postgres Lu Zhishen is one of the 108 heroes of Liangshan in Water Margin. Born Lu Da in Weizhou, he was an officer in a garrison office until he killed the butcher Zheng Tu and became a monk under the name Zhishen, known as the Flowery Monk. He saved Lin Chong at Wild Boar Forest, joined Liangshan, opposed accepting amnesty, and died in a temple at Hangzhou after the campaign against Fang La. /en/people/lu-zhishen/relation.html person_cn_q1075357 person lu-zhishen 鲁智深

Lu Zhishen is one of the 108 heroes of Liangshan in Water Margin. Born Lu Da in Weizhou, he was an officer in a garrison office until he killed the butcher Zheng Tu and became a monk under the name Zhishen, known as the Flowery Monk. He saved Lin Chong at Wild Boar Forest, joined Liangshan, opposed accepting amnesty, and died in a temple at Hangzhou after the campaign against Fang La.

published category-literature category-people category-fictional-characters tag-fictional-character tag-classics tag-four-great-classics wikidata https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1075357 zhwiki https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%B2%81%E6%99%BA%E6%B7%B1 2026-10-25T00:00:00+08:00 2026-10-29T17:21:15+08:00 user:admin 9 Lu Zhishen is an important character in the classical vernacular novel Water Margin and one of the 108 heroes of Liangshan. Wikidata's Chinese label and the Chinese Wikipedia article title are both Lu Zhishen, and the article says his original name was Lu Da, his monastic name Zhishen, and that he is called the Flowery Monk because of the tattoos on his body, so the heading stays the name used in the book. This entry records the novel's setting as the Song state, with the death year given by Wikidata as 1120.[^wikidata][^zhwiki] ## Killing and ordination According to the Chinese Wikipedia article, Lu Da was tall and powerfully built, with a temper like fire and enormous strength. He was an officer in the office of Zhong Shizhong in Weizhou, and met Shi Jin and Li Zhong in a teahouse. While the three were drinking they heard that the girl Jin Cuilian was being bullied by the local bully Zheng Tu, called Lord West of the Pass. Lu Da went to teach him a lesson and killed him by accident, then fled Weizhou. With help from Squire Zhao he went to Wenshu Monastery on Mount Wutai and was ordained, taking the name Zhishen. He could not keep the monastic rules, got drunk and caused trouble more than once, and the elder Zhizhen sent him to the Great Xiangguo Monastery in Bianliang. On the road he posed as the bride in Peach Blossom Village to thrash Zhou Tong, who was forcing a villager's daughter into marriage, and at Waguan Monastery he joined Shi Jin in killing Cui Daocheng and Qiu Xiaoyi, who had seized the temple.[^zhwiki] ## Wild Boar Forest and Liangshan The article says that at the Xiangguo Monastery he was set to guard the vegetable garden and cowed the local ruffians who came to make trouble by pulling up a willow by its roots. He swore brotherhood with Lin Chong, and when Lin Chong was framed by Gao Qiu and sent to Cangzhou in exile, he followed secretly, beat down the guards Dong Chao and Xue Ba at Wild Boar Forest, and saw Lin Chong to within seventy li of Cangzhou before leaving. Gao Qiu forced him out of the monastery, and he burned the garden and became a fugitive. He later took Erlong Mountain with Yang Zhi, Cao Zheng and others, and Wu Song and others came to join them. When Huyan Zhuo attacked Qingzhou, Erlong, Peach Blossom and White Tiger mountains joined forces, Song Jiang brought Liangshan troops to help, and Huyan Zhuo was captured and joined Liangshan; the heroes of the three mountains then went up to Liangshan together. After reaching Liangshan he proposed recruiting Shi Jin, who had been captured by Governor He at Huazhou. He rushed into the city alone and was captured too, until Liangshan took Huazhou and freed them both.[^zhwiki] ## Against amnesty, and his end The article records that he ranks thirteenth among the Liangshan heroes, matched to the Heaven Lonely Star among the thirty-six heavenly spirits, and is the first of the ten foot-soldier leaders. When Song Jiang's poem hinted at accepting amnesty, he, Wu Song and Li Kui flared up on the spot, and he said the whole court was full of traitors and that accepting amnesty would do no good. After the amnesty he went with Song Jiang to see the elder Zhizhen on Mount Wutai, and took part in the campaigns against the Liao, Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La, capturing Fang La alive at Wulong Ridge. After the war Song Jiang urged him to return to lay life and take office, and he said his heart was ashes and he wanted only a quiet place. He stayed at Liuhe Temple in Hangzhou and looked after the gravely ill Lin Chong together with Wu Song, who was also there. Lin Chong died. Half a year later, one night, he heard the tide on the Qiantang river, realized his end had come, bathed, changed his clothes and passed away. The article adds that in the old text of Water Margin he does not die in Hangzhou but goes back to Mount Wutai with Wu Song to practice.[^zhwiki] ## Basic facts - Names: Lu Zhishen, originally Lu Da, monastic name Zhishen, nicknamed the Flowery Monk[^wikidata][^zhwiki] - Home: Weizhou[^zhwiki] - Setting recorded on this entry: the Song state[^wikidata] - Star: Heaven Lonely Star, thirteenth of the 108[^zhwiki] - Appears in: [[work_cn_q70827|Water Margin]][^zhwiki] /people/lu-zhishen.html en zh zh en Character in Water Margin true literary character relation_cnworks_depicts_q70827_q1075357 work_cn_q70827 depicts person_cn_q1075357 work_cn_q70827 wikidata Related works work_cn_q70827 Water Margin /en/works/water-margin.html true depicts Related works relation_cnworks_depicts_q70827_q1075357 work_cn_q70827 depicts person_cn_q1075357 work_cn_q70827 wikidata Related works work_cn_q70827 Water Margin /en/works/water-margin.html true en zh en is_fictional Fictional yes person_category Person category literary character disambiguation Disambiguation Character in Water Margin 1 50 1 1 1