"Water Margin" is one of the Chinese people's favorite classical vernacular novels. It was produced in the Ming Dynasty and was processed, compiled and created by the author on the basis of stories, scripts and operas about the Water Margin since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The book takes the peasant uprising led by Song Jiang as the main theme and artistically reproduces the tragic picture of the ancient Chinese people's resistance to oppression and heroic struggle. The work fully exposed the decadence and cruelty of the feudal ruling class, revealed the sharply opposed social contradictions at that time and the cruel reality of "officials forcing the people to rebel", and successfully portrayed a number of heroic figures such as Lu Zhishen, Li Kui, Wu Song, Lin Chong, and Ruan Xiaoqi. The novel has a tortuous plot, vivid language, and distinctive characters, and has a high degree of artistic achievement. However, the work praises and beautifies Song Jiang and advocates "loyalty" and "doing justice for heaven", which shows serious ideological limitations.
