Chinese Name: Gu Dasao

Japanese Name: Botaichū Kodaisō

Rank: 101st of the 108 Stars of Destiny

Nickname: Tigress 

Gu Dasao and her husband Sun Xin (plate 49) ran a tavern in Dengzhou, which also served as a butcher shop and a gambling den. She is depicted as being a very sturdy woman who could fight thirty men at a time—even her husband Sun Xin did not dare to make her angry. 

Gu Dasao’s cousins, the Xie brothers (plates 75; 100), had been unjustly arrested and the warden at the prison had been bribed to have them killed before they could stand trial. Gu Dasao became aware of their fate, so she, her husband, and several other friends and family members, devised a plan to rescue them. Having killed the warden and several prison guards during the jail break, Gu Dasao, the Xie brothers, and the rest of the rescue team fled to join with the Liangshan bandits (see plate 47 for story details). 

Chinese Name: An Daoquan 

Japanese Name: Shini Andōzen

Rank: 56th of the 108 Stars of Destiny

Nickname: Divine Physician 

An Daoquan was a physician who ran a small practice in Jiankang Prefecture. He was very knowledgeable in a variety of ailments and their remedies. 

One day Song Jiang (plate 107) awoke with a fever, headache, and a large painful mass on his back. Upon examining it, Zhang Shun (plate 99) said his mother had once had a similar ailment and the only person who could cure her was Dr. An Daoquan. Song Jiang asked Zhang Shun to retrieve him at once. 

Zhang Shun found the Doctor in Jiankang and said he was needed immediately at Liangshan. The Doctor agreed to go with him but did not want to leave until morning. He took Zhang Shun to a favorite brothel, where he was very familiar with a prostitute named Li Qiaonu. The Doctor told her he would be away for about a month, but she begged him not to go and threatened to refuse to entertain him ever again. 

Zhang Shun, angry with her attempt to dissuade An Daoquan, waited until the Doctor fell into a drunken sleep, then went about the brothel killing Li Qiaonu and all who worked there. He wrote a message on the wall in blood proclaiming An Daoquan to be the murderer. He roused the Doctor from his sleep and said they had better hurry before the authorities arrested him. Doctor An Daoquan, seeing the carnage and the writing on the wall, realized he had no choice but to make haste. 

They soon arrived at Liangshan. An Daoquan was able to save Song Jiang, and was convinced to stay and become their resident doctor.                                       

 An Daoquan and Gu Dasao are shown here as comrade bandits of Liangshan—An Daoquan treating a wound on Gu Dasao’s arm as she calmly reads a book, unfazed by the pain.  

Kuniyoshi recreation