Du Qian

Du Qian
Water Margin character
Nickname	"Touching the Sky" (摸着天)
Rank	83rd, Demon Star (地妖星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends
Infantry leader of Liangshan
Origin	Bandit leader from Liangshan Marsh
First appearance	Chapter 11
Names
Simplified Chinese	杜迁
Traditional Chinese	杜遷
Pinyin	Dù Qiān
Wade-Giles	Tu Ch'ien

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Du.

Du Qian is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 83rd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 47th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Touching the Sky".

Background

Du Qian is one of the three pioneers of the outlaw stronghold at Liangshan Marsh, along with Wang Lun and Song Wan. He sat for the imperial examination with Wang Lun but neither of them were successful candidates. They seek temporary shelter in Chai Jin's residence and move to Liangshan Marsh, where they establish a stronghold for outlaws. They have an army of 800 men under their command. Wang Lun becomes the chief of the band while Du Qian takes the second position of leadership. Song Wan and Zhu Gui join the band later.

Lin Chong joins Liangshan

Lin Chong is forced to become an outlaw after killing three enemies during the blaze at the fodder storage field. He flees to Chai Jin's residence for refuge and Chai writes a letter of recommendation for him to join Liangshan. The selfish Wang Lun refuses to allow Lin Chong to join his band and tries to send him away with precious gifts. Wang Lun agrees to allow Lin Chong to join the band after constant persuasion from his deputies, but Lin must fulfill a condition first; kill someone and present the victim's head to him within three days.

After much waiting on a deserted road, Lin Chong finally meets Yang Zhi and attempts to kill Yang and take his head. However, Yang Zhi proves to be a powerful fighter as well and neither of them is able to defeat his opponent after rounds of fighting. Eventually, Wang Lun and his men arrive on the scene and stop the fight. Wang Lun agrees to let Lin Chong join Liangshan and he invites Yang Zhi to join as well but Yang declines the offer.

Chao Gai becomes chief

Subsequently, Chao Gai and his six companions flee to Liangshan for refuge after robbing the convoy of birthday gifts. Once again, Wang Lun tries to send the seven men away with precious gifts. Lin Chong is unhappy with Wang Lun and he kills Wang in anger through Wu Yong's instigation. Chao Gai takes over as the chief of Liangshan and he recruits Wang Lun's former deputies, including Du Qian.

Campaigns and death

Du Qian becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry after the Grand Assembly and he participates actively in many of the battles against the enemies of Liangshan. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and southern rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La campaign, Du Qian is assigned to attack the enemy city of Qingxi County. He is trampled to death in the battle by enemy cavalry and is posthumously granted the title of "Righteous Gentleman of Integrity" (義節郎) by the emperor in recognition of his contributions.

References

• (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 167. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.