Water Margin

Water Margin, also called Outlaws of the Marsh or All Men Are Brothers, is a Chinese novel from the Ming dynasty attributed to Shi Nai'an, and is regarded as one of the earliest great Chinese novels written entirely in vernacular Chinese. Set during the Northern Song dynasty of the twelfth century, the story follows a group of 108 outlaws who gather at Mount Liang, also known as Liangshan Marsh, to rebel against the government before later being granted amnesty and enlisted to resist the Liao dynasty and other rebels. Bibliographical evidence names Shi Nai'an, Luo Guanzhong, or both as the novel's principal compiler, and a significant revision based on earlier editions was published during the reign of the Ming Emperor Shizong, becoming the ancestral edition of the most widely circulated versions. Known for its heroic characterization of vigilantes and outlaws such as Shi Jin, Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, Li Kui, Yan Qing and Song Jiang, the novel is considered one of the masterpieces of early vernacular fiction and Chinese literature.