Shi Nai'an (, –1372) was a Chinese writer from the Yuan and early Ming periods. ''Shuihu zhuan'' ('' Water Margin''), one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known works of literary fiction across pre-modern Chinese literature. The group usually includes the following works: Ming dynasty novels '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', '' Water Margin'', ''Journey to t ...

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

, is traditionally attributed to him. There are few reliable sources for his biography, much less his literary activity.

Biography

Little is known about Shi. Traditionally, it was believed that he was a teacher of

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese novelist who lived during the Ming dynasty. He is also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo Guanzhon ...

, the editor or author of ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', another of the

. The recent Chinese scholar Ge Liangyan writes that little is known about Luo, and about Shi even less. Late Ming and early Qing scholars claimed that Shi lived near the end of the Yuan dynasty and that he was a native of

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, but they may have been echoing each other or citing the conjectures that they did not endorse. The early 20th century scholar

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

thought that the name "Shi Nai'an" might have been invented by composers of a later edition of the novel. Shortly after World War II, a memorial tablet bearing Shi's name was found in Xinghua county, Jiangsu, and in the early 1950s a team of researches was sent to investigate. The chief investigator declared "Not even the faintest vestige of Shi Nai'an was found to be there." Evidence in a family genealogy seemed to affirm his identity, but it is not clear that the genealogy was authentic. Ge Liangyan concludes that the debate over the existence of Shi will "never lead to a conclusive end." He adds that in any case, we will not be able to determine whether either Luo or Shi, if they existed, were involved with the compilation of ''Shuihu zhuan''.Roland Altenburger, endorses Ge's conclusions. "Appropriating Genius: Jin Shengtan's Construction of Authority," ''That Wonderful Composite Called Author: Authorship in East Asian Literatures from the Beginnings to the Seventeenth Century''. (Netherlands: Brill, 2014)
p. 184
/ref> The Shi Nai'an Literary Prize is named in his honour.

Notes

References

* Lu, Naiyan
"Shuihu Zhuan" ("Water Margin")
''

Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, be ...

'' (Chinese Literature Edition). *

External links

* * 1290s births 1372 deaths Yuan dynasty novelists Ming dynasty novelists Water Margin Mythopoeic writers 14th-century novelists Chinese male novelists 14th-century Chinese writers {{China-writer-stub