Outlaws of the Marsh

　　（Learn to spread China and Chinese cuIture in EngIish）

　　As the first novel and one classical masterpiece in the history of Chinese literature, Outlaws of the Marsh has drawn material from a real peasant uprising in the 12th century, at the of the Northern Song Dynasty. Peasant rebellion has been a characteristic of Chinese history. Like a scalpel（手术刀）or purifier, the peasant uprising can infuse（灌输） new life into a society whose superstructure is deteriorating. A merit of Outlaws of the Marsh is that it praises a peasant uprising and vividly represents a grandiose（华而不实） social upheaval. Therefore, it is thought to be a representative work of the heroic legary novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its authorship, as it is generally believed, goes to Shi Naian and Luo Guanzhong.

　　《水浒传》是中国文学史上第一部长篇小说和经典名著，取材于北宋末年12世纪一次真实的农民起义。农民起义是中国历史的一个特点。农民起义就像手术刀或净化器一样，可以为上层建筑正在恶化的社会注入新的生命。《水浒传》的一个优点是，它赞扬了农民起义，生动地展现了一场宏大的社会动乱。所以，它被认为是明清英雄传奇小说的代表作。一般认为，它的作者是施耐庵和罗贯中。

　　Outlaws of the Marsh begins with the episode about the release of the 108 Spirits, imprisoned under an ancient stele-bearing（石碑） tortoise. The next chapter describes the villain Gao Qiu, one of the primary antagonists of the story, coming into power.Gao Qiu abuses his status as a Grand Marshal（太尉） by bullying Wang Jin, whose father taught Gao Qiu a painful lesson when the latter was still a street-roaming ruffian（街头恶霸）. Wang Jin flees from the capital with his mother and by chance he meets Shi Jin, who becomes his student. The next few chapters tell the story of Shi Jin's fri Lu Zishen, followed by the story of Lu's sworn brother Lin Chong. Lin Chong, a real genleman, is framed by Gao Qiu for attempted assassination and almost dies in a fire at a supply depot set by Gao Qiu's henchmen（亲信）. He slays his foes and abandons the depot, eventually making his way to Liangshan Marsh, where he becomes an outlaw. Meanwhile, the “Original Seven”, led by Chao Gai, rob a convoy of birthday gifts（生辰纲） inted for the Imperial Tutor Cai Jing, another primary antagonist in the novel. They flee to Liangshan Marsh after defeating a group of soldiers sent by the authorities to arrest them, and settle down there as outlaws as well, with Chao Gai as the chief of the band. As the story progresses, more people come to join the outlaw band, among whom include army generals and civil servants who grow tired of serving the corrupt govermment, as well as men with special skills and talents. Stories of the outlaws are told in separate sections in the following chapters. Connections between characters are vague, but the inpidual stories are eventually pieced together by Chapter 40 when Song Jiang succeeds Chao Gai as the leader of the band after the latter is killed in a battle against the Zeng Family Fortress. The plot further develops by illustrating the conflicts between the outlaws and the Song government after the Grand Assembly of the 108 outlaws. Song Jiang strongly advocates making peace with the government and seeking redress（纠正，招安） for the outlaws. After defeating the imperial armies, the outlaws are eventually granted amnesty（特敕） by Emperor Huizong.The emperor recruit them to form a military contingent（分遣队） and allows them to embark on（着手） campaigns against invaders from the Liao Dynasty and suppress the rebel forces of Tian Hu, Wang Qing and Fang La within the Song Dynasty's domain. Most heroes die in battlefields and Song Jiang too is persecuted by treacherous court officials. Thus a vigorous uprising s in failure.

　　《水浒传》以释放108个被囚禁在一块刻有乌龟的古老石碑下的妖魔开始。下一章描述了故事的主要反派人物之一高俅上台。高俅滥用太尉身份，欺负王进，王进的父亲在高俅还是街头恶霸的时候给了他一个惨痛的教训。王进带着母亲逃离京城，偶然遇到了史进，史进拜王进为师。接下来的几章节讲述了史进的朋友鲁智深的故事，接着是鲁智深结拜兄弟林冲的故事。林冲，一个真正的将军，因刺杀未遂而被高俅陷害，在高俅手下的一个草料场发生的火灾中险些丧命。他杀死了他的敌人，并弃仓出走，最终来到水泊梁山，成为一个亡命之徒。与此同时，晁盖率领的“最初七兄弟”抢劫了生辰纲，这是准备送给小说中的另一个主要反派人物蔡京的生日礼物。他们打败了当局派来逮捕他们的一批士兵后逃到水泊梁山，并在那里定居下来，成为亡命徒。晁盖成为该团伙的头目。随着故事的发展，越来越多的人加入到团伙中来，其中包括厌倦了为腐败政府服务的军队将领和公务员，以及具有特殊技能和才能的人。在接下来的章节中，分别讲述了这群亡命徒的故事。人物之间的联系松散，但当宋江接替晁盖成为队伍的头领后，零散的英雄传奇故事终于在第40章整合在一起。晁盖是在攻打曾头市的战斗中被杀的。108位梁山好汉英雄大聚义后，小说继续描写梁山好汉与宋朝政府之间的冲突。宋江强烈主张与政府讲和，为自己带领的这帮不法分子伸张正义。在打败了朝廷军队之后，这群亡命徒最终被宋徽宗特赦。皇帝招募他们组成一支军事分遣队，派遣他们发动反对辽朝侵略者的战役，并镇压宋朝境内的田虎、王庆和方腊的叛乱势力。大多数英雄战死沙场，宋江也受到奸臣的迫害至死。至此，一场轰轰烈烈的农民起义最终以失败告终。

　　The diction of the book is lucid and lively, plain and graceful with a rich local color. The heroic legary genre of fiction has exercised great influence on the development of fiction writing of the same kind. The book has been translated into many foreign languages; therefore, it also has exercised much infuence on foreign literature.

　　该书用词明快、质朴婉约，具有浓郁的地方色彩。英雄传奇小说体裁对同类型小说的发展产生了重大影响。这本书已被翻译成多种外语；因此，它对外国文学也产生了很大的影响。

　　声明：文中的英文取材于孙立新主编、中国海洋大学出版社出版的《中国文化要览》。著作权属于原作者，本资料室借用相关英文材料，旨在促进中国文化的宣传和普及。如有侵权，联系删除。