List of Water Margin Minor Characters - Lin Chong's Story

Lin Chong's Story

• Lin Chong's wife attracted the attention of Gao Yanei while she was praying in the temple. Gao attempts to molest her but refrains from doing so when Lin Chong shows up. He is unwilling to give up and collaborates with his foster father Gao Qiu and servant Lu Qian to frame Lin Chong. Lin is sentenced to exile and he divorces his wife before leaving to allow her to have a chance to marry again. Mrs Lin remains faithful to her husband and she hangs herself after Gao Qiu repeatedly pressures her to marry his foster son.

• Jin'er (traditional Chinese: 錦兒; simplified Chinese: 锦儿; pinyin: Jǐn'ér) is a maid in Lin Chong's household.

• Instructor Zhang (traditional Chinese: 張教頭; simplified Chinese: 张教头; pinyin: Zhāng Jiàotóu) is Lin Chong's father-in-law. He is also a martial arts instructor of the Imperial Guards.

• Gao Yanei1 (Chinese: 高衙內; pinyin: Gāo Yánèi) is Gao Qiu's lecherous foster son, who is nicknamed "Tai Sui of Flowers" (traditional Chinese: 花花太歲; simplified Chinese: 花花太岁; pinyin: Huāhuā Tàisuì). He lusts for Lin Chong's wife to such an extent that he enlists the help of Lu Qian and Fu'an to lure her into a trap. In the plan, Lu Qian pretends to invite Lin Chong out for drinks, while Fu'an goes to Lin's house and tells Mrs Lin that her husband has fallen unconscious after drinking. Mrs Lin follows Fu'an to find her husband but is tricked into entering Lu Qian's house, where Yanei is waiting. Yanei attempts to force himself on Mrs Lin but she puts up resistance. In the meantime, Lin Chong's maid Jin'er escapes to inform her master, and Lin rushes to Lu Qian's house to save his wife, while Yanei escapes after his failed plan. Yanei falls ill due to his obsession with Mrs Lin, so Fu'an and Lu Qian conceive a plan to eliminate Lin Chong first so that Yanei can seize Lin's wife. In the scheme, Lin is lured to Gao Qiu's residence after being told that the marshal wanted to see a new saber he had purchased (the saber was purposely sold to Lin on Gao's instruction). However, Lin is tricked into entering the White Tiger Hall instead, a place where high-ranking military officers hold important meetings, and weapons are not permitted there. Lin is arrested and placed on trial for "attempted assassination of a government official in the White Tiger Hall". Gao Qiu tries to pressure the prefect of Kaifeng to put Lin Chong to death but the prefect sentences Lin to exile in Cangzhou instead.

1

• Lu Qian (traditional Chinese: 陸謙; simplified Chinese: 陆谦; pinyin: Lù Qiān) is an old friend of Lin Chong. When Lin Chong first met him, he was still roaming the streets of Kaifeng, so Lin took pity on him and helped him find a job. Lu becomes a yuhou (虞侯)2 under Gao Qiu. He repays Lin Chong's kindness with evil by collaborating with Gao Qiu and Gao Yanei to frame Lin and cause the latter to be sentenced to exile in Cangzhou. He is sent by Gao Qiu to Cangzhou to bribe the officials there to kill Lin. The plan fails and Lu is slain by Lin after setting fire to the fodder depot.

2

• Fu'an (Chinese: 富安; pinyin: Fù'ān), nicknamed "Bird Head" (traditional Chinese: 乾鳥頭; simplified Chinese: 干鸟头; pinyin: Gàn Niǎo Tóu), is one of Gao Yanei's close associates. He travels to Cangzhou with Lu Qian to kill Lin Chong at the fodder depot. They fail in their plan and end up being killed by Lin.

• Prefect Teng (Chinese: 滕府尹; pinyin: Téng Fúyǐn) is the prefect of Kaifeng.

• Sun Ding (traditional Chinese: 孫定; simplified Chinese: 孙定; pinyin: Sūn Dìng) is a court clerk (孔目) involved in Lin Chong's case and an advisor to Prefect Teng. He is a righteous man and is nicknamed "Buddha Sun" (traditional Chinese: 孫佛兒; simplified Chinese: 孙佛儿; pinyin: Sūn Fó'ěr) for his kindness and willingness to help people. He reminds the prefect that the latter should not give in to pressure from Gao Qiu to put Lin Chong to death and helps to mitigate Lin's sentence.

• Dong Chao (Chinese: 董超; pinyin: Dǒng Chāo) and Xue Ba (Chinese: 薛霸; pinyin: Xuē Bà) are the guards tasked with escorting Lin Chong to Cangzhou. They have been bribed by Gao Qiu to kill Lin along the way. They mistreat and abuse Lin Chong throughout the journey, including scalding Lin's feet with boiling water at one point. When they arrive in the desolate Wild Boar Woods, they attempt to kill Lin there but Lu Zhishen appears and saves Lin. Lu Zhishen wants to kill them but Lin stops him and insists on serving exile, so Lu forces the guards to take good care of Lin and see him safely to Cangzhou. Later, Dong Chao and Xue Ba are chosen to escort Lu Junyi to Shamen Island. They have also been bribed by Li Gu to kill Lu Junyi along the way and they treat Lu in the same way as they did to Lin Chong years ago. They are killed by Yan Qing when they are about to murder Lu.

• Instructor Hong (traditional Chinese: 洪教頭; simplified Chinese: 洪教头; pinyin: Hóng Jiàotóu) is a martial arts instructor in Chai Jin's residence. He is arrogant and behaves rudely towards Lin Chong, whom he sees as an inferior convict. He challenges Lin to a fight and leaves in shame after being defeated by Lin.

• Wang Lun (traditional Chinese: 王倫; simplified Chinese: 王伦; pinyin: Wáng Lún) is the first chief of Liangshan. He is described to be a selfish man who is unwilling to accept others who are better than him for fear that they might usurp his position as chief. However, he does invite Yang Zhi to join his band as soon as they are introduced, albeit without sincerity. Wang Lun initially tries to send away Lin Chong, but eventually backs down and allows Lin to stay at Liangshan. When Chao Gai's group is asked to leave, Lin Chong, who has been instigated by Wu Yong, reacts angrily and stabs Wang through the heart with his sword.