Wu Song

Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre.

Wǔ Sōng (武松) est un personnage du livre Au bord de l'eau, un des quatre grands romans classiques de la littérature chinoise, avec l'Histoire des Trois royaumes, le Voyage en Occident et le Rêve dans le Pavillon rouge. Il apparaît également dans Jing Ping Mei, un livre dérivé d'Au bord de l'eau. Il est connu pour avoir tué un tigre à mains nue, et avoir vengé le meurtre de son frère aîné. Selon la légende, il fut un élève de Zhou Tong, le professeur de tir à l'arc du général Yue Fei.

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[modifier] Au bord de l'eau

Wu Song est originaire de la préfecture de Qinghe. Il est beau, avec des yeux qui brillent comme des étoiles, des sourcils profonds, un buste large et un corps musclé. Il mesure environ 2,40m (8 pieds) et est impressionnant. Un jour, dans un état d'ivresse, il a battu à mort une personne. N'étant pas conscient d'avoir tué cette personne, il trouve refuge dans la maison de Chai Jin, où il rencontre Song Jiang. Les deux hommes deviendront plus tard frères jurés.

Image:Wusongkillstiger.jpg
Wu Song killing the man-eating tiger (top left).

[modifier] Wu Song tue le tigre

Alors qu'il rentre chez lui, Wu Song passe traverse le col de Jingyang, où il tue à mains nues un tigre qui terrorise la population. Devenu célèbre, il se voit offrir un poste de chef de la milice de la préfecture de Yanggu. Par hasard, il y retrouve son frère aîné, Wu Dalang, surnommé 'bout-d'écorce-de-trois-pouces' à cause de sa petite taille, arrivé également depuis peu.

D'après The Oral Traditions of Yangzhou Storytelling, il existe plusieurs histoires populaires au sujet de Wu Song, de l'“École Wang" de l'art de conter de Yangzhou (En chinois :扬州评话), qui prétendent qu'il a tué le tigre “au milieu du dixième mois" de l'“année Xuanhe 1119".[1] Il a donc tué le tigre au milieu du dixième mois lunaire 1119. Il s'agit cependant d'une date fictive.

[modifier] Wu Song tue sa belle-sœur

Wu Dalang ramène son frère chez lui et présente à Wu Song son épouse, Pan Jinlian. Pan Jinlian est particulièrement belle et son mariage avec le laid Wu Dalang est ordinairement décrit comme 'une rose placée sur un tas d'excréments de vache'. Pan Jinlian a bien essayé de séduire le bel et héroïque Wu Song, mais celui ci n'a pas été tenté. Plus tard, Wu Song est chargé de transporter de l'or à Kaifeng dans la préfecture de Yanggu, ce qui lui permet d'échapper aux avances de Pan Jinlian. De retour exactement deux mois après son départ, il retrouve son frère mort. Wu Song découvre alors que Pan Jinlian a commis un adultère avec Ximen Qing et que le couple d'amants a empoisonné son frère. Wu Song se présente alors au yamen avec un os du corps incinéré de son frère comme preuve de l'empoisonnement, ainsi qu'un voisin comme témoin. Mais le juge a été soudoyé par Ximen Qing et il refuse de continuer les poursuites estimant que les preuves ne sont pas suffisantes. Wu Song, furieux, décide alors de prendre les choses en main. Il affronte sa belle sœur et son amant et tue le couple adultère. Il retourne alors au yamen pour se rendre à la justice.

[modifier] Wu Song devient un hors-la-loi

Wu Song est alors exilé à Menzhou et passe par Shizipo sur la route. Il rencontre alors Zhang Qing et sa femme; Sun Erniang. Plus tard, Wu Song se lie d'amitié avec le fils du gouverneur de Menzhou, Shi En. Shi En traite bien Wu Song et ce dernier décide de le remercier. Wu Song affronte Jiang Zhong, un bandit qui s'est emparé du restaurant de Shi En après l'avoir battu. Wu Song défait Jiang Zhong au cours d'un combat féroce et rend le restaurant à Shi En. Jiang, furieux d'avoir été battu s'associe alors avec le gouverneur Zhang pour arrêter Wu Song. Wu Song est alors accusé de vol chez le gouverneur en exilé vers Enzhou. Mais les gardes qui sont chargés de l'escorter ont aussi pour ordre de le tuer. Cependant, Wu Song, qui se doute de son sort depuis un moment, parvient à se débarrasser de gardes. Assoiffé de vengeance, il revient à Mengzhou pour tuer la famille du gouverneur Zhang et Jiang Zhong. Il s'enfuit de Menzhou et repasse par Shizipo. Zhang-le-jardinier et Sun Erniang ont alors l'idée de déguiser Wu Song en moine pour qu'il puisse échapper aux troupes gouvernementales qui le recherchent. Depuis lors, Wu Song est surnommé "Le Pèlerin" (行者).

Wu Song alla à la Montagne des Deux Dragons, pour rejoindre Lu Zhishen, et rejoint ensuite les héros de Liangshan après la bataille de Qinzhou. Il y deviendra un des leader de l'infanterie et des 36 Astres Célestes. Wu Song suivra les héros de Liangshan et apportera une grande contribution dans leurs campagnes contre les troupes impériales, Liao Tartars et les rebelles du Sud. Cependant, lors de la bataille contre Fang La à Muzhou, le bras gauche de Wu Song est blessé par Bao Daoyi. Heureusement, il sera sauvé par Lu Zhishen à temps. A la suite de cela, Wu Song refusera tout poste officiel, en dépit de ses talents. Il se retirera finalement à la pagode de Liuhe pour pratiquer le bouddhisme et mourra paisiblement à l'âge de 80 ans.

[modifier] Jin Ping Mei

Le début de ce roman est à peu près le même que Au bord de l'eau. Après que sa belle sœur ait tué son frère, Wu Song a voulu se venger. Dans un premier temps, il essaya de tuer Ximen Qing, l'amant de sa belle sœur, mais il ne tua pas la bonne personne. Exilé à Mengzhou, il revint plus tard, mais Ximen Qing avait déjà succombé à une maladie. Il tua donc sa belle sœur et s'enfuit à la Montagne des Deux Dragons.

Même si Jin Ping Mei est connu pour son contenu pornographique, il n'y a rien de pornographique sur Wu Song dans ce roman.

[modifier] Comment Wu Song est devenu l'élève de Zhou Tong

The following tale alternatively known as “Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance” and "Swordplay under the Moon" belongs to the “Wang School Shui Hu” of Yangzhou storytelling. It acts as a Shu wai shu (mandarin : 书外书 - “Story outside of the story”), meaning it takes place during the Water Margin, but is outside of the main storyline. The tale takes place after Wu Song kills the man-eating tiger, resists the charms of his sister-in-law and excepts a mission from the Magistrate to transport money to Kaifeng, but before he becomes a bandit. It explains how he came to learn swordplay from Zhou Tong:

Wu was given orders to travel on assignment to the eastern Song capital of Kaifeng after becoming a constable for the Yanggu District police force in Shandong province. When he arrived in Kaifeng, Wu took his introduction letter to the office of the local administration building and retired to an inn to await his summons. The following day, he left his inn to explore the bustling city.

The city of Kaifeng was one of the largest in the world at this time and it was full of various kinds of shops and heavy traffic from people coming in and leaving the city. As Wu walked along enjoying the organized chaos, the sky changed color and it became a torrential down pour with rain the size of casks (a play on “raining buckets of water”). It rained so much that waves flowed across the ground and mist rose around the houses. The rain hurt the top of Wu’s head so he huddled under the roof of a small shop along with several other people vying for safety. But as soon as it started, the rain suddenly stopped.

Wu continued on his way when he came to a large Chinese style bridge. It was called the Tianhan Bridge. It was arched, so people had to use steps to ascend to the top. When he stepped onto the bridge, Wu lifted up his clothing and looked down at his feet so he could avoid the huge puddles of water left from the freak rain shower. Unbeknownst to him, he was walking directly towards an elderly man who was descending the stares right above him. Wu continued to walk up the bridge without looking in front of him. This old man was Zhou Tong and he was in a hurry. When Zhou saw Wu approaching him on the bridge without watching in front of him, the old master took the large young man to be another martial arts master who wished to tarnish Zhou’s reputation by throwing him off of the bridge with a shoulder strike. So Zhou prepared for a counter-attack and began to swallow air with a subtle “Hm!” and directed his energy to his right shoulder, which turned red then purple and became as hard as rock underneath his clothing. When the two men brushed shoulders, despite being a master of Iron Shirt and Drunken Eight Immortals boxing, Wu was nearly knocked off of the bridge and the pain caused saliva to pour from his mouth. The attack left him weak in the knees and one side of his body was completely numb. He thought after all of his years of martial arts practice his body was nearly invincible, but he had met his superior in Zhou. Instead of cursing and reprimanding the old man, Wu held his tongue, which greatly impressed Zhou. In lieu of a kind word, Zhou simply bowed in apology and went on his way since he was in a terrible rush.

After Zhou disappeared into the bustling crowd, Wu rubbed his shoulder and returned to his inn. He ate his lunch and supper in turn, but felt it was too early to go to bed. So he went outside into a quiet courtyard behind the inn to do a little shadow-boxing underneath the starry nighttime sky. He untied his belt and wrenched it to the left and right until it was very tight and tied it into a not. He then focused his energy and began to practice his Drunken Eight Immortals boxing. But before he was even half way done with his routine, the loud screams of another person’s martial arts practice interrupted his concentration. So he grabbed a bench to steady himself on and looked over the top of a brick wall that opened into the hall of a large mansion to the east of the inn.

In the middle of the hall sat three tables laden with all the myriad kinds of food. But the stately-looking people attending this sumptuous feast were underneath the eaves of the hall watching a person practice his swordplay in the manor’s courtyard. This person was none-other-than Zhou and he had his beard tied into a not so he would not accidentally cut it off with his double swords. Zhou wielded his swords to and fro and did it so fast that the flashes of light cast from the blades made it look like his entire body was wrapped in snow. Even if a person threw a bowlful of writing ink at him, not a single drop of it would tarnish his clothing. Wu became mesmerized by Zhou’s display of superior swordsmanship. When he twirled around and ended up facing in his direction, Wu recognized Zhou as the old man he had bumped into on the bridge earlier in the day. He realized that Zhou must be a great master adapt in the art of the “deep breath” technique.

During his practice, Zhou let out a mountain-crumbling scream and fell onto his back while kicking one leg into the air. Wu felt sorry for Zhou because he thought maybe the man was too old to practice the martial arts and had lost his balance. However, Zhou screamed once more and this time he shot high into the sky with his swords pointed upward towards the moon. After watching him land and perform a few punches and kicks, it finally dawned on Wu that Zhou was indeed practicing the boxing routines of the immortals Iron-Crutch Li and Han Xiang from the Drunken Eight Immortals style. Zhou was so good at this style that his performance once caused a fellow warrior to become intoxicated. Puzzled, Wu remembered back to his own martial arts master who had told him there were only two people in the world (including Wu and his master) who could perform such boxing. But Zhou also knew the style too. Because Zhou’s performance was so great, Wu went against the rules of etiquette and shouted praise from the top of the wall.

This shouting interrupted Zhou before he could finish the forms for the rest of the Eight immortals. He spun around and asked his aristocratic audience who it was that was shouting prays of his performance. But they were unable to answer because their snobbery prevented them from noticing anything outside of their own amusement. However, one of their level-headed servants heard the noise and pointed towards the brick wall. Zhou used his magical X-ray eyes to peer through the brick wall and into Wu’s bone structure to see he was a special person indeed. When Wu praised Zhou’s performance, he formed an instant friendship with the old man. Zhou invited Wu over the wall to partake in the festivities.

When Zhou asked for his name, he was delighted to learn Wu Song was the same fellow who became famous for killing a man-eating tiger with his bare hands on Jingyang Mountain in Shandong province the previous year. When Wu learned who Zhou Tong was, he immediately dropped to his knees, knocked his head on the floor and pleaded to become his student. Wu was thrilled to meet this “master of the older generation” who was famous throughout the rivers and lakes for his skill in military and civilian martial arts. Zhou helped Wu up and began to teach him swordplay under the moon.[1]

[modifier] Anecdotes

Wu Song tomb
Wu Song tomb
  • L'histoire de Wu Song est certainement une des plus reprises dans les médias chinois, à cause du fait que l'aldultère est en Chine un honneur immense pour lafamille. Il existe plusieurs parodies et versions de ce chapitre.
  • La série animée de Hong Kong Old Master Q a connu également une édition spéciale avec les personnages d'Au Bord de l'eau, et notamment Wu Song en vedette. Cependant, cette version modifie largement l'histoire originale de Wu Song et en apporte une vision très déformée.
  • Wu Song est souvent appelé le Prieur aux Longs Cheveux lorsqu'il est en exil. Il garde en effet ses cheveux, afin de marquer la marque de la prison sur son visage.
  • Wu Song n'est pas parti en exil tout de suite après avoir tué les assassins de son frère. Il n'y ira qu'après avoir tué le mauvais gouverneur et tout sa famille, car ce dernier voulait du mal à Wu Song.
  • Dans la récente version télé chinoise d'Au Bord de l'eau, un véritable tigre a été utilisé et dressé pour la scène dans laquelle Wu Song tue le tigre. Le tigre n'a pas été blessé durant le tournage.

[modifier] Références

  1. ab Børdahl, Vibeke. The Oral Traditions of Yangzhou Storytelling. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1996 (ISBN 0-7007-0436-1)
  • (en) Cet article est partiellement ou en totalité issu d’une traduction de l’article de Wikipédia en anglais intitulé « Wu Song ».
Personnages d'Au bord de l'eau
Fondateur
Chao Gai
Les 36 astres célestes
Song Jiang | Lu Junyi | Wu Yong | Gongsun Sheng | Guan Sheng | Lin Chong | Qin Ming | Huyuan Zhuo | Hua Rong | Chai Jin | Li Ying | Zhu Tong | Lu Zhishen | Wu Song | Dong Ping | Zhang Qing | Yang Zhi | Xu Ning | Suo Chao | Dai Zhong | Liu Tang | Li Kui | Shi Jin | Mu Hong | Lei Heng | Li Jun | Ruan Xiaoer | Zhang Heng | Ruan Xiaowu | Zhang Shun | Ruan Xiaoqi | Yang Xiong | Shi Xiu | Xie Zhen | Xie Bao | Yan Qing
Les 72 astres terrestres

Zhu Wu | Huang Xin | Sun Li | Xuan Zan | Hao Si-wen | Han Tao | Peng Qi | Shan Ting-gui | Wei Ding-guo | Xiao Rang | Pei Xuan | Ou Peng | Deng Fei | Yan Shun | Yang Lin | Ling Zhen | Jiang Jing | Lu Fang | Guo Sheng | An Dao-quan | Huangfu Duan | Wang Ying | Hu San Niang | Bao Xu | Pan Rui | Kong Ming | Kong Liang | Xiang Chong | Li Gun | Jin Da-jian | Ma Lin | Tong Wei | Tong Meng | Meng Kang | Hou Jian | Chen Da | Yang Chun | Zheng Tian-shou | Tao Zong-wang | Song Qing | Yue He | Gong Wang | Ding De-sun | Mu Chun | Cao Zheng | Song Wan | Du Qian | Xue Yong | Shi En | Li Zhong | Zhou Tong | Tang Long | Du Xing | Zou Yuan | Zou Run | Zhu Gui | Zhu Fu | Cai Fu | Cai Qing | Li Li | Li Yun | Jiao Ting | Shi Yong | Sun Xin | Gu Dasao | Zhang Qing | Sun Er Niang | Wang Ding-liu | Yu Bao-si | Bai Sheng | Shi Qian | Duan Jing-zhu