On The Interpretation History Of Water Margin

The object of this thesis is the interpretation history of Water Margin, and the purpose is to discuss the there-being of the understangdings of the novel.The discussion of understanding Water Margin is under the guidance of the Philosophical Hermeneutics by Hans-georg Gadamer, therefore this thesis is against the methodology guided by the traditional epistemology.Both Chinese traditional epistemology and western Structuralism advocated that the literary meaning comes from the literature text, and the task of its readers is to grasp the intention of the writer which is considered to be the theme. However, Reception Aesthetics suggested that the literary meaning results from the creative interpretation by the readers. Contrary to both mentioned above, the Philosophical Hermeneutics consisted that the literary meaning generates in the process of horizon fusion between the fore understanding of readers and the literature text. Guided by the horizon of Philosophical Hermeneutics, the interpretation history of Water Margin is the history of new meaning emerged, or the existence history of the novel.Part One discussed the understanding and interpretation of Water Margin in Ancient China which ethical culture was its basis, so the readers naturally understood and commented the novel from the point view of ethics, such as the Loyalty View, the Bandit View, and the Loyalty-Traitor Struggle View.Chapter One inspected the commentary by Li Zhi in Rongyutang Edition. The Children's Heart Theory is the guiding thought on the commentary by Li Zhi. His theory inherited and developed the Leftist of Yangming Doctrine, though he strongly criticized hypocrisy in the Confucianism, he was indeed a Confucian follower, which was the fore structure of his understanding the novel, so there was no surprise that he consisted the Loyalty View. The trend of the times was another fore horizon for him to interpret the novel, therefore wheter it was genuine and interesting was his evaluation standard to judge the novel. Chapter Two is focused on the commentary by Jin Sheng-tan whose political position decided his understanding of Water Margin, that is, he suggested the corrupt officials should be killed while the Emperor was wise and kind. In his time, the peasant uprisings were here and there. Some surrendered to the Government when their army was weak, and revolted again when they became strong. Obviously the phenomenon had an impact on his view towards the uprising, because in his commentary Jin Sheng-tan stubbornly consisted that the Government should not accept the surrender of the bandit.Chapter Three focused the inspection on the continuation of Water Margin and the operas from the stories adapted from Water Margin, the former took the form of creation because the expectation horizon of the writer was out of that in the text; while the latter took the form of performance that spread the stories on the stage. Both told the truth that application is the integral part of understanding.Chapter Four analyzed the understanding of Water Margin from the point view of ethics and law. Ethics and law serve the fundamental interests of the ruling class. The class position decided that the ruling class and its intellectuals interpreted the novel from that perspective. There is truth and legality in their interpretation.Part Two is mainly about how modern readers understood and interpreted Water Margin under the background that the western ideology had a pervasive impact on Chinese people since the Opium War in 1840.Chapter Five discussed the understanding in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of Republic of China. Bourgeoisie Constitutionalist still maintained the Bandit View, while Bourgeoisie Revolutionaries began to interpret the novel from the point view of Western bourgeoisie thought such as liberty, democracy and equality. In this case, the theme of the novel was understood to be Human Rights View, Political Story, Socialism View etc. Some intellectuals such as Hu Shi and Zhou Zuo-ren considered the book to be inhuman, for they were influenced by humanism. Some like Chen Du-xiu read the novel as the class struggle because his fore horizon was Marxism.Chapter Six inspected the interpretation of Water Margin in the national salvation period i.e. in the 1930s and 1940s. When Japanese aggressors invaded China, Water Margin was thought to be one of the national-defense literary. The continuation of the novel focused on the patriotism which called the nation to armed resistance. In the liberated area led by Chinese Communist Party the Opera adapted from Water Margin propagated the class struggle theory and the policies made by the Party.Chapter Seven centered on the interpretation of Water Margin during Mao Ze-dong times which was from the establishment of New China to the ending of Culture Revolutionary. At that time Marxism was the dominant ideology, therefore all the interpretations concerned Water Margin were decided by Marxism, including the Peasants Uprising View and the Capitulationist View, In 1975, the political need to fight against Revisionism decided the understanding that Song Jiang surrendered to the ruling class and became traitor to revolution; and the novel became a negative textbook which taught a lesson to revolutionaries.The understandings in the New Era since the Reform and opening up mushroomed. After Culture Revolution ended, people began to doubt the Peasants Uprising View. Old and new understandings emerged such as Loyalty-traitor Struggle View, Citizen View, Tramp View, and Fighting against Corruption View. All told that new fore understanding resulted in new interpretations.Chapter Eight mainly dwelled on the interpretations from the point of view of cultural phenomena which include Chinese traditional Yin-yang thought, Chivalrous culture, political culture, mythological archetype, religious culture, revelry culture, area culture, mass consuming culture and the comparison between the occidental culture and Chinese culture. All these interpretations belong to the existence of Water Margin.The last chapter discussed several problems about the understangding of Water Margin: the relationship between realistic and academic interpretations, that between cognitive and commentary interpretations, that between method and interpretation, and the misunderstanding problem. The thesis surports the following opinions that understanding from a realistic point of view has its own sound reasons, for application belongs to understanding; the cognitive knowledge helps to understand, but it is not interpretation; the insistence of fore understanding and lack of openness to dialogue earsily leads to misunderstanding etc.In a word, the conclusion of this thesis is as follows: the interpretation history of Water Margin is the there-being of the novel, and the understanding history of it is its existence. That is to say, the meanings of the novel come into being not from the intention of the writer, or in the literary text only, or in the creative understanding by its readers, but in the process of the horizon fusion between readers and the text.The significance of the thesis lies in the new horizon of Philosophical Hermeneutics which can liberate literary study from the study mode of history and natural sciences in the hope that people can realize the understandings of Water Margin are its existence; application in the understanding of Water Margin is inevitable and it belongs to understanding.