"outlaws Of The Marsh" "man" Study

The arguments about The Water Margin have never ceased, since the day of its birth. These arguments mainly center on the theme of the works, such as "peasant uprising", "the struggle of good and bad", "feudal era of patriotism", or "comprehensive subject ". But these themes fail to grasp the soul of characters in the work. The figures in The Water Margin think of themselves as heroes. They not only love Wushu but also value and respect loyalty. Their pursuit precisely fits the spirits of "Xia" in the Pre-Qin period. Accordingly, this thesis attempts to categorize The Water Margin into the "Xia" literature and conduct the study and research in accordance with a variety of categories. The inheritance, variation and enhancement of the spirit of"xia"in The Water Margin are probed and its spiritual features are unearthed.The "Introduction" first reviews and summarizes the research of"xia"in the history and the present situation in The Water Margin. The majority of the research and study already done is mainly comments on it rather than thoroughly studies on character's spiritual world, leaving readers a fuzzy outline. It is in the recent 20 years that some scholars have conducted profound research on the spirit of"xia"in it. Its research, however, is far from being sufficient and comprehensive. Then this thesis illustrates the aim, significance and research methods of the study.The second part describes the loyalty of"xia"in the work from three aspects. First, taking Lu Da, Li Kui for example, this thesis discusses the connotation of the spirit of "whenever witnessing injustice, offer aids willingly". Second, such figures as Song Jiang and Chai Jin are taken as example to grasp the spirit of "give their money generously to those who need". This thesis also discusses such heroes as Song Jiang and Li Kui, who are not greedy in sex and women.The third part is the spirit of the bandit of"xia". This chaper is divided into four parts. First, the"illegal justice" is analyzed based upon the study of Song Jiang and Zhu Tong. Second, the phenomenon of the naked cruelty and the slaughter of"xia"is expounded in the light of the instances of Li Kui, and WuSong. Third, this thesis makes an analysis of the origin and connotation of"jauntiness". In the last part of this chapter, the phenomenon of greed in sex is discussed. Concentrating upon the bandit of"xia", this chapter grasps its right connotation and treats its deficiency objectively.The fourth part is the"wushu"of"xia"in The Water Margin. This chapter falls into two parts. First, this thesis elaborates xia's feasible skills in wushu. Second, from the angle of the insight that wushu is the standard for the heroes'mutual acceptance, this author analyzes their psychology of identity.The fifth part is the female-xia in The Water Margin. It is probed from three perspectives. First, it stresses feats of women heroes, whose capability and skill of wushu is no worse than men. Second, the iron ladies'temperament, namely, rough and generous character and carelessness about details, is also demonstrated. Third, this author studies the origin and influence of the female-xia in the novel. This chapter employs women heroes like Gu Dasao, Sun Erniang, and Hu Sanniang as cases to delve into the reason of their being accepted and gives them an objective evaluation.The thesis arrives at a conclusion that The Water Margin has achieved a great success in the depiction of xia, developing the literary tradition on xia after the period of Pre-Qin. Despite its weaknesses, it has promoted the development of Chinese xia literature, especially for the depiction of wuxia characters of the periods to follow.