Water Margin (Upper and Lower) (New Curriculum Reading Series for Chinese)

Author: Shi Nai'an
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: To comprehensively improve the Chinese literacy of primary and secondary school students, enhance the modern awareness of language courses, and vigorously promote new learning methods, the Ministry of Education issued the "Full-Time Compulsory Education Chinese Curriculum Standards" and the "General High School Chinese Curriculum Standards" as core content of the basic education curriculum reform in 2001 and 2003, respectively. The "Chinese Curriculum Standards" serve as the basis for teaching, assessment, and exam question-setting, as well as the foundation for national curriculum management and evaluation, reflecting the fundamental requirements of the state for students at different stages in terms of knowledge, skills, processes, and methods. Compared to the original "Chinese Teaching Syllabus" for primary and secondary schools, the "Chinese Curriculum Standards" have made significant revisions to the specific titles of extracurricular reading materials in the original syllabus and have stipulated the total amount of reading required for students at different stages, urging primary and secondary school students to read widely. To this end, we have compiled and published this series of "New Curriculum Standards Chinese Must-Read Books," with all titles designated by the new standards. To assist students in reading, we have included an introductory article before each classic, providing an in-depth yet accessible introduction to the relevant information about the book. Water Margin is highly successful in art. Through a series of dramatic and legendary stories, it has created vivid and lifelike characters for us. The entire book depicts hundreds of characters, with dozens leaving a deep impression due to their distinct personalities. Among them are not only major characters like Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, Li Kui, Wu Song, Song Jiang, Wu Yong, Yang Zhi, Yan Qing, and Shi Xiu, but also secondary characters like He Jiuzhu, Qiao Yige, Wang Po, Niu Er, and Huang Wenbing. Some characters, though given little (pen strokes), leave a profound impression. For example, Niu Er appears only once in the entire book, but even in just a few words, a vivid image of a brutal man is firmly etched in our minds. Some characters, though belonging to the same type, each have their own unique traits. For instance, Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, and Li Kui are all rough individuals, but their personalities are not identical.