Guo Sheng is a fictional character in ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is s ...

'', one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish t ...

of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Comparable to Rengui", he ranks 55th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 19th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Background

Guo Sheng, a native of Jialing (嘉陵; present-day

Jialing District Jialing () is a district of the city of Nanchong, Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protest ...

Nanchong Nanchong (; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 lived in the built-up (or 'metro') area made of th ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

), often wears a suit of silvery white armour and a silver belt over a white robe. He also rides a white horse and his weapon is a '' ji'' similar to the "Sky Piercer" (方天畫戟) used by

Lü Bu Lü Bu () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betray ...

of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

era. He has learnt his martial arts from a military officer in his hometown. He is nicknamed "Comparable to Rengui" as

Xue Rengui Xue Rengui (; 614 – 24 March 683), formal name Xue Li (薛礼) but went by the courtesy name of Rengui, was a Chinese military general during the early Tang Dynasty. He is one of the most well-known military generals of his time due to his hum ...

, a famous

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

general, is known to be an expert user of ''ji.'' Initially a trader, Guo Sheng becomes a bandit leader after he lost all his goods in a river during a storm and did not have enough money to travel home.

Joining Liangshan

Guo Sheng hears about

Lü Fang Lü Fang is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Little Marquis of Wen", he ranks 54th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 18th among the 72 Earthly Fiends. Backg ...

being an outstanding user of ''ji'' and wants to find out who is more worthy of the weapon. He travels to Mount Duiying (對影山) or Mount Mirror Image, which comprises two facing hills, one of which is occupied by Lü and his bandit gang. Guo settles on the other hill with his own men and challenges Lü to a one-on-one duel on horseback. As neither could win, the engagement goes on and off for days.

Song Jiang A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

Hua Rong Hua Rong is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Little Li Guang", he ranks ninth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Backgro ...

and other outlaws of Mount Qingfeng pass by Mount Duiying as they travel to join

Liangshan Marsh Mount Liang (, often referred to in Chinese as ) is a mountain in Liangshan County, Shandong, China which rises to 197.9 metres above sea level. It is well known as the stronghold of the 108 Heroes in the classic Chinese novel ''Water Margin ...

after causing mayhem at

Qingzhou Qingzhou () Wade–Giles: Tsing-chou, sometimes written as Ching-chow-fu, formerly Yidu County (Yitu) (), is a county-level city, which is located in the west of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, in the central part of Shandong Province, Chin ...

including routing a government army. They come upon the duel between Guo Sheng and Lü Fang. It happens that the tassels of the two '' ji'' get tangled together. The two fighters struggle but could not free their weapons. Seeing that, Hua Rong fires an arrow that hits the tangled point and separates the weapons. Everyone present cheers. Guo and Lü stop their fight and come to greet Hua and his group. Upon learning that the group is going to Liangshan, both want in and are accepted.

Campaigns and death

After the 108 Stars of Destiny came together in what is called the Grand Assembly, Guo Sheng, together with Lü Fang, is appointed as the guardian of Liangshan's central camp. That means they are personal bodyguards of Song Jiang. Guo Sheng participates in the campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

territory following amnesty by Emperor Huizong for Liangshan. In the battle at Black Dragon Ridge (烏龍嶺; northeast of present-day Meicheng Town,

Jiande is a county-level city of Zhejiang Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou. History During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Jiande was the capital of Yanzhou Prefecture. On account of this, Jiand ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

) in the campaign against

Fang La Fang La (; died 1121) was a Chinese rebel leader who led an uprising against the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and nemeses of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He is sometime ...

, Guo Sheng is crushed to death by boulders rolled down by enemy soldiers as he charges up the slope.

Other mentions

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia (" martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong d ...

's ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

'' novel ''

The Legend of the Condor Heroes ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is a wuxia novel by Chinese writer Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It is the first part of the ''Condor Trilogy'' and is followed by ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber''. It w ...

'', Guo Sheng is the protagonist Guo Jing's ancestor.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guo, Sheng 72 Earthly Fiends Fictional characters from Sichuan