Marsh Warrior Legend 水浒传
by Shi Nai’an 施耐庵 (1296-1372)
The most famous Chinese novel on martial arts and brotherhood, this literary gem has previously been translated by others as Outlaws of the Marsh and Water Margin. Set in feudal China, its plot is based on 108 virtuous warriors who joined forces to save their country from corruption and injustice. Unlike many other martial arts stories that are completely fictional, this 700-year-old historical novel contains real-life characters and describes battles and other events that actually took place. However, to spice up the story, the author informs the reader that the 108 warriors are reincarnations of the former inhabitants of 36 stars and 72 planets of the Little Dipper and that the leader of these warriors hails from Polaris. The first 80 chapters of this novel describe the exciting adventures and battles of the 36 stellar warriors, and of the 72 planetary warriors who gradually appear, one at a time. The final 40 chapters describe the four military campaigns that the warriors launched as a 108-membered team, and each of those campaigns spans the length of approximately 10 chapters. Although there are altogether 120 chapters in both this novel and our translation, it is worth noting that there exists another translation of this novel that contains only 100 chapters due to its omission of two of the warriors’ campaigns.
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