Shi Jin

Shǐ Jìn(史進) is a character in the epic Chinese tale, the "Water Margin".

Shi Jin was from the Shi Family Village in Huayin Prefecture. From young, he loved martial arts and did not pay much attention to other domestic affairs. He got someone to tattoo flower patterns all over his body, with the addition of another nine dragons on his upper torso. Thus, he was nicknamed 'Nine tattooed dragons'(九紋龍).

In the opening chapters, Wang Jin, an imperial drill instructor who offended Gao Qiu, fled to the Shi Family Village for refuge. Wang Jin and Shi Jin had a contest, in which Wang won. Shi Jin was impressed and was willing to be Wang's disciple, learning martial arts from the instructor.

After months, Wang felt that Shi Jin had made significant improvement in the martial arts and he left. The bandit Chen Da from Hua Mountain led an army to attack the Shi Family Village, but was defeated and caught by Shi Jin. His sworn brothers Zhu Wu and Yang Chun came to beg for Chen's release. Shi Jin was touched and he released Chen Da. From then on, the four of them became good friends. They would send each other gifts and frequently host parties for each other.

After one of these parties, one of Shi Jin's messengers fell drunk when returning from the bandits' stronghold, and a hunter named Li Ji found him. Eager for money, he searched the unconscious man, discovering a note from the bandits, which he promptly turned to the government,to prove that Shi Jin was in collaboration with the bandits. The government immediately sent troops to attack the village. Shi Jin and the bandits defeated the troops, burnt down the village and fled to Hua Mountain. Shi Jin refused to join the bandits on Hua Mountain. He traveled to Weizhou and got to know Lu Zhishen. After Lu Zhishen was banished from Wutai Temple, he met Shi Jin again and this time the two of them got rid of the evil bandits Cui Daocheng and Qiu Xiaoyi.

Shi Jin returned to Hua Mountain. He tried to rescue a craftsman Wang Yi's daughter, by assassinating Prefect He. He failed to assassinate the prefect and was caught. Lu Zhishen went to the prefect's residence and was caught as well. Later, the Liangshan heroes pretended to be Marshall Su, and lured the prefect out, finishing him off. Lu Zhishen and Shi Jin and were rescued and followed the heroes to Liangshan.

During the attack on Dongpingfu, Shi Jin volunteered to sneak into the city and act as a conspirator from within. He was reported and arrested by the governor. The Liangshan heroes conquered Dongpingfu after that and rescued him.

Shi Jin became one of the 8 vanguard generals of the Liangshan cavalry and 36 Heavenly Spirits. He followed the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao Tartars and southern rebels, making valuable contributions to the Imperial Court. During the Fang La campaign, Shi Jin was shot to death by Pang Wanchun at Yuling Pass.