Chen Da, nicknamed the “Stream-Leaping Tiger,” is a Liangshan hero in Water Margin and one of the three outlaws who occupy Mount Shaohua together with Zhu Wu and Yang Chun. Courageous but impulsive, he is the member of the group most inclined toward direct martial action.
Seeking to expand the mountain’s influence, Chen Da leads an attack on Shijia Village but is defeated and captured by Shi Jin. Rather than launching a reckless rescue, Zhu Wu and Yang Chun go to Shi Jin’s estate and appeal to him through brotherly loyalty, offering to share Chen Da’s fate.
Shi Jin is moved by their devotion and releases Chen Da. The confrontation becomes the beginning of a close relationship between Shi Jin and the Mount Shaohua outlaws, transforming Chen Da from an enemy into a companion within Shi Jin’s wider martial world.
When Shi Jin later falls into conflict with the authorities, he takes refuge at Mount Shaohua. The entire group is eventually absorbed into Liangshan, and Chen Da becomes one of the 108 heroes. His role remains closely tied to the Mount Shaohua story and to Shi Jin’s early adventures.
