Song Jiang was a Chinese historical figure who led an armed rebellion against the ruling Song Dynasty in the early 12th century. His band marauded over a region straddling the present-day Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan. They eventually surrendered to the Imperial Court. The historical Song Jiang was turned into a fictional character in Water Margin, which became one of the four famous Classic Chinese Novels. He is the central figure in the book, and the leader of the 108 Heroes who come together as bandits in Shandong's Liangshan Marsh.
A stone statue of Song Jiang at Hengdian World Studios.
Yan Poxi and Song Jiang, from a 2015 Peking opera performance in Tianchan Theatre, Shanghai, China.
Water Margin is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin. It is one of the Four Classic Chinese Novels and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as Outlaws of the Marsh and All Men Are Brothers.
A page from a block-printed version of the novel Water Margin, brought to Copenhagen, Denmark in the early part of the 17th-century
A flag that says "Enforcing the Way in Heaven's Name" (Chinese: 替天行道; pinyin: Tì Tiān Xíng Dào) on Mount Liang in Liangshan County.
Lu Zhishen uproots a tree (Summer Palace mural)
Wu Song slaying a tiger (Summer Palace mural)