【Recommendation of the Mountain Trail Literature Society】
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"Water Margin" and loyalty is also loyal and "Water Margin" is also
--A preliminary study on the theme of "Water Margin".
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【Fu Zhitong】
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"Water Margin" is a classical novel with great influence. However, the academic community has not yet reached a unanimous opinion on some important issues of this work, and even the fundamental question of "whether it is a classical masterpiece that should be affirmed or a negative teaching material that should be criticized" has not been completely resolved. is that people who affirm that "Water Margin" is a masterpiece of realism, the degree of affirmation and the angle of affirmation are also very different. Among these divergent opinions, the most fundamental disagreement is the perception of the theme and general tendency of the work. If the problem of the theme and idea is not solved, it is impossible to make a comprehensive historical evaluation of the work. This article attempts to put forward a superficial opinion on this fundamental issue of "Water Margin".
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(a)
"Water Margin" is a work of classical Chinese fiction full of contradictions. On the one hand, the author praises the rebellious spirit of Liang Shanbo's heroes and heroes, and on the other hand, he vigorously praises Song Jiang's Zhao'an doctrine; on the one hand, he praises Liangshan's Juyi, and on the other hand, he vigorously slanders Fangla's uprising; on the one hand, he writes Gao Yu as a dog shit heap that despises human beings, and on the other hand, he asks Song Jiang to "bow down and call him a 'capital crime'"; on the one hand, he has no complaints about Duanwang, and on the other hand, he praises Emperor Daojun as "the most holy and bright"; On the one hand, it is written that Wu Song was the first to raise the issue of Zhao'an, and on the other hand, it is written that he resolutely opposes Zhao'an; on the one hand, it is written that Li Kui resisted the decree and scolded Qincha, and he is full of anti-nature, and on the other hand, it is written that he is determined to go with Song Jiang to the end, and his servility is acceptable...... Such "contradictions" are found throughout the book. How should we view these contradictory phenomena in "Water Margin"? People have expressed many opinions, hoping to justify themselves. But IMHO, there are not many really convincing arguments yet. This is because they do not grasp the main idea or general tendency of the whole book of "Water Margin". Commenting on the divergent views on "Dream of the Red Chamber", Mr. Lu Xun said: "Economists see Yi, Taoists see lewdness, geniuses see lingering, revolutionaries see Pai Man, and gossips see palace secrets...... The study of "Water Margin" has a similar situation. And the main disagreement is on the theme of "Water Margin". At present, there are many views on the theme of "Water Margin", the main ones are: "Water Margin" is an epic poem that praises the peasant uprising and the peasant revolution; "Water Margin" is an epic poem that praises the peasant uprising and the peasant revolution; "Water Margin" is a negative textbook for capitulationism; "Water Margin" praises loyalty and righteousness and opposes treachery; and there is also a view of "two kinds of "Water Margin, two Song River" that treats Jinben and other versions differently, but in terms of theme, it does not go beyond the scope of the first and third types mentioned above. Which of these many views is more correct? We only need to see which one can satisfactorily explain the phenomenon of "self-contradiction" in the above-mentioned "Water Margin" and which one really conforms to the reality of "Water Margin."
Let's look at the "Epic of the Peasant Uprising" first. Comrades who insisted that the theme of "Water Margin" was to praise the peasant uprising had an insurmountable obstacle in front of them -- since "Water Margin" was to praise the peasant uprising, why did it have to exterminate the Fang La rebel army, which was also a peasant uprising, and then quickly exterminate it? Fang La, who was also the leader of the peasant uprising, had to "be executed for three days and executed for three days" before he could relieve his hatred? Since it was a peasant uprising, why did he not mention the fundamental problems of the peasants, such as the strong demand for land and the issue of opposing economic exploitation. Some comrades try to explain this phenomenon by the contradiction of the author's worldview, but the contradiction of the worldview does not in any way lead to a contradiction in the plot. Therefore, although there are many adherents to the "epic of peasant uprising", we think that it is not convincing.
Another newer insight is the theory of "writing hearts for the people of the market". Comrades who adhere to this viewpoint believe that this formulation "really accords with the actual situation of the Water Margin itself, and can fundamentally summarize the spiritual essence of the Water Margin......" ("Water Margin New Proposals," p. 43). But it also cannot withstand people's refutation: it is inconceivable that in the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, before the budding of capitalism, the "small people in the market" could have such a huge military strength; even in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, when capitalism had already sprouted, it was impossible to say that the political, ethical, and moral values expressed in the book represent the burghers. Take the concept of women expressed in "Water Margin" as an example, its resolute attitude towards the extermination of "adulterers" and "adulteresses", and its deep hatred of "lustful" people, are very different from the affirmation of "lust" and other natural requirements of people in "Three Words" and "Two Beats". Pan Jinlian's mistakes are consistent with the nature of Wang Sanqiao'er's mistakes, and the situation is similar, but the author's treatment of them is completely different. We cite this point to show that the author of "Water Margin" is by no means writing for the people in the market, and his worldview is very different from that of the citizen class.
Mr. Zhang Guoguang's "Two Water Margins, Two Song Rivers" has made contributions to the study of "Water Margin" to open up a new situation. Mr. Zhang is aware of the above-mentioned contradictions in "Water Margin" and tries to explain them, which is of great significance to the exploration of the theme of "Water Margin". However, the essence of its main viewpoint is a synthesis of the theory of the "epic of the peasant uprising" and the theory of "negative textbooks of capitulationism". On the one hand, this viewpoint affirms that the "golden book" "praises the peasant uprising and struggle", and on the other hand, affirms that "the Complete Biography of the Water Margin of Loyalty and Righteousness" "is actually a book that gives full play to the theme of capitulationism and describes the whole process of surrender" (Zhang Guoguang, "< Water Margin> and Jin Shengsi's Research", p. 173). However, many researchers have pointed out that Jin Ben is not fundamentally different from the "Complete Biography", so this statement still cannot solve the above contradictions in "Water Margin".
The theory of "capitulationism" has been severely criticized because it has been used by Jiang Qing's counter-revolutionary clique to achieve its counter-revolutionary political goals, but as an academic viewpoint, it still has its rational core. People criticized its attitude of completely negating "Water Margin", which is completely correct, but it has not completely refuted this view, and Mr. Zhang Guoguang has to admit that "The Complete Biography of Water Margin" "gives full play to the theme of capitulationism". As a matter of fact, the theoretical pillar of the theory of "capitulationism" is that "the struggle between Song Jiang and Gao Yu is the struggle of one faction within the landlord class against that faction." This is completely correct and conforms to the reality of "Water Margin." Whether it is "The Complete Biography" or "Golden Book", this is the case. But this correct point of view cannot lead to the conclusion of "capitulationism". Since Song and Gao were both representatives of the landlord class, from a class standpoint, there was no question of who surrendered to whom. What we usually call "capitulationism" refers to the betrayal of nations and classes. As far as Song Jiang was concerned, there was no such thing as national capitulationism, and if we said it was class capitulationism, wouldn't it be a surrender to the peasant class? Therefore, the theory of "capitulationism" also has contradictions that are difficult to justify.
The theory of "loyalty" has touched on the essence of the theme of "Water Margin", and now there are more and more people in the academic community who hold this view. However, people often emphasize the contradiction between righteousness and loyalty, arguing that "in Song Jiang, the 'loyalty' of loyalty to the Song Dynasty and the 'righteousness' of the peasant uprising were always contradictory" (Water Margin Controversy, vol. 1, p. 107). I can't see that "loyalty" is unified from beginning to end in "Water Margin", and it is also unified from beginning to end in Song Jiang. Therefore, we believe that the theme of "Water Margin" is to promote loyalty and praise loyalty, but we do not dare to agree with the opinions of some comrades who adhere to the theory of "loyalty and righteousness."
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(b)
So, how should we view the theme of "Water Margin"? The theme of a literary and artistic work is "a thought that arises from the author's experience and is hinted at by life, but it has not yet been formed in his impression, and when it is required to be embodied in an image, it will arouse a desire in the author's heart -- to give it a form." From this exposition of Gorky, we can get two enlightenments: First, the theme is a thought that life suggests to the author, and it is formed by the author from the inspiration of the material of life. Second, the theme is embodied through the image, whereas in the novel, it is mainly through the image of the protagonist. As Engels said, "the main figure is the representative of a certain class and tendency" (To Fihron Lassalle). Engels also pointed out: "Tendencies should flow naturally from scenes and plots, and should not be specifically directed at them." This tells us that writers always like to "point out their tendencies." In mainland classical novels, including "Water Margin", the author's tendency is often to praise poetry and "specifically point it out". In this sense, the theme of "Water Margin" should be mainly embodied in the artistic image created by "Water Margin". At the same time, we can also get a glimpse of it in the author's additional poems. The view that the poems of the Water Margin are completely denied as reflecting the author's tendencies is as one-sided as the view that the theme of the Water Margin is analyzed entirely on the basis of the poems.
The sources of the material for "Water Margin" are very complex, but the main sources of material are not history but folklore, discourse novels and operas. From these materials to "Water Margin", there is a qualitative difference between them, which has been recreated by the author. However, the ideas contained in these materials themselves undoubtedly have an influence on the formation of the theme of the work.
The Song Jiang incident is seen in the "History of the Song Dynasty": "Huainan robbed Song Jiang and others committed the Huaiyang army, sent generals to arrest them, and then committed Jingdong and Jiangbei, entered the border of Chu Prefecture, and ordered Uncle Zhang of Zhizhou to surrender at night. ("Huizong Ji") It is worth noting that Song Jiang is called a "thief" here, not a "thief". "Zuo Chuan" thinks that "stealing people's wealth" and "still calling it a thief", that is, a person who robs his house and robs his house. And "whoever destroys is a thief" refers to a person who corrupts the law and commits rebellion. It can be seen that the rulers of the Song Dynasty did not regard Song Jiang as the leader of the peasant uprising, he was regarded as a big "thief", and was finally "recruited" and returned to the arms of the ruler. In this original material, the image of Song Jiang has the meaning of "starting as a thief and finally being loyal", which undoubtedly inspired the author of "Water Margin".
About after Song Jiang was recruited, the story of his original "thief" was regarded as "anecdotal story, born in the people, tossed and turned, in order to become a story" (Lu Xun: "A Brief History of Chinese Novels"). The earliest written record of Song Jiang's "strange stories" that we can see now is about Gong Kai's "Praise of the Thirty-six People of Song Jiang". "Song Jiang's affairs are seen in the streets and alleys, and they are not enough to be collected", that is, his deeds cannot be elegantly staged, but why did the famous painter Li Song's generation take pictures for him, and "the scholars are not dethroned", and Gong Kai, a feudal literati, not only "admired his people when he was young and strong, and praised the paintings he wanted to survive", but also finally wrote "The Praise of the Thirty-six People of Song Jiang"? It can be seen that in the minds of Li Song, Gong Kai, and the scholars, Song Jiang was not a "heinous" "thief" (leader of the peasant uprising). Gong Kai felt that although Song Jiang's actions were not self-deprecating, "but his intellectual excellence is outstanding: the name is neither arrogant, but the name is still on the track, although it can be recorded." Gong Kai did not write Fang Lazan, but wrote Song Jiangzan because Song Jiang had something he thought was praiseworthy: "The name is not arrogant, and the name is still on track." reminded me of the description of Fang La, the author of "Water Margin", saying that he "occupied the state and county and changed the era name without authorization", and expressed his dissatisfaction. It can be seen how clear the attitude of the feudal literati is on this issue of principle! Therefore, Gong Kai believes that "it is better to be with Jiang than to meet the disciples of the Holy Father (Fang La)." The author of "Water Margin", who praised Song Jiang and attacked Fang La, is completely on the same position as Gong Kai. Gong Kai's praise of Song Jiang, Guan Sheng, Sun Li, Zhang Shun, Shi Jin, Hua Rong, Suo Chao, Yang Xiong and others has clearly expressed the idea of "loyalty". "Wei Chi Zhuangshi, named himself after illness. If you can get rid of the disease, the national success can be achieved. The praise of Sun Li expressed Gong Kai's wish to Song Jiang, hoping that they would get rid of the "disease" of "thieves" and make contributions to the country. This is his intention in writing the praise, that is, to have "the loyalty of the poet." The author of "Water Margin" apparently read "Thirty-six Praises of Song Jiang" and was inspired by it when he was contemplating the theme of "Water Margin".
"The Remains of Xuanhe of the Great Song Dynasty" is an important material on which the author of "Water Margin" relied when creating "Water Margin". The basic plot of "Water Margin" is extracted and expanded from this book, and the names of the main characters in "Water Margin" are provided in this book. The author clearly drew inspiration from this book when establishing the basic themes and general tendencies of "Water Margin". The description of Fang La in "The Great Song Dynasty Xuanhe Legacy: Yuan Ji" is consistent with the description of Fang La in "Water Margin", and the author's attitude is also the same. In the "Yuan Collection", it is said that Fang La's "false name" was changed to Yuan Yongle, and through the mouth of Koji Sifu and Zhan Liangchen, he scolded Fang La as a "demon thief", saying that he "is rampant to this point, and the official army is here at dusk, and he is a dog and a mouse!" "Water Margin" said: "Fang La is a waste of money, occupies 25 counties in eight states, and builds a number in another year, so he rebels and dominates himself." It can be seen that people like Fang La, who "have false titles" and "respect", are intolerable to the authors of "Last Things" and "Water Margin", because he is not in line with the purpose of loyalty. For Song Jiang and his gang, the author of "The Last Thing" tried his best to praise it. First of all, the rescue of Yang Zhi by Sun Li, Li Jinyi (Lu Junyi in "Water Margin") and other twelve people must be an act of "righteousness". Secondly, the author of "The Last Things" also affirmed that Fang La's rebellion was due to the Huashi Gang, and the author denied it; The reason for this is because Huashigang was specially ordered by the emperor to harvest, and Shengchengang was the ill-gotten wealth of traitorous ministers; the former was anti-court and disloyal, and the latter was anti-traitor and loyal. Finally, the author of "The Last Thing" borrowed the book of heaven granted by the Nine Heavens Xuannu Niangniang to point out the essence of Liangshan Bo Juyi - "Widely practice loyalty and righteousness, and destroy treacherous evil". The basic stance of the author of "Water Margin" is completely the same as that of the author of "The Last Thing". "Xuanhe's Legacy" uses the red line of loyalty and righteousness to run through the whole book, because at the end of the Song Dynasty, "the territory of the Central Plains has not been restored, the great revenge of the monarch and father has not been avenged, and the shame of the country cannot be snowed. Of course, the author of "Water Margin" can't get rid of this "routine", and it is very natural to take over the theme of loyalty and put it in "Water Margin".
The author of "Water Margin" apparently also absorbed some material from the Song and Yuan dynasties. There are 37 kinds of Song and Yuan Water Margin plays, and there are 6 kinds of Yuan people miscellaneous plays that have been preserved. Among them, the plot of Kang Jinzhi's "Liangshan Bo Black Whirlwind Negative Jing" has been slightly changed by the author of "Water Margin" and included in "Water Margin". The plots of the other five miscellaneous dramas are not used in "Water Margin", and the characters are also different from "Water Margin". However, we should see that these six kinds of miscellaneous dramas have one thing in common, that is, Lu Xun pointed out that "but the benevolence and righteousness of Song Jiang are no different", all of which express the theme of "loyalty and righteousness" through chivalrous heroes who see injustice on the road and draw swords to help each other. "Fighting for Revenge and Grace and Three Tigers Descending the Mountain" emphasizes that "Liangshan Bo is more loyal and righteous", and Song Jiang "only kills abusive officials and corrupt officials". "Tongle Yuan Yanqing Boyu" clearly pointed out: "Then I should be on the Song River on the Liang Mountain, and it must not be as good as the amount of Fang La." The difference between the two obviously lies in whether or not they are "loyal." This kind of thinking can be seen everywhere in "Water Margin". It can be seen that when the author of "Water Margin" created this work, he not only adopted some plots in the Song and Yuan Dynasty Water Margin operas, but more importantly, accepted their basic themes.
There is still a lot of material for "Water Margin" that has not been discovered. It is inferred that there were many single stories of the Water Margin before the writing of "Water Margin", but the ones that have been recorded in writing are mainly the above. None of these materials are hard to find. As the author of "Water Margin", he should have seen and definitely accepted their influence, and they played an active role in the process of forming the theme of "Water Margin". As for the so-called "folklore" and "single stories" that have been lost, it is impossible to determine the ideological content of those that have been lost because there is no material to prove them. However, we have seen from the above materials that from Gong Kai's "Praise of the Thirty-six People of Song Jiang" to "The Legacy of Xuanhe of the Great Song Dynasty" and the "Water Margin Opera" of the Yuan miscellaneous drama, there is a red line of thought running through it, that is, the word "loyalty". Some people believe that "Gong Kai's thoughts and feelings influenced the Yuan people and also influenced the author of "Water Margin" ("Water Margin Controversy", vol. 1, p. 116). Of course, there is some truth in this, but Gong Kai's thoughts are not necessarily his own thoughts, and it is likely that the "street talk" (that is, the so-called folklore) of "scholars and doctors" has already included the idea of "loyalty and righteousness". Because in the feudal society, especially in the weak and impoverished Southern Song Dynasty and the dark and tyrannical Yuan Dynasty, were there only feudal literati or feudal rulers who hoped for loyal ministers and righteous men who could save the country and resist violence, and bullies who hated traitors and traitors who misled the country? Some people say that "there is a qualitative change from a single Water Margin story to a stereotyped "Water Margin" ("Water Margin Controversy", p. 85), and fully affirm how the ideological content of the so-called single story is revolutionary, and the stereotyped "Water Margin" has made "destructive changes" to its ideological content "in order to meet the political needs of the rulers". This kind of conclusion based on something that has been lost is hardly convincing.
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(c)
The theme of "Water Margin" is actually very clear, and the author's tendency is also very obvious, and it does not take any advanced knowledge to discuss it clearly, that is, the word "loyalty". Singing the praises of loyalty and righteousness and opposing traitors is the central idea and basic tendency that the author has given to "Water Margin". This point is almost the common opinion of scholars since the Ming and Qing dynasties. This opinion was later dismissed as a distortion of "Water Margin" by feudal literati, which is obviously not a fact-seeking attitude.
The earliest record of the bibliography of "Water Margin" that we can see now is Ming Gaoru's "Baichuan Shuzhi", which is called "Zhongyi Water Margin". Guo Xun engraving, Yuan Wuya engraving, heroic genealogy, these Ming Dynasty engravings are also titled "Zhongyi Water Margin" or "Zhongyi Water Margin". The title of the fragment of "Water Margin" found in Shanghai not long ago is simply called "The Biography of Jingben Zhongyi", and even the word "Water Margin" is omitted, which shows how deep and indissoluble the word "Water Margin" is. Now it is difficult for us to know what the original is, but we think that the original title may be "Zhongyi Water Margin", which is not unreasonable. Since the word "loyalty" is set as the title of "Water Margin", the theme of "Water Margin" can be imagined, and readers and researchers of "Water Margin" since the Ming and Qing dynasties have also affirmed this. The earliest treatise on "Water Margin" that we see now is a preface by Wang Tingne, who signed it as a foreign minister of Tiandu. This preface believes that Song Jiang and his group "are just petty criminals who have a division and are forced by mediocre officials, and they cannot understand themselves", and "Artemisia is a traitor on the side of the king, and they are angry with mediocrity". It is said that they are "loyal". The preface also says: "Then the roar gathers in the mountains and forests, and the county is based on the tomb." Although they plundered gold and silk, they did not capture their children. Only cut greedy ink, not kindness. Reciting righteousness and negative spirit, hundreds of people are united, there is the style of chivalry, and there is no evil of mobs. This is talking about the "righteousness" of the Water Margin heroes. As long as you compare the content of "Water Margin", you will know that the author of the preface is right.
After this preface, there is Yu Xiangdou's "Title< Water Margin> Narrative", and he is the first person to clearly point out that the theme of "Water Margin" is loyalty. He said that Song Jiang and others "have loyalty to the country and the righteousness to help the people." Li Zhen pointed out that "those who are angry about the Water Margin" are also angry, and he said: "Shi and Luo Ergong are in the Yuan Dynasty, and their hearts are in the Song Dynasty; although they were born on the Yuan Day, they are really angry about the Song Dynasty. It is the northern hunt of the two emperors, and the angry Gou An of the south, which is called the destruction of Fang La, to vent his anger. Dare to ask who is the one who vents his anger? The strong man who gathered the Water Margin the day before yesterday is also a strong man, and he can't be loyal to it. Let's not talk about the connection between Zheng Fangla and "Nandu Gou'an", but Li Zhen has already seen the theme of loyalty in "Water Margin" in the analysis of the plot of "Water Margin". Not only that, but he also saw this theme in the image of the protagonist of "Water Margin". He said: "The Dusong Gongming, who lives in the Water Margin, is above the court, is bent on recruiting peace, and is dedicated to serving the country. This is not a conjecture, but the result of an analysis of Song Jiang's image. Yuan Wuya summarized Li Zhen's opinion into a very incisive sentence: ""Water Margin" is also loyal, and "Water Margin" is also loyal." And Yang Dingjian believes that "if it is not Zhuo Lao (Li Zhen), it cannot send the spirit of "Water Margin", and if it is not boundless, it cannot send the spirit of Zhuo Lao". How consistent their views were. Although it was not Li Zhen who first issued the spirit of "Water Margin", Li Zhen commented on "Water Margin" and wrote the famous preface, making the theme of "Water Margin" understandable to more readers. For example, the old man of the Five Lakes in the Ming Dynasty said: "I am here to pay attention to the compilation of "Water Margin", and I deeply appreciate its bloodiness. The total blood has a reputation of loyalty and righteousness, and its inheritance is immortal. ("< Zhongyi Water Margin > Preface") Ming Da Di Yu thought that "Water Margin" "its people are loyal and righteous", and "its words are loyal and righteous" ("Engraved < Loyalty and Righteousness Water Margin> Origin"). Ming Yang Minglang believed: "Gongming is in alliance with righteousness, and he is dedicated to serving the country", which is also loyalty.
This theme of "Water Margin", which was clearly explained by the people of the Ming Dynasty, seemed to have doubts in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, and the first to deny the theme of "Water Margin" was Jin Shengsi. He said:
Shi Nai'an passed on the Song River, and the title of his book is "Water Margin", the evil is so bad, it is bursting, and it is not the same as China. And the people of later generations who do not know what kind of troublesome people are are falsely adding 'loyalty'. Loyalty, righteousness and righteousness are in the water margin, and the loyal are also in the grand festival of things; the righteous are also the great scriptures of the subordinates, and the loyal are loyal to the above, and the righteousness is to make them down, and the prime minister's material is also. The loyal are the way with others, and the righteous are also good for themselves. If you are loyal to people and righteous to deal with yourself, then you are a virtuous and holy person. If the water margin is also in the temple, there is water on the shore of the king's land, and it is said to be a margin outside the water, and it is far away. Those who are far away are the evil things of the world, and the evil things of the world are also abandoned by the world. If loyalty is in the Water Margin, loyalty is the evil and evil thing in the world, and the Water Margin has loyalty, and the country has no loyalty and righteousness?...... Therefore, the husband is loyal to the Water Margin, and the people of Si have the heart of their father, and they can't ignore it. (Jin Shengsi, "The Fifth Genius Book Shi Nai'an Water Margin> Preface II)
The reason why I took the trouble to copy the book is because this paragraph of Jin Shengsi's exposition has a great influence, but it is actually almost nonsense, because the basis of his argument does not conform to the reality of "Water Margin". Looking at the whole book of "Water Margin", including the "Fifth Book of Talents" (except for "Nightmare"), which Jin Shengxi corrected himself, it cannot be seen that the author is "so evil and bursting to the end" that Song Jiang is "not the same as China", on the contrary, the whole book praises Song Jiang. In fact, Jin Shengxian also saw that the theme of "Water Margin" was loyalty. I just think that these Liangshan heroes who "are young and have the posture of jackals, tigers and leopards; they are strong, they are all murderous and stealing goods; after that, they are all beating and slashing, and their pawns are all thieves who expose rods and cut wood", how can they be called loyal! If "if they are given in vain with loyalty, they will be those who prescribe the precepts, but they will be persuaded instead!" (ibid.) He also makes it more clear in his commentary in the seventieth chapter: "The Hereafter will cut off this section again (referring to the "nightmare") , to ensure that the crime goes to the court and the credit goes to the robbers, and even as for the end of the word loyalty, or how good it is to commit a crime and make trouble, it is even so. Obviously, Jin Shengxi understands that the theme of the book "Water Margin" is to write loyalty. It's just that "he felt that banditry could not be promoted." It should be 'verbally criticized and written'" (Hu Shi's "< Water Margin> Research"). His views are consistent with Yu Zhonghua: "If you are loyal and righteous, you must not be a robber, and if you are a robber, you must not be loyal." That is to say, they both saw that the theme of "Water Margin" was loyalty. They all wanted to change the theme, so Kim corrected it. Yu followed the "Nightmare" rewritten by Jin and wrote "Dangkou Zhi" against "Water Margin". They don't understand why "killing people and setting fires is also called loyalty, beating homes and robbing houses is also called loyalty, resisting arrest by military officials, and besieging cities and trapping cities is also called loyalty" (Yu Zhonghua's "Preface to "The Complete Biography of the Water Margin").
Since Jin Shengsi, new theories have continued to emerge in the study of the theme of "Water Margin". Liu Zizhuang, a Qing dynasty scholar, put forward "Water Margin" in the "Preface to the >Spring and Autumn Period of the Song and Yuan Dynasties" in order to criticize Wang Anshi's view of changing the law and disrupting the country: "Wang Anshi is trapped in the world with wealth, Tong and Cai are related to each other, the fat family is barren country, the ravines are inward, the neighbors are strong, and the death is a yuan"; Of course, no one believes this kind of subjective assumption that is completely unbased on the reality of the work. But it shows that people have tried to explore the theme of "Water Margin" outside of "loyalty".
In 1920, Hu Shi published "< Water Margin> Research", proposing that the 70 episodes of "Water Margin" were "a purely anti-government book". In 1923, Xu Tianxiao put forward the theory of "human rights" for the first time in the new preface to "< Water Margin". He said: "The book 'Water Margin' is worth a declaration of a people's debt collection group, which is enough to represent the public opinion of an era. Further, the four words "reclaiming human rights" are the will of the people through the ages, and this "Water Margin" is also a people's manifesto that has been passed down through the ages...... Better than Lu Saau's "Treatise on the People's Covenant". "This is a turning point in the study of the theme of "Water Margin". Since then, the theme of "Water Margin" has shifted from loyalty to the epic of peasant uprisings. In 1933, Mei Jihe officially proposed that "Water Margin" was "a great literature full of civilian revolutionary colors" and "a literary novel advocating civilian revolution" ("One Hundred and Twenty Ancient Books of Water Margin"). In 1952, the People's Literature Publishing House said in the "About the Version of this Book" in the 71st edition of "Water Margin": "Jin Shengsi's thinking was originally very reactionary, and he deleted "Water Margin" from the standpoint of the landlord class opposing the peasant uprising, so he deleted the original 71st chapter and later part, and forged a nightmare of Lu Junyi. The argument that the "landlord class opposes the peasant uprising" is in fact understood as an epic poem praising the peasant uprising, but this slogan is not put forward positively, and when Song Jiang is given the title, he does not add the vague title of "leader of the peasant uprising", but "leader of the heroes of Liangshan". In 1953, the editorial department of the society reiterated this view in the "Publication Notes" of "Water Margin". In March 1960, at the invitation of the Shanghai Editorial Office of Zhonghua Book Company, Li Xifan wrote a long essay "Talking about the Thoughts, Plots and Characters of < Water Margin", in which the author officially put forward the statement that "Water Margin" is an "epic of peasant uprising". The article said: "This is an epic book that reflects the great struggle of the Chinese peasants. Not only has he been living among the people and inspiring the people's will to struggle, but he has also broken through the forbidden net of the feudal ruling class and preserved. However, in the course of writing, the author uses the phrase "people's uprising", which seems to revise the epic theory of the peasant uprising. Since then, the theory of "Epic of Peasant Uprising" has existed as a dominant viewpoint in the research field of "Water Margin". In 1962, the "History of Chinese Literature" compiled by the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy basically adopted the theory of "Epic of Peasant Uprising", which said: "'Water Margin' is a novel that reflects the class struggle, peasant uprising and peasant war of the peasants in feudal society. Song Jiang, on the other hand, was considered "the leader of the peasant revolutionary movement" who had "successfully written". The 1964 publication of A History of Chinese Literature by You Guoen and others also followed this view, saying that "Water Margin is a well-known novel describing the peasant revolution" and that it "successfully portrayed the glorious images of many heroes of the uprising" and "vividly portrayed the heroes of the uprising who had always been slandered and attacked by the feudal rulers." Although the "epic of the peasant uprising" is not directly named, the views are completely unanimous. Since these two literary histories are used as liberal arts textbooks in colleges and universities, they have a great influence on society and academic circles. As a result, the "Epic of the Peasant Uprising" has become an almost unquestionable point of view in the study of "Water Margin". It was not until 1975 that this view was replaced by the view that "Water Margin" was "a rare 'negative textbook' for propagating 'capitulationism'". After the "Gang of Four" was smashed, especially after the Third Plenary Session of the 11 th CPC Central Committee, an unprecedented active situation appeared in the field of "Water Margin" research, and many new views were put forward on the theme of "Water Margin". However, many of these views still cannot explain the contradictions in the ideological content, characters, and plot of "Water Margin". If we understand it from the perspective of "loyalty and righteousness", many seemingly contradictory problems, such as the image of Song Jiang and the problem of Zhengfangla, can be easily solved. The "Epic of the Peasant Revolt" cannot explain these contradictions, and cannot justify itself, but why has it been able to dominate the field of "Water Margin" research for a long time? The reasons are complex, and political considerations are the main reasons. Because Mao Zedong once said: "In China's feudal society, only this kind of peasant class struggle, peasant uprising and peasant war is the real driving force of historical development." When discussing the nature of the Chinese revolution, he even said that the revolutionary war in China was a peasant war led by the Communist Party. Some commentators deliberately let "Water Margin" corroborate Mao's exposition, so they do not face up to the obvious contradictions in "Water Margin", such as the description of the peasant rebel army fighting the peasant rebel army, for fear of devaluing the ideological value of "Water Margin", so they arbitrarily elevate it, and this is the crux of the problem.
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"The main characters are representatives of certain classes and tendencies", the theme of the work, the writer's ideological tendencies are mainly reflected through the main characters he portrays. Song Jiang is undoubtedly the protagonist of "Water Margin". As long as we analyze the image of Song Jiang realistically, it is not difficult to see that the theme of "Water Margin" is indeed to praise loyalty and righteousness, and it is indeed to praise loyal ministers and righteous men through the story of Song Jiang's uprising. Some comrades clearly knew that the author's attitude toward Song Jiang did not quite conform to their basic viewpoint in commenting on "Water Margin", so they avoided Song Jiang, denied Song Jiang, and even said that the value of "Water Margin" did not lie in Song Jiang, just as saying that the value of "Dream of Red Mansions" did not lie in Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, which is unconvincing. Some comrades held that Song Jiang was not the object of the author's praise, but the object of criticism, borrowed by the author to oppose capitulationism, while others held that Song Jiang was a peasant leader with shortcomings and that he had all the qualities of a peasant leader. These evaluations are all divorced from the reality of "Water Margin", and they are also unconvincing.
Song Jiang is the ideal character created by the author. Throughout the whole book of "Water Margin", he is neither the leader of the peasant uprising, nor the representative of the burgher class, but the image of a loyal servant and righteous man of the landlord class, and he fully embodies the quality and quality of a politician of the landlord class, as well as the highest moral norms of the landlord class with "loyalty" as the main symbol.
Song Jiang's life can be roughly divided into three stages. The first stage is before going to Liangshan, the second stage is after going up the mountain to before Zhao'an, and the third stage is from the conquest of Liao, the conquest of Fangla to his murder. Some people say that this is his trilogy of reluctance to revolution, towards revolution, and rebellion against revolution (see page 66 of the first series of "Water Margin"). In fact, there is no question of revolution in Song Jiang, and of course there is no question of betrayal of revolution. The minimum requirement of a revolution is the violent seizure of power by the oppressed classes. When did Song Jiang commit such a revolution? The common sense of Marxism tells us that not all acts of violence can be called revolutionary. The violent behavior of the Song Jiang people depicted in "Water Margin" was only a special struggle within the landlord class, and it was by no means a revolution. Some people say that Song Jiang's personality has both a dual and divisive side, as well as a unified side (ibid.). In fact, Song Jiang's thought is consistent, and Song Jiang's character is always unified, and it is a very complete artistic image. When we say that his thinking is consistent, we mean that he made loyalty a standard of conduct throughout his life. When we say that his character is unified, we mean that in the process of Song Jiang's character development, there is no contradiction between loyalty and righteousness. The two are harmoniously united in his character.
In the first stage of his life journey, Song Jiang mainly appeared as a righteous man, and he appeared in the eighteenth chapter. For such a small Yuncheng County's Charge, the author is doing his best to praise virtue:
The Yu family is filial piety, and he is known as the filial piety and righteousness of Hei Saburo. ...... I had to get acquainted with the heroes on the rivers and lakes in my life. But if anyone comes to him, if he is high or low, and accepts everything, he will stay in the valley of the village and chase him all day long, and he will not be tired; When people ask him for money and goods, he does not shirk it, and it is easy to do, and it is difficult to solve disputes every time, but it only takes care of people's lives. As usual, the coffin medicine bait is scattered, helping the poor and the poor, the urgency of the Zhou people, and the difficulty of helping people, which is famous in Shandong and Hebei, and they all call him a timely rain, but they compare him to the timely rain in the sky, which can save all things.
This is the general outline of the righteous man and the filial son that the author has sketched for us. The admiration is beyond words, and it is difficult to say that it is not the expression of the author's true feelings. The ideal character in the author's mind is this kind of "filial piety to the family" and "the urgency of the Zhou people". Emphasizing filial piety is for the later loyalty, because filial piety is the foundation of loyalty, and the feudal rulers advocate "ruling the world with filial piety", because the family is the cell of society, and only by maintaining the hierarchy of "father, father and son" of the family can the order of the "monarch and minister" of the society be maintained. Righteousness, on the other hand, is a very variable moral norm that people can use to achieve their own ends. In "Water Margin", Song Jiang's "righteousness" is based on the content of "helping the poor and the poor, the urgency of the Zhou people, and helping the poor of the people", making it a link to unite the righteous people from all walks of life and various armed groups, relying on it to let everyone temporarily "gather in the mountains and forests" to achieve the final goal of "Zhan Yilang Temple". "Loyal to the king and hating thieves, righteous brothers and hiding. Not because of loyalty and righteousness, one hundred and eight people were reunited. This poem in the fifty-fifth chapter makes the relationship between loyalty and righteousness very clear. Loyalty is based on filial piety, and righteousness is aimed at loyalty, which is not only the logical basis for Song Jiang's character development, but also the basis for the structure of the whole book. Therefore, although filial piety (mainly righteousness) was the main stage of Song Jiang's character development, there was loyalty in filial piety.
Song Jiang's first action was to release Chao Gai privately. Some people say that Song Jiang's behavior "broke through the frame of the temperament of the righteous man, and made the temperament of the righteous man begin to combine with the rebellious nature, forming the essential characteristics that occupy the main position in Song Jiang's character" ("Water Margin Controversy", vol. 1, p. 152), but this assertion is obviously not in line with the reality of Song Jiang's image. It is true that the private release of Chao Gai is not only caused by righteousness (natural righteousness is still the dominant ideology), but there are indeed elements of resistance, but Song Jiang did not rebel against the imperial court, but against the corrupt officials who expropriated and extorted tyranny. In essence, it was not to rebel against feudal rule, but to maintain it. Liang Zhongshu is a notorious corrupt official, and he gave his father-in-law Cai Jing 100,000 gold jewelry shells a year ago, and he was robbed. This time, the 100,000 Guan Shengchengang was robbed by Chao Gai, and Song Jiang affirmed Chao's actions from the bottom of his heart. Because this is consistent with his political ideal of cracking down on corrupt officials and maintaining the dynasty's clean politics. But this affirmation is measured, as the author says in the eighteenth chapter of the inscription:
Righteousness is more important than his ill-gotten wealth, and the Fengtian legal net is sometimes opened.
If the government is too thief, it should be known that the thief will come.
He released the "thief" because corrupt officials are more powerful than "thieves". In Song Jiang's view, the threat to the rule of the dynasty was far less great than that of Liang Zhongshu, so his release of Huang Gai was a challenge to the "stripping of the people's official government" represented by Liang Zhongshu, thus allowing him to enter the whirlpool of sharp contradictions within the ruling class - the struggle between loyalty and treachery. However, Song Jiang's sympathy and support for Chao Gai was only within the limits of the struggle between loyalty and traitor, and once this limit was exceeded, Song Jiang could not tolerate it. When Liu Tang was ordered to reward Song Jiang, Song did not dare to accept the courtesy, although it was a righteous anger that showed favor and did not want to repay it, but he was also afraid of being implicated. Because he did not agree with the fact that the cover "fell to the grass and made such a big deal", he did this kind of "extermination of the nine clans" that openly rebelled against the imperial court. However, in the action of letting go of Chao Gai, we also saw Song Jiang's foresight and sagacity as a politician of the landlord class, and also saw that his righteousness was actually based on the premise of loyalty.
Some people also say that Song Jiang "killed Yan Po and cherished it as the beginning of his rebellion" (see the third volume of "History of Chinese Literature" compiled by the Institute of Literature and Research of the Academy of Sciences). As mentioned earlier, if it is a rebellion against corrupt officials and traitors, then this rebellion has already begun at the time of the release of Chao Gai, and if it is a rebellion against the imperial court and the emperor, then Song Jiang has no such "beginning". "Killing Regrets" was only a turning point in his life - from then on, he went from a legitimate official to an illegal fugitive, so that he took a very tortuous and bumpy road in the process of being loyal to the Song Dynasty. In this tortuous process, the loyalty of his character dominance is further highlighted. If Song Jiang was really a rebel of the landlord class and a revolutionary who dared to resist, then the first thing he thought of on his way to death should be Liangshan. He is Chao Gai's confidant brother and Chao Gai's savior, and Liangshanbo is the safest place, but he is dissatisfied with Chao Gai's "straight and big deal", and he does not have the factor of "exterminating the nine clans" in his character. He had no fundamental contradictions with the Zhao and Song dynasties. So he chose not Liangshanbo, but Chaijiazhuang, Kongjiazhuang and Qingfeng Village, which are not very safe. Taking refuge in Chai Jin, the Confucian brothers, Hua Rong and others not only has a much better reputation than taking refuge in the "robbers", but also leaves a way out for themselves - "God is pitiful, if you meet the grace and amnesty, come back at that time, father and son will meet". As far as a politician of the landlord class is concerned, as long as there is a glimmer of hope to realize his political ideals through legal means, he will not relax his efforts. Only as a last resort will he use illegal means to achieve his goals. Later, in Kongjiazhuang, he met another outlaw, Wu Song, whose crime was much more serious than that of Song Jiang. He killed many people, and he killed the officials of the imperial court. And Song Jiang killed just a prostitute. Therefore, Wu Song could no longer take the legal path (if there was a glimmer of hope, he would also go on, which he agreed with Song Jiang), so he had to throw himself into Erlongshan and fall into the grass. But the grass fell in order to recruit An, and he proposed to Song Jiang: "The sky is pitiful, I will not die on a different day, and I will accept Zhao'an, and it is not too late to visit my brother at that time." Wu Song's political ideal is Song Jiang's political ideal, he admired Wu Song's thought very much, praised him and said: "Brother has this heart to return to the imperial court, the emperor will bless." Moreover, he painted a political vision for Wu Song:
Brother, you only care about your own future, and you arrived there early. After entering the gang, quit drinking less, if you have to be recruited by the imperial court, you can get Lu Zhishen and Yang Zhi to surrender. In the future, but go to the side, with a knife and a gun, win a wife and a son, and leave a good name in the history of the youth for a long time, and it will not be in vain for a lifetime.
These words are definitely not casual entertainment, nor are they "all about power fraud" as Jin Shengsian said, but after careful consideration, they pointed out the direction of re-entering the legal road to the loyal ministers and righteous people who had to embark on the illegal road. It is worth noting that the direction he pointed out to Wu Song turned out to be the direction of the Liangshanbo Righteous Army led by him, and Liangshanbo acted in accordance with the political plan designed by Song Jiang. But this loyal person who lived up to the court was not a last resort, and he was unwilling to implement such a plan. So he made compromises everywhere, went to Qingfeng Mountain, persuaded Wang Xiaohu to let Liu Gao's wife go, and persuaded Hua Rong to reconcile with Liu Gao. But the traitor Liu Gao and his ilk still didn't let him go, and when it was finally time for his life, he had to lead Yan Shun, Hua Rong and a group to go to Liangshan. But as soon as he saw the fake letter brought by Shi Yong, he left everyone behind and "flew alone". This is not because there is a contradiction between righteousness and filial piety, so righteousness is subordinated to filial piety, but because Song Jiang does not want to go to Liangshan at all. Now that there is a chance to get rid of it, of course, it is unwanted. This is not a condition for a breakthrough in his personality from the dimension of accumulation, but the inevitable result of the development of his character. As a charger, he knew that he was going to suffer a lawsuit when he went back this time, but he felt that it was better to eat a lawsuit than to do the "deed of exterminating the nine clans", and he would rather be a prisoner than a rebel. On the way to Jiangzhou, when Chao Gai sent someone to rob him to Liangshan, every word and action he made was inseparable from the track of the loyal and righteous men of the landlord class. even said in front of Chao Gai that joining the gang was "against the principles of heaven, against the father's teaching, and as a disloyal and unfilial person, although there is no benefit in life!" This is simply cursing the heroes of the Liangshanbo Uprising. What righteousness is unjust, once it hinders him from becoming a loyal minister, he will sacrifice his righteousness and take loyalty.
Some people say that "the anti-poem inscribed by Xunyang Lou is a declaration of resistance issued by Song Jiang to the entire dark society" ("Water Margin Controversy", vol. 1, p. 154). This analysis is consistent with Huang Wenbing's analysis, but the terminology is different. Huang said: "This guy is unreasonable, but he wants to race over Huang Chao, how can he do it without rebellion?" and the author of "Water Margin" denied Huang Wenbing's analysis and defended Song Jiang. The author did not want Song Jiang to race over the Yellow Nest at all, which can be clearly seen not only from the description of the whole book of "Water Margin", but also clearly expressed the author's creative intention in the scenes before and after the description of the title "anti-poem". Under what circumstances did Song Jiang write the "anti-poem"? On this day, after Song Jiang fell ill, he went to Dai Zong and Li Kui but did not meet him, and he did not enter the city when he looked for Zhang Shun, so he came to Xunyang Tower "alone and depressed." When he first entered the building, Song Jiang was in a good mood and high in spirit, he appreciated the scenery, wine and food in the south of the Yangtze River very much, and even felt glad that he was able to commit a crime here, and he did not have the slightest rebellious mood. It wasn't until "alone, one cup or two, leaning on the stomach to drink, not feeling intoxicated", that I suddenly came to my heart, and thought: "I was born in Shandong, grew up in Yuncheng, was born as a scholar, and met many heroes in the rivers and lakes. We carefully savor the author's description, the tone is sad and low, which is very inconsistent with the content and mood of the poem "Dare to laugh at Huang Chao's husband". But the author repeatedly emphasizes that this was written when he was intoxicated and overwhelmed by alcohol. If it really was a "manifesto," then, as a man who was proficient in swords and pens and who was proficient in the way of officials, didn't he know the danger of publishing such poems so openly in Xunyang Tower? In fact, Song Jiang himself did not admit that this was a declaration of resistance, and after he was forced to make a big fuss about the Wuwei Army, he killed Huang Wenbing on Mu Hongzhuang, knelt on the ground, and delivered a very serious "speech" on the mountain, he clearly pointed out that the poem inscribed by Xunyang Lou was "a drunken remark for a while" and that making a big fuss about Wuwei was "a great crime." If you don't let Song Jiang go up to Liangshanbo". In fact, the so-called anti-poetry is nothing more than a lament for one's own fate and an indignation at one's misfortune. Since he let go of Chao Gai, he was involved in the whirlpool of loyalty and traitor struggle, and he was constantly persecuted and excluded by a group of "dirty and adulterous people" in the process of exile, Huang Wenbing, Cai Jiu and others are typical. As the author lamented, "Wen Bing tends to be clever and obedient, but he crowds out loyalty and righteousness." In fact, there is far more than one Huang Wenbing who squeezes out loyalty. Under these circumstances, Song Jiangcai deeply felt the social and political failure, full of traitors and dictatorships, virtuous and virtuous victims, if this situation is not changed, the fate of the country will be buried in their hands, and he will never have the day to come out. Liang Zhongshu, Liu Gao, Cai Jiu's prefect, and Huang Wenbing's disciples, as well as their superiors Gao, Cai, Tong, Yang Zhi, and others, were the political forces that hindered his fame. It was only when his attempts to fight the dark forces through normal and legal channels became impossible that he began to seriously consider his strategy against them. Xunyanglou's "anti-poetry" is a confession of this political attempt. "Blood-stained Xunyang River Estuary" is by no means an anti-feudal and anti-imperial court manifesto, but is only a "statement" of using illegal and violent means to crack down on corrupt officials and treacherous forces as a last resort; and "daring to laugh at Huangchao's husband" is by no means the beginning of Huangchao's rebellion, and it is by no means the yearning and pursuit of the peasant revolution, but the brewing and longing for the long-term vision of "borrowing Shandong Yanshui Village to buy the spring color of Fengcheng."
To sum up, Song Jiang took a very tortuous path in the first stage of his life journey, and finally walked on Liangshan. It was a last resort for him to go to Liangshan, as Song Jiang himself analyzed: "If you commit a big crime like this and make trouble in two state cities, you will inevitably go to Shen." Today, Song Jiang will not go to Liangshan to entrust his brother to go", and it is also a manifestation of his political maturity. At this time, he had begun to seriously consider how to deal with this group of filthy and evil people, and Shangliangshan was the only option to choose. Therefore, Song Jiang's ascension to Liangshan did not mean that he betrayed the class to which he belonged, but only chose another way to serve his own class and embarked on another path to realize his political ideals. "To be loyal to the monarch and hate thieves and ministers, to be righteous and to be brothers and to hide" was his whole purpose; "If you want to be an official, kill people and set fire to be recruited" was a special road to take to achieve this goal, and at that time, it was a very timely road. As a politician of the landlord class and a loyal and righteous man, after he went up to the mountain, he took the fight against corrupt officials as the form of struggle, the acceptance of the world's heroes as a means to strengthen the strength of struggle, and the maintenance of the rule of the Zhao and Song dynasties as the fundamental goal.
The second stage of Song Jiang's character development is from Shangliangshan to Zhao'an. In this stage, Song Jiang has gradually developed from the image of a righteous warrior in the first stage to the image of a loyal minister, although he is still only a "reckless minister", but his role in consolidating the Zhao and Song dynasties is incomparable to any loyal minister in the court. He can be regarded as the kind of "benevolent" praised by Fan Zhongyan, "if you live in a high temple, you will worry about its people, and if you are far away from the rivers and lakes, you will worry about its king". In Li Zhen's words, it is "living in the water margin, and the heart is above the court".
The first thing Song Jiang did after going up the mountain was to formulate a political line for the Liangshanbo rebel army to "walk for the sky". This is the key to determining the political nature of this armed force and must not be taken lightly. The symbolic measure to establish this political line was to change the Juyi Hall to the Zhongyi Hall, which was changed in one word and was of a very different nature. We believe that the understanding of the so-called "doing the right thing for heaven" should be based on the entire content of "Water Margin" and the author's interpretation of "Water Margin", and should not be arbitrarily interpreted in order to adapt to one's own point of view. "Doing the way for the sky" is the "decree" of the Nine Heavens Xuannu Niangniang, and the Nine Heavens Xuannu Niangniang instructed Song Jiang when she gave the Book of Heaven: "You can do the way for the heavens, be loyal to the Lord, serve the ministers and assist the country and the people, and go to the evil and return to the right." Linking the content of "Water Margin", it is not difficult to see that this is the outline of the whole book. Jin Sheng sighed for misinterpreting "Water Margin", scolded Song Jiang, and deliberately said "It's not an outline". In fact, it shows that he has seen that this is the "outline" of "Water Margin", but he doesn't understand how the "robbers" who "kill people and set fires" can be linked to "loyalty". In fact, heaven is the Son of Heaven, and the Tao is the royal road preached by Confucianism. The Son of Heaven was deceived by treachery and couldn't do the royal road, so Niangniang asked Song Jiang to do it for him. But there is a principle, that is, "to be loyal to the Lord, to serve the ministers and assist the country and the people, and to eliminate evil and return to righteousness." The one who is "the Lord" is also the master of the cottage. Isn't it a contradiction to be the master of the cottage and to be loyal and righteous? But this contradiction is harmoniously unified in Song Jiang. Because he is a cottage, it is precisely for his allegiance to the Zhao and Song dynasties, which is the main aspect of the way for the sky. All his activities after going up the mountain were carried out in accordance with the program of Zhao'an. After going up the mountain to Zhao'an, he successively attacked Zhujiazhuang, Gaotang Prefecture, Qingzhou Mansion, Huazhou Mansion, Zengtou City, Daming Mansion, Dongchang Mansion, Dongping Mansion, everywhere he went, he punished the corrupt officials and corrupt officials, and protected the good people and the people. It is particularly noteworthy that each time a city was victoriously captured, it was always quickly withdrawn, so that the imperial court sent a new official to rule, rather than Liangshan sending someone to take over. Because if you are like Fang La, seizing the state and county, it is not "all loyalty", then it is not "doing the right thing for heaven". Jin Shengxian did not understand this, and constantly cursed Song Jiang; Yu Wanchun did not understand this, and was determined to kill Song Jiang, but he did not know that his Chen Xizhen in "Dangkou Zhi" was just the shadow of Song Jiang in "Water Margin", and the Song Jiang in his pen was only the shadow of Fang La's in "Water Margin".
After a series of armed actions, Liangshan's strength continued to increase, and the number of generals increased to one hundred and eight, and the number of minions was tens of thousands. How to guide such an armed force to embark on the track of "doing the right thing for heaven" is a big problem that Song Jiang is anxious about. Because the purpose of "killing people and setting fires" to accumulate strength is to "be recruited". Therefore, he not only did not miss the opportunity to repeat the words of "striving for Zhao'an and contributing to the country" every time he recruited a general, and instilled the idea of "doing the right thing for heaven" into every general, but also took advantage of the opportunity of the Chrysanthemum Society to write poems to openly and formally put forward the slogan of "Zhao'an", so as to unify his thinking, introduce this illegal armed force into the legal road, realize the legal purpose of the Nine Heavens Xuannu Niangniang's "reform the evil and return to the right", and achieve the purpose of "assisting the country and the people":
Unified jackal tiger, royal border, command, military majesty. I sincerely hope that the people will be safeguarded and the country will be safe. The sun and the moon are often loyal and fierce, but the wind and dust obstacles are treacherous. I hope that the king of heaven will make an early move, and his heart will be full.
This is not only a true expression of Song Jiang's loyalty to the imperial court, but also his program of action for the next stage. Some commentators think that "openly raising the issue of Zhao'an is an important sign of the transformation of Song Jiang's personality structure" ("Water Margin Controversy", vol. 1, p. 157), but in fact, Song Jiang's character did not undergo any dramatic "transformation", and as a loyal and righteous man of the landlord class, his thinking was consistent and developed along the established track.
Although Li Kui, Wu Song, and Luda raised objections to Zhao'an at the Chrysanthemum Meeting, it was not, as some comrades said, that there was a struggle between the two lines. In the author's pen, the opinions of Li Kui and others are regarded as wrong things to accompany Song Jiang's correct proposition. In fact, the punishment of Li Kui did not cause dissatisfaction, and even Li Kui himself admitted his mistake. Wu Song was the first person to propose Zhao'an, and the anti-Zhao'an at this time was just the author's pretended composition. In the author's mind, one hundred and eight people are loyal ministers and righteous people, but some of them have not yet understood the truth that "the emperor is the most holy and bright, only blocked by traitorous ministers, temporarily ignorant, and the clouds will open and see the sun, knowing that we will do the right thing for heaven, do not disturb the good people, forgive sins and recruit peace, serve the country with one heart, and leave a name in history". Once he understood, he agreed to recruit An, and even Li Kui personally accompanied Song Jiang to Tokyo to open up Master Li's joints. The last one hundred and eight people, "the whole gang was recruited", without exception, although some of them had complaints, but these complaints were not mainly aimed at Zhao'an, but against the unfair treatment after Zhao'an, and against the traitorous dictatorship, and still did not deviate from the track of loyalty. It can be seen that Song Jiang, as a politician of the landlord class, had both political foresight and extraordinary organizational talent.
After unifying his thoughts, Song Jiang began to take active action to achieve Zhao'an, risking his life to go to Tokyo in person, open up Master Li's joints, and even lose his dignity and enslave himself in front of prostitutes. All this is because Master Li has something to do with the emperor, in order to achieve his own political goals, in order to buy the "spring color of Fengcheng", and confess his "righteous courage" and "loyal liver", he can bend and stretch. The poem "Nian Nujiao" he wrote to Master Li is his inner monologue. In the end, after a brilliant victory of two wins and three defeats of golf, he accepted Zhao'an and achieved his dream goal.
How to understand the question of how Song Jiang actively created conditions to accept Zhao'an after he went up the mountain is an important issue in the study of "Water Margin". One opinion is that this is a manifestation of the splitting nature of Song Jiang's image and the contradictory nature of Song Jiang's character. One opinion is that this is because the "righteousness" factor in Song Jiang's character was finally destroyed by the "loyalty" factor, in other words, the spirit of resistance gave way to the idea of surrender. We believe that in Song Jiang's character, loyalty and righteousness are unified. Song Jiang's loyalty is loyal to his own class and his own court, and Song Jiang's righteousness is subordinate to loyalty, which is to accumulate strength and pave the way for loyalty. He released Chao Gai privately because Chao Gai was fighting traitors, and he was loyal in righteousness and served loyalty. But he did not approve of the Chao Gai "going straight to such a big deal" and openly rebelling. Therefore, Chao Gai repeatedly invited him to go up the mountain, but he did not lecture on righteousness, because he thought that Chao Gai's "righteousness" at this time was not only not for "loyalty", but also "disloyalty and filial piety". When he had no choice but to go up to Liangshan, the problem he was anxious to solve was the question of how Yi could serve Zhongzhong. So he skillfully created the myth of the Nine Heavens Xuannu Niangniang conferring the Book of Heaven, and used the power of the gods to show the slogan of "doing the right thing for the heavens", so that the righteousness of the Chao Gai was only a shell, and the spirit had been included in the track of loyalty. It can be said that all the activities of Song Jiang after he went up the mountain were for loyalty. To this end, he constantly reformed the original righteousness of Liangshanbo, and succeeded without much effort. If there is any contradiction between loyalty and righteousness, it is only the contradiction between some leaders represented by Chao Gai and Song Jiang, not any contradiction and division within Song Jiang's character; and the reason why Chao Gai finally gave up their own righteousness and accepted Song Jiang's righteousness on the premise of loyalty is because the righteousness of Chao Gai also contains the factor of "faithfully repaying the Zhao official family". Therefore, in the second stage, although Song Jiang led troops to attack the state and rob the palace to fight against the "heavenly soldiers", in essence, he was still the image of a loyal and righteous man of the landlord class.
The third stage of Song Jiang's character development includes the long process of being recruited until he was killed. In this process, Song Jiang's way of loyalty changed from illegal to legal. From "fighting for the Lord, all loyalty" to "serving the ministers and assisting the country and the people". And "doing the right thing for heaven" is, of course, "protecting the country from heaven".
After recruiting An, he could have "a knife and a gun, and a wife and son". However, the struggle between the loyal minister Song Jiang and the traitorous ministers was continuous, but the struggle before Zhao'an was carried out in an indirect and special way, and after Zhao'an, it became a direct and normal way. It is in this sharp contradiction and conflict that the element of loyalty in Song Jiang's character develops rapidly and is prominently expressed. Along the main line of the struggle between loyalty and traitor, the author arranges the entire plot of the second half of the book. Chen Qiaoyi's tears and slashing pawns was the first round of the loyal and traitorous struggle after recruiting An. This political turmoil is a very severe test for Song Jiang, and if it is not handled well, it will affect his political future. On one side are the officials of the imperial court, and on the other side are the Liangshan brothers, and favoring either side will provoke incidents. The author puts his protagonist in such a sharp contradiction in order to praise his loyalty, and not to criticize his forgetfulness, as some comrades say. The military academy was beheaded, and the anger of the imperial court was appeased, and the crying calmed down the dissatisfaction of the Liangshan brothers. Song Jiang deserves to be a sophisticated politician and a model of total loyalty and righteousness.
In the course of the conquest of Liao, the struggle between loyalty and traitor was still very acute. The imperial court was not at ease with him, and sent people to supervise the war, and he could not be rewarded for his merits, all of which Song Jiang was clear, and the Liao State sent people to recruit An, but he refused. Ouyang Shilang pointed out that the Song Dynasty "treacherously seized power, slandered and lucky, jealous of the virtuous and jealous, and the rewards and punishments were unknown", and his words were very sincere, but they did not touch Song Jiang's heart, he was determined to "even if the Song Dynasty bears me, I will be loyal to the Song Dynasty" The purpose is determined to "serve the country with loyalty". Some commentators believe that Ouyang Shilang's remarks "awakened Song Jiang's dream of serving the country loyally and sealing his wife and son, and Song Jiang's character was changing in the opposite direction, first doubting and then wavering in loyalty" (Water Margin Controversy, vol. 1, p. 158). This is obviously inconsistent with Song Jiang's reality. Song Jiang did have some resentment, but he was only dissatisfied with the traitors who were jealous of the virtuous and the powerful, and misled the country and the people, and he was always loyal to the imperial court.
It can be said that Song Jiang has always been in a sharp contradiction in the whole process of conquering Liao, but this contradiction is not the struggle between loyalty and disloyalty within his character, but the direct and indirect conflict between Song Jiang's loyalty and the traitors in the court. In this conflict, Song Jiang's character was further developed, not only "trying his best to serve the country, and there was no dissent", and even "there was no thought of giving grace", but also his hatred for the traitors and evil spirits deepened. He went to Wutai Mountain to participate in Zen meditation, the purpose was to get himself out of the predicament in the struggle between loyalty and traitor, and to "ask" about the "future" of the struggle between loyalty and traitor in order to stabilize the morale of the army. Because dissatisfaction had already germinated among the leaders at this time, Li Kui and others even put forward the idea of "going to Liangshan again", if they did not disagree in time, they would "ruin his reputation for a lifetime". Once again, he succeeded and led them to the path of loyalty. The author wrote "The brothers all have grievances" and "all have anti-hearts, only one of them hinders Song Jiang", precisely to highlight Song Jiang's character of "dying in Jiuquan and being loyal and not changing". At this time, there was the troubles of Gao and Cai Zhi outside, and the grudges of Li Kui's generation inside, and Song Jiang was in the middle of internal and external attacks. It is precisely in the midst of this complex and sharp struggle that the image of Song Jiang's loyal ministers and righteous men appears particularly tall and glorious.
Fighting Fangla was a rare and excellent opportunity for Song Jiang, because through this incident: first, he could calm the contradictions among the heroes of Liangshan, second, he could temporarily get rid of the traitors, and third, he could use his actual combat achievements to show his loyalty and realize his ideal of leaving a name in history. So he took the initiative to ask for battle, and expressed his determination to kill Fang La, who "occupied the state and county, and changed the name of the year without authorization", and expressed his great gratitude to Su Yuanjing, who protected him to conquer Fang La. Here, the extremely reactionary side of Song Jiang's character is expressed, reflecting the reactionary side of the author's worldview. However, as a politician of the landlord class, it is inevitable that Song Jiang's character will develop in this direction, and we should not be harsh on him. Since Fang La dared to rebel against the imperial court, as a loyal minister of the imperial court, he would inevitably "go to conquer and serve the country loyally". Just as Yue Fei, as a politician and military strategist of the landlord class, was bound to suppress Yang Qi. Through a great battle with Fangla, the author raised the loyalty of Song Jiang's character, the leading factor, to a new height, and finally completed the shaping of this image, making it a model of loyal ministers and righteous men.
What is thorough loyalty? What does it mean to "do your best and die"? The author of "Water Margin" provides the best answer to the readers through the specific plot of Zheng Fangla and the final completion of the typical image of Song Jiang. One hundred and eight brothers "stopped seven out of ten" and still resolutely eliminated the "trouble of the henchmen" for the imperial court, that is, loyalty; after the conferral of official titles, one by one they were chased down by the traitors of power, or resigned and returned to their hometowns, and when a conspiracy to eliminate themselves was already intensifying, they still did not change their "loyalty to the country" poisoned Lu Junyi, and then poisoned himself, and still did not have any dissenting intentions, this is loyalty; until he ate the poison and felt that his life was in danger, he still had to poison Li Kui, who was difficult for the court to deal with, and only he could subdue him, this was loyalty; until he became a ghost after death, he had to lure Wu Yong and Hua Rong to his grave and hang himself, so that any little fire in Liangshanbo would be extinguished, this was loyalty. "I'd rather the court bear me, I will be loyal to the court", this is Song Jiang's criterion of life. Song Jiang's entire tragedy is conceived in the dominant factor within his own character. The author expressed great righteous indignation at the opposite of loyalty and righteousness -- "Since ancient times, power has raped and harmed kindness, and loyalty and righteousness have not been allowed to establish a family state, if the emperor is willing to make a clear report, men will be haiyu and women will be prostitutes!" and Song Jiang expressed infinite respect and regret -- "The evil stars are now gone, and the slanderers and thieves are still there!" The author was very indignant, but he did not expect that the generation of power and rape was brought about by the feudal system itself and was created by the emperor himself, and that in order to fundamentally eradicate the root cause of power and rape, it was necessary to completely overthrow that system. Of course, the author of "Water Margin" didn't even dare to think so. But after all, he was an upright intellectual, so he had to fall into extreme depression - "I knew that the poison was buried in the yellow soil, and I learned to take the boat of Fan Li." "
To sum up, the three stages of Song Jiang's character development are the whole process of the development of loyalty, the leading factor of his character. He went to Liangshan to realize his political ideals through illegal means, and he was recruited because he wanted to realize his political ideals through legal means. In this process, Song Jiang never left his class position, and in his character, loyalty and righteousness were always unified and unchanging. It's just that in the journey of his life, on the one hand, he constantly opposes the traitors of others with his own loyalty, so he has always been in the whirlpool of the struggle between loyalty and traitor; on the other hand, he uses his own righteousness to transform the righteousness of others and bring them into the orbit of loyalty, so he has always been in the contradiction within Liangshan. As a politician of the landlord class, Song Jiang failed in the struggle of loyalty and traitor, but he exchanged his own life and that of his "brothers" for the reputation of "Jingzhong" and became a model of loyalty. In the internal struggle of Liangshanbo, he was victorious, and he made one hundred and seven "brothers" "change their evil ways and return to the right" one by one, and led them to the road of "serving the country with loyalty", thus becoming a model for "righteous people". In this way, the author could not have made the theme of the book more prominent through the shaping of Song Jiang's image. "Water Margin and loyalty, loyalty and righteousness", Yuan Wuya's judgment of Li Zhuowu is indeed an extremely pertinent summary of the theme of the whole book from the reality of "Water Margin".
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Since the theme of "Water Margin" is to promote loyalty and praise loyal ministers and righteous people, can we deny the value of "Water Margin"? Our answer is no. Whether in terms of ideological content or artistic achievements, "Water Margin" is still a great work and an artistic treasure of our nation.
First of all, we cannot completely deny "loyalty" because it belongs to the feudal moral category. The living soul of Marxism is the concrete analysis of specific problems, and we should also conduct a concrete and realistic analysis of "loyalty and righteousness." In Chinese history, there are many outstanding figures associated with loyalty, and many outstanding literary and artistic works also write about the theme of loyalty. The great realist poet Du Fu's "never forget the king at every meal", and his "Northern Expedition" "The whole poem is full of sorrow and hard work for the court, and a deep heart" ("Jin Sheng's Sigh Selects and Criticizes Du Poems"). Can we deny Du Fu's greatness because he was loyal to the imperial court? Zhuge Liang's loyalty is even more said to be a beautiful talk, he is loyal to Liu Bei, and he has truly achieved "dedication and dedication, and then death." Yue Fei's loyalty is known to women and children. There should be no denial of these historical figures, and loyalty to them should not be denied entirely, which is agreed upon. The academic community also affirms the idea of loyalty and righteousness expressed in literary and artistic works. For example, the theme of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is the same as that of "Water Margin", which is also a praise of loyalty and righteousness, and also praises loyal ministers and righteous people, and the main characters it creates such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, etc. are the embodiment of loyalty. "The Complete Biography of Yue" is also a work with the theme of praising Yue Fei's loyalty. Since we cannot deny these historical novels, why should we be strict with "Water Margin"? The loyalty of "Water Margin" is mainly aimed at treacherous and evil spirits, and the author has aimed the sharp edge of criticism at the traitorous ministers who have misled the country and brought disaster to the people, as well as at corrupt officials and local tyrants and bullies, large and small, and this kind of description includes central ministers such as Gao, Yang, Tong, and Cai of the central government, local officials such as Liang Zhongshu, Gao Lian, Liu Gao, and Cai Jiu, and a group of bully landlords such as Zhu Chaofeng, Elder Zeng, Zheng Tu, and Mao Taigong. The ugliness of these feudal societies, like the tentacles of the supreme ruler, stretched out to every corner of society, making the whole society dark, and the people had to take risks. Although the author describes all this as a foil for loyal and righteous officials, does this realistic description not objectively reveal the social roots of the peasant uprising? This kind of description, which is derived from the Confucian idea of "benevolent government" and Confucius's idea of "harsh government and fiercer than a tiger," provides us with more value in understanding feudal society than any history textbook. And between the lines, we clearly see the author's sympathy for the lower classes of the people and his dissatisfaction with the upper bureaucracy.
Second, as for Song Jiang, a politician and loyal minister of the landlord class, we should not only see his reactionary side of dismantling the Liangshan Rebel Army and suppressing Fang La, but also his progressive side of hating corrupt officials, advocating clean politics, sympathizing with the people, defending the frontier, and consolidating national unity. We should not ask the politicians of feudal society to approve of the peasant uprising, and use whether or not they approve of the peasant uprising as a criterion to decide whether to affirm or deny them. Otherwise, there will be very few definite figures in Chinese history. In the same way, we should not be harsh on the intellectuals of feudal society, and we should not ask them to sing the praises of the peasant uprising, if so, then even Cao Xueqin is among the negatives. Song Jiang is the ideal character of the author, the protagonist of "Water Margin", he spent his whole life reforming maladministration, opposing power and rape, punishing evil forces, sympathizing with the people, and resisting foreign insults, which should be affirmed, and of course "Water Margin" should be affirmed.
Although the author of "Water Margin" subjectively praises loyalty and righteousness, and affirms the heroes of Liangshanbo as loyal and righteous figures who "reform evil and return to righteousness", objectively, the author praises their noble character of being anxious for justice and righteousness, resisting injustice, daring to act, and hateful, creating a series of heroic images, and inspiring the heroes of the peasant uprising in later generations, which cannot but be said to be a great victory of realism.
Finally, the author describes the tragic experience of the heroes of Liangshan after being recruited, although subjectively it is a manifestation of the idea that "since ancient times, power has harmed kindness, and loyalty and righteousness are not allowed to establish a family state", but objectively it makes people feel that the road of being recruited is impassable, thus inspiring the heroes of later generations to go forward and fight for the victory of the struggle. In this sense, "Water Margin" has unparalleled value in the history of ancient Chinese novels.
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(Note: This article originates from the book "Zhitong Wen Survival Edition" donated by Master Zhitong in 2012.) Published by Hunan People's Publishing House in 2011. ）
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【About author】Fu Zhitong (1936-2020), male, from Xiangxiang, Hunan, graduated from the Department of Chinese of Wuhan University in 1959, and has been engaged in higher education in Liaoning Normal University, Hunan Shaoyang Teachers College and Shaoyang College for 48 years. Senior professor of the Department of Chinese, expert enjoying special allowance of the State Council.
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(Editor: Master En, Zhitong)
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【Recommended Reading】
Click the link-Shaoyang Normal College (Shanjing Literature Society)_Anthology_Urban Headlines
Click on the link-Loyal and righteous people, anti-corruption heroes-New exploration of the theme of "Water Margin" (Tang Xiaozhang of Shanjing Literature Society)
Click the link - Xianhe (Mountain Trail Xiao Dianqun)
Click on the link "Notes of the Mountain Trail Literature Society" - "Link"
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[Edited by Xiao Dianqun of the Mountain Trail Literature Society]