Ten Couples in " Water Margin" Quiz

Answer: because he would be exiled and didn't want to tie her down

Lin and his wife were the best couple in the book. "Not once have they quarrelled or even grown red in the face." Lin's wife was harassed by Young Master Gao a few times but Lin dared not fight back. Then Lin was framed by Marshal Gao, and tattooed and exiled to Cangzhou. So in spite of his father-in-law's opposition, Lin wrote an annulment in order that he wouldn't delay her happiness.

Answer: he helped them bury Old Yan

In order to thank Song for his help, Mistress Yan gave her daughter, Yan Poxi, to him as an unwed concubine. In exchange Song provided them with daily allowances. But he was a so-called "away-from-women" hero, so Yan Poxi was dissatisfied with him. Finally she had an affair with Zhang Wenyuan, Song's assistant.

Answer: Pan dropped the rod to support the awning and it hit Ximen accidentally

Ximen was fond of women and "loved" Pan at first sight. But for the sex appeal, or more exactly, the undisguised lust between them, their first meeting would be a romantic scene.

Ximen begged Mistress Wang to arrange the affair between him and Pan. In the end the affair was found out by Wu Zhi, Pan's husband and a travelling merchant. So Pan killed him by poisoning with the help of Mistress Wang and Ximen.

Answer: at Crossroad Rise they killed travellers after drugging them and robbed them of their belongings

What is most horrible is that they stuffed buns with flesh of the people they killed. But they were beaten by Wu Song when they tried to drug him. Afterwards they helped Wu escape the official punishment by disguising him as a pilgrim.

Answer: Wu Song

General Zhang framed Wu Song and Wu took revenge on Yu Lan, Zhang's adopted daughter, as an accomplice. But I feel Yu Lan was innocent. She was involved in the incident not out of her intention.

Answer: because she had an affair with a monk

Pan Qiaoyun's affair with a monk was found out by Shi Xiu, but Pan claimed falsely that Shi had wanted to flirt with her. Yang Xiong believed her and expelled Shi. In the end Shi enlightened Yang about the affair, and both Pan and her maid were killed.

Answer: Wang Ying

What a mismatch! Hu was beautiful and talented while Wang was ugly and useless. In China there is a saying: "A beautiful flower is planted on cow dung", which describes precisely the situation with this couple.

Answer: they broke into the prison and rescued the brothers

What is interesting is that among the three couples in the Liangshan marsh (Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang, Wang Ying and Hu Sanniang, Sun Xin and Mistress Gu) the wife is always stronger than the husband. Strictly speaking, these wives are not women; they are just the men taking the form of women.

Answer: because she betrayed him and married Li Gu, his housekeeper

Though the woman said many sweet words before her death, Lu Junyi still killed her. She was just another lustful woman, as described by the author.

Answer: because he wanted to meet the emperor through her

What happened between Yan Qing and Li Shishi is one of the few beautiful stories in the book. Though their story, like the other love stories in the book, involved a little lust, I still like to think of what happened between them as a true love.