The New Theory of Heroism in Water Margin

Abstract

The Water Margin and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms were once engraved together into Yingxiongpu in the Ming dynasty. Compared with the orthodox heroism of "salvation of the world" expressed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the heroism in Water Margin embodies the distinct characteristics of the times, more affected by townsfolk's ideas, tending to take self-value as its core and pursuing maximized spiritual and material interest, which presents the new characteristics that go against the traditional concept of hero. The Water Margin [1] and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms have been engraved together as Yingxiongpu in Ming dynasty. "Water Margin and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms" tell a lot of stories about wisdom and loyalty, buyers regret that two books are not issued together [2] It is thus clear that what this two books have in common is that they create numerous portraits of heroes bearing the characteristics of wisdom and loyalty. The difference is the heroes created in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms are all generals and ministers, while the heroes created in Water Margin are mostly from the underworld, including farmers, fishermen, butchers, the executioners, junior officers and so on. Therefore, the concept of civilian class has a deeper influence on the heroism in Water Margin, reflecting the distinct characteristics of the times. Wang Wangru in the Qing dynasty had a profound analysis about Song Jiang, he said: "Songjiang, a cunning folk hero in the prosperous times, would not be resigned to being outdone. If he had had higher position and enjoyed higher salary, he would not revolt. The most surprising was that people bribed to get official position while Songjiang utilized money to win bandits over. People who bought posts were punished as robbers, while people who used money to recruit bandits were given titles. What brilliant and timely plot Songjiang had come up with" [3] Song Jiang was the epitome of most of the Liangshan heroes, unrealistic ambition and aspiration prompted them to choose unconventional ways, which is the new feature of heroism in Water Margin. The contemporary scholars also believe that "Scholars praise Water Margin mainly because of its heroic characterization."[4] In this paper, the author analyzes the new heroism from several aspects.