Huangfu Duan is a fictional character inWater Margin, one of theFour Great Classical Novels inChinese literature. Nicknamed "Purple Bearded Count", he ranks 57th among the108 Stars of Destiny and 21st among the 72 Earthly Fiends.

Huangfu Duan has green eyes and a long yellow beard, which suggest he might be of non-Han or mixed ancestry. Because of his looks, he is nicknamed the "Purple Bearded Count". He hails fromYouzhou (幽州; around present-dayBeijing), which borders the Khitan empire, but works as a veterinarian in Dongchang Prefecture (東昌府; in present-dayLiaocheng,Shandong). He is especially good in treating horses, reputedly able to diagnose and cure 400 types of equine disease. He is a friend of"Featherless Arrow" Zhang Qing, the garrison officer of Dongchang.

Huangfu Duan is the last of the108 Stars of Destiny to appear inWater Margin. He is recommended toSong Jiang by Zhang Qing, who is captured and won over by Liangshan, which has come to Dongchang to seize its grain stock. Zhang is grateful to Song, who keeps him from harm by the Lianghshan chieftains whom he has injured with his stone-flinging skill. Song is glad to recruit Huangfu as horses are critical in all the activities of Liangshan, particularly battles.

Huangfu Duan is appointed as the veterinarian in charge of all the livestock of Liangshan, particularly horses, after the108 Stars of Destiny came together in what is called the Grand Assembly. He participates in the campaigns against theLiao invaders and rebel forces inSong territory following amnesty fromEmperor Huizong for Liangshan.

But just before the last expedition starts, which targetsFang La, the emperor summons Huangfu Duan to the imperial capitalDongjing and appoints him an imperial veterinarian. Huangfu serves in that position for the rest of his life.

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• Water Margin characters
• 72 Earthly Fiends
• Fictional veterinarians
• Fictional characters from Beijing

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)