Japan: Zhang Shun or Rorihakucho Cho Jun, one of the 'One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Water Margin'. Woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1863), 1827-1830

The tattooed Zhang Shun, Japanese name Rorihakucho Cho Jun, smashes a water-gate with a sword between his teeth.

The Water Margin (known in Chinese as Shuihu Zhuan, sometimes abbreviated to Shuihu, 水滸傳), known as Suikoden in Japanese, as well as Outlaws of the Marsh, Tale of the Marshes, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang in English, is a 14th century novel and one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty, tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gathered at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to form a sizable army before they are eventually granted amnesty by the government and sent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebel forces.

In 1827, Japanese publisher Kagaya Kichibei commissioned Utagawa Kuniyoshi to produce a series of woodblock prints illustrating the 108 heroes of the Suikoden. The 1827-1830 series, called '108 Heroes of the Water Margin' or 'Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori', made Utagawa Kuniyoshi's famous.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Credit:

Pictures From History

Theme:

WATER MARGIN