The Heroes of the Water Margin
Membership: various - there are 108 of them in total. Includes Lin Chung, Hu San-niang, Sung Chiang, Lu Ta , Shih Chin
Purpose: To resist the evil of Kao Chui
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Kao Chui and his men
Base of Operations: Liang Shan Po Water Margins, China
First Appearance: The Water Margin
History: "The ancient sages said "do not despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a dragon?"
So may one just man become an army.
Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China, at the time of the Sung dynasty, there was a cruel and corrupt government.
These men riding are outlaws - heroes - who have been driven to live in the Water Margins of Liang Shan Po, far to the south of the capital city. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head, in a world very different from our own.
The story starts in legend even then, for our heroes, it was said, were perhaps the souls reborn of other, earlier knights."
Kao Chui was a corrupt politician who rose from being a minor regional bully until he was the Prime Minister, setting his sights on the Imperial Throne itself. However Kao Chui's rise to power also sowed the seeds for his own downfall. Over the years he force "nine dozen heroes" to become outlaws, each in a different way. With no other choice, they came together to live in the Water Margins of Liang Shan Po, becoming a fierce resistance movement which eventually managed to overthrow their oppressor.
Some of the more notable heroes in the group include:
Lin Chung, the most honourable of the band, who repeatedly refused the leadership of Lianf Shan Po, but nonetheless formed the group's moral centre.
Sung Chiang, sometimes known as the Good Judge
Hu San-niang, the main female member of the band. She fights with two matched blades.
Comments: The Water Margin is well-known as one of the four greatest Chinese novels in history, telling the story of 108 heroes (105 men, 3 women) who rise up to battle a corrupt official at the end of the North Song time in China's history.
Clarifications: None
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