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing
Cai Jing
Cai Jing , style name Yuanchang , was a government official and calligrapher who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty. Cai Jing is also featured as one of the antagonists and nemesis of the 108 Liangshan heroes in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese...
and are hence wanted by the government. On account of his friendship with Chao Gai, he distracts the constable He Tao, who has been assigned to arrest the seven men, and speeds off to alert Chao Gai and his friends of the imminent danger. With Song Jiang's help, Chao Gai and company manage to escape and finally find refuge on Liangshan.
Killing Yan Poxi
Song Jiang marries Yan Poxi at the insistence of her mother after Song pays the funeral expenses of her deceased father. Although Yan Poxi has never loved Song Jiang, the couple get along without problems initially. Over time, however, Yan Poxi comes to despise Song as he has distanced himself from her. She then falls in love with Zhang Wenyuan, Song Jiang's assistant, and the two begin an adulterous affair. Meanwhile, Chao Gai writes Song Jiang a letter and sends him some gold pieces to express his gratitude after Song helps them escape. However, Yan Poxi discovers the letter and learns of Song Jiang's relationship with the outlaws. She threatens to report Song Jiang to the authorities if he does not agree to her three terms: Song must divorce her and allow her to marry Zhang Wenyuan; she is to retain ownership over all the possessions he has given her; the gold pieces from Chao Gai must become hers. Song Jiang agrees to the first two terms but cannot comply with the third because he accepted only one of the gold bars Chao Gai sent him. They have a brawl over the letter and Song Jiang eventually kills Yan Poxi in anger after she threatens to accuse him in court. He escapes from Yuncheng County after Zhu Tong releases him on account of their friendship and becomes a fugitive.Becoming an outlaw
Song Jiang flees to CangzhouCangzhou
Cangzhou is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. Cangzhou's urban center has a population of approximately 514,074 at the 2010 census which correspond to the built up area), while the prefecture-level administrative region in total has a population of 7,134,053...
and seeks refuge in Chai Jin
Chai Jin
Chai Jin is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 10th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Little Whirlwind"...
's residence. He travels to Qingfeng Fort after that to join his friend Hua Rong
Hua Rong
Hua Rong is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 9th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Little Li Guang".-Background:...
. Along the way, Song Jiang befriends the bandits from Mount Qingfeng and saves the wife of Liu Gao, the official in charge of the fort, from being raped by Wang Ying
Wang Ying (Water Margin)
Wang Ying is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 58th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 22nd of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Stumpy Tiger".-Background:...
. However, Liu Gao's wife repays kindness with evil and frames Song Jiang for being in league with the bandits. Song Jiang is arrested and thrown into prison. The Qingfeng bandits help Song Jiang escape and kill Liu Gao and his family for revenge. They follow Song Jiang back to Liangshan but Song is still reluctant to join the outlaw band. He returns home after hearing news that his father had died but is surprised to see that his father is still alive and wants him home as he misses his son.
When he returns home, Song Jiang is arrested again and placed on trial for the murder of Yan Poxi. He is sentenced to face-tattooing and 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 leads an easy life in the Jiangzhou prison after befriending the wardens Dai Zong and Li Kui. In Jiangzhou, Song Jiang is overwhelmed by grief after feeling that he has been branded as a criminal. He writes a poem inciting rebellion while he is drunk and forgets about it. Huang Wenbing discovers the poem and reports Song Jiang to the governor Cai Jiu. Song Jiang is arrested again and sentenced to death for allegedly plotting a rebellion. The Liangshan outlaws storm the execution ground and succeed in rescuing Song Jiang from death, after which Song finally decides to join Liangshan.
As chief of Liangshan
As one of the most important leaders of Liangshan, Song Jiang is often assigned to lead the outlaws in the campaigns against the enemies of Liangshan, such as the Zhu Family Village, Gaotangzhou and the Zeng Family Fortress. After Chao Gai's death, Song Jiang becomes the new chief of Liangshan although Lu JunyiLu Junyi
Lu Junyi is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 2nd of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Jade Unicorn"...
, who fulfills Chao's dying wish that whoever who captures Shi Wengong (Chao's killer) becomes the new chief of Liangshan. Lu Junyi declines to be the leader and Song Jiang takes up the position of chief reluctantly after his fellows insisted.
Song Jiang holds on strongly to his faith in serving his nation with patriotism and maintains a strong sense of morals. His ideals follow him to the eventual establishment of the Liangshan outlaws' manifesto of "delivering justice on Heaven's behalf". They seek to serve the nation as a means of atoning for their past crimes and be hailed as heroes instead of rebels and outlaws. Song Jiang's dream eventually comes true after Emperor Huizong grants the outlaws amnesty.
Death
Song Jiang is persistent in his belief that the outlaws must obtain amnesty from the government and eventually achieves his goal after defeating imperial forces in various battles. The emperor sends Song Jiang and the outlaws on campaigns to attack the enemies of the nation, such as 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 other rebel forces in the south, such as 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:...
. Song Jiang fulfills his oath of becoming a loyal subject to the nation but the campaigns have also led to the deaths of at least two-thirds of the 108 Liangshan heroes. The surviving Liangshan chieftains either take up their official positions as rewards for their contributions or return to civilian life.
Song Jiang assumes office as governor of Chuzhou. However, Cai Jing and Gao Qiu are unhappy with Song Jiang's fate so they plot to have Song killed. They send him a jar of wine, spiked with poison, in the name of the emperor. After realizing that he was poisoned, Song Jiang knows that if Li Kui hears news about his death, he will rebel against the imperial court and attempt to avenge him. He does not want Li Kui to tarnish the reputation of Liangshan, so he invites Li to consume the wine without revealing that it was poisoned until after Li drinks it.
In the last chapter of the Water Margin, the emperor meets the dead heroes of Liangshan in his dream, who seek him to redress their grievances. The emperor awakes from his dream and orders an investigation into their deaths. The key witness, the emissary who delivered the wine, died before returning to the palace, and the investigation comes to naught. Eventually, Song Jiang and several other former outlaws are posthumously granted honorific titles, but those who caused his death are not brought to justice.
Song Jiang's poem
This is the poem hinting rebellion written by Song Jiang when he was drunk at Xunyang Tower in Jiangzhou.Song Jiang then read what he wrote, laughing hysterically as he did. He drank several more cups of wine and started behaving wildly, clapping his hands and dancing with joy. He picked up the ink brush and wrote another four lines as follows:
He then added "Work of Song Jiang from Yuncheng" (鄆城宋江作) at the end.
The poem is interpreted as inciting rebellion against the government mainly because of the last two lines. Huang Chao
Huang Chao
Huang Chao was the leader of the Huang Chao Rebellion , known in mainland China as the Huang Chao Revolution in China that seriously weakened the once mighty Tang Dynasty of China...
started a rebellion in the late Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, causing the dynasty to be weakened and leading to its eventual collapse. The last two lines were thus interpreted by Huang Wenbing as: "If one day Song Jiang ever gets an opportunity to start a rebellion (against the Song Dynasty), he'll do something greater than Huang Chao."
See also
- List of Water Margin minor characters#Song Jiang's story for a list of supporting minor characters from Song Jiang's story.