Lin Chong

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lin.

Lin Chong
Water Margin character
Nickname	"Panther Head" (豹子頭)
Also known as	"Instructor Lin" (林教頭)
Rank	6th, Xiong Star (天雄星) of the 36 Heavenly Spirits
Lin Chong in a 1886 block print by Yoshitoshi
Right General of the Five Tiger Generals of Liangshan
Origin	Instructor of the 800,000 strong Imperial Guards
Hometown	Dongjing
First appearance	Chapter 7
Weapon	Eight Foot Long Snake Spear (丈八蛇矛); Pudao (朴刀)
Names
Simplified Chinese	林沖
Traditional Chinese	林沖
Pinyin	Lín Chōng
Wade-Giles	Lin Ch'ung

Lín Chōng (林沖) is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 6th of the 36 Heavenly Spirits of the 108 Liangshan heroes and is nicknamed "Panther Head" (豹子頭). In the world of published fiction, he is a former student of Zhou Tong.

Background

Lin Chong is similar in appearance to Zhang Fei from the Three Kingdoms era except that he sports a different style for his beard and moustache. He stands at six feet four inches, with fierce eyes and a head like a leopard or panther's, thus earning him his nickname "Panther Head" (豹子頭). He lives a prestigious early life by serving the Imperial Court as the distinguished martial arts instructor of the 800,000 strong Imperial Guards (禁軍).

Framed and exiled

Once, he meets Lu Zhishen while accompanying his wife to the temple and becomes sworn brothers with Lu. His beautiful wife catches the eye of Gao Yanei, the lecherous foster son of Marshal Gao Qiu. Gao tries to molest Lin's wife but Lin appears on time and stops Gao. Since then, Gao is obsessed with Lin's wife and wants to have her for himself. He enlists the help of Lin Chong's friend Lu Qian, asking Lu Qian to distract Lin Chong by asking him out for drinks. Gao Yanei then tricks Lin's wife to a house and tries to rape her there. Luckily, Lin Chong's servant alerts him on time and Lin rushes there and saves his wife from Gao Yanei's sexual advances. Gao escapes in a frenzy.

Gao Yanei is adamant that he gets Lin's wife so he asks his foster father Gao Qiu for help. Gao Qiu sells a precious Dao to Lin Chong through a weapon seller and then requests for Lin's presence in his residence under the pretext of seeing Lin's new weapon. Lin Chong is tricked into entering the White Tiger Hall (白虎節堂) while carrying the weapon. Important meetings are held in the hall and weapons are not permitted inside. Unfortunately, Lin is caught having a weapon in his possession while inside the hall and he is arrested.

Lin Chong is framed on charges of attempting to assassinate Marshal Gao Qiu and sentenced to face-tattooing and exile in Cangzhou. Gao Qiu bribes the guards escorting Lin Chong there to kill him along the way. Luckily, Lu Zhishen follows Lin Chong secretly and saves him from death at Wild Boar Woods. Lu Zhishen then sees Lin Chong safely to Cangzhou while the guards are afraid of doing anything funny under the watchful eye of Lu Zhishen. While in Cangzhou, Lin Chong meets Chai Jin and befriends him. Chai provides him with some silver to bribe the jailers in the Cangzhou prison and Lin Chong has an easy life in prison. However, Gao Qiu is dissatisfied with Lin Chong's fate and he sends Lu Qian to Cangzhou to kill Lin Chong.

Burning of the fodder storage field

Lu Qian bribes the jailers with a larger sum of money and the jailers assign Lin to be in charge of a fodder storage field, apparently with good intentions of letting him lead an easier life. Later, Lu Qian and the jailers set fire to the field in an attempt to kill Lin Chong in the fire. However, Lin escapes death as his hut has collapsed under the heavy snow and he seeks shelter in a nearby temple of the Mountain Deity. Lin Chong returns to the field when he sees it on fire and runs into Lu Qian and the jailers. Lin kills them for revenge and abandons the field, which has become a fiery inferno. He knows that he will be punished for neglecting his duties by allowing the grain and fodder to be destroyed, thus he flees to Chai Jin's residence for refuge.

Becoming an outlaw

Chai Jin recommends Lin Chong to join Liangshan by writing a letter to Wang Lun, chief of Liangshan. Wang Lun is selfish and incompetent by nature, and he fears that Lin Chong will become a threat to his position as chief. He tries to send Lin away with precious gifts, but Lin protests strongly that he has nowhere else to go. Wang Lun agrees to let Lin Chong join Liangshan if he fulfills the condition of killing a man and presenting his severed head to Liangshan in three days time. Lin meets Yang Zhi and fights with him. Wang Lun appears and stops the fight. He is impressed with Yang's skill and offers to let Yang join Liangshan but Yang refuses. Wang Lun eventually allows Lin Chong to join Liangshan.

When the "Righteous Seven" led by Chao Gai come to Liangshan for refuge, Wang Lun tries to send them away again with precious gifts and by using the same words he used on Lin Chong earlier. Lin Chong becomes even more frustrated and angry with Wang Lun for his selfishness and refusal to allow others to join Liangshan. Lin Chong is cleverly instigated by Wu Yong into killing Wang Lun and the charismatic Chao Gai is then nominated as the new chief.

Lin Chong becomes one of the Five Tiger Generals of the Liangshan cavalry after the Grand Assembly. His prowess in battle is never doubted, and when combined with his sense of loyalty and tremendous bravery, becomes instrumental in the various victories of Liangshan over its enemies. Lin Chong is also responsible for persuading some of Liangshan's best warriors into joining the Liangshan cause, such as Xu Ning.

Death

In the marine battle between Liangshan and the imperial army led by Marshal Gao Qiu, the imperials are utterly defeated and Gao Qiu is captured. Lin Chong is eager to take his revenge by killing Gao Qiu but Song Jiang stops him. Song Jiang later explains that Gao Qiu plays an important role in the peace negotiations between Liangshan and the Imperial Court. Song Jiang eventually lets Gao Qiu go after the latter promises to inform the emperor of the Liangshan outlaws' request for amnesty. However, Gao Qiu breaks his promise. Lin Chong is frustrated by his failure to take his revenge.

After subsequent efforts to communicate with the Imperial Court, the Liangshan outlaws succeed in obtaining amnesty. They are assigned on campaigns against the Liao invaders and the southern rebels such as Fang La. Lin Chong follows the heroes on their campaigns and makes numerous contributions by defeating several of the best enemy warriors in battle. On the verge of victory over Fang La, Lin Chong is struck with an illness which leaves him bedridden for almost half a year before he eventually dies.

See also

• Lin Chong's storyline for a list of supporting minor characters from Lin Chong's storyline.

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