Water Margin

"Water Margin" is one of the four classic Chinese classics and a famous novel of the Ming Dynasty. It is one of the most epic works in Chinese literature. It is one of the earliest chapter novels written in vernacular Chinese in Chinese history. There are many editions, it is widely circulated and popular, and it has a profound influence on the narrative literature in China and even East Asia. The author Shi Naian is famous and his ancestral home is Suzhou. A famous novelist in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. He became a Jinshi at the age of thirty-five and served as an official in Hangzhou for two years. Because he did not get along with the powerful people in power, he gave up his official position and retreated to his hometown to engage in creation. It is said that he was a student of Luo Guanzhong and assisted in the creation of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". According to legend, he also participated in the peasant uprising. He lived during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties and witnessed the darkness of the court, the ignorance of the rulers, political corruption, and social injustice, so he wrote "Water Margin" to express his indignation. Before "Water Margin" was written, the stories of Song Jiang and others had already been circulated among the masses. Many dramas in the Yuan Dynasty also sang Water Margin stories, creating many vivid images of Liangshan heroes. Shi Naian further improved and idealized the stories and characters in this regard and created this excellent work describing the peasant uprising.