In the Water Margin
Zhang Shun works the fish trade on the Xunyang River at Jiangzhou, where the fishermen bring their catch to him to be sold. He is pale-skinned and can stay underwater for days on end, the novel says, which is how he earns the nickname "White Streak in the Waves": in the water he moves like a flash of white. His elder brother Zhang Heng runs a ferry on the same river, not always honestly.
He enters the story through Song Jiang, exiled to Jiangzhou, and stays because of him. When Song Jiang and Dai Zong are condemned to death and rescued from the execution ground by Liangshan, Zhang Shun and the river men help ferry the rescuers to safety. He then follows them to Liangshan Marsh, where he becomes one of the leaders of the water forces and is ranked thirtieth of the 108.
Key episodes
Li Kui in the river. Li Kui tries to seize fish for Song Jiang before the market opens and gets into a brawl with Zhang Shun, beating him on the bank. Zhang Shun lures him onto a boat, tips it over and dunks the Black Whirlwind again and again until Song Jiang and Dai Zong step in. The two become friends afterward.
Fetching the physician. Years later Song Jiang falls gravely ill with an abscess on his back. Zhang Shun sets out alone for Jiankang to bring back the healer An Daoquan. On the way a river bandit robs him and throws him into the Yangtze, which for Zhang Shun is merely an inconvenience. He reaches An Daoquan, overcomes his reluctance by ruthless means, and gets him to Liangshan in time.
The last swim. During the campaign against Fang La, Zhang Shun tries to slip into the city of Hangzhou through the waters of West Lake. He is spotted at the Yongjin Gate and killed under a hail of arrows and stones, and the novel later gives his spirit an appearance of its own.
