"Water Margin" is a chapter-chapter novel written in vernacular in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. It is praised by later generations as one of the four classic Chinese literary masterpieces. The novel tells the story of the green forest heroes headed by Song Jiang in Liangshanbo, Shandong Province in the Northern Song Dynasty. They were forced to stay in the grass, develop and grow in power, and accept the imperial court's invitation to conquer the east and west. Also known as "Water Margin of Loyalty and Righteousness", it was originally called "The Legend of Jianghu Heroes", and the whole book was finalized in the Ming Dynasty. It shaped many heroes such as Li Kui, Wu Song, Lin Chong, and Lu Zhishen, exposed the brutality and decadence of the feudal ruling class, and exposed the social contradictions of the time.
