Chinese Name: Wu Song 

Japanese Name: Gyōja Bushō

Rank: 14th of the 108 Stars of Destiny

Nickname: Pilgrim 

Wu Song was originally from Qinghe County. He is described as being tall, handsome, and extremely strong. At one point, he demonstrated his strength by lifting a 400 jin (530 pound) boulder out of the ground, and with one hand tossed it ten feet into the air then caught it as it fell back to earth. He had fled Qinghe County after getting into a drunken fight with an official and had beaten him so badly, Wu Song thought he was dead. Later, Wu Song found out the official had not died, so he decided to return home to seek out his older brother, Wu the Elder.  

While traveling home, Wu Song stopped at an inn near Jingyang Ridge and consumed eighteen bowls of very strong wine. The inn keeper advised him not to go any further that night as there was a man-eating tiger stalking Jingyang Ridge. Wu Song paid him no mind and left the inn to continue on his journey. After traveling a bit, he realized he was in fact quite drunk. He stopped along the road to rest, and the very tiger he’d been warned about sprang from the forest and attacked him. Wu Song swung at the tiger with his cudgel but missed and broke it on the ground. He managed to evade the tiger as it leapt at him, then grabbed the beast with both hands by the skin on its forehead. The tiger stumbled to the ground with Wu Song on top of it. He pinned its head into the dirt and kicked in one of its eyes. The tiger roared and clawed deep gashes into the earth. He held the tiger down and dealt seventy blows to its face and skull. The tiger lay limp and panting, blood pouring from its mouth, nose, and ears. Wu Song retrieved his broken cudgel and continued to bludgeon the beast until he was sure it was dead. 

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Over time, Wu Song eventually made his way to Mount Lianglong where he joined with Lu Zhishen (plates 6; 10), Yang Zhi (plate 13), and their gang of outlaw monks. The bandits of Mount Lianglong later teamed up with the bandit gangs of Mount Taohua and Mount Baihu and they joined forces with the bandits at Liangshan Marsh to defeat general Huyan Zhuo (plate 55). Realizing the advantages and strength gained by joining forces, the bandits of Mount Lianglong, including Wu Song, and the bandit gangs of Mount Taohua and Mount Baihu, remained at Liangshan Marsh as part of their legions. 

Wu Song is depicted here battling with the man-eating tiger. 

Kuniyoshi recreation