Water Margin

Water Margin is a novel attributed to Shi Nai’an and considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The novel is written in vernacular Chinese rather than Classical Chinese.

The story, set in the Song dynasty, tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gathers at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to form a sizable army before they are eventually granted amnesty by the government and sent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebel forces. It has introduced to readers many of the best-known characters in Chinese literature, such as Wu Song, Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen.

Stories about the outlaws became a popular subject for Yuan dynasty drama. Even though the 108 outlaws came from different backgrounds (including scholars, fishermen, imperial drill instructors etc.), all of them eventually came to occupy Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh). There is a theory that Water Margin became popular during the Yuan era as the common people (predominantly Han Chinese) resented the Mongol rulers. The outlaws’ rebellion was deemed “safe” to promote as it was supposedly a negative reflection of the fallen Song dynasty. Concurrently, the rebellion was also a call for the common people to rise up against corruption in the government. The Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming dynasty, acting on the advice of his ministers, banned the book as a means of preventing revolts.

The novel, praised as an early “masterpiece” of vernacular fiction, is renowned for the “mastery and control” of its mood and tone. The work is also known for its use of vivid, humorous and especially racy language. However, it has been denounced as “obscene” by various critics since the Ming dynasty.

(Source: Wikipedia—Water Margin)