Lin Chong 林冲
At the beginning of Water Margin, Lin Chong serves in the imperial guard and, even after falling into disgrace, long hopes to survive it without breaking the law. Gao Qiu's men pursue him in exile as well. The scenes in which the monk Lu Zhishen has to save his friend, and Lin Chong himself takes shelter from a snowstorm, became the basis for separate plays and films.
Lin Chong (林冲) teaches martial arts to the imperial guard in Dongjing. In Water Margin he was nicknamed Panther Head for his resemblance to Zhang Fei from the tales of the Three Kingdoms. The persecution begins when the adopted son of the powerful Gao Qiu takes a liking to Lin Chong's wife. Lin Chong himself is lured, weapons in hand, into the White Tiger Hall by a trick, accused of an assassination attempt and sent into exile.
On the road to Cangzhou, attempts are made on his life. In the Wild Boar Forest Lin Chong is saved by Lu Zhishen. In Cangzhou Lin Chong is given work at a fodder depot, but Gao Qiu's men find him there too. On a snowy night he leaves the depot and takes shelter in a mountain spirit temple. The building where he was supposed to stay is set on fire, and Lin Chong overhears the talk of the men who expected him to burn. After dealing with them, he joins the outlaws of Liangshan and becomes one of their foremost fighters. In the list of the novel's one hundred and eight heroes, Lin Chong ranks sixth.
The opera The Wild Boar Forest shows Lin Chong's rescue, while the play Lin Chong Flees by Night depicts his departure for Liangshan. Individual episodes were adapted into the films Ye Zhu Lin with Li Shao-Chun and The Gods Fight Against (2019) with Francis Chai Yuan-Le. In the series Water Margin (1998) the role went to Zhou Ye-Mang, and in All Men Are Brothers (2011) to Hu Dong.
