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    Shi Nai'an and His Great Novel 'Outlaws of the Marsh'

    Written by: Yao Dan
    Posted on: March 18, 2014 | | 中文

    Outlaws of the Marsh

    Historic stories and stories about heroes' fights during the Song Dynasty gave birth to a chapter-titled fiction Outlaws of the Marsh, authored by Shi Nai'an (whose dates of birth and death remain unknown, c. 1296-1370), written in a time very close to the completion of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

    Most of the characters in the story gathered in Liangshan Marsh, a place of "saddle world" ("jiang hu"), outside the ordinary people's daily life. Readers of one generation after another took these characters as heroes simply because they hold a banner of "acting in the name of heaven." Lu Zhishen and Wu Song, two of the aforementioned characters, help the weak to muster out of difficulties. They, together with other characters   in the novel, live a  a luxurious  life, eating and drinking exuberantly, in short leading a life which ordinary people long for. Meanwhile, life in a "saddle world" has no room for a family. The friendship among men described in the novel is moving, able to stand the test of all adversities.

    The plots of the novel explored in different chaptersare highly dramatic and attractive as the title of the chapter suggest, for example "Wu Song, drunk, beats Gate Guard Jiang," "capture birthday gifts by a ruse," "sagacious Lu makes a shambles of Wild Boar Forest," "Lin Chong shelters from snowstorm in the mountain," "Wu Song kills a tiger with bare hands," "blood pool in the Mandarin Duck Tavern," "three attacks at the Zhu Family Manor". All these chapters are full of thrill and suspense. Fairly simple in structure, the story evolves along a single thread primarily around one character, and the chapters are all related in some way or the other to him. If all the chapters are stringed together, it would make a fine biographical sketch for the protagonist and can even pass as an independent story.

    The characters in the novel come from varied backgrounds, ranging from landed gentry to bandits, from officials of high position to vagrants. They all however eventually gather in mountains with a sense of acting in the name of heaven and also a strong material desire. They fear "neither heaven, earth nor the court, sharing gold and silver together and clad in rare silk, eat meat and drink wine to their fill." They take actions to uphold justice yet they also kill people indiscriminately. For instance, in the part "blood pool in the Mandarin Duck Tavern," Wu Song kills fifteen before he stops, even though only three of them are  his enemies. Another character, Li Kui, in the chapter"snatch a victim from the execution ground," chops many people to death with his "two axes flying up and down." Some scholars who influenced are influenced by the Westtake this as an indifference to human lives. For a contemporary scholar, this view is not without warrant. But if we take into consideration the source and the time of the novel, along with the storytellers' promptbooks, we may ascribe these bloody descriptions to a purpose which was to cater for a "blood lust" by listeners, a common strategy of storytellers meant to grab attention. The blood lust is probably a universal nature of human beings that began from the very beginning with Abel and CAin. We have seen the trace of this lust in Decameron, Gargantua and Pantagruel and also in the terrifying movies of today.

    Shi Nai'an and His Great Novel 'Outlaws of the Marsh'

    Shi Nai'an

    As a scholar, while adapting the novel from popular stories at that time, Shi Nai'an could not help embedding in the stories   his personal feelings and values. His character, Luo Guanzhong,  emphasizes orthodox Han thinking,  whereas Shi Nai'an, another character,  sees a scholars' dream to "establish exploits.",  His characters only do things in the name of heaven, and never tyr to take on against the supreme power, "the heaven." All these characters ask for is to be accepted by the "heaven", and to be able serve it. In the end, after pledging submission to the court and being granted amnesty, these characters led by the main protagonist Song Jiang set themselves off to make rebellions. This ending mirrors the author's longing for achieving exploits for the court. This is the reason why during the "cultural revolution" in China in 1970s, some critics denounced the novel as a “rebellion-surrender” story only against the  corrupt officials, but not against the supreme ruler—the emperor. This denouncement is probably  fair  However the author's dream didn't last long, as all the characters in the book eventually expire, leaving later generations to pass their own judgment.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021