Lei Heng
| Lei Heng | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Winged Tiger" 插翅虎 |
| Rank | 25th, Defence Star (天退星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits |
| Infantry leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Blacksmith, constable |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Yuncheng County (in present-day Heze, Shandong) |
| First appearance | Chapter 13 |
| Weapon | Pudao |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 雷横 |
| Traditional Chinese | 雷橫 |
| Pinyin | Léi Héng |
| Wade–Giles | Lei Heng |
Lei Heng is a fictional character in 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".
Lei Heng is from Yuncheng County (in present-day Heze, Shandong). Formerly a blacksmith and butcher, he decides to change his career and becomes a constable in the local county office. He maintains close friendships with Zhu Tong (a fellow constable) and Chao Gai (the headman of a village in the county).
The novel describes Lei Heng as standing at about seven chi, with a purplish face and a string of whiskers on his face. He possesses immense strength and excels in martial arts. His most outstanding skill is his ability to leap across a body of water several metres wide and jump over high walls with ease. This ability, when combined with his prowess in martial arts, earns him the nickname "Winged Tiger". He stands up to injustice and often uses his combat skills to help the poor.
Once, while patrolling the neighbourhood with his soldiers, Lei Heng chances upon Liu Tang, who has fallen asleep in a temple after getting drunk. He mistakes Liu Tang for a wanted fugitive, arrests him and brings him back to the county office. Along the way, Lei Heng and his men pass by Chao Gai's village and stop for a break. 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 earlier without reason, so he sneaks up on Lei later and fights with him. Neither of them is able to overcome his opponent after several rounds of fighting. Chao Gai arrives at the scene and stops the fight.
In a later chapter, after Chao Gai and his six friends are revealed to be the ones who robbed a convoy of birthday gifts for Cai Jing (the Imperial Tutor), the magistrate of Yuncheng County orders Lei Heng and Zhu Tong to lead soldiers to Chao's village to arrest the seven men. However, Lei Heng and Zhu Tong value their friendship with Chao Gai so they help him and his friends escape. Lei Heng enters through the main entrance and makes loud noises on purpose to alert Chao Gai and his friends to his presence, while Zhu Tong allows them to leave through the back gate.
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