The Three Sui Quash The Demons' Revolt
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''The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt'' (; ), also translated as ''Quelling the Demons' Revolt'' and ''The Sorcerer's Revolt'', is a Chinese novel attributed to the 14th-century novelist
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 ...
, although the earliest extant version was compiled between 1571 and 1589, possibly by Wang Shenxiu (). In 1620
Feng Menglong Feng Menglong (1574–1646), courtesy names Youlong (), Gongyu (), Ziyou (), or Eryou (), was a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty. He was born in Changzhou County, now part of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province. Life Feng wa ...
expanded the novel to forty chapters from the original twenty. A work in the ''
shenmo Gods and demons fiction or Shenmo fiction () is a subgenre of Chinese fantasy fiction that revolves around the deities, immortals, demons and monsters of Chinese mythology. The term ''shenmo xiaoshuo'', coined in the early 20th century by the w ...
'' genre, the novel blends comedy with the supernatural,Hanan 1981, p. 99 and is an early work of vernacular fiction.Hanan 1971, p. 201 The story is very loosely based on
Wang Ze Wang Ze (died 14 March 1048) was a rebel leader during Emperor Renzong's reign in the Song dynasty, whose agrarian army occupied Bei Prefecture for 65 days before it was crushed by the government army led by Wen Yanbo. Wang utilized Maitrey ...
's failed 1047–48 rebellion during the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
.


Synopsis

The story is set in the
Northern Song Dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...
. Wang Ze, a military commander, marries the sorceress Hu Yong'er. Hu was conceived after her mother burned an enchanted painting. She was taught magic from a
fox spirit Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charact ...
, enabling her to conjure armies with her spells.Lu 1959, p. 176 The three sorcerers, Zhang Luan, Bu Ji, and the Egg Monk Danzi Wang, join Wang after a series of adventures battling corrupt officials with their supernatural powers.Lu 1959, p. 177 Wang leads a revolt to overthrow the government with the help of the sorcerers. The three sorcerers grow disillusioned with Wang's impropriety and defect to the government forces headed by Wen Yanbo, who had arrived to suppress the rebels. The Egg Monk disguises himself as a monk by the name of Zhuge Sui and aids the imperial generals Ma Sui and Li Sui. Together, the Three Suis defeat Wang and end the rebellion.


History

Legends of Wang Ze and his revolt, a historical event, were popular since the
Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
and commonly embellished with elements from
Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...
. The novel attributed to
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 ...
is a
shenmo Gods and demons fiction or Shenmo fiction () is a subgenre of Chinese fantasy fiction that revolves around the deities, immortals, demons and monsters of Chinese mythology. The term ''shenmo xiaoshuo'', coined in the early 20th century by the w ...
novel loosely based on Wang's revolt and published in the 16th century. It is not certain if Luo is the genuine author of the novel. The appearance of ''lijia'', a social institution for local governance in rural areas, suggests that the text was written during or after the 15th century, but this may have been an alteration by a later editor. The original copies of the book attributed to Luo are lost. The only surviving works of Luo's earlier story are a revised edition published by Wang Shenxiu and the Nanjing Publishing House Shide tang. Three copies of the revised novel are still extant. It contains twenty chapters, separated into four ''juan'' (sections).
Feng Menglong Feng Menglong (1574–1646), courtesy names Youlong (), Gongyu (), Ziyou (), or Eryou (), was a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty. He was born in Changzhou County, now part of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province. Life Feng wa ...
wrote a new and longer version of the story to improve what he perceived as the novel's shortcomings. It was published by the studio Tianxu Zhai in 1620.Hanan 1971, p. 203 The first edition was anonymously written and released as a work by the original author, but the second edition revealed that Feng was the new writer.Hanan 1971, p. 204 His revision expanded the novel to forty chapters, of which fifteen precede the first chapter of the original novel. Parts of the older chapters were rewritten, or revised with entirely new passages. He provided backstories for many of the supporting characters that were introduced haphazardly in the original story. According to translator Nathan Sturman, Feng Menglong's version is one of the world's first
psychological novels Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both conscious and unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feelings, and motives. Psychology i ...
, which he compares to the
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
stories. The novel was popular and critically acclaimed when it was originally released, but later faded into obscurity.
Ota Tatsuo Ōta, Ota, or Ohta may refer to the following: People * Ota (wife of Arnulf of Carinthia), Queen of the East Franks 888-899, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire 896-899 * Ota (cartoonist), Brazilian cartoonist * Atsuya Ota, Japanese basketball pl ...
wrote the first extensive contemporary non-Chinese analysis of the work in 1967, and the scholarship and critical views of
Patrick Hanan Patrick Dewes Hanan (4 January 192726 April 2014) was a New Zealand scholar of Chinese literature who was the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. A sinologist, he specialised in pre-20th-century vernacular fic ...
were important in following years.


Translations

* * *


Adaptations

* '' Legend of Sealed Book'', a 1983 Chinese animation film * 2023 “The Legend of the Sealed Book (The Magical Legend)”.


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt, The Shenmo novels Novels set in the Northern Song Fictional depictions of Bao Zheng in literature Works by Feng Menglong Chinese comedy novels Novels set in the 11th century 16th-century Chinese novels Ming dynasty novels Novels set in Hebei Novels set in Kaifeng