Water Margin (Guomai Classic)

The Songjiang uprising during the Xuanhe period at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty was recorded in history. Relevant records can be seen in various works, such as "Song Jiang Xiao gathered to flee, plagiarizing all the way to Shandong, there were earthquakes in prefectures and counties, and many officials took refuge." From the Southern Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the legend of Liangshan heroes can be heard in scripts, storytellers, and opera stages. Whether it is the personal legends of the "Flower Monk" and "Martial Walker" in the Song Dynasty scripts, or the complete stories that have taken shape in "Thirty-six People in Song Jiang" and "The Legacy of Xuanhe in the Song Dynasty", or the numerous Water Margin operas in Yuan dramas, they all provide basic conditions for the evolution of Water Margin stories into novels. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, based on these materials accumulated and collectively created over generations, the author selected, compiled, and processed them, and wrote the heroic legendary novel "Water Margin". This edition is based on the complete 100-chapter original version and the hall version that are relatively close to the author's original writing and are relatively early in the era. Special reference is made to the Japanese Cabinet Library. It is also combined with the gold version (seventy chapters), Yu Yutang version (hundred and twenty chapters), Zhong Bojing version (hundred chapters), etc. For comprehensive revision, and also refers to several more representative contemporary school editions. Regarding the plot settings, inconsistencies, and confusing and repetitive sentences in the Rong Yutang version, corrections were made with reference to later versions such as the Jin version and Yu Yutang version, and certain word specifications were made to facilitate contemporary readers. At the same time, Jin Shengtan's comments are selected to help readers understand the narrative method and character creation of "Water Margin" and better appreciate this great masterpiece.