Yue He
| Yue He | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Iron Whistle" 鐵叫子 |
| Rank | 77th, Music Star (地樂星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Infantry scouting leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Jailer |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Maozhou (present-day Changyi, Weifang, Shandong) |
| First appearance | Chapter 49 |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 乐和 |
| Traditional Chinese | 樂和 |
| Pinyin | Yuè Hé |
| Wade–Giles | Yüeh He |
Yue He is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 77th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 41st of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Iron Whistle".
Background
The novel describes Yue He as a handsome-looking gentleman from Maozhou (茅州; present-day Changyi, Weifang, Shandong). He is not only a talented musician capable of playing many different instruments and singing very well, but also a highly intelligent individual who has the innate ability to foresee the outcomes of events. He learnt martial arts from Sun Li, a distant relative of his.
Becoming an outlaw
Yue He works as a jailer in Dengzhou (登州; in present-day eastern Shandong). He is placed in charge of watching over the Xie brothers (Xie Zhen and Xie Bao) after they are wrongfully imprisoned and sentenced to death. He sympathises with the Xie brothers and informs their cousin, Gu Dasao, and her husband, Sun Xin (Sun Li's younger brother) about their plight. Gu Dasao contacts Sun Li, Zou Run and Zou Yuan to join her and her husband in staging a raid on the prison to free the Xie brothers. Yue He agrees to help them by working as a spy in the prison. After successfully saving the Xie brothers, the whole group travels to Liangshan Marsh together to join the outlaw band there.
Campaigns
Yue He becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry and a scout leader after the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
Gao Qiu, a corrupt Grand Marshal, leads imperial forces to attack the outlaws and instead becomes the prisoners of the outlaws. The outlaws release him after he agrees to help them convey to Emperor Huizong their desire to be granted amnesty. Yue He and Xiao Rang accompany him as Liangshan's representatives to meet the emperor. However, Gao Qiu breaks his promise after returning to the capital and imprisons Yue He and Xiao Rang in his residence. Yan Qing and Dai Zong later break into Gao Qiu's house and save them.
The outlaws are granted amnesty eventually with the help of Li Shishi and other officials. Emperor Huizong allows them to go on military campaigns against the Liao invaders and other rebel forces as a form of service to the Song Empire. Yue He follows the heroes on these campaigns and makes great contributions.
On the eve of the final campaign against the rebel leader Fang La, Yue He is summoned back to the capital and does not participate in the campaign. A prince consort has heard of Yue He's singing talent and wants him to be his minstrel. Yue He leads a happy life for the rest of his days in the prince consort's residence.
References
- (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 155. 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. KOEI, 1989.