18 Warriors of Sui-Tang Period (隋唐十八条好汉) are 18 legendary and fictional heroes living in Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty. The concept of 18 Warriors was first mentioned in the traditional historical novel Shuo Tang. The ranking of those 18 warriors was based on their skills in martial arts as well as their physical strength. Some of them somehow have historical archetypes such as Qin Shubao and Shan Xiongxin while others are created by authors of folk stories such as Luo Cheng and Yuwen Chengdu. The ranking The ranking itself is disputed, largely because the novel Shuo Tang only defined 13 out of all 18 warriors. Those 13 defined by the book Shuo Tang were generally accepted: Li Yuanba (李元霸) Yuwen Chengdu (宇文成都) Pei Yuanqing (裴元庆) Xiong Kuohai (熊阔海) Wu Yunzhao (伍云召) Wu Tianxi (伍天锡) Luo Cheng (罗成) Yang Lin (杨林) Wei Wentong (魏文通) Shang Shitu (尚师徒) Xin Wenli (新文理) N/A N/A N/A N/A Qin Shubao (秦叔宝) N/A Shan Xiongxin (单雄信) However, who would fit in the rest 5 seats in this list are disputed. According to stories in the book, there are several possible figures, including Yuchi Gong (尉迟恭), Wang Bodang (王伯当), Cheng Yaojin (程咬金), Hua Gongyi (华功义), Liang Shitai (梁师泰), Han Qinhu (韩擒虎), Ma Shumou (麻叔谋), Cao Yanping (曹延平), etc. Also, some coeval (Sui and early Tang) individuals from history or other fictions are also potential candidates for this list, including Zuo Tiancheng (左天成), Lai Hu'er (来护儿), Luo Shixin(罗士信), Hou Junji (侯君集), Wang Junke (王君可), Wang Bo (王薄), Lu Mingyue (卢明月), etc. The most popular version of the full list chooses Cao Yanping, Lai Hu'er, Liang Shitai and Zuo Tiancheng to be the No. 12 ~ 15 warriors and regards Yuchi Gong as the 17th. Characters Li Yuanba In the novel In the Shuo Tang, Li Yuanba (李元霸) is definitely the most powerful and skillful warrior in his time. He is the fourth son of Li Yuan(李渊), the founder of Tang Dynasty. He has a superb physical strength, which can be illustrated by his weapons: a pair of golden hammers with the weight of 400 jin(236.1 kg) each. With his help, Li Yuan not only defeated Turks, but also easily occupied the capital city Chang'an after his rebellion. However, Li Yuanba is not smart, sometimes even stupid. His teacher told him never to kill anyone using a Golden-Tang (a spades-like weapon) during a battle. However, Li Yuanba killed