Lin Chong

Lin Chong is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Panther Head", he ranks 6th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. In folklore, he is an apprentice of the martial artist Zhou Tong, who reputedly trained the Song dynasty general Yue Fei in archery.

Background

Lin Chong resembles the Three Kingdoms-era general Zhang Fei in appearance. Standing at over six chi tall, with piercing eyes and a head like a panther's, he is nicknamed "Panther Head". Before becoming an outlaw, he served as a martial arts instructor of the Imperial Guards in Dongjing (東京; present-day Kaifeng, Henan), the imperial capital of the Song dynasty.

Framed and exiled

Lin Chong meets Lu Zhishen by chance one day and they become sworn brothers. While they are chatting, Gao Yanei, the lecherous foster son of Grand Marshal Gao Qiu, gets attracted to Lin Chong's wife in the temple and wants to molest her. However, Lin Chong appears in the nick of time and saves his wife. Wanting to avoid trouble, Lin Chong decides not to complain to the authorities about the incident. However, Gao Yanei becomes even more obsessed with Lin Chong's wife and wants to seize her for himself. He enlists the help of Lin Chong's friend Lu Qian, who helps him distract Lin Chong by asking him out for drinks. Gao Yanei then tricks Lin Chong's wife to Lu Qian's house and tries to rape her there. Lin Chong's servant escapes and alerts her master, who rushes to Lu Qian's house to save his wife. Gao Yanei flees upon learning that Lin Chong is approaching.

Gao Yanei is adamant on having Lin Chong's wife, so he asks his foster father for help. Knowing that Lin Chong likes good weapons, Gao Qiu thinks up a plan to set him up. He sends a servant to trick Lin Chong into purchasing a precious sword, and then summons Lin Chong to his residence under the pretext of wanting to see his newly purchased weapon. Lin Chong, carrying the sword, unsuspectingly enters the White Tiger Hall, where top-secret meetings are held and weapons are not permitted. Gao Qiu's men ambush Lin Chong, capture him and frame him for trying to assassinate the Grand Marshal by carrying a weapon into the White Tiger Hall.

Lin Chong is sentenced to be tattooed on the face and exiled to Cangzhou. Before he leaves, he insists on divorcing his wife so that she can find a better husband. Gao Qiu is unwilling to let Lin Chong off so he bribes Dong Chao and Xue Ba, the guards escorting Lin Chong to Cangzhou, to kill him along the way. During the journey, Dong Chao and Xue Ba mistreat Lin Chong and even scald his feet at one point. At Wild Boar Forest, just as the guards are about to murder Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen suddenly springs out, stops them and wants to finish them off. However, Lin Chong stops Lu Zhishen and tells him that the guards are just following Gao Qiu's orders. Lu Zhishen then accompanies Lin Chong on the rest of the journey and ensures that he reaches Cangzhou safely before leaving.

While he is in Cangzhou, Lin Chong meets and befriends the nobleman Chai Jin, who provides him money to bribe the jailers into making his life in prison less miserable.

Burning of the fodder depot

When Gao Qiu learns that Lin Chong is still alive, he sends Lu Qian and his steward Fu An to Cangzhou to get rid of Lin Chong. Lu Qian bribes the chief warden and a jailer to assign Lin Chong to be a solo watchman at a fodder depot. The warden tells Lin Chong that it is a privileged assignment reserved for him.

On the night Lin Chong takes up his new duty in the depot, Lu Qian, Fu An and the jailer set fire to the place, believing he cannot escape from the inferno. However, Lin Chong survives because he has taken shelter in a nearby temple after his hut in the depot collapsed under heavy snowfall. Upon seeing that the depot is on fire, he is about to head back when he overhears a conversation between the three men and learns that they set the fire. Overcome by rage, he rushes out, kills them and offers their heads as sacrifices to the deity in the temple. He then abandons the burning depot, knowing that he will be executed for failing in his duty if he returns to Cangzhou.

Becoming an outlaw

While on the run, Lin Chong meets Chai Jin again, who suggests that he join the outlaws at Liangshan Marsh. Chai Jin helps him write a recommendation letter addressed to Wang Lun, the chief of Liangshan. Lin Chong comes to a tavern which is actually an outpost of Liangshan managed by Zhu Gui, who ushers him across the marsh to the stronghold.

At Liangshan, the selfish Wang Lun fears that Lin Chong will steal the leadership position from him so he tries to send Lin Chong away by offering him gifts. However, after Lin Chong protests that he has nowhere to go, Wang Lun agrees to let him stay if he can kill a man and present his head within three days. On the third day, Lin Chong encounters Yang Zhi and fights with him but neither can win out. Wang Lun comes to the scene, stops the fight, and invites Yang Zhi to join the outlaw band in the hope that Yang Zhi can serve as a counterweight to Lin Chong. After Yang Zhi declines and leaves, Wang Lun reluctantly lets Lin Chong join his band and become the fourth leader.

When Chao Gai and his six friends come to Liangshan for refuge after robbing the convoy of birthday gifts meant for the Grand Tutor Cai Jing, Wang Lun again feels threatened by the newcomers. He tries to send them away with gifts and the same excuses he used on Lin Chong earlier. Lin Chong, frustrated by Wang Lun's selfish attitude, kills Wang Lun after Wu Yong instigates him to do so. Chao Gai then becomes the new chief of Liangshan while Lin Chong continues to be the fourth leader after Wu Yong and Gongsun Sheng in the Liangshan hierarchy.

Death

After the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars of Destiny, Lin Chong is appointed as one of the Five Tiger Generals of the Liangshan cavalry.

When Gao Qiu personally leads government forces to attack Liangshan, he ends up being captured by the outlaws after suffering a string of defeats in battle. While some editions of Water Margin say that Lin Chong wants to take revenge against Gao Qiu, the original version of the novel says Lin Chong has already accepted that his misfortune is predetermined by Heaven's will. In the 120-chapter edition of Water Margin, Lin Chong glares at Gao Qiu as the Grand Marshal is being escorted into Liangshan's banquet hall after his capture. The earlier 100-chapter edition does not even mention this. Song Jiang treats Gao Qiu as an honoured guest and releases him in the hope that he will appeal for amnesty from Emperor Huizong on behalf of the Liangshan outlaws.

After the Liangshan outlaws finally obtain amnesty, they go on campaigns against the Liao invaders and the rebel forces of Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La. Lin Chong follows the heroes on the campaigns and makes numerous contributions by defeating several top enemy warriors. Just when they are about to return to the capital following their last victory, Lin Chong is stricken by paralysis. He dies six months later under the care of Wu Song in Liuhe Temple in Hangzhou, where Lu Zhishen died six months earlier.

Cultural references

• Lin Chong portrayed by a Peking opera actor during a 2008 performance in Maule Regional Theater, Talca, Maule Region, Chile.
  In Beijing opera, there are two plays about Lin Chong's life before he becomes an outlaw. The first, "Wild Boar Forest" (野猪林), is based on Lu Zhishen saving Lin Chong from the escorts who tried to murder him during his exile to Cangzhou. The second, "Lin Chong Flees by Night" (林沖夜奔), is based on the burning of the fodder depot and Lin Chong's subsequent journey to Liangshan Marsh.
• In the Japanese 1973 TV adaptation, Lin Chong (respelled Lin Chung; played by Atsuo Nakamura) is the series' lead character and unofficial leader of the Mount Liang rebels.