62. Song Jiang’s Men Attack Daming Prefecture; Guan Sheng Discusses the Capture of Liangshan Marsh
63. Huyan Zhuo Lures Guan Sheng in the Moonlight; Song Jiang Arrests Suo Chao in a Snowstorm
64. Chao Gai Appears in a Dream; White Fish Has His Revenge
65. Shi Qian Sets Fire to the Blue Cloud Tower; Wu Yong Takes Daming with a Subtle Plan
66. Song Jiang Rewards His Men; Guan Sheng Makes Two Generals Surrender
67. Song Jiang Conducts a Night Attack on Zengtou; Lu Junyi Takes Shi Wengong as Prisoner
68. Shi Jin Is Imprisoned at Dongping Prefecture; Song Jiang Releases Dong Ping
69. The Featherless Arrow Throws Stones at the Heroes; Song Jiang Abandons Grains to Capture a Brave Man
70. A Stone Tablet Is Found with Heaven’s Commands in the Loyalty and Justice Hall
Preface
About the Book, its Translation, Revision, and Romanization
The Water Margin (Shuihu Zhuan) is a classic Chinese novel dating from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty in 1368 CE. Notionally written by Shi Naian (ca.1296–1372 CE), in the Chinese tradition of vernacular literature, it evolved under the editorship of many editors and commentators until it was published as a 120 chapter version in 1592 under the editorship of Li Zhi. In 1641, Shuihu Zhuan was published as a 70 chapter version under the extensive editorship and commentary of Jin Shengtan. Despite being banned by Imperial Edict at the end of the Ming Dynasty and again during the Qing Dynasty, the novel became one of the most influential of the “Four Great Classic Novels” of vernacular Chinese literature.
Shuihu Zhuan was first translated into English by Pearl S. Buck in 1933 as All Men Are Brothers.1 Using Jin Shengtan’s 70 Chapter version, Buck based the title of her work on the famous quote from Confucius; “Within the Four Seas, all men are brothers,” which was quoted by several characters in the Shuihu Zhuan, since she believed that this quotation captured the true spirit of the novel. Buck believed that the literal translation of Shuihu Zhuan, the “Chronicles of the Water Margin,” to be meaningless for the English language reader acquainting themselves with the “Shuihu” story for the first time.2
This edition of Shuihu Zhuan was originally published by the Commercial Press Ltd in Shanghai and translated by J.H. Jackson in 1937. It was this translation that gave the English language the title The Water Margin.3 J.H. Jackson’s translation of the 70 Chapter version improved several shortcomings of Pearl Buck’s initial translation. Unlike Buck’s version which impeded the narrative by her “artificial style” and “pedestrian progress,” Jackson managed to maintain the rapid pace of action in the story.4 However, there are shortcomings in Jackson’s translation, which have been attributed to his desire for literal exactness and his prosaic style which often compounded descriptive lines and passages into terse and abrupt statements.5 It is not known how long Jackson took to translate his version of Water Margin nor under what conditions did he work. Jackson’s original translation shows some degree of inconsistency in the translation of recurring titles or terms. It is possible that this is indicative of a hurried translation and publication process, though it is rather more likely given the enormity of the task, that that the process of translation was slow, perhaps taking years. It is rather more plausible that the task was secondary to whatever Jackson’s vocation was (Water Margin appears to be J.H. Jackson’s only known work), taking a long period of time and set aside from time to time, which may explain any minor inconsistencies. History may have also caught up with J.H. Jackson, since by 1937, China had already been wracked by ten years of civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang government. Adding to the social chaos, after many years of Japanese incursions and skirmishes, tensions were beginning to reach boiling point. In 1932 the building of Jackson’s publisher, the Commercial Press Ltd in Shanghai was bombed during a Japanese air raid on the city. In July 1937 the Sino-Japanese War, ie China’s Second World War, broke out in earnest with a full scale Japanese invasion.
Little is known about J.H. Jackson today, with which might otherwise provide an insight into his translation of Water Margin and his treatment of the contents. Jackson’s use of the English language does not present any particular flavor of idiom to suggest his nationality, though I do believe that he was American. Water Margin does use American spelling of the text (though this may simply be indicative of the origins of the Commercial Press Ltd as the American Presbyterian Mission Press) and in one instance, Jackson uses the phrase “Go tell that to the marines!”6 This phrase while British in origin, is mostly associated with an American usage, particularly after the 1927 film set in China, Tell It To The Marines. It is possible that Jackson, like so many translators of the period such as Pearl Buck, was himself a missionary or of a missionary family. There are perhaps some clues in Jackson’s translation of distinctly Christian terms such as “hell,” “Satan,” “God,” “devil,” and the like, for distinctively Chinese concepts, characters, and deities from mythology and folk religion or from Buddhism and Taoism. However, in the context of catering for the level of Sinological knowledge of the average 1930s reader, this in itself is again not particularly indicative of any philosophical or religious origin. Similarly, Jackson’s translation also uses what we may now consider to be degrading English language terminology of the early 20th century, such as the use of the word “coolie” for “laborer,” as well as more archaic Sinological terms such as “yamen runner” for “court aide.” Additionally, Jackson uses Anglophone terms and titles such as “Mr. Wu” and “Mrs. Wang” throughout the text which tends to sound awkward in the setting of Song Dynasty China. Similarly, it is absolutely perplexing why alone of all characters; Jackson translated the name of the infamous Ximen Qing into the literal translation of “Mr. Westgate.”
Furthermore, there are some confusing inconsistencies in Jackson’s translation that have more to do with Sinological nuances than Jackson’s ability as a translator. Primarily these can be found in the interchangeable terms of “soldier” and “policeman,” as well as the blurred distinctions of titles and ranks of “Inspector,” “Lieutenant,” “officials,” “judge,” “magistrate,” and the like. This problem arises in the fact that until the 20th Century, there was no independent police force from the army or militia. Likewise, in pre-modern China, officials at all levels of the Imperial civil service held dual responsibilities of judicial and civil administration, and these distinctions can become blurred in the translation.
Jackson’s own level of Sinological knowledge is therefore difficult to determine, given some of these Anglicizations, simplifications, perplexing errors and the need to cater for the average reader. However, given that he completed the mammoth task of translating the difficult text of The Water Margin in an admirably readable style, we can assume that Jackson’s Sinological knowledge, like his ability with the Chinese language was in fact, quite considerable. Contrastingly and with a precision that may actually have been pedantry, Jackson translated such obscuranta as of the names of Chinese star constellations