I really would like to read it, but cant seem to figure out which translation is best. His translation of the water margin was the first to closely follow the text of. The water margin reminds chinese leaders of what a band of strongmen, hunters, fishermen, and thieves can achieve in the face of local injustice. Nov 04, 2009 from water margin shui hu zhuan, 1997 episode 21 wu song haifeng ding fighting some ambushers. However, he was at some point trained by tien khuan, whom he regards to. May 01, 2010 this is a very long but worthwhile book. These stories take place at the end of the northern song. In addition to authoring the water margin, he was also the teacher of lo kuan chung, the author of romance of the three kingdoms. From water margin shui hu zhuan, 1997 episode 21 wu song haifeng ding fighting some ambushers. I found the kindle format well suited to a book of this size. The outlaws of the marsh water margin shui hu zhuan, 1997 episode 21 wu song haifeng ding fighting some ambushers. Water margin by shi naian overdrive rakuten overdrive. As with the other chinese classic that ive read, the journey to the west, volume 1, it was evidently written to entertain, being a quick read with generous servings of humor and action, and occasional.
Jun 30, 2000 a chinese folk story turned into a great epic, this tale is also known as outlaws of the marsh and by the water margin. Originally a th century chinese epic, this tv series was made in japanese and then dubbed into english before screening by the bbc. The water margin the ancient sages said, do not despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a dragon. Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient china, at the time of the sung dynasty, there was a cruel and corrupt government. Shi naian is one of the respected elders of chinese literature. All 26 episodes from the 1970s tv series about a gang of outlaw heroes dedicated to fighting tyranny in feudal china. Mountain bandits who nevertheless live by a scrupulous code of conduct, the honorable 108 pledge to end the repression of the brutal overlords. With the good rebels of the water margin implicated, lin chung must investigate and kaos minions will be waiting. Lin chung the main leading hero in this series was my 1970s martial arts hero, just like bruce lee, jackie chan and muhammad ali. This corresponds to the sixth ranked star of destiny in the novel water margin, lin chong, whose nickname is panther head. Shuihu zhuan is a chinese novel attributed to shi naian.
Based upon the story of the historical bandit song jiang and his companions, this epic tale of a rebellion against tyranny has been thrilling and inspiring readers for hundreds of years. Against the odds, the water margin struck a chord with the british public becoming a minor but beloved hit, even when the bbc decided in all wisdom to toy with it in the schedules. Lin chung speeds to the capital in an attempt to save the emperor from the coming battle. With lin chung held by the tsengs, and the rebels mourning the death of one of their leaders, kao chiu travels to tungc. The water margin, also known outlaws of the marsh and seven blows of the dragon, is a 1972 hong kong film adapted from the chinese classical novel water margin. In nine dozen heroes and one wicked man kao chiu, the emperors favourite, unwittingly releases the souls of nine dozen rebel. The water margin shui hu zhuan is one of the most surprising classics of chinese literature. The water margin home witney, oxfordshire menu, prices. Made in two seasons of episodes each by nippon television it was shown in japan in 1973 and 1974 as suikoden.
The 108 heroes are the heroes of big form the entire big green army. With kwouk providing the voiceover throughout and filling in the blanks, the water margin across 26 45minute episodes takes us back 1,000 years to when there was a corrupt and cruel government. This woodblock detail depicts yang lin, a hero from the water margin, by japanese artist utagawa kuniyoshis in his series of. More specifically, many hero number corresponds to rank in the 108 stars of destiny. For unknown reasons, lin chung often sits with his eyes closed, as if deep in thought.
Like many concepts in the book world, series is a somewhat fluid and contested notion. Erstwhile warrior lin chung feels the effect of all this, as he kills a swordsman, is charged and then jailed at a far out prison, is freed on the. The water margin the complete series dvd box set import anglais. Watch the water margin season 2, episode 9 lin chung is beaten. As many have already noticed, many characters in hero. When in extremis, those leaders choose to ban books. The water margin played to this trend, presenting a sword and magic version of the thcentury chinese epic by shih naian, relating the tale of 108 reborn knights who fight tyranny from their base in the marshlands of the lian shan po. This is the first book of the fivevolume dentyoung translation of one of the four great chinese classics, commonly known as water margin. Jackson translation features a new preface and introduction by edwin lowe, which gives the history of the.
Rating is available when the video has been rented. In addition to authoring water margin, he was also the teacher of lo kuan chung, author of romance of the three kingdoms. Its variations are so extreme as to make the work the most textually complex in chinese literature. Among the themes addressed in this novel are the abuse of power by officials, the unjust punishment of the loyal and the power of chivalry and loyalty. Attributed to shi naian, whom some believe to be luo guanzhong, the novel details the trials and tribulations of 108 outlaws during the mid song dynasty. Both at last will reach the sea finds lin chung searching for his wife, while being pursued by yung chih, who has orders to kill him. Mediumscale traveling ionospheric disturbances by threedimensional ionospheric gps tomography 3.
A direct precursor of water margin was the old incidents in the xuanhe period of the great song dynasty, which appeared around the mid th century. Shuihu zhuan, also translated as outlaws of the marsh, tale of the marshes, all men are brothers, men of the marshes or the marshes of mount liang, is a 14thcentury chinese novel attributed to shi naian. However, all men are brothers by pearl buck is the favorite version of my chinese studies professor, victor mair at upenn. Tale of the water margin or water margin is known as one of the four greatest chinese novels, along with, the monkey king. Outlaws of the marsh water margin project gutenberg. Water margin, ancient chinese vernacular novel known from several widely varying manuscripts under the name shuihuzhuan. Girt stronghold chao gai wins a battle in liangshan marsh chapter 20 the men of liangshan marsh make chao gai their chief. On a snowy night, closing the door to read banned books. His translation of the water margin was the first to follow the text of the chinese. Which english translation of the chinese classic the water.
Outlaws of the marsh water margin project gutenberg self. A good rule of thumb is that series have a conventional name and are intentional creations, on the part of the author or publisher. With david chiang, lung ti, kuan tai chen, chung wang. The stories had become rather famous by the yuan period, mostly popularized by the storytellers. Perhaps the main storyline wasnt so alien, effectively coming across as an asian robin hood. The bbc released the theme tune sung by pete mac jr as a single, reaching number 37 in the uk charts. My father and i have been slowly working our way through them over the years, and he gifted me a copy of water margin by shi naian this past christmas. Made in 1973, the water margin is a japanese television series based on water margin, one of the four great classical novels of chinese literature. Considered one of the four great classical novels of chinese literature, the novel is written in vernacular chinese rather than classical chinese. Tells the story of the 108 heroes who stood up against a corrupt government. It tells the tale of how jade unicorn lu junyi came to join the outlaw band at liangshan marsh and the outlaws battle with the zeng family fortress.
Some of the characters who later became associated with song jiang also appeared around this time. It was produced by the shaw brothers studio and directed by chang cheh. Ancient china, corrupt politician takes power, famine, banditsrebels hold the marshlands the water margin which is easily defended against government troops. The title is from a favourite 1970s tv show of mine, from hong kong, subtitled the water margin, a multipart series about the adventures of the chinese equivalent to robin hood and his band of merry men, known as lin cheong and the 9 dozen heroes of the water margin, based on the 12th century chinese tales of the heroes of the marsh. The novel water margin by shi naian details the rise and fall of a group of bandits during the time of the song dynasty in china. It tells the stories of a group of heroes, who stand for different classes of people daring to struggle against the corruption and oppression of the times. Lin chong enters white tiger inner sanctum by mistake chapter 8. Based upon the historical bandit song jiang and his companions, this chinese equivalent of the english classic robin hood and his merry men is an epic tale of rebellion against tyranny and has been thrilling and inspiring readers for hundreds of years.
The earliest extant complete printed edition of water margin is a 100chapter book dating from the late16th century in 1589. Whoever reads it will find a well conceived ethic, romance, violence, and nobility of spirit. It tells a series of stories about a group of heroes, oppressed by corrupt and unjust civil officials, who are forced to. Journey to the west, dream of the red chamber, and romance of the three kingdoms. Romance of the three kingdoms, journey to the west, water margin, and dream of the rest chamber. Meanwhile, thousands of peasants join the rebel knights of liang shan po as they march on the capital city. There are multiple revisions of the book and multiple english translations, so i. The water margin 1972 directed by chang cheh, pao hsuehli. Jackson, with foreword and the occasional tweak by edwin lowe.
Watch all the water margin episodes from season 1,view pictures, get episode information and more. Li zonglin, born in kaohsiung city, taiwan province, is an actor and singer in taiwan, china. Dec 07, 2016 the water margin, also known outlaws of the marsh and seven blows of the dragon, is a 1972 hong kong film adapted from the chinese classical novel water margin chapters 6468. Chen ch, saito a, lin ch, yamamoto m, suzuki s, seemala gk. Outlaws of the marsh, aka the water margin and other titles, is an epic chinese novel about rebels, resistance, war, and friendship. See more ideas about water margin, water and kung fu movies. Water margin, also known as outlaws of the marsh, all men are brothers, men of the marshes, or the marshes of mount liang, is one of the four great classical novels of chinese literature. The water margin is justly regarded as a cult tv show in the uk where the entire 26 episode run has been shown 3 times since 1976. What is the best english translation of the water margin. The water margin 1972 action drama tells the story of the 108 heroes who stood up against a corrupt government. The water margin english title card genrecostume drama, martial arts written byshi naian starringatsuo nakamura sanae tsuchida kei sato isamu nagato theme music composermasaru sato country of originjapan no.
It concerns 108 people who, for various reasons, defy local authorities and join a bandit force hiding out on a marshsurrounded mountain. Thus lin chong chopped off wangs head, neutralized his sworn brothers and declared water margin was the home for all rebels. The water margin is a long episodic novel that narrates the legend of a rebellion in north china in the song period. The corruption in the sung dynasty of 11th century china is so rampant that it inspires a band of oriental robin hoods the honorable 108. Lin chung is a human warrior and sharpshooter dedicated to keeping peace in hidden kingdom with big green. Outlaws of the marsh 4volume boxed set by shi naian. Water margin 1997 wu song fighting some ambushers youtube. His translation of the water margin was the first to follow the text of the chinese original closely. See more ideas about water margin, asian art and japanese art. Imperial guard captain and honourable man lin chung is jailed on trumped up charges and joins the rebels.
None will ever escape alive has lin chung faced with the choice of joining the rebels, escaping, or accepting his sentence. Jackson first came into contact with chinese culture through his involvement with presbyterian missionary efforts. When he was a young ambitious rebel in 1917, mao zedong debated with his friends the best way to protect china from the threatened invasion by japanese army. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Jun 10, 2010 in addition to authoring water margin, he was also the teacher of lo kuan chung, author of romance of the three kingdoms. In chinese, it is called shui hu or shui hu zhuan a chinese version of the popular english folk story robin hood, the story of how virtuous, lawabiding citizens were all pushed into banditry by a tyrannical magistrate called gao qiu. Little is known of lin chung s life prior to joining big green. Water margin is wellknown as one of the four greatest chinese literary classics. Some of the link is quite clever so i decide to write a list to see how. These chinese bandits have much in common with the social bandits robin hood and his merry men, and cowboys and gun fighters of western movies.
Water margin also known as outlaws of the marsh or all men are brothers is a bandit roman developed from folktales about the real life rebel song jiang who led a peasant uprising in the early twelfth century. The water margin 1973 its been quite hard to find any information online about this tv show, so please forgive me for using wikipdia to give you some background info on it. It should be stated that i did not read any of the translated versions of. Li kui, one of the characters in the water margin, battles tigers after they killed his mother. He is one of the main protagonists of the series hero. The water margin is one of the ofour great classical novelso of chinese literature. In addition to authoring water margin, he was also the teacher of lo kuanchung, author of romance of the three kingdoms.
Altogether there are 105 men and three women among the notable characters in the liangshan band. Chairman mao zedong also criticized water margin because of its antigovernment sentiment. There is a group of four books labeled the classic chinese novels. Another edition, with 120 chapters by yang dingjian, has been preserved from the reign of the wanli emperor 15731620 in the ming dynasty. Many books in the west have portrayed asia, and china in particular, as being a place where people blend in, go along to get along, or submit to authority out of confucian filial piety. Wang lun, the head of the water margin, was a mean man and afraid that his leadership might be challenged, so refused to accept the refugees. In 2011, he participated in his tv singing contest show debut and began to participate in multiple commercials. Water margin suffered several official bans under the mongol yuan and manchu qing dynasties.