Why is it called Water Margin?
Water Margin is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin and is attributed to Shi Nai’an. It is also translated as Outlaws of the Marsh and All Men Are Brothers….
| Water Margin | |
|---|---|
| Literal meaning | “Water Margin Story” |
Who wrote The Water Margin?
Shi Nai’anWater Margin / AuthorShi Nai’an was a Chinese writer from the Yuan and early Ming periods. Shuihu zhuan, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, is traditionally attributed to him. There is little reliable sources for his biography, much less his literary activity. Wikipedia
How long is the water margin book?
This 70-chapter book includes much that was sanitized out of the 1937 publication, giving Anglophone readers the most complete picture to date of this classic Chinese novel.
How old is Baoyu?
The main protagonist is about 12 or 13 years old when introduced in the novel. The adolescent son of Jia Zheng and his wife, Lady Wang, and born with a piece of luminescent jade in his mouth (the Stone), Baoyu is the heir apparent to the Rongguo House.
Is Water Margin worth reading?
This is a very long but worthwhile book. It’s not difficult to understand why, in Chinese tradition, “The Water Margin” is considered one of the great Chinese books. Whoever reads it will find a well conceived ethic, romance, violence, and nobility of spirit.
Who does Bao Yu marry?
There is a tragic song in chapter five which foreshadows her fate. In the Cheng-Gao version of the novel, Xue Baochai marries Jia Baoyu under the machinations of Wang Xifeng and Grandmother Jia, causing Lin Daiyu’s death through grief.
What does Bao Yu mean?
precious jade
Baoyu is thus born with a magical piece of jade in his mouth. His name, which literally means “precious jade”, was given him in honor of this. The jade and Baoyu share a mystical link, and the Cheng-Gao version ends after the jade is lost for good and Baoyu himself disappears.
How long is the water margin?
The Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh: The Classic Chinese Novel (Tuttle Classics) The average reader will spend 14 hours and 8 minutes reading this book at 250 WPM (words per minute).
What happens to Lin Daiyu?
In the one hundred and twenty chapter version of the novel, Daiyu dies at the precise moment of Baoyu’s marriage with Baochai in chapter 97. Just before her death, she burns her poems, as we see in the painting below, done by Sun Wen 孙温 (c.1817-1903). This scene is also one that attracted the attention of later poets.
How old is Jia Baoyu?
Jia Baoyu (traditional Chinese: 賈寶玉; simplified Chinese: 贾宝玉; pinyin: Jiǎ Bǎoyù; Wade–Giles: Chia Pao-yu; lit. ‘Precious Jade’) The main protagonist is about 12 or 13 years old when introduced in the novel.