 Chinese
classical literary masterpiece Outlaws of the Marsh has
drawn material from a real peasant uprising in the 12th
century, at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. Peasant
rebellion has been a characteristic of Chinese history.
Like a scalpel or purifier, the peasant uprising can infuse
new life into a society whose superstructure is deteriorating.
A merit of Outlaws of the Marsh is that it praises a peasant
uprising and vividly represents a grandiose social upheaval.
Outlaws of the Marsh begins with the villain Gao Qiu
coming into power and gentlemen like Lin Chong driven
to desperate situation. It was a society where justice
was not  upheld
and honest people came to miserable end. Corruptive
officials were in power and despots ran amuck. It is
the tales of individual heroes who were driven to join
the rebels that reveal the social roots and historical
inevitability of peasant revolt.
In ancient Chinese orthodox ideology, the rulers'
legitimacy is based on morality. Therefore, resistance
against unrighteous ruling is justifiable. Peasant uprisings
would either become a means to a change of regime or
surrender to the rulers. Considering that the peasant
uprising is not a historical progress in a real sense,
a peasant revolt must end with failure.
In the latter part of Outlaws of the Marsh, Song Jiang
and his men accepted the amnesty granted by the imperial
court and then attacked the peasant insurrections led
by Wang Hu and Fang La. Most heroes died in battlefields
and Song Jiang too was persecuted by treacherous court
officials. Thus a vigorous uprising ended in failure.
Perhaps because of this conclusion, the latter part
of Outlaws of the Marsh is obviously less attractive.
In traditional Chinese literature, in a prosperous
time positive characters are all from emperors, ministers,
generals, gifted scholars and beautiful ladies. In a
degenerating time, however, good persons are in the
commoners, like the gallant persons in Outlaws of the
Marsh. The outlaws are loved not because of their super
battle art, but because of their sense of justice and
fraternity and their unflinching opposition to dark
forces. This opposition to oppression is set into relief
against the submissiveness of the general public. In
contrast to the corruptive officials, avaricious merchants
and hypocritical gentry, those simple and noble－minded
greenwood heroes shed brilliant light of humanity.
The fraternity and gallantry of the heroes in Outlaws
of the Marsh has profound influence on Chinese society.
This, however, is seen only when social justice and
law does not work. When the Zhou Dynasty was at a low
ebb, seeing rites deteriorating in the court and among
nobles, Confucius said, "When the rites are lost,
they can be found in commoners." What one can find
among the greenwood heroes is the true, the good and
the beautiful that is common nature of human race but
is lost in the upper classes.
|
