Wu Dalang was originally named Wu Zhi. According to the epitaph of Wuzhi in Wujiana Village, Qinghe County, Hebei Province, Wu Dalang was from the Ming Dynasty. He is a scholar, and once served as the magistrate of Yanggu County, in charge of seven items. Because his classmate Huang Tang didn't get in at that time and didn't mix well, he went to Wu Zhi, but he didn't get reused, so he made up a bad story about Wu Zhi and his wife Pan Shi and posted it in the text all the way. These words and rumors were believed by Shi Naian who was passing by at that time, so they were adapted and written into Water Margin.

According to the size of the bones in Wu Zhi's tomb, he is not short, and his height exceeds 1.7 meters.