As one of the four famous novels, "Water Margin" is also the first novel written in vernacular in Chinese history, and the whole book mainly tells the wonderful story of Liangshan's 108 heroes who are not afraid of rape, resist oppression, first defeat Gao Yu's soldiers and horses, and then accept Zhao'an.
Since the publication of "Water Margin", it has had a huge impact on society, and has also become a model of modern fiction writing in one fell swoop, and has had a profound impact on narrative literature in China and even East Asia.
In particular, "Water Margin" was made into a TV series and put on the screen in 1998, which made countless readers feel bloody. What you may not know is that according to the setting of the original book, the heroes of Liangshan also have times when they swallow their anger. is like Lin Chong, the head of a leopard, he is strong in martial arts, and he has a deep blood feud with Gao Yu, but Lin Chong never dared to kill Gao Yu.
1. Lin Chong in the original book
Lin Chong was originally the head of the 800,000 forbidden army, and he had the courage of ten thousand people, because he was born with "a leopard's head and eyes, a swallow's jaw and a tiger's whiskers", and was called the leopard's head Lin Chong.
But Lin Chong's wife was born charming and moving, and was favored by Gao Yanei, Gao Yu's adopted son. For this reason, Lin Chong's life path has undergone a huge change, he strayed into the White Tiger Hall, stabbed Cangzhou, and then beat the head of the Hong Sect to get acquainted with the little whirlwind Chai Jin, and finally Huo and Wang Lun became one of the five tiger generals ranked sixth in the Liangshan Juyi Hall.
Although Lin Chong was very prosperous in Liangshan, he escaped death several times. But the reason for all this is due to Gao Yu. After Lin Chong fell into the grass, his wife Zhang was constantly persecuted by Gao Yanei, and finally ended up hanging herself. And Lin Chong's father-in-law, Zhang Jiaotou, also died of illness and died.
It can be said that Lin Chong's good future, wife and family were ruined by Gao Yu, so in the 98 version of "Water Margin", when Song Jiang proposed Zhao'an, not only Li Kui and Wu Song were angry, but even Lin Chong jumped out and voted against. Indeed, Lin Chong and Gao Yu have a deep blood feud, as long as Lin Chong still has a breath, he will never give up with Gao Yu.
You may not know that Lin Chong's opposition to Zhao'an only appears in the TV series, according to the description of the original book, when Song Jiang proposed the Zhao'an policy, Lin Chong didn't say a word at all, but Wu Song scolded and Li Kui kicked and broke a table.
What's interesting is still to come, after the Liangshan heroes in the TV series captured Gao Yu, Lin Chong raised his knife and fought endlessly, but was stopped by Song Jiang and others. As Song Jiang let Gao Yu go, Lin Chong was so angry that he vomited blood and fell to the ground, and later died in bed, not even participating in the battle against Fang La.
Lin Chong in the TV series can be described as flesh and blood, worthy of being an iron-blooded man who is jealous and hateful. But if you read the original book carefully, you will find that Lin Chong didn't dare to kill Gao Yu at all.
Second, don't dare to kill Gao Yu
It turned out that when Gao Yu led the troops to encircle and suppress Shuibo Liangshan, Lin Chong dared to confront the imperial army head-on, but he did not dare to insult or pursue Gao Yu.
For example, when Lin Chong fought with Wang Huan, the general under Gao Yu, Lin Chong in the TV series scolded Gao Yu, but Lin Chong in the original book did not do this, just blindly fought with Wang Huan, and never spoke disrespectfully to Gao Yu.
In addition, after Gao Yu's soldiers and horses were defeated, although Lin Chong also joined the pursuit team, he followed the rules like Yang Zhi, Lu Zhishen and others, and did not show too strong personal emotions.
As Gao Yu was invited by Song Jiang to the mountain to discuss the matter of Zhao'an, Lin Chong remained calm throughout the whole process, and did not carry a machete like a mad tiger like in the TV series. Until Song Jiang personally sent Gao Yu on the boat and left Liangshan, Lin Chong still seemed to be fine.
I have to say that the changes to Lin Chong in the TV series are just right, showing Lin Chong's bloodiness to the fullest. But why didn't Shi Nai'an, as the author, think so thoroughly? In fact, Lin Chong in the original book is not as jealous and hateful as we imagined, on the contrary, he tolerates and is angry everywhere.
It's like when Lin Niangzi was insulted by Gao Yanei, Lin Chong's words and deeds would make people feel aggrieved.
Third, Lin Niangzi was humiliated
At that time, Gao Yanei was idle and bored, and he accidentally bumped into Lin Niangzi Zhang. Lin Niangzi was beautiful and dignified, and Gao Yanei was fascinated at first sight. Later, under the cooperation of Lu Yuhou's inside and outside, Lin Niangzi was deceived into Lu Yuhou's house, and was blocked in the attic by Gao Yanei.
Knowing that the lady was humiliated, Lin Chong hurried to Lu Yuhou's house, as written in the book, Lin Chong stood on the ladder and shouted, "Sister-in-law open the door!" The woman listened to her husband's voice and only came to open the door. Gao Yanei was taken aback, opened the window, jumped off the wall and left. Lin Chong went upstairs, couldn't find Gao Yanei, and asked the lady: "Haven't you been defiled by this guy?" The lady said: "No." Lin Chong smashed Lu Yuhou's house to pieces and sent the lady downstairs.
This original text is quite intriguing.
First of all, with Lin Chong's martial arts, why did he need to erect a ladder and shout at the door? Lin Chong could smash the door of the house and rush into the attic with just one punch, arresting Gao Yanei who was plotting against him. And the reason why Lin Chong shouted loudly when Lin Niangzi was insulted, wasn't he ventilating the news and warning Gao Yanei to leave quickly?
Secondly, after Lin Niangzi opened the door, Lin Chong shouldn't have comforted his wife as soon as possible, why did she urgently ask "Is it tainted"? Could it be that in Lin Chong's eyes, as long as his wife is not defiled by Gao Yanei, everything will be fine?
It is worth mentioning that Lin Chong's next move proves that what the author said is not groundless. Although Lu Yuhou was suspected of betraying his friends, Gao Yanei was the culprit, but Lin Chong smashed Lu Yuhou's furniture to pieces, and also carried a knife to guard Lu Yuhou's house for three days. Why didn't Lin Chong dare to stand at the door of Gao Yu's house with a knife?
Therefore, Lin Chong in the original book is less bloody and more cowardly and afraid. It's no wonder that Lin Chong was originally the head of Tokyo, how much suffering he had to endure in this troubled world to have today's achievements, if he didn't have the burden of forbearance and humiliation at the beginning, how could Lin Chong sit in the position of the head of the forbidden army?
To sum up, "Water Margin" seems to be a fictional novel, but it truly reflects the social reality and historical background of the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty. Not all the characters and events in the story are true, but the good and evil of human nature and the contradictions between the government and the people reflected in it are all true portrayals of the social reality at that time. Coupled with the twists and turns of the plot and the vivid characters of "Water Margin", even after many years, it is still a classic that you never get tired of reading.