Lu Zhishen
| Lu Zhishen | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "Flowery Monk" 花和尚 |
| Also known as |
|
| Rank | 13th, Solitary Star (天孤星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits |
 |
|
| Infantry leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Garrison major |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Weizhou (around present-day Pingliang, Gansu) |
| First appearance | Chapter 3 |
| Weapon | Monk's spade, Dagger |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 鲁智深 |
| Traditional Chinese | 魯智深 |
| Pinyin | Lǔ Zhìshēn |
| Wade–Giles | Lu Chih-shen |
Lu Zhishen, nicknamed "Flowery Monk", is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He is the lead character in the first major story cycle of the novel, in which he epitomises loyalty, strength and justice, but also brashness. He ranks 13th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroic characters.
One folktale represents him as a sworn brother of Zhou Tong.
Lu Zhishen's original name was "Lu Da". He is described to have a round face, big ears, a straight nose, a squarish mouth, and a beard which overshadows his face. He is first introduced in the novel as a garrison major in Weizhou (渭州; around present-day Pingliang, Gansu), where he meets Shi Jin in an inn. While they are having drinks, they overhear Jin Cuilian, a singer, crying over her plight. She and her father are bullied by a certain Butcher Zheng, who refuses to let them leave Weizhou until they have paid a "debt" owed to him. After helping Jin and her father escape, Lu Da goes to Butcher Zheng's stall and provokes the butcher to fight him. He accidentally kills the butcher after punching him thrice in the head, and then flees from Weizhou to avoid arrest. While on the run, he encounters Jin Cuilian's father, who tells him that his daughter has married a wealthy squire. Lu Da takes shelter in the squire's manor for a while. The squire introduces him to the abbot of Manjusri Monastery on Mount Wutai. Lu Da becomes a monk in the monastery and is given the Buddhist name "Zhishen", which means "sagacious". He is also nicknamed "Flowery Monk" because of the flowery tattoos which adorn his upper body.
After becoming a monk, Lu Zhishen feels unaccustomed to his new life of austerity and breaks the Buddhist code of abstinence from meat and wine on a few occasions. In his drunken rage, he damages the monastery and beats up his fellow monks, who try to stop him. The abbot can no longer tolerate his behaviour so he sends him away to the Great Minister's Temple in Dongjing (東京; present-day Kaifeng, Henan).
...
Wikipedia