Chinese Name: Shi Qian

Japanese Name: Kojōsō Jisen

Rank: 107th of the 108 Stars of Destiny

Nickname: Flea on a Drum

Shi Qian was originally from Gaotang Prefecture but was living in Jizhou Prefecture when introduced in the novel. He was  nimble and of smaller stature which made him an excellent house burglar as he was very good at climbing walls and sneaking through windows. 

Shi Qian’s burglaries had not been successful of late, and he’d been reduced to robbing graves for valuables and stealing chickens, cats, and dogs for food. One day while at a cemetery, he witnessed Yang Xiong (plate 45) and Shi Xiu (plate 44) murder Yang Xiong’s wife and her maidservant. Upon hearing them discuss their plan to flee and join with the bandits of Liangshan Marsh, Shi Qian came out of hiding and asked to join them. Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu agreed and the three men journeyed together to Liangshan’s stronghold.  

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As the saga of the outlaws of Liangshan Marsh continued, Grand Marshal Gao Qiu assigned General Huyan Zhuo (plate 55) the task of wiping out the Liangshan bandits once and for all. Huyan Zhuo implemented the nearly unbeatable linked-armored-cavalry technique, where men and horses were heavily armored and chained together in groups of thirty. The combined power of the linked horses made them almost unstoppable and the armor rendered Liangshan’s spears and arrows useless. 

Liangshan’s only hope was a drill instructor named Xu Ning (plate 59) whose hooked-spear technique was the only known way of defeating a linked-armored-cavalry. Tang Long (plate 53), Xu Ning’s cousin, explained that Xu Ning possessed golden armor that was a very valuable family heirloom which meant more to him than life. If they could steal it, they could lure him back to the stronghold and convince him to help them. Shi Qian was then tasked to steal the golden armor from Xu Ning’s home. 

The plan worked—once Shi Qian had stolen the precious armor, Xu Ning tracked him back to Liangshan Marsh. Tang Long and the bandit leaders awaited him, and explained how they had deceived him. With the promise of bringing his family to safely join as well, they convinced him to become a member of the Liangshan stronghold and teach their men the hooked-spear technique. 

Shi Qian is shown here hiding in a tree spying on Xu Ning’s home, awaiting the best moment to sneak in and steal his armor.  

Kuniyoshi recreation