Nai'an Shi

It is considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It has introduced readers to many of the best-known characters in Chinese literature, such as Wu Song, Lin Chong, Pan Jinlian, Song Jiang and Lu Zhishen. Water Margin is based on the exploits of the outlaw Song Jiang and his 108 companions. 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. The name of "Song Jiang" also appeared in the biography of Emperor Huizong of Song. 《水浒传》是元末明初施耐庵编著的章回体长篇小说。全书通过描写梁山好汉反抗欺压、水泊梁山壮大和受宋朝招安，以及受招安后为宋朝征战，最终消亡的宏大故事，艺术地反映了中国历史上宋江起义从发生、发展直至失败的全过程，深刻揭示了起义的社会根源，满腔热情地歌颂了起义英雄的反抗斗争和他们的社会理想，也具体揭示了起义失败的内在历史原因。《水浒传》是中国古典四大名著之一，问世后，在社会上产生了巨大的影响，成了后世中国小说创作的典范。《水浒传》是中国历史上最早用白话文写成的章回小说之一，流传极广，脍炙人口；同时也是汉语言文学中具备史诗特征的作品之一，对中国乃至东亚的叙事文学都有深远的影响。

This is the third volume of a series of the new translation of the Chinese classical novel generally known as The Water Margin. In this volume, the company of outlaws on Mount Liang continues to grow — a butcher, a blacksmith, a public executioner, a petty thief… and the usual generals defecting from the government forces. Lu Zhishen, the Flowery Monk, and his companions from Twin Dragon Peak reappear and finally join the company, uniting two important strands of the story. Some episodes are relatively light: a tiger is stolen, an innkeeper's favourite rooster is illicitly eaten, Iron Ox is lowered to the bottom of a well and nearly gets forgotten. But in general the mood is darker. The naked bodies of a lecherous wife is carved up, an innocent child is mercilessly dispatched to gain a reluctant recruit. Chao Gai, the leader on Mount Liang, is killed in battle. Song Jiang replaces him, but for how long can he control his unruly forces? Despite the attraction of the life on the marshes, with its rootless freedom and rough code of honour, we are not to forget how the story was launched, when 108 Demon Princes were released in a black cloud. This series of new translation by John and Alex Dent-Young is also the first English translation of the 120-chapter version of The Water Margin. The translators have made the English translation as readable to English readers as possible by finding meaningful equivalents for many local terms and proverbial expressions, while aiming to retain some flavour of other times and customs. Readers in the West, even with no specialized knowledge of Chinese, will certainly enjoy the stories and characters presented in the novel.

The Tiger Killers is the second volume of a new translation of the Chinese classical novel generally known as ""The Water Margin"". Like the first volume, ""The Broken Seals"", it follows the fortunes of various outlaw heroes as they move through a world of treacherous officials, jealous toadies, bullying gaolers, hired assassins, foolhardy generals and cannibalistic innkeepers. This volume contains some of the most famous scenes in the novel, starting with the episode in which Wu Song gets drunk at the tavern, ascends the pass in late evening and kills a notorious man-eating tiger with his bare hands. His subsequent encounter with his midget brother's flirtatious wife, Jinlian or Golden Lotus, and her vain attempt to seduce him lead into a tale of adultery, callous murder and bloody vengeance. The second half of the book is concerned with Song Jiang's attempts to serve out his prison sentence honorably and avoid becoming an outlaw, until he is unjustly condemned to death for a misconstrued poem. Towards the end of this volume we meet the violent Li Kui, variously known as Iron Ox or Black Whirlwind, who also turns out to have a way with tigers. This volume consists of chapters 23 to 43 of the full 120-chapter version of the novel by Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong. It is the first English translation based on this version.

When Marshal Hong breaks the seals which generations of Taoist Masters have placed on the temple doors to hold back 108 incarcerated Demon Princes, powerful forces of disorder are released. One after another, brave men fall out with officialdom and are obliged to join the brotherhood of the rivers and lakes-the mixed company of heroes and vagabonds who live by their wits and their fighting skills. The story of The Broken Seals branches this way and that, following first one hero, then another, as their paths converge and part, until finally 108 brave-but not entirely admirable-men are united at the outlaws' stronghold in the Marshes of Mount Liang. The story takes us through the vast landscape of imperial China. We hear of epic duels, gargantuan feasts, and cunning ambushes, and we witness injustice, betrayal, murder and revenge. We are told also of the beauty of the moon during Mid-Autumn Festival or of the snow, crisp underfoot on a stormy night in the country. This volume consists of the first twenty-two chapters of the full 120-chapter version of the classic Chinese novel by Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong. It is the first English translation based on this version and including much of the verse. It offers the English reader something of the liveliness and humour of a work which has delighted generations of Chinese readers.