In the Water Margin
Hu Sanniang is the daughter of the Hu family, one of three fortified manors that dominate the countryside around Dulong Ridge in Shandong. She fights from horseback with a pair of sabres and carries a lasso for dragging enemies out of the saddle, and her nickname, "Ten Feet of Steel", gives a sense of how other warriors see her. She is betrothed to Zhu Biao, a son of the neighbouring Zhu family, which places her on the wrong side when Liangshan goes to war with the Zhu manor.
That war begins with something small. Shi Qian steals and eats the rooster of an inn belonging to the Zhu family, he is captured, and Song Jiang marches on the manor to free him. Hu Sanniang rides out to support her future in-laws and proves to be one of the most dangerous fighters Liangshan faces. She is eventually taken prisoner and, after the manors fall, accepts a place at Liangshan, where she is ranked fifty-ninth of the 108.
Key episodes
Capturing Wang Ying. In the first clashes at the Zhu manor, the outlaw Wang Ying, who fancies himself a ladies' man, rides out to take her lightly. She beats him within a few exchanges and drags him out of his own saddle as a prisoner.
Taken by Lin Chong. Hu Sanniang holds off several Liangshan captains until Lin Chong meets her in the field. He finally gets inside her guard and pulls her from the saddle, one of the few defeats she suffers in the novel.
A marriage arranged by Song Jiang. Song Jiang sends her to his father's household at Liangshan for safekeeping. After the campaign he arranges her marriage to Wang Ying, the very man she had captured, and the two fight side by side for the rest of the story.
