Shi Naian, a writer at the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, whose real name was Yan Duan, was originally from Hailing County, Taizhou or Nagato, Wuxian County, Suzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). He is knowledgeable and talented. He is proficient in various technologies, such as philosophers, poetry, astronomy, geography, medical divination, astrology and so on. At the age of 35, he was a scholar, then gave up his official position and went back to work behind closed doors. He followed Luo Guanzhong, who worshipped him as his teacher, to learn the creation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Biography of the Three Magi in Suiping, and collected and sorted out the stories of heroes such as Liang Shanbo and Song Jiang. About his life, due to the lack of historical materials, there are different opinions, and even the existence of this person is controversial.
Shi Naian (1296~ 137 1), whose real name is Shi yanduan, whose initials are Zhao Duan, Shonago An, and his nickname is Naian. Han nationality, from Baijuchang, Xinghua, Jiangsu. Writers in the late yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty. Shi Naian was originally from Hailing County, Taizhou, and lived in Shi Jia Lane outside Nagato, Suzhou, and then moved to Baijuchang, Xinghua County (now Baiju Town, Dafeng City, Jiangsu Province). Shi Naian was smart and studious since childhood. He was a scholar in the first year of Yuanyou (13 14), in the first year of Taiding (1324) and in the second year (133 1). Yin, who soon served as Qiantang County, was reprimanded by county officials for protecting the poor and resigned and went home. In the 13th year of Yuan Dynasty (1353), Bai Juchang, a salt farmer, Zhang Shicheng and other eighteen strong men led a strong uprising against Yuan Dynasty. Zhang Shicheng respected Wen Tao's military strategy and invited him to serve as a military screen for many times. Shi Naian went to Zhang Shicheng with Hongyuan's plan to build "Wang Dao Yue Fu" and put forward many strategies to seize the city and land. Later, due to Zhang Shicheng's arrogance and arbitrariness, his cronies were unfaithful, and he was at odds with Zhongliang. Shi Naian protested several times, but Zhang Shicheng refused to accept it. He angrily left Pingjiang and sent a song "Qiu Jiang Farewell" to Lu Yuan, Liu Liang and others who were in charge of the same curtain. Since then, I have been wandering in the Jianghu, helping people solve problems. Later, Xu Qi, a rich man from Zhutang, Jiangyin, sat in the museum. In addition to teaching, he also studied Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Biography of Three Demons in Suiping with Luo Guanzhong, who worshipped him as his teacher, and collected stories of heroes such as Song Jiang and Liang Shanbo to prepare materials for writing Biography of Hawkers in Jianghu. In the twenty-seventh year of Zheng Zheng (1367), after Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed Zhang Shicheng, he scouted Zhang Shicheng's men everywhere. In order to avoid trouble, Shi Naian consulted Gu Ti, Xinghua's good friend, and built a house in Bai Juyi. Since then, he has lived in seclusion and devoted himself to the creation of The Biography of Jianghu Vendors. After the legend of hawkers on the rivers and lakes was written, it was named "Water Margin".
Shi Naian, the author of Water Margin, is not only a novelist, but also a brave man with strong martial arts.
Beat a bully
One day in the early Ming Dynasty, Shi Naian was playing on a tea mountain when he suddenly met a bully who was robbing a farmer's tea garden. He is very angry, so stop it at once. The bully saw that people were right and had to run away. Later, however, after the bully inquired about the visitor's residence, he hired a gang of thugs to surround Shi Naian's residence. When Shi Naian saw this scene, he just smiled and walked out of the door with great composure. When the mob saw him with his bare hands, they rushed in. One of the big black-faced men, armed with iron bars, took the wind and cut Shi Naian's head off. Shi Naian shook his head sideways, and a "flag-waving" let him pass in front of the stick, so he grabbed the iron bar with both hands, and at the same time, his right foot flew up, just kicking on the big fellow's lower abdomen, and that guy rolled out of a mile. Shi Naian danced with iron bars and swept like a whirlwind, scaring the guys to flee everywhere.
Beat a gangster with a stick
One year during the Lantern Festival, Shi Naian went to the streets to watch lanterns. Suddenly I saw a rogue insulting a woman at the end of the street. He got angry, lifted the guy up with his right hand and threw him to the ground like a dead dog. The hooligans were so scared that they repeatedly kowtowed for mercy that Shi Naian spared him. But the next day, the guy gathered seven or eight hooligans to get back at him. Shi Naian unhurriedly found a thick rope, let the hooligans tie his legs with it, and then told them to pull hard. However, despite their blushing and thick necks, Shi Naian's feet seemed to be rooted and motionless. Then, he took out his iron bar, made an "oolong wagging its tail" and interrupted a big poplar tree beside him with a click. When the hooligans saw that he had such a skill, they knew that they had met a master and kowtowed and gave up. Later, when I wrote Water Margin, I also incorporated this personal experience into the plot of surrendering the local ruffians in Suoguo Temple.