Chinese Name: Zou Yuan 

Japanese Name: Shutsurinryū Sūen

Rank: 90th of the 108 Stars of Destiny

Nickname: Forest Emerging Dragon 

Zou Yuan and his nephew Zou Run (plate 75) led a small gang of bandits on Mount Dengyun. They were about the same age, fond of gambling, and were both tall and well built.  

The Xie brothers, had been unjustly arrested and the warden at the prison had been bribed to have them killed before they could stand trial. When their cousin Gu Dasao (plate 50) found this out, she and her husband devised a plan to rescue them and recruited Zou Yuan, his nephew, and other family members and friends. During the prison break, the warden as well as several prison guards were killed, and, Zou Yuan, the Xie brothers, and the other rescuers fled to join with the Liangshan bandits (see plate 47 for details). 

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As the story of the Liangshan bandits continued, their leader Chao Gai (see plates 14; 66), was killed by a poison arrow when raiding the village of  Zengtou. Later when Yu Baosi stole 200 of Liangshan’s horses and took them to Zengtou, Song Jiang (plate 107) decided to exact revenge on the Zeng Family. The Liangshan bandits killed everyone from the Zeng family and looted Zengtou of all it’s valuables and grain supplies (see plate 85 for details).  

Zou Yuan is depicted here tackling one of the Zeng family sons to the ground moments before he is killed. Although this scene is not described in the novel. 

Kuniyoshi recreation