Lü Fang
| Lü Fang | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Little Marquis of Wen" 小溫侯 |
| Rank | 54th, Aid Star (地佐星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Central Camp Defendant General of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Bandit leader |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Tanzhou (around present-day Changsha, Hunan) |
| First appearance | Chapter 35 |
| Weapon | "Sky Piercer" (方天畫戟) |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 吕方 |
| Traditional Chinese | 呂方 |
| Pinyin | Lǚ Fāng |
| Wade–Giles | Lü Fang |
Lü Fang is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 54th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 18th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Little Marquis of Wen".
Background
Lü Fang is from Tanzhou (潭州; around present-day Changsha, Hunan). He dons a suit of fiery red armour over a flowery robe, along with a silk belt and a headdress. He rides on a red steed similar to the Red Hare, and wields a halberd called "Sky Piercer" (方天畫戟). He is nicknamed "Little Marquis of Wen" after Lü Bu (who held the title "Marquis of Wen") because he not only admires the mighty warrior but also resembles him in appearance.
Initially a medicine trader, Lü Fang decides to become an outlaw after he made losses from trading in Shandong and had insufficient money to return home. He settles down at Mount Duiying (對影山) and leads a group of bandits. He becomes famous in the region after defeating many powerful warriors. When Guo Sheng hears of Lü Fang's reputation, he goes to Mount Duiying to challenge Lü to a one-on-one duel. Neither of them is able to overcome his opponent after fighting for over 10 days.
Joining Liangshan
Song Jiang, Hua Rong and other outlaws are on their way back to Liangshan Marsh after the battle at Qingfeng Fort (清風寨; in present-day Qingzhou, Weifang, Shandong) when they pass by Mount Duiying and see Lü Fang and Guo Sheng engaging in their duel. At that time, the blades of Lü Fang and Guo Sheng's jis are caught up and entangled in their tassels, and the two warriors are struggling to disentangle their weapons. Hua Rong sees that and fires an arrow, which directly hits the entangled point and separates the weapons. The crowd cheers. Lü Fang and Guo Sheng stop fighting and greet Song Jiang, who successfully persuades them to join the outlaw band at Liangshan.
Campaigns and death
Lü Fang becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry and one of the Central Camp Defendant Generals after the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He and Guo Sheng serve as Song Jiang's personal bodyguards during the battles against Liangshan's enemies.
Lü Fang follows the heroes on the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by Emperor Huizong. During the campaign against the rebel leader Fang La, Lü Fang is assigned to attack the enemy at Black Dragon Ridge (烏龍嶺; northeast of present-day Meicheng Town, Jiande, Hangzhou, Zhejiang), where he encounters Fang La's general Bai Qin and fights with him. Neither of them is able to defeat his opponent after several rounds of fighting, so they discard their weapons and start fighting with their bare hands. Both of them eventually fall off a cliff to their deaths.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 109. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.
- Buck, Pearl. All Men are Brothers. Moyer Bell Ltd, 2006. ISBN 9781559213035.
- Zhang, Lin Ching. Biographies of Characters in Water Margin. Writers Publishing House, 2009. ISBN 978-7506344784.
- Keffer, David. Outlaws of the Marsh.
- Miyamotois, Yoko. Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits.
- (Japanese) Ichisada, Miyazaki. Suikoden: Kyoko no naka no Shijitsu. Chuo Koronsha, 1993. ISBN 978-4122020559.
- Shibusawa, Kou. Bandit Kings of Ancient China, page 91. KOEI, 1989.