16th-17th century China witnessed one of the most robust commercial publishing markets in Chinese history. At the book market, one could purchase classics, histories, examination aids, how-to manuals, almanacs, literary collections, and much more, all catered to increasingly diverse readers. This demand for book of all kinds would lead to the popularity of more entertaining books, among them novels (xiaoshuo) which led to the elevation of the “Four Masterworks” that would grow out of this literary genre.

Among the Four Masterworks, the Water Margin is certainly one of the most popular, entertaining, and thought-provoking. It narrates the assembly of the 108 bandit-heroes of the Liangshan Marsh and their dilemma between holding up the oath of sworn fraternal honor and remaining loyal to the emperor. Specifically, the Water Margin deals with tropes common to human nature: honor vs. betrayal, rebellion vs. submission, sworn friendship vs. duty to one’s country, and freedom vs. domination. The seemingly contradictory nature of the novel and the potentially subversive ideas it presents through vivid descriptions of sex, violence, and transgression certainly caused some premodern Chinese literary critics to deem this book as damaging to the moral Confucian order. Yet, as we shall see in this course, the Water Margin is actually a highly complex novel that simultaneously elevates and complicates the traditional understanding of the novel and Confucian moral code, achieved through a complex author and reader dynamic, various narrative devices, and sophisticated characterization combined with a compelling plot.

This will be a 12-week reading-intensive course. We will use the 100-chapter edition of Water Margin, translated by Sidney Shapiro, across five volumes. Students are also welcome to use various additions of the 100-chapter edition in Chinese. Supplemental readings from literary critics and Chinese historians will be provided. We will cover the book at a rate of 8 chapters per lesson, with each class week being split between a discussion of the book and lectures on relevant aspects of Ming history, culture, and literature, including literary criticism, historical sources of the novel, China’s fascinating fiction commentary tradition, martial arts & wuxia, and Chinese masculinity.