In the Water Margin
Zhang Heng, elder brother of Zhang Shun, works a boat on the Xunyang River. His nickname is Boat Fire, and his passengers cannot always expect a safe crossing: alone in midstream, a traveller may face robbery and death. Song Jiang boards his boat while fleeing a pursuit at Jieyang, escaping one danger only to enter another.
Li Jun arrives and recognizes Song Jiang before the crossing turns fatal. Zhang Heng changes his manner toward the man whose reputation he admires. He later helps with the Jiangzhou rescue and joins Liangshan’s naval commanders, taking seat twenty-eight under the Tianping star. The novel leaves the boatman’s violence visible beneath his new loyalties.
