Novel 'Water Margin'

Water Margin 水浒传 （Shui Hu Zhuan）

Other titles for Mater Margin include Outlaws of the Marsh and All Men Are Brothers. Water Margin was one of the 4 classics It was a story about 108 outlaws in the Song Dynasty (“Water Margin”). The earliest completed copy of Water Margin was from the mid 16th century, and was 100 chapters long. Other versions vary in length with a 120 chapter edition and a 70 chapter edition as well.The chapters of Water Margin were only loosely connected, each standing as individual stories about the characters.

AUTHOR

Many argue that Shi Nai'an wrote the first 70 chapters, and Luo Guanzhong wrote the last 30 chapters and was the editor. There are critiques to this argument due to the fact that the author of Water Margin was anonymous.

One theory says that Luo was the student of Shi Nai'an.

Another theory argues that Shi Nai’an didn’t exist and was only the pseudonym Luo Guanzhong used to protect himself as the book contained strong anti-governmentv sentiments.

(“Water Margin”)

Shi Nai’an 施耐庵 (1296—1371)

Shi Nai'an spelled backwards is An Nai Shi, which means "It is I again” (“Water Margin”). This odd meaning hidden within the two names suggests that Shi Nai'an may have been a pseudonym to protect Luo Guanzhong from the anti-government sentiments found in Water Margin (Luo Guanzhong)

Luo Guanzhong 罗贯中 (1330?-1400?)

Lup Guanzhong is thought to have written the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the four classics and the first historical novel in China ("The Four Great Classical Novels”).

HISTORICAL BASE

The stories in Water Margin are a collection of Robin Hood-like folk stories that had existed for a long time before the publication of the book. The book was loosely based on the real outlaw named Song Jian and his 36 companions. The bandit Song Jian and his gang operated in the Huai River region, but was defeated and surrendered to the government in 1121. The main precursor of Water Margin was “Old incidents in Xuanhe period of the great Song Dynasty” (Da Song Xuanhe Yishi 大宋宣和遗事) from the 13th century, which contained many of the characters and narratives of Water Margin. Yuan dramas

Source: (“Water Margin”)

CHARACTERS

Water Margin has 787 characters; more than any other novel in the world ("Outlaws of the Marsh”). The heroes are the stars of 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends. The villains are 4 Prime Minister; Gao Qiu, Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, and eunuchs Tong Guan and Yang Jiang (Miyamoto 2011)

PLOTLINE

A Daoist sage sealed 108 demons under a stone monument. An arrogant court official then had the monument opened, and the demons escaped and formed a bandit group under Song Jian. Song Jian had a Divine Mission to restore justice and loyalty to China. If he accomplished this tasks, he would be able to be cleansed of his demon status and return to Godhood. While pointing out the corruption in court, Water Margin stresses the importance of loyalty to the emperor. Song Jiang ends up dying as the martyr.

(Miyamoto 2011)

WHY SO POPULAR?

“There is a theory that Water Margin became popular during the Yuan Dynasty as the common people (predominantly Han Chinese) resented the Mongolian rulers. The outlaws' rebellion was deemed "safe" to promote as it was supposedly a negative reflection of the fallen Song Dynasty. Concurrently, the rebellion was also a call for the common people to rise up against corruption in the government. Chongzhen Emperor banned the book to suppress rebels as per his official's advice but his rule was too short” (“Water Margin”).

水滸伝（すいこでん）

Water Margin was translated into Japanese in 1757 or earlier. Woodblock prints were made of the story, and it became very popular. The characters and story began to changer to represent Japanese characters and events. The story remains popular today in Japan with a series of video games, manga, and television dramas based on it.

Source: ("Water Margin 水浒传" )

WORKS CITED

"Luo Guanzhong - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History". Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6323.html>.

Miyamoto, Yoko. "Water Margin: Chinese Robin Hood and His Bandits - Demystifying Confucianism." Demystifying Confucianism. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://www.demystifyingconfucianism.info/water-margin>.

"Outlaws of the Marsh - One of the Four Great Chinese Classical Novels." History.cultural-china.com. Culture History. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/60History148.html>.

"Shi Nai'an - One of the Great Writers in Chinese History". Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50History6308.html>.

"The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature." Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12126.html>.

"Water Margin（Shui Hu Zhuan)." Http://history.cultural-china.com. Cultural China. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/50H6308H12124.html>.