Zhang Qing, nicknamed the Gardener, is the husband of Sun Erniang and keeper of the tavern at Cross Slope in Water Margin. He once tended the vegetable garden of Guangming Monastery, killed a monk during a quarrel, burned the buildings, and fled to highway robbery. An older bandit defeated him with a shoulder pole, then taught him fighting skills and gave him his daughter Sun Erniang in marriage.
The couple’s roadside tavern drugs selected travelers with knockout wine and turns victims into meat. Zhang Qing nevertheless tells his wife to spare wandering monks, entertainers, and exiles because such people may be connected throughout the rivers and lakes. That rule saves Lu Zhishen when Zhang returns in time to recognize the monk’s staff and revives him. It also frames the encounter with Wu Song, who detects the drug, defeats Sun Erniang, and is then welcomed by both hosts.
Zhang Qing offers to kill Wu Song’s escorts and hide him, but Wu Song chooses to continue to prison. Their friendship later brings Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang to Erlong Mountain with Lu Zhishen, Yang Zhi, and Wu Song, and the group eventually joins Liangshan. Zhang Qing serves in the infantry and takes part in the campaigns after amnesty, dying during the war against Fang La. His tavern apron, practical traveling clothes, and partnership with Sun Erniang distinguish him from Zhang Qing the stone-throwing cavalry officer.
