Ou Peng
| Ou Peng | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Golden Wings Brushing Against the Clouds" 摩雲金翅 |
| Rank | 48th, Wide Star (地闊星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Tiger Cub Scouting General of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Bandit leader from Mount Yellow Gate |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Huangzhou (in present-day Huanggang, Hubei) |
| First appearance | Chapter 41 |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 欧鹏 |
| Traditional Chinese | 歐鵬 |
| Pinyin | Ōu Péng |
| Wade–Giles | Ou P'eng |
Ou Peng is a fictional character in 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".
Background
The novel describes Ou Peng as a tall and muscular man who walks at a fast pace. He is highly skilled in martial arts and renowned for his ability to catch projectiles, such as arrows, in mid-flight. He earns himself the nickname "Golden Wings Brushing Against the Clouds".
Ou Peng is from Huangzhou (黃州; in present-day Huanggang, Hubei) and used to be a soldier until he is forced to abandon his career and become an outlaw due to political corruption. He leads a bandit gang based on Mount Yellow Gate (黃門山) together with Jiang Jing, Ma Lin and Tao Zongwang.
Joining Liangshan
After saving Song Jiang and Dai Zong in Jiangzhou (江州; east of present-day Chongzuo, Guangxi), the outlaws from Liangshan Marsh are making their way back to base when they passed by Mount Yellow Gate along the way. The four bandit chiefs stop the Liangshan outlaws and request to join them. Song Jiang agrees and they return to Liangshan together.
After Huyan Zhuo surrenders and joins the Liangshan band, Ou Peng and nine others follow Huyan Zhuo to Qingzhou (青州; in present-day Shandong) to trick Murong Yanda, Qingzhou's governor, into opening the city gates. Murong Yanda falls for the trick and opens the gates, after which the outlaws swarm in, occupy the city and kill the corrupt governor.
Campaigns and death
Ou Peng becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry after the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He follows the heroes on their 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, Ou Peng is assigned to attack Shezhou (歙州; present-day She County, Huangshan City, Anhui), where he encounters the enemy general Pang Wanchun and fights with him. Pang feigns defeat and retreats to lure Ou to follow him. Ou pursues Pang because he is desperate to gain the top credit for victory. While retreating, Pang suddenly turns around and fires an arrow at Ou, who manages to catch it in mid-flight. Pang then fires several arrows in succession at Ou, who is unable to catch all the arrows in time and ends up being shot down and killed.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 97. 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 98. KOEI, 1989.