"Water Margin" and the Jianghu

Author: Wang XueTai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: This book is titled "Water Margin and the Jianghu," discussing the relationship between "Water Margin" and Jianghu culture. This point is elaborated in detail in the Preface. Now, "Jianghu" and "Jianghu culture" frequently appear in various media and literary works. Both the author and the audience are captivated by its expansive and heroic atmosphere, thus accepting the untamed and vulgar spirit it carries. This yearning has been cultivated over centuries through gradual influence and, in recent decades, deliberately sown and nurtured in people's minds. On the surface, it appears to promote values of anti-authority, anti-tradition, and admiration for bravery and struggle. However, in reality, its essence is to disdain norms and advocate a vulgar, outcast culture, which, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is eroding traditional classic culture (the decline of traditional Chinese culture in the past century—primarily classic culture—has been the result of both internal disintegration within the outcast culture and external shocks from foreign culture).