Zhou Tong

This article is about the Water Margin Bandit, Zhou Tong. He is not be confused with the 11th century Shaolin abbot, Zhou Tong (周侗).

Zhou Tong(周通), the 'Little Tyrant'(小霸王), was a character in the epic Chinese novel Water Margin.

Zhou had a wide face, a loud booming voice, and wielded a long spear in battle. He was initially the chief of the bandits on Taohua Mountain, but one day he tried to rob Li Zhong who was passing by the mountain but was defeated by Li in combat. Then, Zhou agreed to step down and let Li Zhong be the new chief.

Zhou Tong tried to force Lord Liu's daughter to marry him but unfortunately for him, Lu Zhishen happened to be staying with the Lius temporarily at the same time. Lord Liu sought help from Lu and Lu laid an ambush for Zhou Tong. Zhou Tong mistook Lu Zhishen in the dark for his new wife, and was given a good beating by Lu Zhishen. Zhou fled back to his stronghold and told Li Zhong about it. Li was furious and agreed to teach the man who beat up Zhou Tong a lesson. Li recognised Lu Zhishen from their earlier meeting and stopped fighting. Eventually, Li Zhong managed to persuade Zhou Tong to give up marrying Lord Liu's daughter and he invited Lu Zhishen to join him. Later, Lu Zhishen did not feel comfortable in the presence of the two bandit leaders and so he left.

Later, Huyuan Zhuo passed by Taohua Mountain on his way to Qingzhou after his defeat by the Liangshan forces, and his precious steed was stolen by Zhou Tong. Huyuan was furious and he led the Qingzhou forces to attack Taohua Mountain. Zhou Tong met him head on but was defeated and he fled. Eventually, the Taohua bandits defeated Huyuan Zhuo with the help of the Liangshan heroes and the bandits from Erlong Mountain and Zhou Tong followed the heroes back to Liangshan to join the band.

Upon the final establishment of the Liangshan heroes, Zhou was made one of the 72 Earthly Fiends. Zhou Tong became one of the leaders of the Liangshan calvary. After the Liangshan heroes had obtained amnesty from the emperor, Zhou Tong followed them on their campaigns against the Liao Tartars and southern rebels, making great contributions to the imperial court. During the Fang La campaign, Zhou Tong followed Lu Junyi on an offensive on Dusong Pass. Lu Junyi sent Zhou Tong to scout the enemy territory, but Li Tianrun charged out of the pass and caught Zhou Tong by surprise. Eventually, Zhou Tong died under Li Tianrun's sword.