Ruan Brothers

''Water Margin'' (), also called ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' or ''All Men Are Brothers'', is a Chinese novel from the Ming dynasty that is one of the preeminent Classic Chinese Novels. Attributed to Shi Nai'an, ''Water Margin'' was one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin Chinese.

The story, which is set in the Northern Song dynasty (around 1120), tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gathers at Mount Liang (or ''Liangshan'' Marsh) to rebel against the government. Later they are granted amnesty and enlisted by the government to resist the nomadic conquest of the Liao dynasty and other rebels. While the book's authorship is traditionally attributed to Shi Nai'an (1296–1372), the first external reference to the novel only appeared in 1524 during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, sparking a long-lasting academic debate on when it was actually written and which historical events the author had witnessed that inspired him to write the book.

The novel is considered one of the masterpieces of early vernacular fiction and Chinese literature. It has introduced readers to some of the best-known characters in Chinese literature, such as Wu Song, Lin Chong, Pan Jinlian, Song Jiang and Lu Zhishen. ''Water Margin'' also exerted a significant influence on the development of fiction elsewhere in East Asia, such as on Japanese literature.

Historical context and development

''Water Margin'' is based on the exploits of the outlaw Song Jiang and his 108 companions (The 36 "Heavenly Spirits" (三十六天罡) and the 72 "Earthly Demons" (七十二地煞)). The group was active in the Huainan region and surrendered to the Song government in 1121. They were recorded in the historical text '' History of Song'' in the annals of Emperor Huizong of Song, which states:

Zhang Shuye's biography further describes the activities of Song Jiang and the other outlaws, and tells they were eventually defeated by Zhang.

Folk stories about Song Jiang circulated during the Southern Song. The first known source to name Song Jiang's 36 companions was ''Miscellaneous Observations from the Year of Guixin'' (癸辛雜識) by Zhou Mi, written in the 13th century. Among the 36 are Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng, Ruan Xiao'er, Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan Xiaoqi, Liu Tang, Hua Rong and Wu Yong. Some of the characters who later became associated with Song Jiang also appeared around this time. They include Sun Li, Yang Zhi, Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song.

A palace memorial by Hou Meng, included in the ''History of Song'', states: "Song Jiang and 36 others cross Qi and Wei (the central belt of the North China Plain) at will. Government troops number tens of thousands but no one dares oppose him. His abilities must be extraordinary. Since we also face plunders by Fang La and his outlaws from Qingxi, why not grant Song Jiang and his men amnesty and request them to lead a campaign against Fang La to redeem themselves?"

A direct precursor of ''Water Margin'' is ''Old Incidents in the Xuanhe Period of the Great Song Dynasty'' (大宋宣和遺事), which appeared around the mid-13th century. The text is a written version of storytellers' tales based on supposed historical events. It is divided into ten chapters, roughly covering the history of the Song dynasty from the early 11th century to the establishment of the Southern Song regime in 1127. The fourth chapter covers the adventures of Song Jiang and his 36 companions, and their eventual defeat by Zhang Shuye. Versions of some of the stories and characters in ''Water Margin'' are clearly visible, including "Yang Zhi Sells His Precious Sabre", "Robbing the Convoy of Birthday Gifts", "Song Jiang Kills Yan Poxi", and "Fighting Fang La". Song Jiang and his outlaws are said to operate in the Taihang Mountains.

Stories about the outlaws became a popular subject for Yuan dynasty drama. During this time, the material on which ''Water Margin'' was based evolved into its current form. The number of outlaws increased to 108. Even though they come from different backgrounds, and include scholars, fishermen, imperial drill instructors, officers, and others, all of them eventually come to occupy Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh).

Author's inspiration and dates

While the book's authorship is attributed to Shi Nai'an (1296–1372), there is an extensive academic debate on what historical events the author had witnessed that inspired him to write the book, which forms a wider debate on when the book was written. The first external reference of this book, which dated to 1524 during a discussion among Ming dynasty officials, is a reliable evidence because it presents strong falsifiability. Other scholars put the date to the mid-14th century, sometime between the fall of the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty and the early Ming dynasty.

Both the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty (1521–1568) and the closing years of the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty (1360s) were marked by a chain of rebellions, which confused scholars a lot as to which of the two inspired the author, and hence when was the book written. The proponents of the Yuan dynasty argued that ''Water Margin'' became popular during the Yuan as the common people (predominantly Han Chinese) resented the Mongol rulers. The ambivalence persisted into later times, and the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming dynasty, acting on the advice of his ministers, banned the book.

Plot

The opening episode in the novel is the release of the 108 Spirits, imprisoned under an ancient stele-bearing tortoise.

The next chapter describes the rise of Gao Qiu, one of the primary antagonists of the story. Gao abuses his status as a Grand Marshal by oppressing Wang Jin; Wang's father taught Gao a painful lesson when the latter was still a street-roaming ruffian. Wang Jin flees from the capital with his mother and by chance he meets Shi Jin, who becomes his apprentice. The next few chapters tell the story of Shi Jin's friend Lu Zhishen, followed by the story of Lu's sworn brother Lin Chong. Lin Chong is framed by Gao Qiu for attempting to assassinate him, and almost dies in a fire at a supply depot set by Gao's henchmen. He slays his foes and abandons the depot, eventually making his way to Liangshan Marsh, where he becomes an outlaw. Meanwhile, the "Original Seven", led by Chao Gai, rob a convoy of birthday gifts for the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, another primary antagonist in the novel. They flee to Liangshan Marsh after defeating a group of soldiers sent by the authorities to arrest them, and settle there as outlaws with Chao Gai as their chief. As the story progresses, more people come to join the outlaw band, including military personnel and civil officials who grew tired of serving the corrupt government, as well as men with special skills and talents. Stories of the outlaws are told in separate sections in the following chapters. Connections between characters are vague, but the individual stories are eventually pieced together by chapter 60 when Song Jiang succeeds Chao Gai as the leader of the band after the latter is killed in a battle against the Zeng Family Fortress.

The plot further develops by illustrating the conflicts between the outlaws and the Song government after the Grand Assembly of the 108 outlaws. Song Jiang strongly advocates making peace with the government and seeking redress for the outlaws. After defeating the imperial army in a great battle at Liangshan Marsh, the outlaws eventually receive amnesty from Emperor Huizong. The emperor recruits them to form a military contingent and sends them on campaigns against invaders from the Liao dynasty and rebel forces led by Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La within the Song dynasty's domain. Although the former outlaws eventually emerge victorious against the rebels and Liao invaders, the campaigns also lead to the tragic dissolution of the 108 heroes. At least two-thirds of them die in battle while the surviving ones either return to the imperial capital to receive honours from the emperor and continue serving the Song government, or leave and spend the rest of their lives as commoners elsewhere. Song Jiang himself is eventually poisoned to death by the "Four Treacherous Ministers" – Gao Qiu, Yang Jian, Tong Guan and Cai Jing.

Characters

The 108 Heroes (一百单八将) are at the core of the plot of ''Water Margin''. Based on the Taoist concept that each person's destiny is tied to a "Star of Destiny" (宿星), the 108 Stars of Destiny are stars representing 108 demonic overlords who were banished by the deity Shangdi. Having repented since their expulsion, the 108 Stars are accidentally released from their place of confinement, and are reborn in the world as 108 heroes who band together for the cause of justice. They are divided into the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends.

Chapters

This outline of chapters is based on a 100 chapters edition. Yang Dingjian's 120 chapters edition includes other campaigns of the outlaws on behalf of Song dynasty, while Jin Shengtan's 70 chapters edition omits the chapters on the outlaws' acceptance of amnesty and subsequent campaigns.

The extended version includes the Liangshan heroes' expeditions against the rebel leaders Tian Hu and Wang Qing prior to the campaign against Fang La.

Other stories are told such as the heroes fighting the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty or moving to Siam.

Reception and themes

''Water Margin'', praised as an early "masterpiece" of vernacular fiction, is renowned for the "mastery and control" of its mood and tone. The novel is also known for its use of vivid, humorous and especially racy language. However, it has been denounced as "obscene" by various critics since the Ming dynasty.

Susan L. Mann writes that the "desire for male camaraderie" is "far from a mere plotline," for it is a basic theme of this and other classic novels. She places the novel's male characters in a tradition of men's culture of mutual trust and reciprocal obligation, such as figures known as the Chinese knight-errant. Sima Qian, the Han dynasty historian, devoted a section to biographies: "Their words were always sincere and trustworthy, and their actions always quick and decisive. They were always true to what they promised, and without regard to their own persons, they would rush into dangers threatening others." She finds such figures in this and other novels, such as ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' and ''Journey to the West'', all of which dramatized the "empathic emotional attraction between men who appreciate and play off against one another's complementary qualities."

Licentious and treacherous women are another recurring theme. Modern critics have debated whether ''Water Margin'' is misogynistic. Most beautiful women in the novel are depicted as immoral and cruel, and they are often involved in schemes against the protagonists. Among them is Pan Jinlian, the sister-in-law of Wu Song, who has later become an archetypal femme fatale and one of the most notorious villainesses of Chinese culture. On the other hand, the few "good" women in the story, like Sun Erniang and Gu Dasao, are not particularly noted for their beauty, or are even described as being plain or ugly. The leader of the outlaws, Song Jiang admonishes: "Any outlaw that meddles with women is contemptible."

Critics offer various explanations for ''Water Margins prejudice against women. Most common among modern Chinese critics is the patriarchal society of the Imperial China. Professor Sun Shuyu of The Chinese University of Hong Kong argues that the author(s) of ''Water Margin'' intentionally vilified women in order to discipline their would-be-outlaw audiences.

In addition, the novel is notable for its gruesome and often gory and over-the-top depictions of violence. Some of the protagonists of the novel engage in "wanton killing, excessive retribution, and various forms of cannibalism". When celebrating a victory, it is suggested they sometimes "share their enemies' flesh piece by piece, an action combining cannibalism with ''lingchi''", the slow slicing of somebody to death. This type of violent imagery in the novel is mentioned in a "causal tone", with human flesh being eaten not just "in acts of revenge", but also "as a way of living". Noting that the outlaws celebrated in the novel were nevertheless widely regarded as "heroes and heroines" over centuries, educator William Sin states that one cannot divide "the meanings of heiractions" from "the cultural background under which they ereperformed" and that it would be "hasty" to project concepts and values of today "onto the situation of a distant culture" where they may not have applied.

Authorship

Since fiction was not at first a prestigious genre in the Chinese literary world, authorship of early novels was often not carefully attributed and may be unknowable. The authorship of ''Water Margin'' is still in some sense uncertain, and the text in any case derived from many sources and involved many editorial hands. While the novel was traditionally attributed to Shi Nai'an, of whose life nothing is reliably known, recent scholars think that the novel, or portions of it, may have been written or revised by Luo Guanzhong (the author of ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''). Other contenders include Shi Hui (施惠) and Guo Xun (郭勛).

Shi Nai'an

Many scholars believe that the first 70 chapters were indeed written by Shi Nai'an; however the authorship of the final 30 chapters is often questioned, with some speculating that it was instead written by Luo Guanzhong, who may have been a student of Shi. Another theory, which first appeared in Gao Ru's ''Baichuan Shuzhi'' (百川書志) during the Ming dynasty, suggests that the whole novel was written and compiled by Shi, and then edited by Luo.

Shi drew from oral and written texts that had accumulated over time. Stories of the Liangshan outlaws first appeared in ''Old incidents in the Xuanhe period of the great Song dynasty'' (大宋宣和遺事) and had been circulating since the Southern Song dynasty, while folk tales and opera related to ''Water Margin'' have already existed long before the novel itself came into existence. This theory suggests that Shi Nai'an gathered and compiled these pieces of information to write ''Water Margin''.

Luo Guanzhong

Some believe that ''Water Margin'' was written entirely by Luo Guanzhong. Wang Daokun (汪道昆), who lived during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty, first mentioned in ''Classification of Water Margin'' (水滸傳敘) that: "someone with the family name Luo, who was a native of Wuyue (Yue (a reference to the southern China region covering Zhejiang), wrote the 100-chapter novel." Several scholars from the Ming and Qing dynasties, after Wang Daokun's time, also said that Luo was the author of ''Water Margin''. During the early Republican era, Lu Xun and Yu Pingbo suggested that the simplified edition of ''Water Margin'' was written by Luo, while the traditional version was by Shi Nai'an.

However, Huikang Yesou (惠康野叟) in ''Shi Yu'' (識餘) disagree with Wang Daokun's view on the grounds that there were significant differences between ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', therefore these two novels could not have been written by the same person.

Hu Shih felt that the draft of ''Water Margin'' was done by Luo Guanzhong, and could have contained the chapters on the outlaws' campaigns against Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La, but not invaders from the Liao dynasty.

Another theory states that Luo Guanzhong was from the Southern Song period vice the Ming dynasty. Cheng Muheng (程穆衡) suggested in ''Notes on Water Margin'' (水滸傳注略) that Luo lived in the late Southern Song dynasty and early Yuan era. Huang Lin'gen (黃霖根) pointed out that the name of one of the compilers of ''Anecdotes of Jingkang'' (靖康稗史) was Nai'an, and suggested that this "Nai'an", who lived during the Southern Song dynasty, was Shi Nai'an. He also felt that Shi wrote a simplified version of ''Water Margin'', which is not the current edition.

Shi Hui

Another candidate is Shi Hui (施惠), a '' nanxi'' (''southern opera'') playwright who lived between the late Yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty. Xu Fuzuo (徐復祚) of the Ming dynasty mentioned in ''Sanjia Cunlao Weitan'' (三家村老委談) that Junmei (君美; Shi Hui's courtesy name)'s intention in writing ''Water Margin'' was to entertain people, and not to convey any message. During the Qing dynasty, Shi Hui and Shi Nai'an were linked, suggesting that they are actually the same person. An unnamed writer wrote in ''Chuanqi Huikao Biaomu'' (傳奇會考標目) that Shi Nai'an's given name was actually "Hui", courtesy name "Juncheng" (君承), and he was a native of Hangzhou. Sun Kaidi (孫楷第) also wrote in ''Bibliography of Chinese Popular Fiction'' that "Nai'an" was Shi Hui's pseudonym. Later studies revealed that ''Water Margin'' contained lines in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang variety of Chinese, and that ''You Gui Ji'' (幽闺记), a work of Shi Hui, bore some resemblance to ''Water Margin'', hence the theory that ''Water Margin'' was authored by Shi Hui.

Guo Xun

Early scholars attributed the authorship to Guo Xun (郭勛), a politician who lived in the Ming dynasty. Shen Defu (沈德符), a late Ming dynasty scholar, mentioned in ''Wanli Yehuo Bian'' (萬曆野獲編) that Guo wrote ''Water Margin''. Shen Guoyuan (沈國元) added in ''Huangming Congxin Lu'' (皇明從信錄) that Guo mimicked the writing styles of ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' and ''Water Margin'' to write ''Guochao Yinglie Ji'' (國朝英烈記). Qian Xiyan (錢希言) also stated in ''Xi Gu'' (戲嘏) that Guo edited ''Water Margin'' before. Hu Shih countered in his ''Research on Water Margin'' (水滸傳新考) that Guo Xun's name was used as a disguise for the real author of ''Water Margin''. Dai Bufan (戴不凡) had a differing view, as he suspected that Guo wrote ''Water Margin'', and then used "Shi Nai'an" to conceal his identity as the author of the novel.

Editions

The textual history of the novel is extraordinarily complex for there are early editions of varying lengths, different parts, and variations. The scholar Scott Gregory comments that the text could be freely altered by later editors and publishers who also could add prefaces or commentaries. Not until the early 20th-century were there studies which began to set these questions in order, and there is still disagreement. The earliest components of the ''Water Margin'' (in manuscript copies) were from the late 14th century. A printed copy dating from the Jiaqing reign (1507–1567) titled ''Jingben Zhongyi Zhuan'' (京本忠義傳), is preserved in the Shanghai Library. The earliest extant complete printed edition of ''Water Margin'' is a 100-chapter version published in 1589. An edition, with 120 chapters and an introduction by Yang Dingjian (楊定見), has been preserved from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1573–1620) in the Ming dynasty. Yet other editions were published in the early Qing dynasty.

The most widely read version is a truncated recension published by Jin Shengtan in 1643, reprinted many times, which became the standard text for later editions and most translations. Jin provided three introductions that praised the novel as a work of genius and inserted commentaries into the text that explained how to read the novel. He cut matter that he thought irrelevant, reduced the number of chapters to 70 by turning chapter 1 into a prologue, and added an ending in which all 108 heroes are executed.

The various editions can be classified into simplified and complex. The simplified editions, edited for less sophisticated audiences, can contain all the events but in less detail. There is no way of knowing whether a simplified edition came before or was derived from another by adding or cutting text.

Simplified editions

The simplified editions include stories on the outlaws being granted amnesty, followed by their campaigns against the Liao dynasty, Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La, all the way until Song Jiang's death. At one point, the later chapters were compiled into a separate novel, titled ''Sequel to Water Margin'' (續水滸傳), which is attributed to Luo Guanzhong.

Known simplified editions of ''Water Margin'' include:

* A 115-chapter edition, ''Masterpieces of the Han and Song dynasties'' (漢宋奇書)
* A 110-chapter edition, ''Chronicles of Heroes'' (英雄譜)
* A 164-chapter edition, combined with ''Sequel to Water Margin''
* A 109-chapter edition, ''2-Carved Heroes' Compendium''
* A 124-chapter version, ''Daodao Tang Edition''
* A 104-chapter edition, ''Water Margin Chronicles Commentary''

Complex editions

The complex editions are more descriptive and circulated more widely than their simplified counterparts. The three main versions of the complex editions are a 100-chapter, a 120-chapter and a 70-chapter edition. The most commonly modified parts of the complex editions are the stories on what happened after the outlaws are granted amnesty.

* 100-chapter edition: Includes the outlaws' campaigns against the Liao dynasty and Fang La after they have been granted amnesty.
* 120-chapter edition: An extended version of the 100-chapter edition, includes the outlaws' campaigns against Tian Hu and Wang Qing (chapters 91 to 110).
* 71-chapter edition: Edited by Jin Shengtan in the late Ming dynasty, this edition uses chapter 1 as a prologue and ends at chapter 71 of the original version, and does not include the stories about the outlaws being granted amnesty and their campaigns.
* There is another 120-chapter version known as ''Mei's Collection Water Margin''. The first 70 chapters of this version are consistent with Jin Shengtan's Guanhuatang version, but the last 50 chapters are completely different from other versions. There is no plot of recruiting and Liangshan still fights against the government. There is controversy about the authenticity of the last 50 chapters of this version and the value of this version itself, with many people believing that the last 50 chapters were forged by Mei Jihe.

Translations

''Water Margin'' has been translated into many languages. The book was translated into Manchu as Möllendorff: Sui hū bithe. Japanese translations date back to at least 1757, when the first volume of an early ''Suikoden'' (''Water Margin'' rendered in Japanese) was printed. Other early adaptations include Takebe Ayakari's 1773 ''Japanese Water Margin'' (''Honcho suikoden''), the 1783 ''Women's Water Margin'' (''Onna suikoden''), and Santō Kyōden's 1801 ''Chushingura Water Margin'' (''Chushingura suikoden'').

In 1805, Kyokutei Bakin released a Japanese translation of the ''Water Margin'' illustrated by Hokusai. The book, called the ''New Illustrated Edition of the Suikoden'' (''Shinpen Suikogaden''), was a success during the Edo period and spurred a Japanese "Suikoden" craze.

In 1827, publisher Kagaya Kichibei commissioned Utagawa Kuniyoshi to produce a series of woodblock prints illustrating the 108 heroes in ''Water Margin''. The 1827–1830 series, called ''108 Heroes of the Water Margin'' or ''Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori'', catapulted Kuniyoshi to fame. It also brought about a craze for multicoloured pictorial tattoos that covered the entire body from the neck to the mid-thigh.

Following the great commercial success of the Kuniyoshi series, other ukiyo-e artists were commissioned to produce prints of the ''Water Margin'' heroes, which began to be shown as Japanese heroes rather than the original Chinese personages.

Among these later series was Yoshitoshi's 1866–1867 series of 50 designs in Chuban size, which are darker than Kuniyoshi's and feature strange ghosts and monsters.
A recent Japanese translation is

The book was first translated into Thai in 1867, originally in Samud Thai (Thai paper book) format, consisting of 82 volumes in total. It was printed in western style in 1879 and distributed commercially by Dan Beach Bradley, an American Protestant missionary to Siam.

Jacques Dars translated the 70 chapter version into French in 1978, reprinted several times.

Pearl S. Buck was the first English translator of the entire 70-chapter version. Titled ''All Men are Brothers'' and published in 1933. The book was well received by the American public. However, it was also criticised for its errors, such as the mistranslation of Lu Zhishen's nickname "Flowery Monk" as "Priest Hua". In 1937, another complete translation appeared, titled ''Water Margin,'' by J. H. Jackson, edited by Fang Lo-Tien. A translation of Jin's Preface was published in 1935 by the Shanghai journal, ''The China Critic''.

Later translations of the 70 chapter version include Chinese-naturalised scholar Sidney Shapiro's ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' (1980), which also does not include the verse. However, as it was published during the Cultural Revolution, this edition received little attention then. It is a translation of a combination of both the 70-chapter and 100-chapter versions.

The most recent translation, titled ''The Marshes Of Mount Liang'' (1994), by Alex and John Dent-Young, is a five-volume translation of the 120-chapter version. It includes a prologue but omits the foreword by Shi Nai'an and some passages related to the official details of the Ming Dynasty.

These translations differ in the selection of texts and completeness. The Jackson translation is the only translation to contain Shi Nai'an's foreword. The Shapiro translation omits the prologue, the foreword, and most of the poems. The Dent-Young translation omits the author's foreword and the passages concerning the Ming Dynasty administration and the translators admitted to compromising some details and retaining inconsistencies in their ''Brief Note on the Translation''.

Influence and adaptations

Literature

''Jin Ping Mei'' is an erotic novel written under the pen-name Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (蘭陵笑笑生) ("The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling") in the late Ming dynasty. The novel is based on the story of Wu Song avenging his brother in ''Water Margin'', but the focus is on Ximen Qing's sexual relations with other women, including Pan Jinlian. In ''Water Margin'', Ximen Qing is killed by Wu Song for murdering the latter's brother, while in ''Jin Ping Mei'' he dies a horrible death due to an accidental overdose of aphrodisiac pills.

''Shuihu Houzhuan'' (水滸後傳), which roughly translates to ''The Later Story of Water Margin'', is a novel written by Chen Chen (陳忱) in the Qing dynasty. The story is set after the end of the original ''Water Margin'', with Li Jun as the protagonist. It tells of how the surviving Liangshan heroes are forced to become outlaws again due to corruption in the government. When the armies of the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty invade the Song dynasty, the heroes rise up to defend their nation from the invaders. The heroes eventually decide to leave China for good and sail to distant lands. Apart from the surviving Liangshan heroes from the original novel, ''Shuihu Houzhuan'' also introduces new characters such as Hua Rong's son Hua Fengchun (花逢春), Xu Ning's son Xu Sheng (徐晟) and Huyan Zhuo's son Huyan Yu (呼延鈺).

''Dang Kou Zhi'' (蕩寇志), which roughly translates to ''The Tale of Eliminating Bandits'', is a novel written by Yu Wanchun (俞萬春) during the reign of the Daoguang Emperor in the Qing dynasty. Yu disagreed that the Liangshan outlaws are loyal and righteous heroes, and was determined to portray them as ruthless mass murderers and destroyers, hence he wrote ''Dang Kou Zhi''. The novel, which starts at the Grand Assembly of the 108 outlaws at Liangshan Marsh, tells of how the outlaws plundered and pillaged cities before they are eventually eliminated by government forces led by Zhang Shuye (張叔夜) and his lieutenants Chen Xizhen (陳希真) and Yun Tianbiao (雲天彪).

The Qing dynasty writer Qian Cai intertwined the life stories of Yue Fei and the outlaws Lin Chong and Lu Junyi in '' The Story of Yue Fei'' (1684). He stated that the latter were former students of the general's martial arts tutor, Zhou Tong. However, literary critic C. T. Hsia commented that the connection was a fictional one created by the author. The Republican era folktale '' Swordplay Under the Moon'', by Wang Shaotang, further intertwines Yue Fei's history with the outlaws by adding Wu Song to the list of Zhou's former students. The tale is set in the background of Wu Song's mission to Kaifeng, prior to the murder of his brother. Zhou tutors Wu in the "rolling dragon" style of swordplay during his one-month stay in the capital city. It also said that Zhou is a sworn brother of Lu Zhishen and shares the same nickname with the executioner-turned-outlaw Cai Fu.

Frank Chin's novel, '' Donald Duk'', contains many references to the ''Water Margin''. Song Jiang and Li Kui