Wu Dalang

Wu Dalang, best known from the classic novel Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh), is the humble elder brother of the famed tiger-slayer Wu Song. Short and plain-looking, Wu Dalang made his living by selling steamed buns in the streets, embodying the honest toil of common folk in the Song dynasty. Despite his unremarkable stature and modest life, he was kind-hearted and deeply devoted to his younger brother.

His marriage to the cunning and unfaithful Pan Jinlian, however, would seal his tragic fate. Through deception and poison, Pan Jinlian and her lover Ximen Qing murdered Wu Dalang to remove him as an obstacle to their affair. His pitiful death stands as a powerful narrative on the vulnerability of good, honest people in the face of greed and treachery.