Introduction to "Water Margin"
"Water Margin" was created by Shi Nai'an at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," it was also created based on folk stories, tales, and operas. The era in which author Shi Nai'an lived was slightly earlier than Luo Guanzhong's.
"Water Margin" is the first novel that depicts a peasant uprising. The entire book revolves around the theme of "official oppression forcing the people to rebel," portraying a group of "heroes" who rise up against unbearable tyrannical rule, gather in Liangshan Marsh, and ultimately accept amnesty, leading to the failure of the rebellion. The most brilliant idea in this novel is that it fully affirms the peasant uprising that feudal rulers viewed as "thieves and bandits." It profoundly reveals the social roots of peasant uprisings: from the emperor and ministers like Gao Qiu to officials of all ranks, their rampant corruption and incompetence caused the people to live in misery, deepening class contradictions.
The successful portrayal of more than ten heroes with distinct personalities is an important factor in the novel's artistic vitality.
"Water Margin" excels in revealing complex inner worlds through characters' actions and dialogue. This technique originates from storytelling traditions. Due to the unique form of these stories, they do not allow for detailed descriptions of characters' appearances or internal activities outside the plot but require the expression of individuality through language, behavior, and conflicts. "Water Margin" not only inherits but further develops this technique, giving the work a distinct national style. For example, Lin Chong's moment of hesitation when he grabs Gao Yanei, wanting to hit him but unable to land a punch, reflects his subtle and complex psychological struggle.
When depicting similar characters, the novel often uses the technique of showing differences within similarities to distinguish between them. Both Lu Da (Rudiger) and Li Kui have bold and rough personalities, yet both are also coarse but thoughtful in different ways. Upon closer examination, however, there are significant differences. Li Kui's "thoughtfulness" appears innocent and lovable, such as his reluctance to bow to Song Jiang initially out of fear of being tricked. On the other hand, Lu Da's "thoughtfulness" reflects worldly wisdom and experience, as evidenced by his clever escape after killing Zheng Guanxi by claiming the latter was only pretending to be dead.
Another prominent feature of "Water Margin" in character portrayal is placing characters in different environments and using their different experiences and identities to reveal their distinct personality traits and paths of resistance. Lin Chong, Yang Zhi, and Lu Da were all military officers. Lin Chong had a comfortable life and was content with the status quo, but he also possessed integrity, righteousness, and a refusal to be subordinate. Thus, after repeated persecution and retreat, he finally erupted in anger, killing his enemies in a snowy night and fleeing to Liangshan. Yang Zhi, born into a military family, was full of ambition for fame and fortune. Faced with setbacks in his career and exclusion by Gao Qiu, he chose to endure humiliation until all other options were exhausted, leaving him no choice but to join Liangshan. Compared to them, Lu Da's rebellion was more proactive, directly related to his love for freedom, boldness, and penchant for justice, which fundamentally opposed the realities of society.
Because it originated from storytelling traditions, "Water Margin" has a prominent feature of oral language. This feature makes its language brisk, concise, vivid, accurate, expressive, and achieves high artistic success in personalization.
This article is sourced from the Water Margin Chinese website http://s108.com.cn/, original address: http://s108.com.cn/shuihuchuanjianjie/1.html