Questions About Outlaws of the Marsh (4-Volume Boxed Set)

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Answered Questions (2)

Which English translation is recommended? This unexpurgated translation by Jackson (2010 Tuttle Publishing) sounds good but incomplete — unless there is a sequel I haven’t been able to find? The Shapiro translation looks to be complete but so far I haven’t been able to find information regarding the faithfulness of the translation.

Lucy Day Werts .

As of 2025, there are three in-print translations (the two you mention and one more):

The 1937 Jackson translation updated in 2010 by Lowe, published …more.

As of 2025, there are three in-print translations (the two you mention and one more):

The 1937 Jackson translation updated in 2010 by Lowe, published by Tuttle, which is based on a 70-chapter Chinese text.

The 1980 Shapiro translation published by Foreign Languages Press, which is based on a 100-chapter Chinese text.

The 2002 Dent-Young translation, which is based on a 120-chapter Chinese text.

There really isn't one original text (or one original author), because this is a collection of semi-historical folk tales that evolved over time. All three versions are complete in some sense, they're just different lengths.

All three of these have their strengths, and preferences between different versions are highly personal. For more information on all the translations, including book covers, ISBNs, pagecounts, links to relevant articles, and extracts for comparison, visit We Love Translations: World Literature in English.

» What's the best translation of Water Margin?

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is this a story? is it historical?

Bin ZHOU Story based on some history event:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_La …moreStory based on some history event:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_La (less)

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Unanswered Questions (2)

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

So, what's the story about? There's no blurb.

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