Historical context and development
''Water Margin'' is vaguely based upon the historical bandit Song Jiang and his 36 companions. The group was active in the Huai River region and eventually surrendered to government troops in 1121. They are recorded in the '''' , the name of Song Jiang appearing in the chapter of , the activities of the gang in the chapter for ''Zhang Shuye'' . Folk stories about Song Jiang circulated during the . The first text to name Song Jiang's thirty-six companions was the 13th century ''Guixin Zashi'' by ''Zhou Mi'' . Among the thirty-six are Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng, Ruan Xiaoer, Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan Xiaoqi, Liu Tang, Hua Rong and Wu Yong. Some of the characters to later become associated with Song Jiang also appeared around this time. They include Sun Li, Yang Zhi, Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song.
A direct precursor of ''Water Margin'' was the ''Da Song Xuanhe Yishi'' , which appeared around the mid-13th century. The text was basically a written version of storytellers' tales, based loosely on historical events. It is divided into ten chapters, roughly covering the history of the Song Dynasty from the early 11th century to the establishment of the Southern Song regime in 1127. The fourth chapter covers the adventures of Song Jiang and his 36 companions, and their eventual defeat by Zhang Shuye . Some of the more well-known stories and characters of the ''Water Margin'' are clearly visible, including "Yang Zhi selling his sword", "Stealing the birthday present", "Song Jiang kills his slave girl", "Fighting Fang La" etc. It places Song Jiang and his bandits in the Taihang Mountains, and his band ran the gamut from fishermen to ex imperial drill instructors to inn-keepers etc.
Stories about the bandits of Mount Liang became popular as subject for Yuan Dynasty drama. During this time the material on which the ''Water Margin'' was based evolved into what it is today. Song Jiang's bandits were expanded to number one hundred and eight, and though they came from different backgrounds, all eventually come to occupy Mount Liang. There is a theory that ''Water Margin'' became popular during the Yuan Dynasty due to resentment toward the Mongol rulers. Song Jiang's rebellion was safe to promote because it criticized the Song Dynasty on the surface, but it was also a call to oppose all corrupt governments.
Authorship and early editions
There is considerable disagreement as to the author of ''Water Margin''. Most consider the first seventy chapters to have been written by Shi Nai'an, while the last thirty chapters were written by Luo Guanzhong, also the author of ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. Luo may have been the disciple of Shi Nai'an. It has also been suggested that Shi Nai'an did not exist but was merely a pseudonym for Luo Guanzhong himself. Clues from the text itself strongly suggest that the author was a native of Zhejiang province who had little knowledge of northern China. At a 2006 conference, the leading scholars of the work agreed that Shi and Luo were probably the same person, because the name Shi Nai'an written backwards spells "an nai shi", meaning "It is I again."
It is not clear how close the Luo's edition was to those that are known today. The earliest extant edition of ''Water Margin'' is a 100-chapter printed text dating from the mid-16th century. Another edition, with 120 chapters by Yang Dingjian , has been preserved from the era . Yet other editions were published since this era to the early Qing Dynasty, including a 70-chapter edition by Jin Shengtan .
Outline of chapters
The opening episode is the release of the 108 spirits. The next chapter describes the rise of Gao Qiu, the main antagonist of the 108. Then follow the stories of different outlaws. At first the story may seem like separate stories, which, in a sense, they were. The connections were very vague between characters. But the story eventually comes together by Chapter 40 or so, during the exile and rescue of Song Jiang, who becomes the head of 108 outlaws. Once the main characters gather on the Mount Liang on the marsh, the story goes on with the conflicts with the Song dynasty, while Song Jiang keeps showing his loyalty to the emperor. After winning battles against the imperial forces, the outlaws are offered amnesty and invited by the emperor to become an official army, which Song Jiang willingly accepts. Gao Qiu, not being happy with them, sends them out to fight against the enemies of the dynasty, and finally we will see the tragic ending.
The following outline of chapters is based on a 100-chapter edition. Yang's 120-chapter edition includes other campaigns of the outlaws on behalf of Song dynasty, while Jin's 70-chapter edition omits the chapters on the outlaws' acceptance of amnesty and following campaigns.
The extended version adds the Liangshan Marsh bandits' expeditions against other noted rebel leaders, Tian Hu in Hebei and Wang Qing in Szechuan, prior to the campaign against Fang La.
Japan
Japanese translations of the Water Margin date to at least 1757, when the first volume of an early ''Suikoden'' was printed. Other early translations include Takebe Ayakari's 1773 ''Japanese Water Margin'' , the 1783 ''Women's Water Margin'' , and Santō Kyōden's 1801 ''Chushingura Water Margin'' .
In 1805, Takizawa Bakin released a Japanese translation of the ''Water Margin'' illustrated by Hokusai Katsushika. Following the great commercial success of the Kuniyoshi series, other ukiyo-e artists were commissioned to produce prints of the Water Margin heroes, which began to be shown as Japanese heroes rather than the original Chinese personages.
Translations
''Water Margin'' has been translated into many languages. One of the first English translations was made by Pearl S. Buck. Titled ''All Men are Brothers'' and published in 1933, the book was well-received by the American public. However, it was also heavily criticized for its many errors and inaccuracies, including many mispronunciations. An often cited example in this edition was her mistranslation of Lu Zhishen's nickname "Flowery Monk" into "Priest Hwa".
Of the later editions, Chinese-naturalized Jewish-American scholar Sidney Shapiro's ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' is considered one of the best. However, due to its being published during the Cultural Revolution, this edition received little attention at the time. Shapiro's translation is currently published by the Beijing Foreign Language Press, as a four-volume set.
Modern transformations
Film and television
*''The Water Margin'' was a successful adaptation of the story, produced by Nippon Television and starring Atsuo Nakamura and Kei Sato in the main roles. The show was filmed in 1973 on location in mainland China, as the first jointly co-produced show with a non-Communist country since 1949. The show was very successful and broadcast on TV in many other countries.
*Some locations and characters were written into Mitsuteru Yokoyama's anime ''Giant Robo: The Animation'' as Yokoyama had previously published a manga version of the story of the outlaws of Mt. Liang.
*A 1980s TV serial was also produced in Hong Kong by the studio TVB.
*A 43 episode TV serial produced in Mainland China was released in 1997.
*A was produced by the Shaw Brothers .
*A Hong Kong movie starring Tony Leung was made in the mid-1990s, centered around Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen and Gao Qiu.
Literature
*Qing Dynasty author Qian Cai intertwined the lives of Yue Fei and the bandits Lin Chong and Lu Junyi in '''' by stating the latter were previous students of the general's military arts tutor, . However, literary critic C.T. Hsia comments the connection was only a creation of the author. The folktale “”, by Wang Shaotang, further intertwines Yue Fei's history with the bandits by adding Wu Song to the list of Zhou's former students. The tale takes place during Wu's mission to Kaifeng, prior to the murder of his brother. Zhou tutors Wu in the "rolling dragon" style of swordplay during his one month stay in the capital city. It also says Zhou is sworn brothers with the “Flowery Monk” Lu Zhishen and shares a nickname with the executioner-turned-bandit Cai Fu.
*Frank Chin's novel, ''Donald Duk'', contains many references to the ''Water Margin''. Song Jiang and make several appearances in the protagonist's dreams.
*Two characters in the popular Japanese novel series Saiunkoku Monogatari, Shi Seiran and Rou Ensei, have histories vaguely resembling those of Chai Jin and Yan Qing, and are nicknamed "Small Whirlwind" and "King of the Staff".
*A Hong Kong comic series was also drawn by the popular Hong Kong comic artist, Li Zhiqing.
*Eiji Yoshikawa has written ''新水滸伝 '', roughly translates as "New Tales from the ''Water Margin''".
Video games
*A character named "The Black Whirlwhind" in the RPG ''Jade Empire'' is inspired by Li Kui.
*The game ''Water Margin Online'' is adapted from the story of ''Water Margin''.
*The novel inspired the Japanese console role-playing game series ''Gensou Suikoden'' by Konami
* A military strategy game by Koei, called ''Bandit Kings of Ancient China'' is one of the oldest video game adaptations of the novel.
*Data East released a fighting game which was known under three different titles. ''Suiko Enbu'' in Japan, ''Outlaws of The Lost Dynasty'' in the U.S. and ''Dark Legend'' on the American Sega Saturn. The game's characters are inspired by the ''Water Margin'' story.
Works cited
* Haruo Shirane and James Brandon. ''Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900''. Columbia University Press . ISBN 0231109903.
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