Yang Lin (Water Margin)

Yang Lin
Water Margin character
Yang Lin as depicted in Utagawa Kuniyoshi's series of woodblock prints
First appearance	Chapter 44
Nickname	"Multicoloured Leopard" 錦豹子
Rank	51st, Dark Star (地暗星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends
Tiger Cub Scouting General of Liangshan
Origin	Wandering outlaw
Ancestral home / Place of origin	Zhangde Prefecture (present-day Anyang, Henan)
Weapon	Iron spear
Names
Simplified Chinese	杨林
Traditional Chinese	楊林
Pinyin	Yáng Lín
Wade–Giles	Yang Lin

Yang Lin is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 51st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 15th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Multi-coloured Leopard".

The novel describes Yang Lin as a man with a round head, large and beautiful eyes, a straight nose, a squarish mouth, a narrow waist and broad shoulders. He is from Zhangde Prefecture (彰德府; present-day Anyang, Henan). He excels in martial arts and carries an iron spear. He is nicknamed "Multicoloured Leopard".

Yang Lin is a wandering outlaw. When Dai Zong is searching for Gongsun Sheng, he encounters Yang Lin (also a friend of Gongsun) by coincidence and they decide to travel together to find Gongsun. Along the journey, they pass by Yinma River (飲馬川; in present-day Ji County, Tianjin) and meet a group of bandits led by Pei Xuan, Deng Fei and Meng Kang. They accept Dai Zong's invitation to join the outlaw band at Liangshan Marsh. Yang Lin follows Dai Zong back to Liangshan later after they get acquainted with Shi Xiu in Jizhou (薊州; present-day Ji County, Tianjin).

When the Liangshan outlaws attack the Zhu Family Village, Yang Lin volunteers to work as a spy for Liangshan. He disguises himself as a priest and starts marking the roads in the village. However, he is discovered and captured by patrolling enemies. He is released after the outlaws conquer the village.

Yang Lin becomes one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry after the Grand Assembly of the 108 Stars of Destiny. He follows the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by Emperor Huizong.