Shi Yong 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 "Stone General", he ranks 99th among the

108 Stars of Destiny The 108 Heroes are the main characters of the Ming dynasty classic Chinese novel the ''Water Margin'', which was written in the 14th century and usually attributed to Shi Nai'an. The heroes are divided into the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly F ...

and 63rd among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Background

The novel depicts Shi Yong as eight ''

chi Chi or CHI may refer to: Greek *Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ); Chinese *Chi (length), ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon *Chi (surname) (池, pin ...

'' tall and having a pale yellowish complexion, sharp eyes and a clean shaven face. Shi Yong, who was born and lives in Daming Prefecture (大名府; present-day

Daming County Daming County is a county under the jurisdiction of Handan City in far southern Hebei Province, China. It was formerly one of the capitals of the Northern Song. History left, 150px, Song China It was formerly known as Beijing under the Norther ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

), is a hardcore gambler. He flees Daming and hides in the house of the nobleman

Chai Jin Chai Jin is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Little Whirlwind", he ranks 10th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Backgr ...

after killing a man in a fit of anger over some gambling matter.

Joining Liangshan

Shi Yong later goes to seek refuge under

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 ...

, but the latter has run away after killing his mistress Yan Poxi. Shi stays for a while entertained by Song Jiang's younger brother Song Qing. When he leaves, Song Qing asks him to deliver a letter to Song Jiang should he run into him. Meanwhile, Song Jiang has assembled a group of heroes 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 ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

, after getting into trouble with the local government. He decides to take them to join the outlaws of

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 ...

for fear that Qingzhou would send a big force to exterminate them. On the way to Liangshan, Song Jiang and his men come to a village inn and have their meal there. Shi Yong is occupying the biggest table alone in the inn which he refuses to concede to the group. A quarrel ensues and Shi Yong proclaims that he would only give way to only two persons, dismissing even the emperor as a nobody. Those two persons, he declares, are Chai Jin and Song Jiang. Shi Yong is shocked when Song discloses his identity and apologises for being mean. He then hands over the letter from Song Qing, which conveys to Song Jiang the false news that his father has died and urges him to rush home for the funeral. Song Jiang thus breaks away from the group leaving them, including Shi Yong, to go to Liangshan without him.

Campaigns and death

Shi Yong is appointed as one of the leaders of Liangshan's infantry after the

came together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He 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 from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan. In the attack on Shezhou 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 ...

, Shi Yong and Li Yun together encounter Wang Yin, one of Fang's key lieutenants. Both are killed by Wang.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shi, Yong 72 Earthly Fiends Fictional gamblers Fictional characters from Hebei