Jin Shengtan criticized the Water Margin (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Shi Nai'an (Ming Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-06-01
Features:
Look at the secluded corners of the book forest, where many are clever and scholarly.
Fame and profit do not concern them.
Cutting ice and trimming snow, they smile and gaze at the Wu hook.
Commenting on the former kings and later emperors,
Discerning truth from falsehood,
Occupying the Central Plains,
The seven heroes disturb and disturb the Spring and Autumn period.
Rise and fall like fragile willows,
Life is like a hollow boat.
Seeing countless people achieve fame,
Countless people seek fame,
And even more who flee fame.
Suddenly, under the new moon by the long river,
The vast ocean changes into fields along the road.
Surprised at seeking fish by climbing trees,
Imitating a destitute monkey choosing trees,
And afraid it might harm an injured bow and curved tree.
Better to raise the cup in hand and listen to the new melody and rhythm.
Alas! When this book was completed, it was named "Water Margin."
Are these one hundred and eight people real or not?
If they are real, what hearts led them to the Water Margin?
If they are not real, then what grievances and sorrows must the author have in his heart to create one hundred and eight people and distant them to the waters' edge?
I have heard that all land belongs to the king, and all under heaven belongs to the king.
If one hundred and eight people are not real, it is already so;
If one hundred and eight people are real, could they truly want to make Anzi City and Lao'er Valley no longer part of the Zhao Song dynasty?
When I read "Mencius," I often sigh at the lines, "Bo Yi fled Zhou and lived by the northern sea," and "Taigong fled Zhou and lived by the eastern sea."
Although Zhou was evil, he could not be avoided. The coast was far, but still part of Zhou's land.
The two elders encouraged others to leave the old and embrace the new, even for a sage, it was not the highest virtue.
Mencius himself said he wanted to learn from Confucius but was still influenced by the habits of wandering scholars in the Warring States period, hence such remarks, which did not fully satisfy later readers.
If Confucius were alive, he would surely not have said this.
Now, if one hundred and eight people are real, it goes far beyond the ambition of Bo Yi and Taigong to live by the sea and flee Zhou.
With the great principles extinguished, how can they be a guide for others?
If one hundred and eight people are not real, then it is the author's creation.
I do not know what grievances and sorrows the author must have in his heart to create such a story.
Yet even a wise man like Mencius was not free from criticism for minor flaws, so how can we blame the folk writer?
Later readers, when reading this book, may pity the author's heart.
Ancient authors often spent several yearsing, several years gathering materials, and then several more years revising before finally completing their works.
Modern readers, however, often rush through books carelessly, thus missing the subtleties of ancient texts—the moments of triumph and failure, the turns of phrase, the difficult and effortless transitions, the unexpected twists, the necessary additions and omissions, the additions tacked on at the end, the insertions at the beginning—countless techniques and intricacies—all lost in confusion, leaving only a rough outline of events for casual conversations over wine and tea.
Alas! The "Records of the Grand Historian" described the writings of the Five Emperors as not refined, yet now we take the deeds of outlaws and bandits and make them the talk of scholars and gentlemen.
I am particularly sorrowful that readers' spirits do not awaken, and the author's intentions are lost. Unaware of the author's hardships, they truly betray the craftsmanship. Thus, without hesitation, I have written this critique.
This chapter is titled "Prologue." A prologue is called such because it introduces the subject.
Taking the plague as the prologue, it introduces prayers and sacrifices;
Taking prayers and sacrifices as the prologue, it introduces the Taoist master;
Taking the Taoist master as the prologue, it introduces Hong Xin;
Taking Hong Xin as the prologue, it introduces his mountain journey;
Taking his mountain journey as the prologue, it introduces the opening of the preface;
Taking the opening of the preface as the prologue, it introduces the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends—this is the main prologue.
In the middle, it uses the two sages, Zengzi and Wang Xianzhi, to introduce the destiny of the calamity;
It uses Emperor Gaozu of Wu, Bao Zheng, and Di Qing to introduce the names of the stars;
It uses a tiger in the mountains...