Everyone knows that "Water Margin", one of the four famous classics, tells the story of "one hundred and eight heroes who were forced to go to Liangshan", but why not call it "The Legend of Liangshan" or "Water Margin"? "Liangshan" instead of "Water Margin", what does "Water Margin" mean? Except for the title of the book, there is no mention of "Water Margin" in the book.
So, "Water Margin" is very famous, but the meaning of "Water Margin" is difficult to understand, so that it is difficult to deal with when translating it into foreign languages.
So, what does "Water Margin" mean? This is about a common method used by Chinese people to write articles: "yongdian", that is, quoting stories or words from ancient books to express relevant content and thoughts richly and implicitly.
"Water Margin" is the allusion, which first came from "The Ancient Duke and Danfu came to court and led the Western Water Margin to Qixia" in "The Book of Songs Daya Mian".
This is the story of Zhou’s ancestor, Prince Zhou’s father. At that time, China was in the heyday of the Shang Dynasty. The "Zhou" tribe lived on the northwest border of the Loess Plateau. Not only was the land there barren, but there were also many tough Rong and Di people. Therefore, the Zhou tribe lived in poverty every day. and in danger.
About the time when Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty was in his prime, the Zhou tribe had an outstanding leader - Zhou Taiwang Gu Gong Danfu - he was the 16th grandson of Emperor Xuanyuan and the 12th descendant of Houji, the ancestor of Zhou. In the development history of the Zhou tribe, Shisun was a key figure who inherited the great achievements of Hou Ji and Gong Liu, and initiated the prosperous times of King Wen and King Wu.
Under the leadership of Danfu, the Zhou tribe went through hardships and migrated to Zhouyuan (today's Baoji City, Shaanxi Province) at the foot of Qishan Mountain. Not only was the land here relatively fertile, but it was also basically free from Rong and Di intrusions. The Zhou tribes began to develop and grow in Zhouyuan, and eventually established the Zhou Dynasty, which had a far-reaching influence in Chinese history.
"The Book of Songs Daya Mian" is a poem used by the Zhou people to commemorate and praise Dan's father's contribution to the development of the Zhou tribe. The word "Water Margin" in the poem refers to the place where the Zhou tribe later lived and developed. Zhou Yuan. Therefore, later generations extended the term "Water Margin" to mean "a way out" and "a place to settle down."