Qiongying

Not to be confused with Pu Qiongying.
Qiu Qiongying
Water Margin character
Nickname "Qiong, Hail of Arrows"
(瓊矢簇)
Also known as "Charming Lady of Virtue and Filial Piety"
(貞孝宜人)
South Pacifying Vanguard
(平南先鋒) of Tian Hu
First appearance Chapter 98
Weapon Halberd, stones
Names
Simplified Chinese 仇琼英
Traditional Chinese 仇瓊英
Pinyin Qíu Qióngyīng
Wade–Giles Chiu Chiung-ying
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Qiu.

Qiu Qiongying, better known as Qiongying, is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. She serves as a military officer under Tian Hu, a rebel leader who established a separatist regime in Hebei against the ruling Song Empire. Tian Hu is one of the rebel leaders that the 108 Liangshan outlaws have to defeat after they have been granted amnesty by the Song government.

Nicknamed "Qiong, Hail of Arrows", Qiongying is one of the few female warriors in the novel, but not one of the 108 Stars of Destiny. She meets Liangshan's "Featherless Arrow" Zhang Qing, falls in love with him and marries him. She defects over to the Liangshan forces and helps them eliminate Tian Hu. Qiongying and Zhang Qing earn the highest credit for the victory over Tian Hu.

Life

The novel describes Qiongying as an extraordinary young lady warrior who possesses wisdom, courage and beauty. She is the stepdaughter of Wu Li, one of Tian Hu's generals, and holds a princess title. In a mystical dream she had one night, she met a divine warrior who taught her a "flying stones" technique, which allows her to fling stones at enemies with extreme force and accuracy. Over the years, many men have proposed marriage to her, but she rejected all of them and says that she wants to find the warrior who taught her the skill.

Qiongying first appears in chapter 98 when the Song imperial court, after granting amnesty to the Liangshan outlaws, sends them on a military campaign to eliminate Tian Hu's rebel kingdom in Hebei. She leads the vanguard of Tian Hu's army and faces the Liangshan heroes in battle. Using her "flying stones" technique, she defeats Wang Ying, Hu Sanniang and Sun Xin, and even manages to force Lin Chong to retreat.

Liangshan's chief strategist, Wu Yong, comes up with a plan to send An Daoquan and "Featherless Arrow" Zhang Qing as undercover agents to Tian Hu's side. An Daoquan disguises himself as a physician called "Quan Ling" while Zhang Qing pretends to be "Quan Yu", Quan Ling's younger brother. They infiltrate Wu Li's residence, where An Daoquan pretends to heal Wu's arrow wounds. Zhang Qing encounters Qiongying, who is stunned when she recognises him as the "divine warrior" she has been looking for. They fall in love and are eventually married. On their wedding night, Zhang Qing reveals his true identity to Qiongying. To his surprise, she reveals that she actually hates Tian Hu because he murdered her parents, and that she has been secretly plotting her revenge on Tian Hu all this time. Qiongying and Zhang Qing work together to cripple Tian Hu's army and pave the way to victory for the Liangshan forces.

Zhang Qing is killed in action later during the campaign against another rebel leader, Fang La, in southern China. Qiongying is heartbroken when she receives news of her husband's death. She travels to Dusong Pass (獨松關; located south of present-day Anji County, Huzhou, Zhejiang), where Zhang Qing died, to recover his remains and bury him in his hometown in Zhangde Prefecture (彰德府; present-day Anyang, Henan). She dedicates the rest of her life to raising their son, Zhang Jie (張節). Zhang Jie follows in his father's footsteps by serving in the Song army and fighting invaders from the Jurchen-ruled Jin Empire.

References

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