Chinese Name: Shan Tinggui

Japanese Name: Sensuishō Tanteikei

Rank: 44th of the 108 Stars of Destiny 

Nickname: General of Sacred Water 

Shan Tinggui was a military instructor from Lingzhou. He was known for riding a black steed, fighting with a long saber, and breaking the dams of rivers to flood his enemy’s camps.  

After Liangshan’s army laid waste to the city of Daming to rescue Lu Junyi (see plate 68 for story details), the Prime Minister assigned a large army led by colonels Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo (plate 84) to eradicate the Liangshan bandits and their stronghold. A spy had reported this to Liangshan, and Guan Sheng (plate 70) volunteered to meet them in battle as he had once served with the two colonels and knew them quite well. 

Guan Sheng rode out with a brigade of 5000 Liangshan soldiers to head off the Imperial Army. Hao Siwen (plate 74) and Xuan Zan (plate 71) went as his lieutenants. He and his men arrived at Lingzhou Prefecture, and Colonels Shan Tinggui, Wei Dingguo, and their soldiers, met them outside the city. Guan Sheng’s lieutenants charged out to fight the two colonels. Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo turned and galloped back towards their imperial troops and Hao Siwen and Xuan Zan followed on their heels. The colonels split up and lured them each into different directions. Now separated, Hao Siwen and Xuan Zan were swarmed by Imperial troops, pulled from their horses with hooked poles, and captured.

*. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *.*

As the battle continued, Shan Tinggui went in pursuit of Guan Sheng. He tried to spear Guan Sheng in the back, but Guan Sheng spun around, cut the spear with his sword, and Shan Tinggui lost his balance and fell from his horse. Guan Sheng dismounted and went to Shan Tinggui, but instead of killing him, he helped him up. Guan Sheng expressed his respect for him, telling him how he’d often spoken with Song Jiang (plate 107) of his bravery, and how Song Jiang expressed desire for him to join their ranks at Liangshan. Shan Tinggui was moved by this and agreed to join the legions at Liangshan Marsh.

In this depiction, Shan Tinggui’s soldiers have pulled Hao Siwen from his horse and onto the ground as Shan Tinggui rides by with a flood of water crashing around them. However, in the novel Shan Tinggui did not use any of the water maneuvers he was famous for in this battle. 

Isaac Nichols original