Also known as King of Jin (晉王) First appearance Chapter 91 Traditional Chinese 田虎 | Origin Hunter Simplified Chinese 田虎 | |
Ancestral home / Place of origin Qinyuan County, Weishengzhou, Shanxi | ||
Tian Hu is a fictional character and antagonist in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He is one of the three rebel leaders in the Song dynasty along with Fang La and Wang Qing, that the Liangshan heroes have to defeat in the final chapters of the novel. He only appears in the longest versions of the stories which include these extra chapters.
Life
Tian Hu was originally a hunter from Qinyuan County, Weishengzhou (威勝州), Shanxi. He possesses great physical strength and excels in martial arts. The government of the Song dynasty is corrupt and people are suffering from extreme poverty and natural disasters. Tian Hu uses the opportunity to spread rumours and incite people to follow him in rebelling against the government.
As the local government is weak and lacks a capable military force to suppress Tian Hu's rebels, Tian conquers and overrun five administrative divisions and 56 counties in a short time. Tian Hu establishes for himself a domain in the Hebei and Shanxi region and proclaims himself "King of Jin". He has a palace built for himself in Fenyang.
After the Liangshan outlaws have been granted amnesty by Emperor Huizong, the emperor sends them on military campaigns to drive away the Liao invaders in the north and suppress the rebel forces in China. The Liangshan heroes successfully defeated the Liao invaders, followed by Tian Hu and Wang Qing's rebel forces, without suffering much casualties. Tian Hu is captured by Liangshan's "Featherless Arrow" Zhang Qing after his defeat.