Lu Junyi

Nicknamed the 'Jade Unicorn' (玉麒麟), Lu Junyi (卢俊义) was a character in the epic Chinese tale, the "Water Margin", and hailed from Hebei Province. In the world of published fiction, he was a former student of General Yue Fei's military tutor, Zhou Tong.

Main biography

According to the tale, Lu stood at about 9 feet, with sparkling eyes and gave an impression that he was a god from heaven. His reputation was tremendous and was also highly skilled in the martial arts, and he had no equal with the cudgel. His charisma earned him the right to be Song Jiang's deputy, that is, the second-in-command of the Liangshan bandits, even though he was one of the last few heroes to join the cause.

After Chao Gai's death, Song Jiang was bent on having Lu join the outlaws. Wu Yong conjured up a brilliant strategy to lure him out of Damingfu. First, Wu disguised himself as a Taoist priest and escorted by Li Kui who acted as a mute, Wu predicted for Lu a violent death and the ruin of his family within a hundred days. Shocked, Lu decided to follow Wu's advice and to leave the Northern Capital in order to pray at a sacred shrine (the route to which was conveniently blocked by Liangshan Marsh). This made him extremely vulnerable to capture. However, he initially refused to join the gang, and returned to the Northern Capital. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by his wife and his chief housekeeper Li Gu, and he was framed and thrown into prison.

Later, he was sentenced to be exiled to Shamen Island. The guards escorting him there were bribed to finish him off on the way. He was saved by his faithful servant Yan Qing, otherwise known as the 'Wanderer' or the 'Prodigy'. However, the outnumbered duo were caught by government forces again. Song and the other bandits quickly launched an assault to rescue Lu. To relieve the Northern Capital, the imperial government sent three commanders Guan Sheng, Xuan Zan, and Hao Si-Wen to assault Liangshan Marsh as an incentive for Song Jiang to retreat back to his stronghold. In the end, the imperial officers Guan Sheng and Suo Chao were defeated and they surrendered, and Lu was also rescued in the process. Together, they would reach the Liangshan Marsh and join the bandits as they attacked the Zeng Family Village and Dongchangfu.

Later, Lu Junyi followed the pact signed between the Imperial Court and the Liangshan bandits. He served the Court by fighting off the invading Liao Tartars and the other rebels: Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La. Due to his accomplishments, he was bestowed the title of Governor of Luzhou. However, Cai Jing and the other corrupt officials in the Court summoned him back to the Court under the name of the Emperor and surreptitiously poisoned his food and drink. On the return journey to Luzhou, Lu Junyi, due to the pain caused by the poison, could not ride. Thus, he went back by boat, but sadly he missed his step, and fell into the water and drowned.

Films and TV adaptations

In the 1997 TV serial from Mainland China based on the novel, Lu Junyi was played by Wang Weiguo. He was arrested and thrown into prison when he was preparing to set off to the sacred shrine, as his housekeeper Li Gu and adulterous wife had reported him to the authorities for being in league with the rebels. In fact, Wu Yong had written a poem on the wall of Lu's residence, and the words 'Lu Junyi rebels'(卢俊义反) was hidden in the poem, but was spotted by Li Gu when he read the poem diagonally.