Li Jun (Water Margin)
| Li Jun | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| Nickname | "River Dragon" (混江龍) |
| Rank | 26th, Longevity Star (天壽星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits |
| Navy leader of Liangshan | |
| Origin | Pirate |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Luzhou (present-day Hefei, Anhui) |
| First appearance | Chapter 36 |
| Weapon | Sword |
| Names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 李俊 |
| Traditional Chinese | 李俊 |
| Pinyin | Lǐ Jùn |
| Wade–Giles | Li Chün |
Li Jun is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 26th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "River Dragon".
The novel describes Li Jun as a man eight chi tall, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a reddish face, wire-like whiskers and a loud booming voice. He is from Luzhou (蘆州; present-day Hefei, Anhui), but lives in Jieyang Ridge (揭陽嶺; believed to be in present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi), near the Xunyang River, with his younger brother, Li Li. He is not only well versed in martial arts, but is also a powerful swimmer capable of performing many feats in the water. He is thus nicknamed "River Dragon".
The Li brothers rob unsuspecting travellers for a living: Li Jun pretends to be a boatman who ferries people across the Xunyang River and robs them when they are far away from the riverbank; Li Li runs an inn at the riverbank, serves his guests food and drinks spiked with drugs, and robs them when they are unconscious. They are close friends of the Tong brothers (Tong Wei and Tong Meng) and run their illegal "business" together at Jieyang Ridge.
When Song Jiang is exiled to Jiangzhou (江州; east of present-day Chongzuo, Guangxi), he passes by Jieyang and takes a rest in Li Li's inn. Li Li uses drugged wine to knock Song Jiang out and is about to rob him when Li Jun appears and stops his brother. Li Jun recognises Song Jiang as the generous and chivalrous hero they have long heard about and have been wanting to meet, so he tells his brother to revive Song. The Li brothers apologise to Song Jiang when he regains consciousness and befriend him.
After leaving Li Li's inn, Song Jiang runs into trouble with the Mu brothers (Mu Hong and Mu Chun) in the nearby Jieyang Town, he flees from the town and boards Zhang Heng's boat in desperation. Zhang Heng, like Li Jun, is also a pirate in disguise as a ferryman and he wants to kill and rob Song Jiang when his boat reaches the middle of the river. Luckily, Li Jun shows up in time, stops Zhang Heng, and introduces Song Jiang to Zhang and the Mu brothers. Zhang Heng and the Mu brothers are stunned when they learn of Song Jiang's true identity, and they apologise to him and treat him like an honoured guest. Later, they see him off on his journey to Jiangzhou.
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