Choose A Controversial Topic In The Four Great Classical Novels

An Analysis of Water Margin by Shih Nai’An
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An Analysis of Water Margin by Shih Nai’An
Water Margin, written by Shih Nai’An (and with the contribution of Luo Guanzhong according to literary scholars), describes the tale of 108 bandits who set out on a mission to avenge wrongs and fight injustice. There exists a variety of English translations, which include Tales of the Marshes, The Marshes of Mount Liang, Outlaws of the Marsh; All Men are Brothers, and Men of the Marshes. The novel is part of the famous collection of the four great classical novels in Chinese writings. The story records a fictional account of the workings of real-life infidels from the Song dynasty in the 12th century of Chinese history. The book develops as a collection of individual stories of each bandit, after which the characters assemble and each story intertwines with that of another character as the plot develops. The tales revolve around the skirmishes between the rebels and the ruling government and Grand assembly of the Song dynasty. Afterwards the group makes peace with the regime; and after fighting off enemies of the government, the emperor grants the rebels amnesty. The fugitives then become a military unit for the empire, to fight off invaders and quench rebellions within the state. The story explores various thematic issues related to the fight against political oppression and injustices of the rich against the poor. There are elaborations on the struggle between the government and the bandits, amongst the bandits, and against other outlaws. Other than the adventures providing entertainment, the author touches on several issues that reflect on the society. The essay gives a critical viewpoint of the issues the author explored in the story, from the point of view of the interactions of Shi Jin and the three bandits.
The first character of interest is ShiJin. ShiJin was not a bandit but became one by association (Benz, 2018). His adventure begins with his interaction with three thugs. Wang Jin, a former Head Instructor of the military, search forth shelter with his mother at the Shin Jin Family Village. Wang was a martial arts expert, whose begrudging superior forced him to abandon his home and flee. Shi Jin was the son of the village master. He challenged Wang Jin to a duel and lost, then convinced Wang to instruct him on the mastery of the eighteen weapons. Upon completion of the training, Wang proceeds to Yan’an. A couple of months later, Li Ji notifies Shi Jin on the presence of robbers in the mountains, who were destroying the peace. Shi Jin mobilizes farmers in the area to fight, should the robbers attack the village. He prepares a feast for about 300 to 400 of the farmers to explain how to retaliate against an attack. The three leaders of the bandits were Zhu Wu, Chen Da and Yang Chun. The three disagreed on whether to raid the Shi family Vllage, and then Chen Da attacked and faced his defeat. Shi Jin announced his intention to capture the other two leaders to receive the reward for their capture. The two leaders make peace with Shin Jin, and leave with Chen Da. The two groups begin to exchange gifts and develop a friendship. The story gets complicated when Li Ji intercepts an invitation fr...