Water Margin, Chapter 5: The Clever Seizure of the Birthday Tribute

Author: Shi Nai'an, Chen Weidong, Liang Xiaolong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: The Four Great Classical Novels of China, which have long been familiar in daily life. From novels to opera, comic strips to animated cartoons, TV dramas to films, they have been repeatedly presented through various media, with their influence permeating all aspects of people's lives. The clever Monkey King, the stubborn Tang Monk, the lazy Pigsy, the wise Zhuge Liang, the ambitious Cao Cao, the warrior Wu Song, the roguish Lu Zhishen, the sentimental Baoyu, and many other vivid artistic figures are perfectly blended with tradition and classics in people's consciousness, forming eternal works. In contemporary times, the Four Great Classical Novels are no longer just beautiful legends, much like how we once proudly claimed to have invented the four great inventions. Today, in the cultural market, this tradition and classic are almost squeezed out of existence by characters like Doraemon, Dragon Ball, Crayon Shin-chan, and Hello Kitty. "Classics" are gradually fading from the perspective of the younger generation, tradition feels distant and unfamiliar, consumer values are being overturned, and the era of cartoons is upon us. When cartoon creators and audiences become accustomed to foreign culture, they are suddenly embarrassed to discover that something they have lost—tradition—is being repeatedly reinterpreted in Japanese cartoons. For example, works like Yoshio Hayashi's "Water Margin," Kiyotaro Kubota's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the young Monkey King in "Dragon Ball," and Tetsuya Terada's "Great Monkey King" all demonstrate how Chinese traditional classics are revitalized in Japanese cartoons. Meanwhile, neglected traditional culture shines brightly in a foreign land, and classics find themselves in an awkward situation. The creation and publication of "The Illustrated Treasury of the Four Great Classical Novels" reflect the ten-year journey of cartoon localization in China, the overall improvement in understanding among domestic publishers and readers, and more importantly, the enhanced creativity and production capabilities of cartoon creators. We sense that market trends are moving towards a virtuous cycle, and we are also delighted to see the rapid development of domestic cartoon studios. Without a healthy market mechanism, there would be no space for "The Illustrated Treasury of the Four Great Classical Novels" to exist; without large-scale cartoon production studios like Shenjie, "The Illustrated Treasury of the Four Great Classical Novels" would not have seen the light of day. We hope to work with readers to create a bright future for the localization of Chinese cartoons and the promotion of traditional national culture.