Meng Kang

Meng Kang
Water Margin character
Nickname	"Jade Flagpole" (玉幡竿)
Rank	70th, Full Star (地滿星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends
Chief ship builder of Liangshan
Origin	Bandit leader from Yinma River
Hometown	Zhendingzhou (present-day Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei)
First appearance	Chapter 44
Names
Simplified Chinese	孟康
Traditional Chinese	孟康
Pinyin	Mèng Kāng
Wade-Giles	Meng K'ang

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

Meng Kang is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 70th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 34th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Jade Flagpole".

Background

The Water Margin describes Meng Kang as a tall and thin man with a pale complexion. He is nicknamed "Jade Flagpole" for his appearance. Meng is a native of Zhendingzhou (present-day Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei) and an excellent ship builder.

Becoming an outlaw

The government recruits him to build a ship for transporting tribute to the emperor. Meng Kang is displeased with the supervising officer's demanding attitude and he is punished after failing to meet the deadline. Meng Kang kills the officer in anger. He meets Deng Fei and Pei Xuan later and they become the leaders of a group of bandits at Yinma River.

Dai Zong and Yang Lin pass by Yinma River and meet the bandits during the search for Gongsun Sheng. Dai Zong invites the three bandit leaders to join Liangshan. They agree and disguise themselves as soldiers and make their way to Liangshan.

Campaigns and death

Meng Kang is placed in charge of overseeing the construction of battleships for the Liangshan navy after the Grand Assembly. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La campaign, Meng Kang is assigned to attack the enemy territory of Black Dragon Ridge. He is trapped by the enemy and blasted into bits by cannon fire.

References

• (Chinese) Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 141. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.