Liu Tang
| Liu Tang | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Red Haired Devil" 赤髮鬼 |
| Rank | 21st, Deviance Star (天異星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits |
| Infantry leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Illegal trader |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Dongluzhou (believed to be present-day Changzhi, Shanxi) |
| First appearance | Chapter 14 |
| Weapon | Pudao |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 刘唐 |
| Traditional Chinese | 劉唐 |
| Pinyin | Liú Táng |
| Wade–Giles | Liu T'ang |
Liu Tang is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 21st of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Red Haired Devil".
Liu Tang is from Dongluzhou (東潞州; believed to be present-day Changzhi, Shanxi). The novel describes him as a muscular man with a dark complexion, a wide face, a red birthmark on his face, and crimson hair. He is nicknamed "Red Haired Devil" for his birthmark and unique hair colour. He is well-trained in combat skills and specialises in using the pudao. He wanders around the jianghu in his early life and does some illegal trading in Shandong and Hebei.
Liu Tang is the first person to hear news about the convoy of birthday gifts for the Imperial Tutor, Cai Jing. The convoy is being escorted to Dongjing (東京; present-day Kaifeng, Henan) by Yang Zhi and a group of soldiers disguised as traders. Liu Tang rushes off to inform his friend Chao Gai, but becomes drunk on the way and falls asleep in a rundown temple. He is arrested by the constable Lei Heng, who mistakes him for a wanted fugitive. Lei Heng and his men stop by Chao Gai's village later for a rest. Chao Gai recognises Lei Heng and lies to Lei Heng that Liu is his nephew and requests that Lei release Liu. Lei Heng obliges but Liu Tang is still angry with Lei for arresting him earlier without reason so he tries to sneak up on Lei. Liu Tang and Lei Heng engage in a fierce fight until Chao Gai shows up and stops them.
Liu Tang, Chao Gai, Wu Yong, Gongsun Sheng and the Ruan brothers disguise themselves as date traders and trick Yang Zhi and his soldiers into drinking drugged wine. When Yang Zhi and his men become unconscious, the seven men escape with the birthday gifts, which are worth a large sum of money. Grand Secretary Liang Shijie (Cai Jing's son-in-law, who prepared the gifts) is furious and he orders the local authorities to arrest the robbers. Liu Tang and his companions defeat the soldiers sent to arrest them, and then flee to the outlaw stronghold at Liangshan Marsh.
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