Wang Qing is a fictional character and antagonist 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. He is one of the three rebel leaders in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

along with

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 ...

and

Tian Hu Tian Hu is a fictional character and antagonist in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He is one of the three rebel leaders in the Song dynasty along with Fang La and Wang Qing, that the Liangshan he ...

, that the Liangshan heroes have to defeat in the final chapters of the novel. He only appears in the longest versions of the stories which include these extra chapters.

Life

The novel describes Wang Qing as a seven ''

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 muscular and handsome man with eyes like a phoenix's, thick brows and a high forehead. He comes from a wealthy family in the

Song Empire The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

's capital, Dongjing (東京; present-day

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

). The young Wang Qing was a street rascal who indulged in gambling, prostitution and drinking. When his parents scolded him about his behaviour, he would turn violent and hurl abuse at them, such that they did not dare to bother about him anymore. After leading an extravagant lifestyle for six to seven years, Wang Qing squandered his family's fortune and becomes a military officer in Dongjing. Wang Qing started his rebellion against the Song Empire in Fangzhou (房州; present-day

Fang County Fang County or Fangxian () is a county of northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Shiyan City. The county spans an area of , and has a population of 390,991 as of 2010. History During the Sprin ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

) after resisting arrest and killing government soldiers. He robs Fangzhou's treasury and granary with his followers and split the money and grain at different locations near Fangzhou. Within a short period of time, Wang Qing builds up his own military force by raiding nearby villages and towns. With help from his adviser Li Zhu, Wang Qing seizes control of Jingnan (荊南; present-day

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

) and declares himself the "King of Chu" (). After learning of Wang Qing's rebellion, many other bandits and outlaws in the Hubei region pledge their support to him and become part of his Chu kingdom. Within three to four years, Wang Qing has seized control of six prefectures of the Song Empire. He builds himself a palace in Nanfeng (南豐; around present-day

Danjiangkou Danjiangkou () is a county-level city in northwestern Hubei, China, bordering Henan province to the northeast. The city spans an area of 3,121 square kilometers, and has a population of approximately 478,000 as of 2017. Etymology Danjiangkou tr ...

, Hubei). Wang Qing's Chu kingdom expands to eight prefectures later, covering parts of present-day Hubei,

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

and

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 ...

. After the Liangshan outlaws receive amnesty from Emperor Huizong, they go on military campaigns to drive back invaders from the

Liao Empire The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

in the north and suppress rebel forces on Song territory as a form of service to the Song Empire. After defeating the Liao invaders and Jin kingdom (established by

), the Liangshan heroes turn their attention to the Chu kingdom and ultimately emerge victorious. Wang Qing is captured by Liangshan's Li Jun, charged with treason by the Song Empire, and eventually executed by ''

lingchi ''Lingchi'' (; ), translated variously as the slow process, the lingering death, or slow slicing, and also known as death by a thousand cuts, was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 CE up until the practice ended aro ...

''.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Qing Water Margin characters Fictional characters from Henan