Fang La (; died 1121) was a Chinese rebel leader who led an uprising against 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 ...

. In the classical novel ''

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 ...

'', he is fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists and nemeses of 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 ...

. He is sometimes associated with

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...

but was most likely not a follower of the religion.

Life

Fang La was from Shezhou, which is roughly present-day

She County, Anhui She County (), or Shexian, is a county in the southeast of Anhui Province, China, bordering Zhejiang Province to the east. It is the easternmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huangshan City. It has a population of 363,000 ...

. However, other sources claimed that he was from Qingxi County (), which is present-day

Chun'an County () is a county of Zhejiang Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, containing the well-known Qiandao Lake and bordering Anhui province to the northwest. It has ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

. In 1120, he led an uprising against 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 ...

in Qixian Village (), Shezhou. Others claimed that he started the rebellion in Wannian District (), Chun'an County. Fang La's forces captured Hangzhou and subsequently took control over parts of present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

, Zhejiang, Anhui and

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

provinces, with a total of 52 counties and six prefectures. In 1121, the Song government sent a general, Wang Yuan (), to lead an army to crush the rebellion. Wang Yuan's subordinate,

Han Shizhong Han Shizhong () (1089–1151) was a Chinese military general, poet, and politician of the late Northern Song Dynasty and the early Southern Song Dynasty. He dedicated his whole life to serving the Song Dynasty, and performed many legendary de ...

, disguised himself, infiltrated Qingxi County and captured Fang La. Later, Xin Xingzong (), the Song general defending Zhongzhou (), led his troops to block Qingxi County's exit route and regained control of the county. Fang La and 52 of his subordinates were captured and escorted by the general

Tong Guan Tong Guan (1054–1126), courtesy name Daofu (), was a Chinese court eunuch, military general, political adviser, and state councillor to Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', Tong Guan is fictionalise ...

to the imperial capital,

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 No ...

. Four months later, Fang La was found guilty of treason and executed in Kaifeng. By 1132–1133 or later, the rebellion was linked to

. Though not originally connected, in the public and historical conscience it became confused with the Taizhou unrest of April–June 1121, where Manichaeism was widespread.

In ''Water Margin''

The classical novel ''

'' presents a semi-fictional account of Fang La and his battle with the Liangshan outlaws. After granting the outlaws amnesty, Emperor Huizong sends them on military campaigns to suppress rebel forces within the Song Empire and counter 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. Fang La is one of the rebel leaders based in the

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

region. Whilst the Liangshan forces suffered hardly any casualties in the campaigns against the Liao Empire and the rebel forces of

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 ...

and Wang Qing, the campaign against Fang La proved to be calamitous. 59 of the original 108 heroes were killed in action, mostly by Fang La's warriors, whose combat skills and abilities rival the best of Liangshan. Unlike the other rebels who lack good leadership and experience, Fang La has established a solid foundation in the Jiangnan region with many capable people serving under him. Fang La is eventually captured by the Liangshan heroes after an elaborate infiltration scheme involving

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. Backgro ...

and

Yan Qing Yan Qing is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "''Langzi''" (浪子; meaning "the Wanderer" or "the Prodigal"), he ranks last among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the fi ...

. During his escape attempt, he is defeated by

Lu Zhishen Lu Zhishen is a fictional character in '' Water Margin'', one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. He is the main character in the first segment of the novel, which spans about six chapters. Nicknamed "Flowery Monk", he ra ...

and escorted back to

by imperial troops under

. Four months later, Fang La is found guilty of treason and executed by '' lingchi''.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fang, La 1121 deaths People executed by the Song dynasty Song dynasty rebels People from Huangshan Year of birth unknown People executed by flaying

Life

In ''Water Margin''

See also

References