Xu Qing, nicknamed "Mountain Rat" or "Mountain-Boring Rat" (穿山鼠), because he can quickly traverse mountain caves, is a fictional
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
knight-errant
A knight-errant (or knight errant) is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. The adjective ''errant'' (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric ...
from the 19th-century Chinese novels ''
The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants
''The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants'' (忠烈俠義傳), also known by its 1883 reprint title ''The Three Heroes and Five Gallants'' (三俠五義), is an 1879 Chinese novel based on storyteller Shi Yukun's oral performances. The ...
'' and ''
The Five Younger Gallants
''The Five Younger Gallants'' (小五義) is an 1890 Chinese novel and the best known sequel to the hugely popular 1879 novel ''The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants'' (republished as ''The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants'' in 1889). It is ...
''. Xu Qing is the third sworn brother of the "Five Rats", whose other members are
Lu Fang,
Han Zhang
Han Zhang is a fictional Song dynasty knight-errant from the 19th-century Chinese novels ''The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants'' and ''The Five Younger Gallants''. Nicknamed "Earth Rat" or "Earth-Piercing Rat" () for his expertise in land mines ...
,
Jiang Ping
Jiang Ping (; born 1930) is a Chinese legal scholar. He was the President of China University of Political Science and Law, and a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Biography
Jiang Ping was born in Ningbo, Zhej ...
and
Bai Yutang.
Originally a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, Xu Qing is a buffoonish character in the novel — crude, simple-minded, gluttonous and often sleepyheaded. However, he is also righteous, brave and very loyal to his brothers. Xu Qing is also muscular and a relatively good fighter. He eventually becomes a
Rank 6 Commandant (校尉) under
Judge Bao.
The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants characters
Fictional characters from Shanxi
Literary characters introduced in 1879
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