Chinese Name: Ruan Xiaowu

Japanese Name: Tanmeijirō Genshōgo

Rank: 29th of the 108 Stars of Destiny

Nickname: Lives Shortening Second Brother 

Ruan Xiaowu lived in the village of Shijie which was located near Liangshan Marsh. He was the middle of three brothers—the eldest being Ruan Xiao’er (plate 103) and the youngest Ruan Xiaoqi (plate 21). The three brothers worked as fishermen in the waters around Liangshan Marsh. They were all excellent swimmers and very good at fighting under water. Ruan Xiaowu was a heavy gambler but never had much success with it. He is described as having a leopard tattoo on his chest.

Wu Yong (plate 14) and Chao Gai (see plate 14) planned to rob a very valuable convoy of birthday gifts being sent to the Prime Minister. They set out to recruit a team and the Ruan brothers were included because of their fearlessness and loyalty. Upon being asked to join in the venture the three brothers unanimously agreed, knowing this would be a way out of their impoverished state. 

The robbery was a success, but when one of the team’s men was captured, he confessed under torture. Chao Gai received word that the authorities were after him and his team, so they all fled to Liangshan Marsh to seek refuge with the stronghold of bandits located there.

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After government forces had failed many attempts to defeat the Liangshan bandits, Grand Marshal Gao Qiu petitioned the Emperor to allow himself to lead an army to destroy the bandits. The Emperor was very pleased and agreed to the proposal. Gao Qiu was assigned ten high ranking commandants and a force of 130,000 men. 

Gao Qiu’s military incompetence and his commandants’ overconfidence led to two failed attempts to cross the marsh and attack the Liangshan bandits’ stronghold. Gao Qiu then ordered the construction of 300 large and very fast paddle-wheel ships in the hopes of outrunning Liangshan’s smaller oar and wind powered skiffs. 

Gao Qiu and his army boarded the new ships and set out to attack Liangshan. Song Jiang (plate 107) prepared for Gao Qiu’s new armada by sending Ruan Xiaowu and the rest of Liangshan’s best naval men out on hundreds of small boats and they met the paddle-wheelers head on. They dove into the icy early winter water where Gao Qiu’s men would not follow, and cut holes into the hulls of their ships. They boarded the paddle-wheelers and began killing soldiers or throwing them overboard for capture. It was not long before Gao Qiu’s impressive armada was overtaken by Liangshan’s forces, and he was captured and taken to the bandits’ stronghold. 

Ruan Xiaowu is depicted here capturing one of Gao Qiu’s men, having pulled him into the water. See plate 20 for more on Ruan Xiaowu.

Kuniyoshi recreation