Shi Nai'an est reconnu comme le compilateur attribué d'une œuvre fondamentale de la littérature chinoise, l'un de ses romans classiques les plus célèbres. Sa contribution offre des aperçus profonds sur les dynamiques sociales et les traditions narratives de son époque. Malgré de maigres détails biographiques, l'impact durable et la signification littéraire de ses écrits sont indéniables. Son style narratif distinctif et sa profondeur thématique solidifient sa place en tant que figure fondatrice de l'histoire littéraire chinoise.
Der Roman spielt zur Zeit der Sòng-Dynastie und erzählt von Sòng Jiāng und seinem Bund, der gegen Korruption kämpft. Er thematisiert traditionelle Werte des Neokonfuzianismus und bietet reichhaltige, naturalistische Beschreibungen der Gesellschaft. Die ungekürzte Übersetzung umfasst 2000 Seiten mit umfassenden Erläuterungen.
Although Song Jiang is only a lowly local government official, he is loyal to the emperor and kind to all the citizens in his care. But Song is in trouble. A series of unfortunate incidents have led to him being arrested, and his political enemies are keen to see him sentenced to death.
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.