What kind of novel is Water Margin?

The Water Margin is a heroic legend and one of the representative works of China's ancient novels. It is based on the story of Sung River Uprising. Sung River Uprising took place in Huizong period of Northern Song Dynasty, and it is recorded in History of Song Dynasty, Biography of Huizong, Biography of Hou Meng and Biography of Zhang Shuye. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, the story of Sung River Uprising has been circulated among the people. Zuiwengtan Record records some independent legends about heroes of the Water Margin, while The Legacy of the Song Dynasty combines many stories of the Water Margin, which is very close to the novel. There were many water margin plays in Yuan Dynasty, and a group of Liangshan heroes appeared as stage images. The Water Margin is based on the long-term spread of the story of Sung River Uprising, and absorbs the nutrition of folk literature. The Water Margin is one of the most popular vernacular classical novels. It came into being in the Ming Dynasty, and was created by the author on the basis of stories, scripts and operas about the Water Margin since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The theme of this book is the peasant uprising led by Song Jiang, which artistically reproduces the tragic picture of the ancient people in China's resistance to oppression and heroic struggle. The works fully exposed the decay and cruelty of the feudal ruling class, exposed the sharp social contradictions and the cruel reality of "officials forcing the people to rebel" at that time, and successfully created a number of heroes such as Lu, jy, Lin Chong and Ruan. The novel has twists and turns, vivid language, vivid characters and high artistic achievements. However, his works praise and beautify Song Jiang, advocate "loyalty" and "justice for heaven", showing serious ideological limitations.