Guo Sheng is a fictional character in ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (), also called ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' or ''All Men Are Brothers'', is a Chinese novel from the Ming dynasty that is one of the preeminent Classic Chinese Novels. Attributed to Shi Nai'an, ''Water Margin'' was one of the e ...

'', one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known works of literary fiction across pre-modern Chinese literature. The group usually includes the following works: Ming dynasty novels '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', '' Water Margin'', ''Journey to t ...

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

. Nicknamed "Comparable to Rengui", he ranks 55th among the

108 Stars of Destiny The 108 Heroes are the main characters of the Ming dynasty classic Chinese novel the ''Water Margin'', which was written in the 14th century and usually attributed to Shi Nai'an. The heroes are divided into the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly ...

and 19th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Background

Guo Sheng, a native of Jialing (嘉陵; present-day Jialing District,

Nanchong Nanchong ( zh, c=南充 , p=Nánchōng , w=Nan-ch'ung; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 liv ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

), often wears a suit of silvery white armour and a silver belt over a white robe. He also rides a white horse and his weapon is a '' ji'' similar to the "Sky Piercer" (方天畫戟) used by

Lü Bu Lü Bu (; died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed a ...

of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

era. He has learnt his martial arts from a military officer in his hometown. He is nicknamed "Comparable to Rengui" as

Xue Rengui Rengui (; 614 – 24 March 683), formal name Xue Li (薛礼) but went by the courtesy name of Rengui, was a Chinese military general during the early Tang dynasty. He is one of the most well-known military generals of his time due to his humble ...

, a famous

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

general, is known to be an expert user of ''ji.'' Initially a trader, Guo Sheng becomes a bandit leader after he lost all his goods in a river during a storm and did not have enough money to travel home.

Joining Liangshan

Guo Sheng hears about

Lü Fang Lü Fang is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Little Marquis of Wen", he ranks 54th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 18th among the 72 Earthly Fiends. Backgr ...

being an outstanding user of ''ji'' and wants to find out who is more worthy of the weapon. He travels to Mount Duiying (對影山) or Mount Mirror Image, which consists of two hills facing one another, one of which is occupied by Lü and his bandit gang. Guo settles on the other hill with his own men and challenges Lü to a one-on-one duel on horseback. As neither could win, the engagement goes on and off for days.

Song Jiang Song Jiang was a Chinese historical figure who led an armed rebellion against the ruling Song dynasty, Song Dynasty in the early 12th century. His band marauded over a region straddling the present-day Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan. Th ...

Hua Rong Hua Rong is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Little Li Guang", he ranks ninth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Backgro ...

and other outlaws of Mount Qingfeng pass by Mount Duiying as they travel to join

Liangshan Marsh Mount Liang is a mountain in Liangshan County, Shandong, China, which rises to 197.9 metres above sea level. It is well known as the stronghold of the 108 Heroes in the classic Chinese novel '' Water Margin''. The modern Liangshan County i ...

after causing mayhem at

Qingzhou Qingzhou () Wade–Giles: Tsing-chou, sometimes written as Ching-chow-fu, formerly Yidu County (Yitu) (), is a county-level city, which is located in the west of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, in the central part of Shandong Province, Chin ...

including routing a government army. They come upon the duel between Guo Sheng and Lü Fang. It happens that the tassels of the two '' ji'' get tangled together. The two fighters struggle but could not free their weapons. Seeing that, Hua Rong fires an arrow that hits the tangled point and separates the weapons. Everyone present cheers. Guo and Lü stops their fight and comes to greet Hua and his group. Upon learning that the group is going to Liangshan, both wanted in and are accepted.

Campaigns and death

After the

came together in what is called the Grand Assembly, Guo Sheng, together with Lü Fang, is appointed as the guardian of Liangshan's central camp. That means they are personal bodyguards of Song Jiang. Guo Sheng participates in the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

territory following amnesty by Emperor Huizong for Liangshan. In the battle at Black Dragon Ridge (烏龍嶺; northeast of present-day Meicheng Town,

Jiande Jiande is a county-level city of Zhejiang Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou. History During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Jiande was the capital of Yanzhou Prefecture. On account of thi ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

) in the campaign against

Fang La Fang La (; died 1121) was a Chinese rebel leader who led an uprising against the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and nemeses of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He is sometim ...

, Guo Sheng is crushed to death by boulders rolled down by enemy soldiers as he charges up the slope.

Other mentions

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of '' Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most pop ...

's ''

wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...

'' novel ''

The Legend of the Condor Heroes ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' () is a wuxia novel by Chinese writer Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the first part of the ''Condor Trilogy'' and is followed by ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber''. I ...

'', Guo Sheng is the protagonist Guo Jing's ancestor.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guo, Sheng 72 Earthly Fiends Fictional characters from Sichuan