Changes

''Chinese/Japanese'': 水滸伝 ''(Shui hu zhuan / Suikoden)''

''Chinese/Japanese'': 水滸伝 ''(Shui hu zhuan / Suikoden)''

The ''Shui hu zhuan'', known as ''Suikoden'' in Japanese, and variously as "The Water Margin," "The Outlaws of the Marshes," or by several other titles in English, is counted among the most famous and popular [[Ming Dynasty]] novels. Based on oral storytelling traditions going back to the [[Northern Song Dynasty]], and compiled into a "novel" in the 15th century, the book tells the stories of 108 noble bandits; the original stories, though heavily elaborated and fictionalized, may have been based on an actual group of bandits active in Liangshan in the last decades of the Northern Song.

The ''Shui hu zhuan'', known as ''Suikoden'' in Japanese, and variously as "The Water Margin," "The Outlaws of the Marshes," or by several other titles in English, is counted among the most famous and popular [[Ming Dynasty]] novels. Based on oral storytelling traditions going back to the [[Northern Song Dynasty]], and compiled into a "novel" in the 15th century, the book tells the stories of 108 noble bandits; the original stories, though heavily elaborated and fictionalized, may have been based on an actual group of bandits active in Liangshan in the last decades of the Northern Song. The book was banned as subversive in the [[Qing Dynasty]], but continued to be very widely read nevertheless.<ref>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Chinese Civilization'', Third Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 121.</ref>

Retold and republished in numerous forms in both China and Japan, and beyond, the book remains extremely famous, and its characters widely known.

Retold and republished in numerous forms in both China and Japan, and beyond, the book remains extremely famous, and its characters widely known.

The popular Suikoden video game series, each installment of which features 108 playable characters, takes its name from the story, but shares little or no plot connections.

The popular Suikoden video game series, each installment of which features 108 playable characters, takes its name from the story, but shares little or no plot connections.

==References==

==References==

*Patricia Ebrey, ''Chinese Civilization'', Second Edition, New York: The Free Press (1993), 226.  

*Patricia Ebrey, ''Chinese Civilization'', Second Edition, New York: The Free Press (1993), 226.  

[[Category:Fiction Books]]

[[Category:Fiction Books]]

[[Category:Historical Documents]]

[[Category:Historical Documents]]

[[Category:Muromachi Period]]

[[Category:Muromachi Period]]