Comprehensive Overview of Gods, Demons, and Characters from the Four Great Classical Novels

Author: Gui Xiaoyuan (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Water Margin, also known as Complete Water Margin or Loyal and Righteous Water Margin, is one of China's four great classical novels. Water Margin was written in the early Yuan Dynasty. The peasant uprising led by Song Jiang in the late Northern Song Dynasty was passed down in forms such as the Songshu (History of the Song Dynasty), Ju Yu (Short Stories), Huaben (Storytelling Scripts), and Zaju (Dramas), and became the source material for storytellers to create huaben (storytelling scripts). In the Southern Song Dynasty, Luo Yie's Drinking Wine with the Elder records the titles of novels such as Green-Faced Ape, Flower Monk, and Martial Walker, which are believed to be 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 scripts. The earliest written work featuring Water Margin stories that we see today is Remnants of the Great Song in Xuanhe, which may have been written by someone from the Yuan Dynasty or compiled by Yuan Dynasty scholars. The outline of the Water Margin stories it records begins with Yang Zhi selling a knife and killing someone, proceeds through the theft of the birthday gift, Song Jiang's killing of a woman, the revelation of the celestial book by the Nine Heavens Immortal, and ends with the surrender of the forces and the suppression of the peasant uprising led by Fang La, largely following the sequence of the modern Water Margin. By this time, the Water Margin stories had evolved from numerous scattered and independent tales into a systematic and coherent whole. This book collects over 540 major 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 clearly outlines the deeds and fates of these characters and mythical beings. The language is elegant and suitable for readers who have not read the four great classics, as well as for those who are new to them and wish to look up information.