Water Margin (Part 4)

Plot

78-80 Gao Qiu's imperial assault (the fifth) on Liangshan Marsh
Marshal Gao Qiu is the commander-in-chief of the expedition against the Liangshan bandits. He summons Commander Liu Menglong, who is adept in naval warfare, and 10 commandants from the various provinces in the empire, to aid in the expedition. The Liangshan bandits, upon knowing this, prepare for battle by readying their weapons, horses, soldiers and rations. In addition, Lin Chong, Huyan Zhuo and Hua Rong are tasked with 2000 men each to make an initial challenge at the imperial force's castle. A few of Marshal Gao's generals are killed and he quickly withdraws his forces into the castle. This provides a great morale boost to the Liangshan bandits.

In order to conquer Liangshan, the imperial forces have to traverse the 800 li marsh. Commander Liu is in charge of the naval forces during this battle. However, the Ruan brothers of Liangshan manage to rout Commander Liu's forces when he is forced to split his boats in order to pass narrow creeks. Commander Liu is captured but released. Marshal Gao executes Commander Liu for the failure, and also due to him being redundant as all his men are killed or captured in the marsh.

The 10 commandants suggest that 100 paddleboats be built for another assault. This time, Gao Qiu leads the assault force by himself. However, the Liangshan bandits again win the battle by having their men diving under Marshal Gao's boats and making holes in them. Gao Qiu is captured and brought to the Liangshan stronghold.
81-82 The Outlaws are granted amnesty Lin Chong, upon hearing of Gao Qiu's capture, grabs his weapon and is ready to execute him. However, Song Jiang prevents him from doing so, saying Gao Qiu would make it easier for the Liangshan heroes to be granted amnesty. Marshal Gao Qiu and his assistant, Captain Li are kept at the Liangshan stronghold for several days, with good food and lodging. Finally Song Jiang meets with Gao Qiu and proposes to release him together with Captain Li, on the condition that he help with persuading the Song emperor (Huizhong) in granting the Liangshan bandits amnesty. Gao Qiu readily agrees to the condition to save his own life.

When Gao Qiu is about to leave Liangshan, Lin Chong gets wind of his impending departure from Yan Qing and rushes to the shore with Lu Zhishen, only to see Gao Qiu's boat rowing away in the distance. Lin Chong vomits blood and faints, and becomes bedridden.

Gao Qiu, upon returning, feigns illness to avoid punishment by the emperor for his failure in the expedition. The Imperial Tutor, Cai Jing, comes to visit him for a discussion. He suggests that Gao Qiu recommend the emperor to grant amnesty to the Liangshan bandits, so that they can order the bandits to go after Fang La in the south, who has declared himself an emperor. This would greatly weaken the forces of Song's men so that the treacherous officials can more easily deal with them.

Song Jiang's men are finally granted amnesty, but some of the brothers decide to reject the offer of officialship and leave the Liangshan brotherhood. Lin Chong finally dies after his prolonged period in bed, regretting his failure to kill Gao Qiu.

Water Margin has been translated into many languages. One of the first English translations was made by Pearl Buck. Titled All Men are Brothers and published in 1933, the book was well-received by the American public. However, it was also heavily criticized for its many errors and inaccuracies, including many mispronunciations. An often cited example in this edition was her mistranslation of Lu Zhishen's nickname "Flowery Monk" into "Priest Hwa". Of the later editions, Chinese-naturalized Jewish-American scholar Sidney Shapiro's Outlaws of the Marsh (1980) is considered one of the best. However, due to its being published during the Cultural Revolution, this edition received little attention at the time. Shapiro's translation is currently published by the Beijing Foreign Language Press, as a four-volume set.

Modern transformations

The Water Margin (Japanese: G) was a successful Japanese television adaptation of the story, produced by Nippon Television and starring Atsuo Nakamura and Go Kato in the main roles. The show was filmed in 1973 on location in mainland China, as the first jointly co-produced show with a non-Communist country since 1949. The show was very successful and broadcast on TV in many other countries.

Some locations and characters were written into Mitsuteru Yokoyama's anime Giant Robo: The Animation as Yokoyama had previously published a manga version of the story of the outlaws of Mt. Liang.

The novel inspired the Japanese console role-playing game series Gensou Suikoden, as well as an earlier military strategy game by Koei, called Bandit Kings of Ancient China.

Frank Chin's novel, Donald Duk, contains many references to the Water Margin. Song Jiang and Li Kui make several appearances in the protagonist's dreams.

A character named "The Black Whirlwhind" in the RPG Jade Empire is also obviously inspired by Li Kui.
Two characters in the popular Japanese novel series Saiunkoku Monogatari, Shi Seiran and Rou Ensei, have histories vaguely resembling those of Chai Jin and Yan Qing, and are nicknamed "Small Whirlwind" and "King of the Staff".

A Hong Kong comic series was also drawn by the popular Hong Kong comic artist, Li Zhiqing. A 1972 movie of the same name was produced by the Shaw Brothers (Singapore). Reviews: Kung Fu Cinema Dragon's Den UK
A 1980s TV serial was also produced in Hong Kong.

A 40 episode TV serial (Chinese: G) produced in Mainland China was released in 1997. A Hong Kong movie starring Tony Leung was made in the mid-90's and it centered around Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen and Gao Qiu.

A co-op at Cornell University is named Watermargin. Its motto, All Men Are Brothers, is taken from the title of Pearl S. Buck's translation of the Chinese classic.

The game Water Margin Online is adapted from the story of Water Margin.