Zhang Shun

Zhang Shun
Water Margin character
A statue of Zhang Shun at Yongjin Pond, Hangzhou.
First appearance	Chapter 37
Nickname	"White Stripe in the Waves" 浪里白條
Rank	30th, Damage Star (天損星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits
Navy leader of Liangshan
Origin	Fisherman
Names
Simplified Chinese	张顺
Traditional Chinese	張順
Pinyin	Zhāng Shùn
Wade–Giles	Chang Shun

Zhang Shun is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 30th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "White Stripe in the Waves".

The novel describes Zhang Shun as a man six chi tall, with a fair complexion and a beautiful beard. He is nicknamed "White Stripe in the Waves" because of his powerful swimming and diving skills.

Zhang Shun and his elder brother, Zhang Heng, live in Jieyang Ridge (揭陽嶺; believed to be in present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi), near the Xunyang River. He used to join his brother in engaging in illegal trading and piracy on the river, but moved to Jiangzhou (江州; east of present-day Chongzuo, Guangxi) later and works as a fisherman there.

When Song Jiang is exiled to Jiangzhou for murdering Yan Poxi, he befriends the wardens Dai Zong and Li Kui and leads an easy life in prison. Once, during a feast with Dai Zong and Li Kui, Song Jiang has a sudden craving for fish, so Li immediately goes to the riverbank to get fresh fish. Li Kui's hot temper gets him into a fight with the fishermen, who turn to Zhang Shun for help. After losing to Li Kui in a fight on land, Zhang Shun feels dissatisfied and taunts Li to fight him in the water. Li Kui accepts the challenge and loses the fight because he is poor in swimming. Song Jiang and Dai Zong arrive at the scene and stop the fight.

Earlier on, on his way to Jiangzhou, Song Jiang met Zhang Heng, who asked him to help him pass a message to his brother. Song Jiang passes Zhang Heng's message to Zhang Shun and introduces himself and his friends. Zhang Shun is surprised when he learns of Song Jiang's true identity, because he has heard of Song's reputation as a generous and chivalrous hero and wanted to meet him. He has a good laugh with Li Kui over the fight and befriends Li, Song Jiang and Dai Zong.

Song Jiang runs into trouble in Jiangzhou later after writing a seditious poem while he was drunk. He is arrested and sentenced to death. However, the outlaws from Liangshan Marsh show up in Jiangzhou, storm the execution ground and successfully rescue him. Zhang Shun, Zhang Heng and their friends fetch Song Jiang and the outlaws at the riverbank and ferry them back to the safety of Liangshan, after which they join the outlaw band there.