Gongsun Sheng
| Gongsun Sheng | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
 |
|
| Nickname | "Dragon in the Clouds" 入雲龍 |
| Rank | 4th, Leisure Star (天閒星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits |
| Strategist of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Taoist |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Jizhou (present-day Ji County, Tianjin) |
| First appearance | Chapter 14 |
| Weapon | Sword, Taoist magic |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 公孙胜 |
| Traditional Chinese | 公孫勝 |
| Pinyin | Gōngsūn Shèng |
| Wade–Giles | Kung-sun Sheng |
Gongsun Sheng is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 4th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Dragon in the Clouds".
The novel describes Gongsun Sheng as eight chi tall, with eyebrows resembling the Chinese character for "eight" (八), almond-like eyes and a noble appearance. A Taoist priest from Jizhou (薊州; present-day Ji County, Tianjin), he possesses the abilities to perform magic, summon the wind and rain, ride the mist and drive the clouds. Such is his sheer magical powers and mystique that he earns the nickname "Dragon in the Clouds". He wields an ancient sword made of copper.
Gongsun Sheng joins Chao Gai, Wu Yong, Liu Tang and the three Ruan brothers to form the "Righteous Seven". They disguise themselves as date traders and succeed in robbing the convoy of birthday gifts intended for the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing. The seven men are wanted by the authorities for the robbery and have no choice but to flee to Liangshan Marsh for refuge. Chao Gai replaces the incompetent and selfish Wang Lun as chief of Liangshan after the latter is killed by Lin Chong. Gongsun Sheng takes his place as the third leader of Liangshan.
Gongsun Sheng makes numerous contributions to Liangshan in the subsequent battles against the enemies of Liangshan, but he misses his mother and decides to return home to visit her. He also seeks to retire from the Liangshan cause to study Taoism with Taoist Luo, a self-proclaimed immortal. Not long after Gongsun Sheng's departure, the outlaws attack Gaotangzhou (高唐州; around present-day Gaotang County, Liaocheng, Shandong) to rescue Chai Jin, who has been imprisoned by Gaotangzhou's governor, Gao Lian. Although Gao Lian's forces are no match for Liangshan, his mastery of sorcery and dark magic is sufficient to hold off the outlaws.
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