武大郎

Described in both novels as barely three chi tall (under a metre) and nicknamed 三寸丁谷树皮 ('three-inch-nail with mulberry bark skin'). Husband of the unfaithful Pan Jinlian, he is poisoned by her and Ximen Qing; his avenger brother Wu Song's subsequent rampage is one of Chinese fiction's most famous revenge arcs.

usage

In colloquial Chinese 武大郎 is still used to tease short men, though the joke is dated and can be rude — the fairer modern use is just for the naive-husband-of-a-cheating-wife trope.