Lei Heng
| Lei Heng | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| First appearance | Chapter 13 |
| Nickname | "Winged Tiger" (插翅虎) |
| Rank | 25th, Defense Star (天退星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits |
| Infantry leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Blacksmith, constable |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Yuncheng County, Shandong |
| Weapon | Pudao |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 雷横 |
| Traditional Chinese | 雷橫 |
| Pinyin | Léi Héng |
| Wade–Giles | Lei Heng |
Template:Chinese-name Lei Heng is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 25th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Winged Tiger".
Background
Lei Heng is from Yuncheng County, Shandong. He serves as a constable in the county office together with Zhu Tong. He was formerly a blacksmith and butcher before becoming a constable. The Water Margin describes him as standing at about seven chi, with a purplish face and a string of whiskers on his face. Lei Heng possesses immense strength and excels in martial arts. His most outstanding ability is his skill in leaping across a body of water several meters wide and jumping over high walls with ease. This ability, when combined with his prowess in martial arts, earns him the nickname of "Winged Tiger". Lei Heng stands up to injustice and often uses his abilities to help the weak.
Once, Lei Heng is patrolling the neighborhood with his men when he sees Liu Tang, who has fallen asleep in a temple after getting drunk. Lei Heng mistakes Liu Tang for a wanted criminal and has Liu arrested. Lei Heng and his men arrive at Chao Gai's village after that and decide to take a break there. Chao Gai recognises Liu Tang and lies to Lei Heng that Liu is his nephew. Lei Heng obliges to Chao Gai's request and releases Liu Tang. However, Liu Tang is still angry with Lei Heng for arresting him for no reason earlier and he attempts to sneak up on Lei later. Lei Heng and Liu Tang fight for several rounds but neither emerges the victor. Chao Gai arrives on the scene and stops the fight.
After Chao Gai and his six friends robbed the convoy of birthday gifts for the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, the authorities send Lei Heng and Zhu Tong to arrest the seven men. However, Lei Heng and Zhu Tong value their friendship with Chao Gai and they allow Chao to escape. Zhu Tong asks Lei Heng to enter through the front door and Lei makes loud noises on purpose to attract Chao's Gai attention so Chao is alerted to their presence and escapes easily.
Becoming an outlaw
One day, Lei Heng goes to watch a performance but forgets to bring his moneybag with him. The singer Bai Xiuying keeps pestering Lei Heng to pay for watching the show and Lei argues that he does not have any money with him. Bai Xiuying and her father Bai Yuqiao insult Lei Heng, and Lei hits Bai Yuqiao in fury and he is arrested later when Bai Xiuying reports him to the magistrate, who is a close family friend of hers. Lei Heng is shackled in chains and forced to stand outside the county office to be publicly humiliated.
Lei Heng's mother comes to deliver Lei's meals to him. She has a quarrel with Bai Xiuying and Bai slaps her. Lei Heng is a filial son and he is unable to tolerate Bai Xiuying's attitude and actions towards his mother. He rises up and kills Bai Xiuying by smashing his chains on her. The magistrate sentences Lei Heng to exile in Jizhou and assigns Zhu Tong to escort Lei to the prison. Zhu Tong releases Lei Heng on account of their friendship and helps Lei escape. Lei Heng brings his mother along with him to seek refuge on Liangshan and becomes an outlaw.
Lei Heng becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry after the Grand Assembly. He follows the Liangshan heroes on their campaign against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the emperor. During the Fang La campaign, Lei Heng is assigned to attack the enemy territory of Deqing County. He is slain by the enemy general Si Xingfang in battle. Lei Heng is posthumously granted the title of "Martial Gentleman of Loyalty" (忠武郎) by the emperor in recognition of his contributions.
See also
- List of Water Margin minor characters#Lei Heng's story for a list of supporting minor characters from Lei Heng's story.
References
- Template:Zh icon Li, Mengxia. 108 Heroes from the Water Margin, page 51. EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1992. ISBN 9971-0-0252-3.
- Zhang, Lin Ching. Biographies of Characters in Water Margin. Writers Publishing House, 2009. ISBN 978-7506344784.