Xu Ning

Xu Ning (徐宁), nicknamed the 'Metal Lancer' (金枪手), was yet another former imperial military drill instructor who joined the Liangshan heroes in the Water Margin. He stood at about 6 feet, had a fair face, a thin dark beard, and a wide waist. In fact, Xu's recruitment was the beginning of many exciting tales of mass recruitment found in the middle of the epic tale (e.g. Guan Sheng, Dong Ping, Zhang Qing), a catalyst of sorts if you will.

Renowned as the only exponent of the unique barbed lance, Song Jiang was eager to acquire his services and through the combined guile of Lin Chong, Tang Long, Dai Zhong and Shi Qian, Xu was tricked to travel out of the capital to recover the family heirloom, which they stole. Following in the footsteps of many others before him, Xu was impressed by the sincerity of Song and his skill was invaluable in the later victory over Huyuan Zhuo, the once invincible imperial general of the chained armour cavalry.

He died to a poisoned arrow which hit his neck during the Fang La campaign. The tragic irony was that his wound could have been healed by the Liangshan doctor An Dao-quan, but the latter was recalled back to the capital to treat, of all people, the incompetent Emperor.

Films and TV adaptations

In the 1997 TV serial from Mainland China based on the novel, Yang Xiong was Xu Ning's sworn brother and he played a part in tricking Xu Ning to joining Liangshan. Xu did not make any further appearances after that episode.