Ruan Xiao'er

来自 历史记 的图片

First appearance Chapter 15 Nickname "Tai Sui Who Stands His Ground" 立地太歲 Rank 27th, Sword Star (天劍星)

Ruan Xiao'er is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "General of Double Spears", he ranks 27th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

目录

Background

The novel depicts Ruan Xiao'er as muscular and having a chiseled face, a wide mouth, a cold gleam in his eyes and some yellow hair on his chest. He is the elder brother of Ruan Xiaowu and Ruan Xiaoqi. They live in Shijie Village (石碣村; in present-day Liangshan County, Shandong), where they make a living by fishing in waters around the Liangshan Marsh. All three are good swimmers and fight well in water. Of the three, Ruan Xiao'er is the only one married with children.

Becoming an outlaw

Wu Yong recommends involving the three Ruan brothers when Chao Gai, headman of Dongxi village in Yuncheng County, seeks his advice on whether to hijack valuables in transportation to the Grand Tutor Cai Jing in the imperial capital Dongjing. Visiting the Ruans in Shijie Village, Wu claims that he has come to buy some fish before proceeding to find out whether they are receptive to the bold proposal. Ruan Xiaoer, the oldest of the three, senses Wu is up to something else while the other two brothers, being less astute, are not suspicious. Nevertheless all three are unhappy with their poverty and resent being bullied by officials. So when Wu Yong comes to his point, they unanimously accept the invitation. The robbers, numbering seven including Liu Tang and Gongsun Sheng and with the help of Bai Sheng, who poses as a wine seller, succeed in seizing the valuables at the Yellow Mud Ridge by drugging the escorts of the gifts led by Yang Zhi.

But the authorities soon track down essential clues and an arrest party is sent to seize Chao Gai at his house. Chao, Wu Yong, Gongsun Sheng and Liu Tang flee to Shijie village. The Ruan brothers, familiar with the surrounding waters, lure the soldiers who have come for them into the waterways and wipe them out. The seven men then seek refuge in the bandit stronghold of Liangshan Marsh.

Wang Lun, the leader of Liangshan, tries to send them away with gifts fearing that they might usurp his position. Wu Yong, sensing Lin Chong's unhappiness with Wang, instigates him to kill the leader. Chao Gai is then elected the new chief of Liangshan, with Ruan Xiaoqi taking the eighth position. The Ruan brothers are appointed commanders of the Liangshan flotilla.

When Guan Sheng leads an imperial force to attack Liangshan, Zhang Heng launches a raid on his camp with a small band without informing any of the chieftains except Ruan Xiaoqi. He is ambushed and captured. Ruan takes some men to rescue him but is also seized. Both are freed after Guan Sheng defects to Liangshan.

Campaigns and death

Ruan Xiao'er is appointed as one of the commander of the Liangshan flotilla after the 108 Stars of Destiny came together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He participates in campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in Song territory following amnesty from Emperor Huizong for the Liangshan outlaws.

In the battle of Black Dragon Ridge (烏龍嶺; northeast of present-day Meicheng Town, Jiande, Zhejiang) in the campaign against Fang La, Ruan Xiao'er is sent to destroy the enemy's flotilla base. Fang's force bombard Ruan's boat with heavy cannon, trapping him in a sea of fire. Ruan Xiao'er dives into the water to escape but enemy soldiers snare him with hooks. Fearing being captured, he slits his own throat.