Shi Jin

Shi Jin is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Nine-Tattoo Dragon", he ranks 23rd among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.

According to Ning Jiayu, a Chinese language professor at Nankai University, one theory suggests that Shi Jin was inspired by a real-life figure named , a rebel leader from Shanxi who lived during the early Southern Song Dynasty and was a subordinate of Song Jiang in his early years. Gong Kai's ''Praise of the Thirty-six Men of Song Jiang''' contain a poem mentioning him: ''“Nine-Patterned Dragon Shi Jin, the dragon corresponds to nine, you bear nine patterns”'' (九文龙史进，龙数肖九，汝有九文。盗从东皇，驾五色云。”[15] 这两部文学作品都被公认为《水浒传》的雏形或蓝本，也是史进这一形象可考的比较早的出处). Provided by Wikipedia