Shi Jin is the very first of the 108 stars properly introduced in the novel — Chapter 2 opens with him as the spoiled heir of the Shi family estate who apprentices under the weapons-master Wang Jin. The 'nine dragons' of his nickname refer to nine writhing dragons tattooed across his chest and back, a sign of youthful excess that nonetheless foreshadows heroic destiny.
memory
史 means 'history' — fitting that Shi Jin opens the history of the Liangshan outlaws. Mnemonic: 'History Enters' — the saga begins with him.
