China's great classic novel Outlaws of the Marsh, written in the fourteenth century, is a fictional account of twelfth-century events during the Song Dynasty. One by one, over a hundred men and women are forced by the harsh feudal officialdom to take to the hills. They band together and defeat every attempt of the government troops to crush them. Within this framework we find intrigue, adventure, murder, warfare, romance ... in a connected series of fascinating individual tales, told in the suspenseful manner of the traditional storyteller.
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Text: Chinese
--This text refers to the
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From the Publisher
CLASSIC NOVEL IN THREE VOLUMES
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
81 of 82 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you read one saga in your life, you would die happy having read Outlaws of the Marsh. This is a particularly good translation and edition in that they take perhaps eight or ten different versions of this story and pack it all together in one bit so you get more quality tale for the buck. Mr. Shapiro even discusses the differences between several of the versions in the beginning of the book.
The saga takes you through a few decades of this roaming band of Chinese warriors in a land of corruption and evil. Though they are no angels themselves (in fact they are demons on Earth), they fight together for loyalty and honor in the name of the Emperor during the Song dynasty.
The descriptions of the battles are vivid and enthralling, and the window into the culture of that time is truly something to cherish.
An ancient story such as this is not something to be taken lightly, though it has plenty of humor, sorrow, and action to captivate the attention of all ages. Characters such as Sagacious Lu, Stumpy Tiger Wang, and Liu Kui the Blackwhirlwind, will forever be a part of you in your travels. Chairman Mao, himself, actually carried this book with him during the Long March in China as a constant reminder of the proud traditions of the Chinese people.
[Revised Edit]
From reading some of the other reviews, I think I've come to a realization. For readers, Outlaws of the Marsh and Romance of the Three Kingdoms are a little bit like 1984 and Brave New World. Hear me out, doubters. If you read Brave New World first, you tend to have a pretty strong dislike for 1984, and vice versa. Those who've read Romance of the Three Kingdoms may pick up Outlaws of the Marsh expecting something similar in style. If that's what they're after, they'll be disappointed. I however read 1984 first, as well as Outlaws of the Marsh. Therefore, I couldn't even stand to finish Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Like it or not, Outlaws of the Marsh is truly one of a kind. You'll likely finish it like I did, wanting even more, but realizing that you've just eaten the very last Twinkie on the planet. Except here, you can just go back and reread it all over again.
The saga takes you through a few decades of this roaming band of Chinese warriors in a land of corruption and evil. Though they are no angels themselves (in fact they are demons on Earth), they fight together for loyalty and honor in the name of the Emperor during the Song dynasty.
The descriptions of the battles are vivid and enthralling, and the window into the culture of that time is truly something to cherish.
An ancient story such as this is not something to be taken lightly, though it has plenty of humor, sorrow, and action to captivate the attention of all ages. Characters such as Sagacious Lu, Stumpy Tiger Wang, and Liu Kui the Blackwhirlwind, will forever be a part of you in your travels. Chairman Mao, himself, actually carried this book with him during the Long March in China as a constant reminder of the proud traditions of the Chinese people.
[Revised Edit]
From reading some of the other reviews, I think I've come to a realization. For readers, Outlaws of the Marsh and Romance of the Three Kingdoms are a little bit like 1984 and Brave New World. Hear me out, doubters. If you read Brave New World first, you tend to have a pretty strong dislike for 1984, and vice versa. Those who've read Romance of the Three Kingdoms may pick up Outlaws of the Marsh expecting something similar in style. If that's what they're after, they'll be disappointed. I however read 1984 first, as well as Outlaws of the Marsh. Therefore, I couldn't even stand to finish Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Like it or not, Outlaws of the Marsh is truly one of a kind. You'll likely finish it like I did, wanting even more, but realizing that you've just eaten the very last Twinkie on the planet. Except here, you can just go back and reread it all over again.
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Outlaws of the Marsh" provides a fascinating look into 14th century Chinese literature- and thus the minds of 14th century Chinese the story was intended to entertain. The story was extremely popular in its day, for many of the same reasons that it endures as a stunning example of Chinese story telling today.
An excellent example of 14th century Chinese vernacular literature, "Outlaws of the Marsh" has been a favorite of Chinese readers for over 600 years. This riveting story has endured the centuries for a very good reason. It contains elements that captivate even today's jaded audiences: deception, violence, murder, gangs, and drunken revelry. Rife with charismatic heroes, scheming beauties, wild troublemakers and corrupt officials, the story brims with interesting characters and plot twists. The outlaws of Liangshan Marsh, societal outcasts drawn together by their misdeeds, form an almost super-human collective against the unjust (sort of like a precursor to Robin Hood). The story is peopled with rash, violent men; lusty, evil-minded beauties; upstanding men of honor fighting for what is right; well-meaning yet dangerous oafs; and corrupt, tyrannical officials. This tale of Song Jiang, Wu Song, and the rest of the "outlaws" will keep you on the edge of your seat.
86 of 97 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Am I the only person who loves these books and thinks they're absolutely hilarious because of the Sidney Shapiro translation? I feel very shallow, because the stories and characters are certainly fascinating, but I get an enormous kick out of such lines as this:
"Frigging monkeyshines! Who says I have any Right Honorable XImen in there!"
"Don't hog him all to yourself! Let me have a lick of the juice too. Think I don't know?"
"Little ape! What do you know?"
"Stingy as cutting vegetables with a hoof-paring knife in a wooden spoon, aren't you?"
And the fact that they keep saying things like, "I don't give a tooting fart!"
I apologize for this not-very-intellectual assessment of the books, but they kept me laughing out loud and reading choice passages to people. I love them!!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic novel
This is a classic story and also helps the Western reader to understand the Chinese culture and history. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jonathan
5.0 out of 5 stars
a Good Read with an important side note...........
The particular book I bought was missing several beginning chapters; not sure how or why. The supplier from who I purchased the book was extremely gracious and refunded the price. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Emon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic literature, and readable at that...
Classic literature, and readable at that, but I only read the first 1000 or so pages. That's about half. Read more
Published 2 months ago by S. Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Read
This 14th century Chinese novel is simply one of the most entertaining reads I've had in a while. Great characters. Awesome martial art scenes. Plenty of adventurous plot. Read more
Published 4 months ago by P. West
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Kindle version makes a chinese classic available to English...
This edition is a kindle rendition of Sidney Sharpiro's much-acclaimed translation. A chinese classic is now accessible by English readers with just 1-click.
Published 10 months ago by TeddyBear
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of ancient Chinese story telling
Having slogged through part of the original Chinese in college, I was pleased to be able to breeze through this competent translation
Published 12 months ago by William M. Youngblood
4.0 out of 5 stars
good enough
the box that this came in fell apart relatively soon, however the books are still in good condition. Read more
Published 17 months ago by me
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Translation
Actually I read this book in Chinese version for uncountable times, in general we, the Chinese, read it for fun without much rethinking on what is right and what is wrong. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Guang Wu
5.0 out of 5 stars
captivating
This is a book that makes the reader boil with emotions. It begins by showing how each main character became an outlaw. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Catherine
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Purchase
Concerning the physical nature of the merchandise, I was happy but not absolutely impressed at the nature of the 'packaging. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Cory Alexander Reed
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