Abstract
In the thematic and narrative study of Water Margin, the "Peasant Uprising" and "Driven to Join the Liangshan Rebels" hypotheses, though frequently questioned, still hold unshakable position among works on Chinese Literary History, popular readings and even Chinese language textbooks for high school. In fact, statistics suggest that instead of all the 108 heroes in the story, only 11 were peasants from the angle of big agriculture, and only 9 were compelled to join the Liangshan Rebels. This thesis proposes three interpretations underlying such long-lasting misunderstanding: 1) "Peasant Uprising" and "Driven to Join the Liangshan Rebels" hypotheses greatly overlap with the modern Chinese proletarian revolution in the revolutionary and rebellious spirits; 2) the ideologicalization of the hypotheses has direct relation with the success of the historical drama Driven to Join the Liangshan Rebels adapted in 1943; and 3) studies on Water Margin since 1949 are interwoven with politics.
First Page
59
Last Page
69
Recommended Citation
Liu, Zhaoming. 2017. "A Query about the "Peasant Uprising" and "Driven to Join the Liangshan Rebels" Hypotheses: An Analysis of the Identities and Occupations of the Heroes and Their Uprising Causes in Water Margin." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 37, (6): pp.59-69. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol37/iss6/2
