A Study On The Evolution And Acceptance Of The Image Of Song Jiang

In China, Song Jiang is a well-known person. Song Jiang’s story has been spread since the end of Song Dynasty and it has been rooted into people’s mind at the end of Yuan and the beginning of Ming Dynasty. After hundreds of years, Song Jiang, as a literary character, has become a symbol of social ideal, value of life, and aesthetic emotion of different walks of life. He, somewhat, shows the way of thinking of all levels and their moral standards. He is a combination of both history and literary. His image keeps changing, no matter as a history character, literary character or even in films and television programs.Before the book All Men Are Brothers came out, Song’s image was different. In History of biography, he was simply described as a thief. Men of letters in Song and Yuan Dynasty used to make this character less wild and boarse and added some political color to him. So he was then imagined as a hero who was loyal to his country and helped people in need. At the end of Yuan and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, Shi Naian compiled All Men Are Brothers, in which Song Jiang was described as a more complicated character. In this book, he was a loyal and righteous person who has a mark of feudalism.During Ming and Qing Dynasty, there were many editions of the book All Men Are Brothers coming into the market at the same time. Many men of letters rebuilt this character by adapting and commenting him, which, were focused on his loyalty. But their comments showed two kinds of different opinions. Li Zhi and Jin Shengtan stood out for each side. In the continuation of the book, Song Jiang appeared in different forms and images—decided by the social environment and particular cultural atmosphere and the life experience of men of letters at that time.Since the founding of new China, people in academic circles have done some research on Song Jiang in view of politics, considering historical conditions and class relations. Some think he is a hero in peasant uprising, while others hold a totally different view, thinking he is a traitor. With the progress of the society and the liberation of thought, people begin to look at Song Jiang from some new aspects. So Song Jiang becomes a hot spot in TV adaptation under the influence of media environment. Different writers rebuild Song Jiang’s image from their own point of views, which, gives this character eternal charm.