Four Great Classical Novels - Overview of Characters, Gods, and Demons

Author: Gui Xiaoyuan (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Water Margin, also known as Water Margin Complete or Loyal and Righteous Water Margin, is one of China's four great classical novels. Water Margin was written in the early Yuan Dynasty. It depicts the peasant uprising led by Song Jiang in the late Northern Song Dynasty, which was passed down in forms such as the Songshu (History of the Song Dynasty), Ju Yu (Short Stories), Huaben (Storytelling Texts), and Zaju (Miscellaneous Plays), and was used as material by storytellers for creating huaben (storytelling texts). In the Southern Song Dynasty, Luo Ye's Record of Drunken Joy mentions the novel entries Green-Faced Ape, Flower Monk, and Martial Walker, which are likely the stories of Yang Zhi, Lu Zhishen, and Wu Song. Additionally, the story Stone Sun Li may also be a Water Margin tale and is considered one of the earliest records of Water Margin storytelling. The earliest written work depicting Water Margin stories that we see today is Remnants of the Great Song in Xuanhe, whose author may have been a Yuan Dynasty person or compiled by Yuan Dynasty scholars. The outline of the Water Margin story it records begins with Yang Zhi selling a knife and killing someone, proceeds through the seizure of the birthday gift, Song Jiang's killing of a woman, the Nine-Nine Netherworldly Fairy bestowing the Heavenly Book, and ends with the (Jiangshan) accepting the imperial pardon and suppressing the peasant uprising led by Fang La. The sequence is largely consistent with the modern Water Margin. By this time, the Water Margin stories had evolved from numerous scattered and independent pieces into a systematic and coherent whole. This book collects over 540 main characters and mythical beings from the four great classics—Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, and Dream of the Red Chamber. According to the original narratives, it outlines the deeds and fates of these characters and mythical beings clearly. The language is elegant, making it suitable for readers who have not read the four great classics, as well as for those who are just beginning to explore them and need to look up information.