Shi Jin

Shi Jin
Water Margin character
An illustration of Shi Jin, done by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
Nickname	"Nine Tattooed Dragons" 九紋龍
Rank	23rd, Minute Star (天微星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits
Tiger Cub Vanguard General of Liangshan
Origin	Master of Shi Family Village
Ancestral home / Place of origin	Huayin County (present-day Huayin, Weinan, Shaanxi)
First appearance	Chapter 2
Weapon	Staff, Pudao
Names
Simplified Chinese	史进
Traditional Chinese	史進
Pinyin	Shǐ Jìn
Wade–Giles	Shih Chin

Shi Jin is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 23rd of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Nine Tattooed Dragons".

Shi Jin is the son of Squire Shi, the master of the Shi Family Village in Huayin County (華陰縣; present-day Huayin, Weinan, Shaanxi). He has been fascinated with martial arts since childhood, and spends his time training or befriending other jianghu figures. In doing so, he neglects his duties of running the village. He is nicknamed "Nine Tattooed Dragons" because of the nine dragon tattoos he sports on his upper torso, in addition to other flowery tattoos all over his body.

Shi Jin is the first of the 108 Liangshan heroes to make an appearance in the novel. Wang Jin, a former martial arts instructor of the Imperial Guards, is forced to abandon his career and escape because he offended Grand Marshal Gao Qiu, who seeks vengeance on him. Wang Jin and his elderly mother pass by the Shi Family Village while fleeing from the capital Dongjing (東京; present-day Kaifeng, Henan). Squire Shi takes pity on Wang Jin and his mother and allows them to stay in his village.

One morning, while Shi Jin is practising some staff movements in the courtyard, he hears Wang Jin commenting that his skill is not good enough. Feeling stung by Wang Jin's remarks, he rudely challenges the stranger to spar with him, but is stopped by his father, who chides him for being disrespectful towards their guest. However, Shi Jin insists on fighting Wang Jin but ends up losing the match. Feeling humbled after his defeat and impressed by Wang Jin's skill, he apologises to Wang for his arrogant attitude and requests Wang to teach him martial arts. Squire Shi helps his son make a further request. Wang Jin agrees to accept Shi Jin as his student.

Wang Jin stays in the village for a few months, during which he instructs Shi Jin in martial arts. He leaves with his mother after seeing that Shi Jin has improved significantly. Shi Jin feels bored after his master's departure and spends his time training and sparring with other martial artists. He becomes famous in the region after defeating stronger fighters. Squire Shi dies some time later and the burden of running the village falls on Shi Jin's shoulders.