Chapter 8 Preface to the hundred and twenty chapters of "Water Margin of Loyalty"

Preface to the hundred and twenty chapters of "Water Margin of Loyalty" -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ A brief history of the appearance of the version of "Water Margin" In the past three hundred years, everyone has been used to reading Jin Shengtan's seventy-one chapters, and there are many ancient books that few people know.Guben's research is only within the past ten years.In the past ten years, many ancient books have appeared, which is the most gratifying thing. Ten years ago (July, Ninth Year of the Republic of China), when I started to do research on "Water Margin", I only had the 71 chapters of Jin Shengtan and "Four Bandits", which was popular in the market but despised by scholars.Although I referred to a lot of circumstantial evidence at that time, many of my conclusions can only be regarded as some very bold assumptions, because the evidence at that time was too little. (The first edition of "Hu Shi Wencun", Volume 3, pages 81-146)

However, my "Water Margin Textual Research" has attracted the attention of some scholars, and there has been a trend of searching for versions.Within fourteen months after my "Criticism" was published, I received these editions: (1) Li Zhuowu commented on "Loyalty and the Water Margin", the first chapter of the 100th edition, the tenth chapter of the Japanese Okashima Unraveling Block edition (1728). (2) The Japanese translation of the hundred chapters of "Loyalty and Justice Outlaws of the Marsh", translated by Okajima Uramoto (printed in 1907). (3) One hundred and fifteen chapters of "Loyalty and Justice Outlaws of the Marsh", engraved together with "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", called "The Spectrum of Heroes", and popularly known as "Han and Song Qishu" (with Xiong Fei's preface, it seems that it was first engraved in the last years of Chongzhen) .

(4) One hundred and twenty-four chapters (Guangxu Jimao, 1879, edition collected by Rendaotang, with preface of Qianlong Bingwu year). In addition, I also know two versions: (5) The hundred and ten chapters of "Loyalty and Justice Outlaws of the Marsh", which is also the "Book of Heroes" engraved together with "Three Kingdoms" (collected by Mr. Suzuki Torao in Japan). (6) One hundred and twenty chapters of "Water Margin of Loyalty" Ming engraved edition (collected by the Kyoto Prefectural Library of Japan, prefaced by Yang Dingjian). Although I did not see these two kinds at the time, Mr. Aoki Masaji, a Japanese scholar, copied their bibliographies and prefaces and sent them to me.

With these six editions as my basis, I wrote another "Research on Outlaws of the Marsh". "Hu Shi Wen Cun" first published volume 3, pages 147-184) This happened in June of the tenth year of the Republic of China. Around the twelfth year of the Republic of China, I knew that there were three or four volumes of "Water Margin of Loyalty" in one hundred and twenty chapters. Hanfenlou got one, I got one myself, and others kept it.Later, Beijing Kongde School received a hard-printed edition with exquisite and lovely pictures. In the thirteenth year of the Republic of China, Mr. Li Xuanbo's nephew, Xingqiu, got a hundred-chapter copy of "Water Margin of Loyalty" at a cold stall in Beijing.According to Xuanbo: ("Republishing the Preface to the Water Margin of Loyalty")

Looking at its ink color and paper color, it is the bright book.And every time the name of the engraver of Xin'an appears on the first volume of pictures, it is enough to prove that Guo Ying (refer to Guo Xun) was the one who engraved it in Xin'an during the Jiajing period.The face of "Water Margin" in the Ming Dynasty was revisited. I have never seen the original of Mr. Xingqiu, but since this book is called "Water Margin of Loyalty", it does not seem to be the old version of Guo Wuding, because we know from the 120 chapters that the word "loyalty" was added by Li Zhuowu .

The name of the engraver in Xin'an is not evidence, because Huizhou workers are the most skilled among the engraving workers in the past few hundred years, and they still have the specialty of ink engraving.Therefore, we can only recognize Mr. Li's hundred-chapter version as a version of Li Zhuowu's "Water Margin of Loyalty". (Xuanbo's copybook does not have a section of "Introduction", it only starts from Zhang Tianshi's prayer, which is slightly different from the Japanese version of Li Zhuowu's engraving. I don't know if these pages are missing by chance.)

Mr. Xuanbo printed this hundred-chapter version with punctuation in the fourteenth year of the Republic of China, so there was a reprint of the hundred-chapter version in the middle school. (Published by Li Zhai, No. 1, Xila Hutong, Beijing, five volumes, priced at 2.70 cents) The year before last, the Commercial Press also printed the 120 volumes in the collection of Hanfenlou. Because my preface was too late to be handed in, the publication was delayed until this year. In total, the editions published in recent years are as follows: A, seventy-one chapters (Jin Shengtan edition); B, "Fighting the Four Bandits" edition (Yadong Library's "Water Margin Sequel" edition); C, one hundred and fifteen chapters This edition ("The Spectrum of Heroes"]; the edition of Ding and Baishi chapters (the edition of "The Genealogy of Heroes". Suzuki Torao); This version; (1) typesetting version of Li Xuanbo; (2) the first 20 chapters of Japanese Okashima Pu reprinted; (3) Japanese Okashima Pu translation.Geng, "Water Margin Complete Book of Loyalty" one hundred and twenty chapters.

Two decades of research on evolution Ten years ago, I studied the history of evolution and came to some hypothetical conclusions, which are roughly as follows: (1) Between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, there were various folk stories about the thirty-six people in Songjiang.There are "Xuanhe Legacy" and Gong Shengyu's "thirty-six praises" to prove it. (2) There were many "Water Margin" stories in the Yuan Dynasty, but none.There are many dramas of Yuan people to prove it. (3) A book appeared in the early Ming Dynasty, but this book is still very naive.We call it the "original one hundred back copy".This book may have been written by Luo Guanzhong.

(4) In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, around the period of Hongzhi and Zhengde, another seventy chapters appeared. I presume that this book has been reworked from the "original hundred chapters", which is roughly the same as the current Jin Shengtan edition.This book may have been written by "Shi Nai'an", but "Xuan Nai'an" seems to be an excuse for changing it. (5) In the Jiajing Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, there was a set copy from the family of Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding. There was a Xin’an engraved version, with a total of 100 chapters. We called it "Hundred Chapters of Guoben".I assume that the first seventy chapters of this book are all taken from the "seventy chapters"; the last thirty chapters are the second half of the "original hundred chapters". In the second half of the "Original Hundred Chapters", there are two parts of "Conquest of Tianhu" and "Conquest of Wang Qing". Guo Ben deleted both, but added a large section of "Conquest of Liao Kingdom".It is said that the old version had a "sentence", which was also deleted by Guo Ben.It is said that Guo Ben also "relocated" Yan Po's affairs.These points are the differences between the Guo version and the old version pointed out by Fafanli of "Hundred and Twenty Chapters". (Guo Ben is no longer available, we only know Li Zhuowu's hundred-back copy)

(6) In the later years of the Ming Dynasty, a hundred and twenty chapters of "The Complete Book of the Water Margin of Loyalty" edited and engraved by Yang Dingjian and Yuan Wuya were published now.This book is all based on Li Zhuowu's hundred chapters, and added two sections: "Zheng Tian Hu" and "Zheng Wang Qing".However, these two paragraphs are rewritten texts, and the facts and chapters are completely different from other editions ("Zheng Sikou", one hundred and fifteen chapters, one hundred ten chapters, and one hundred and twenty-four chapters); Wang Qing's story The change is bigger.

(7) Only seventy-one chapters appeared in Jin Shengtan. There was no Zhao'an and the aftermath, but there was a dream of Lu Junyi, which was not in the other books. (8) After the seventy-one chapters became popular, the hundred chapters and other volumes gradually became rare, so people in the bookstore printed the second half of the old edition in a single line, titled "Fighting the Four Bandits".I think "Zheng Si Bandits" is the second half of the "Original Hundred Books", at least the two parts of Zheng Tianhu and Wang Qing are left over from the "Original Hundred Books". This is the rough outline of my opinion nine or ten years ago.At that time, the study of the version of "Water Margin" was still in its infancy, and I had never seen the most important one hundred chapters and one hundred twenty chapters, so my conclusion was inevitably wrong.The biggest mistake was that I assumed that there was a seventy chapters in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. "Hu Shi Wen Cun" is the first edition of Volume 3, pages 171-176) But the reasons I gave cannot convince everyone; and my assumption affects the rest of the conclusions, making me unable to have a thorough understanding of the history of evolution. understanding. In the past six or seven years, Mr. Lu Xun, Mr. Li Xuanbo, and Mr. Yu Pingbo have revised my views. Mr. Lu Xun's claim is: the original cannot be obtained today. ... Existing ones, there are six known ones, and four are the most important. One hundred and fifteen chapters of "Loyalty and Justice Outlaws of the Marsh", signed by "Dongyuan Luo Guanzhong editor", at the end of Ming Chongzhen and engraved as "Heroes Book", the single edition has not been seen. ... The writing is clumsy, the systems are diverse, and the poems in the middle are mostly vulgar, as if they were created at the beginning and have not been polished.Although it is not the original, it is close to it. ... There is another one hundred and ten chapters of "Water Margin of Loyalty and Justice", which is also the version of "The Spectrum of Heroes". ... There are one hundred and twenty-four chapters, the words are omitted, and it is often difficult to read, and so on. The second is the one-hundred-page copy of "Water Margin of Loyalty and Justice",...the copy handed down by the family of Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding,...not seen today.There is also a hundred chapters, with Li Zhi's preface and comments, and Guo's version will be published immediately, and the title will be changed to "Collected by Shi Naian, Compiled by Luo Guanzhong". ... The diction has been greatly added and deleted, almost changing the outlook, eliminating bad poems, adding parallel language, and the description has become more and more subtle.For example, Lin Chong's journey in the snow is sold in a section, that is to say, there are more than one hundred and fifteen copies of the original. On the third day, one hundred and twenty chapters of "The Complete Book of Loyalty and Justice", also titled "Compiled by Shi Naian and compiled by Luo Guanzhong". ...... The whole book from the first to the recruiting, the story is the same as the hundred and fifteen chapters; the Liao Dynasty is broken, and there are few poems, Hirata Hu and Wang Qing, the story is also slightly different.And Fang La, the recipient, agrees.The text is almost the same as that of the hundred chapters, except that the words and sentences are slightly modified. ... There are many poems, which are added during the publication. ... Fa Fanyun: "In ancient times, there was a speech from Luo Shi. According to legend, the Denghua mother-in-law and other things will never be seen again, but those who were detrimental due to the arrest of the 'four bandits' by later generations were eliminated due to the complexity of a hundred and twenty chapters. All of them will be lost. Guo Wuding’s version is the old version’s relocation of Yan Po, which is very good. It is still a small family’s way of taking care of the king and fields in the bandits. I don’t know if the author is correct. "It is known that there are hundreds of ancient editions of "Water Margin", which were "never seen again" at that time; Enter and see the imperial book on the white screen.Guo's original was first broken, and its arrest, cutting off kings and fields and adding Liao Kingdom, became a hundred chapters; "Water Margin Complete Book" added kings and fields, still kept in Liao Kingdom, and was restored to one hundred and twenty chapters. ... However, to break the story of the Liao Dynasty, the worry did not begin in the Ming Dynasty.In the Song Dynasty, foreign enemies relied on the mausoleum, the state government was abolished, and they turned to the grasslands to cover up human feelings, so they made up wild words to comfort themselves; there were many different theories, which could not be consistent, so the later novels diverged with different choices, and the ones they chose were based on The words are not one but different.Tian Hu and Wang Qing have the same name but different texts in the one hundred chapters and one hundred twenty chapters, and that's all.However, after discussing Fangla, all the books were the same, because it is suspected that before Guo Ben's old copy, there should be a different copy, that is, after Fangla was recruited, as reported in "Xuan He Yu Shi",... However, it is believed It is still missing and cannot be determined. In general, from the perspective of the five sources, there are two kinds of existing realities: one is simple, and the other is complicated.Hu Yinglin ("Bi Cong" forty-one) said: "The book I saw twenty years ago is still very intriguing. For more than ten years, it has been published by Minzhongfang Jia. It stopped recording facts and deleted all the places in the middle where the rhyme and expression of the rhetoric are stored. Years, without the original proof, this book will be lost forever." Ying Lin saw the copy, but now I don't know what it is.If the one hundred and fifteen chapters of the simplified version, the achievement is almost as good as that of the complex version, and if there is any discrepancy between it and the complex version, if it is deleted and saved, it will be no trouble to change it. ... Four said seventy chapters. ... It was passed down by Jin Renrui with the word Shengtan, and I got the ancient version from Yunyun, only 70 chapters. After Song Jiang received the scriptures from heaven, the whole group was bound to Uncle Ji at the end of the night with Lu Junyi's dream. ... The book is not much different from the previous seventy chapters of the one hundred and twenty chapters, except that there are a lot of parallel words in the publication; the one hundred and twenty chapters have the language of "removing the complexity of poetry in the old book", which is quite like the ancient edition of Shengtan. .However, there are those in the text whose tone is slightly changed due to the deletion of poems, so the evidence is still based on a hundred chapters. ..., pp. 141-148) What Mr. Lu Xun said is very detailed and thoughtful, I admire it very much, so it is worth quoting in detail.Briefly speaking, his propositions are as follows: (1) There are two kinds of ancient editions of "Water Margin". There are "four bandits", namely Wang, Tian, ​​Fang and Song Jiang. (2) There may be another kind of ancient version, which follows Xu Zhengfangla after Zhao'an. (3) The truth of these ancient editions is no longer available, but the text of the hundred and fifteen chapters "although it is not the original, it is close to it". (4) For the 100 chapters of Guo's printed edition and Li Zhuowu's edition, the two sections of Tian Hu and Wang Qing were deleted, and the Liao Kingdom was added.The text has been greatly added and deleted, almost changed, and the description is more detailed. (5) The text of the 120-chapter version is almost the same as that of the 100-chapter version. Two sections of Tian Hu and Wang Qing were added, and a large section of Zheng Liao is still preserved. (6) All in all, there are two categories of traditional and simplified versions: one hundred and fifteen chapters, one hundred and ten chapters, and one hundred and twenty-four chapters belong to the simplified version; one hundred and twenty chapters belong to the traditional Book.Ming Dynasty Hu Yinglin (born in 1551, died after 1600.) It is thought that the simplified version is a latecomer, and it is the result of the complicated version in the Minzhongfang Jiakan.Mr. Lu Xun thought that the simplified version was close to the ancient version, and the complicated version was modified and enlarged by later generations. (7) The 70-chapter edition is the last 30 chapters that Jin Shengtan cut out based on the 100-chapter edition, and it is the latest edition. Mr. Yu Pingbo's "On the Existence of the Seventy Ancient Versions of "Water Margin"" ("Novel Monthly" Volume 19, No. 4, Pages 505-508) adopts Mr. Lu Xun's proposition and does not admit that there are seventy ancient versions.Mr. Lu Xun once said: Also, the author of the simplified version Zhiti Luo Guanzhong... It was published by the Guo family, and it was originally written by Nai'an, because it was suspected that Shi Naiyan performed it as a name for the author of the complex version. Ping Bo acknowledged this statement and listed it in the following table: A simple book with a hundred chapters by Luo Guanzhong A Hundred Chapters of Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong Jinben Seventy-one Chapter Shi Nai'an Ping Bo also pointed out the characteristics of the seventy-one chapters of Shengtan. Except for the fake Shi Naian preface, there is only a nightmare of Lu Junyi in the seventy-first chapter.Ping Bo thought that this dream was added by Sheng Tan.He said: According to Shi's "Hou Kao",...there is no such dream in any of the books.It is appropriate to think that the ancient copy that Sheng Tan once had, wouldn't it become a lonely copy? When Mr. Li Xuanbo (Zong Tong) reprinted the hundred chapters, he wrote a valuable article "Reading the Water Margin", the first section of which is "The evolution of the story of "Water Margin", which is very unique.Mr. Xuan Bo said that the evolution of the "Water Margin" story can be divided into four periods: in the first period, there were oral stories, and soon the "Water Margin" story became notes.This period was approximately from the end of the Northern Song Dynasty to the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.Xuan Bo said: This kind of legend is of course not systematic. In the east of Beijing, pay attention to Liangshanbo, in the west of Beijing, pay attention to Taihang Mountain, in the two Zhejiang provinces, pay attention to Fangla, and there are also central heroes he likes everywhere. This was the period when the story of "Water Margin" was passed on orally.This period did not last very long, because the story of "Water Margin" already had notes in the Southern Song Dynasty. Xuanbo cites Gong Shenghe's sympathetic preface from thirty-six people in Songjiang and "Xuanhe Legacy" as evidence.He said: But the records at that time... were only short stories.Although this kind of book is now lost, I have some indirect evidence. (1) At present, a sentence "This is called..." is often added after a big program, such as... "This is called "The Outline of Birth by Wisdom"".About a while ago there was a short work called ""The Outline of Outsmarting the Birthday"", so after it was completed as a long novel, I left this line. (2) Song Jiang waited in Liangshan, and suddenly described them going to Huazhou, which seems very unreasonable, but we have to understand that the first step of "Water Margin" is short and unsystematic, and then we can understand this unreasonable reason.As I said above, there is the story of "Water Margin" in Liangshan near Liangshan, and the story of "Water Margin" in the west of Beijing.There are four words "Taihang" in Gong Shengyu's praise, which is enough to prove that Song Jiang and others originated in the west of Beijing, which was quite popular at that time.The Huazhou event is one of the stories in the west of Beijing.Later generations wanted to synthesize all kinds of Beijing, East and West into one novel, and wanted to move Song Jiang from Jingdong to Beijing, so they had to draw out Shi Jin's trap... as a clue. Xuan Bo also said: These short stories of "Water Margin" were contemporaneous with or slightly earlier than the Zaju of the Yuan Dynasty.The "Water Margin" drama of Yuan Opera is based on these chapters.Because of their different legends, authors, and places of origin, the content is very different, and the personalities of the characters in the dramas are also inconsistent due to different sources. In the second period, around the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, "many short notes were coherently formed into a long story, cut into chapter after chapter, and turned into a chapter-style long "Water Margin" story."Uncle Xuan boldly assumed that there were at least the so-called "Four Biography of "Water Margin"" at that time: the deeds of the first biography are approximately equal to those contained in the first chapter to the eightieth chapter of the hundred chapters, from the time when he strayed away from the demon to the end. Zhao Anzhi. The second biography is the 80th to 90th chapters of the hundred chapters, a section of Pingliao. The third biography is a chapter of Zheng Tianhu and Wang Qing. The fourth biography is the 90th to 100th chapters of the Hundred Chapters, a section of Fangla. Why is it said that there are four biographies of "Water Margin" instead of one? The important reason is that the deeds in the four biographies conflict with each other.When it comes to short stories, various stories are born in different places and circulated in different places, and conflicts with each other are unavoidable.If it became a biography directly at that time,...you should delete the conflicting words and take care of them.The reason why this is not the case now is precisely because after the stage of the separation of the four transmissions, if there is conflict in the synthesis of one transmission, it is not necessary for the four transmissions to be in conflict. Uncle Xuan cited several pieces of evidence: The first is that I pointed out ten years ago that Wang Jin is the incarnation of Wang Qing. ("Water Margin Textual Research" page 125, "Later Kao" pp. 159-161) Uncle Xuan did not believe my claim, and his explanation was "two volumes or the same blueprint".The second point is that I pointed out nine years ago that monk Zhizhen gave Lu Zhishen two lifelong verses, which are different from each other. I suspect that the first four sentences are unique to the seventy chapters. (Page 173-174 of "Hou Kao") Uncle Xuan said: "In the past, it was said that there were four words given by the elder Zhizhen, but both of them were plagiarized."The third piece of evidence is that Liaoerwa in the prequels is a part of Liangshanbo, but Fang La’s biography regards Liaoerwa as a place outside the south gate of Chuzhou. Xuanbo said again: That is to say, in terms of style, the four biographies are not quite the same, and the place names used are also different from ancient and modern times, which is enough to prove that each biography was not collected by one person at a time, and it also proves the order in which each biography was assembled.The prequel and the biography of Zheng Fangla, the biography of Zheng Erkou is older, and the biography of Zheng Liao is the second.The place names of the Song Dynasty are the most used in Zheng Fangla's biography. ... There seem to be many places where the prequels have been revised by later generations. ... In the third period, around the Ming Dynasty, "the long story of "Water Margin" is about to be combined into a longer story, or the second biography, or the third biography, or the four biography. The one hundred and twenty chapters are the result of the combination of four biographies....Because they are separated and form a section of their own, so the combination of the second biographies, the third biographies, and the four biographies will all be successful." In the fourth period, after the early Qing Dynasty, "Tian, ​​Wang, Zheng Liao, and Fang La's three biographies were all deleted, and the prequels were also deleted. The deeds after seventy-one chapters were added, and a dream by Lu Junyi was added to become the current seven chapters. Ten chapters. This change is completely original. Although he pretends to be an ancient edition, this ancient edition does not seem to have existed." What Mr. Li Xuanbo said has bold assumptions and detailed inferences. I also admire it very much, so I will also extract it here in detail. Three my opinion According to Mr. Xuanbo's fourth period, I am most in favor of his first period.He pointed out that the original "Water Margin" stories were short, unsystematic, inconsistent, and had favorite heroes everywhere.Xuan Bo was the first person to discover this "locality", which can solve many difficulties.The story of "Water Margin" in Yuan Dynasty dramas came from such local short stories. But I dare not fully agree with what Xuanbo said about the second period.He assumed that the earliest full-length "Water Margin" story had passed through the so-called "Four Biography" transitional period.He said: If it had become a biography directly at that time,...you should delete the conflicting words and take care of it. ... I don't think this reason is sufficient.The hundred chapters are combined into one biography, and there is no conflict between the front and the back, and the conflicting words and sentences have been deleted.The one-hundred-fifteen chapters and the one hundred and twenty-four chapters are also combined into one biography, and there are conflicts in them, such as Wang Jin being framed by Gao Qi, and Wang Qing being framed by Gao Qi; He defected to Liu Shiquan, and Gao Qiu defected to Liu Shixiong.It can be seen that the presence or absence of conflicting words depends entirely on the ability of the person who adapts it, and it does not matter whether it has passed through the stage of spreading. Moreover, the theory of four legends is difficult to establish in itself.From the beginning of the first biography to recruiting security, it can be a biography. The second leaflet mentions Zheng Liao, the third leaflet records Zheng Tianhu and Wang Qing, and the fourth leaflet records Zheng Fangla. It seems that none of them can exist alone?If there are these three biographies, they are just three kinds of short stories and ""Outwit the Birthday Outline"" and "Havoc in Jiangzhou". What is the difference?Since they are independent short stories, they should belong to Xuanbo's so-called first period, and should not be separated from the so-called second period.Therefore, the theory of "Four Biography", I think there is no need to have it, it is better than Mr. Lu Xun's theory of "different scripts", which can avoid more difficulties. Both Mr. Lu Xun and Xuan Bo advocated a "pluralistic" view.Lu Xun said: The later novels diverged because of the difference in choice, and the difference in what was chosen was also different because of the difference in the script. This means that there are various "different scripts" in the original. He assumes that there are one hundred ancient scripts, one hundred and twenty scriptures that describe the "Four Great Bandits", another script that directly squares La after Zhao'an, and another script that breaks the Liao Dynasty. The source of the story may be before the Ming Dynasty. ——This is four or three long ancient books.This kind of diverse and full-length legend seems to be much more satisfying than Xuanbo's "four biographies". Probably the earliest full-length novel is quite similar to Mr. Lu Xun's assumption that he directly squared La's book after Zhao'an, and there is neither the Liao Kingdom nor Wang Qing and Tian Hu.This book can be called "X" book. Mr. Xuanbo also thinks that the place names used in the prequel and Zhengfangla are the most recent.Not only that, the three battles between Zheng Liao, Zheng Tianhu, and Wang Qing did not lose a single Water Margin hero, only the battle of Zheng Fangla lost two-thirds.It can be seen that Zheng Fangla's section was established first, and if there are heroes who died in battle in the section inserted by later generations, the original must be greatly changed.In order to avoid trouble, the three inserted sections had to save 108 people, and none of them were killed in battle.This is a proof.The surrendered generals collected by Tianhu and Wang Qing, such as Ma Ling and Qiao Daoqing, were not needed in the battle of Fangla.It can also be seen that the section of Zhengfangla was the earliest. There were no such people, so they could not be inserted.This is another proof. This "X" book may be Luo Guanzhong's book. Later, someone misunderstood the sentence "Three Ways of Bandits" in "Xuanhe Legacy" and forcibly added two paragraphs of Tian Hu and Wang Qing, which became a longer book, perhaps as many as one hundred and twenty chapters. .This book can be called "Y" book. Later, another kind of manuscript came out, without the two sections of Wang Qing and Tian Hu, but inserted a large section on Zheng Liao.This book can be called "Z" book.Mr. Lu Xun suspected that the story of conquering Liao began before the Ming Dynasty, perhaps in the Southern Song Dynasty.Mr. Xuan Bo thought that the first biography of Zheng Liao was published at the latest.I think Mr. Xuan Bo's words seem to be true recently. The numbers of these three ancient books are no longer testable.Probably "X" is less than a hundred chapters, "Y" is probably less than a hundred chapters, and "Z" is probably no more than a hundred chapters. In the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, a copy was handed down from the family of Wuding Hou Guoxun, with a Xin'an block edition and a preface by Wang Taihan (Dao Kun), named "Tiandu Foreign Minister". (According to "Ye Huo Bian") Wang Daokun, styled Boyu, was a Jinshi in the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing (1547). He was as famous as Wang Shizhen and was a great writer at that time. He is from Huizhou, and this book was engraved in Huizhou. Maybe Wang Daokun is the editor of this book.At that time, Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding, liked to engrave books, so the book was pretended to be handed down by Guo's family.Guo Xun died in the 28th year of Jiajing (1549). Maybe he was already dead when this book was published, so it is easier to pretend.At that time, the scholar-bureaucrats did not dare to publicly publish their famous vernacular novels, so this book was predicated on "Shi Naian".This book is called "Guo Ben" because it is said to have been passed down by Guo Xun. Recently, I saw Mr. Deng Zhicheng's "Ancient Suffering Notes" Volume 3 say: Wen Miao Yi Fengzhang said: In the early years of Guangxu, Guo Benyu once won the factory with eight taels of platinum. The book is as wide as one foot five or six inches. The red-haired ghost inside is still eight feet tall. . After Mr. Miao's death, most of his books were circulated outside, but no one has mentioned this Guo Ben so far, and I don't know where it is.Fafan of the 120 chapters said: "Guo Wuding's edition, that is, the old edition, is very good at relocating Po Yan. It is still a small family's way of taking care of it. I don't know the author. Poor.If Wang Jin opened the chapters in this book and never confiscated it, it is different from other novels, and it is also soft to be the sage of novels! He also said: The old version gets rid of the troublesome poetry,...it is quite straightforward. He also said: The old version also has skill in ordering the text and phonetic characters, but there are still many confusions and mistakes. To sum up the above, the points that Guo Ben can know are as follows: (1) Wang Jin opened the chapter, which is the same as all the books seen today. (2) I don't know how to relocate the Dharma when I relocate Yan Poshi. (3) Go to the second section of Wangqing and Tianhu. (4) A section of Jialiao State. (5) Delete the poems. (6) It has the merit of ordering text and phonetic characters. (7) According to what Miao Quansun saw, the book is big and big, and the two guns will collide continuously, and it still retains the old appearance of "Xuanhe Legacy"; "Six People Like" is the same. That's all we know about Guo Ben. Hu Yinglin said: The book I saw twenty years ago is still very interesting.For more than ten years, it has been published by Minzhongfang Jia, and the facts have been stopped, and the rambling words in the middle are all deleted, so it is unbearable to repeat.In the next few decades, without original confirmation, this book will be lost forever. Hu Yinglin was born in 1551 (according to Wang Shizhen's "Biography of Shiyang"), and he was in Jiajing for 30 years.The year of his death cannot be tested. There is no writing after Wanli Gengzi (1600) in his anthology ("Shaoshi Shanfang Leigao", "Siku Quanshu" and "Xu Jinhua Series"). About fifty years old.The "book I saw twenty years ago" he said was when he was young, between Longqing and Wanli, around 1572 in the Western calendar.The book he saw was the so-called Guo Ben engraved in Xin'an.He said that that kind of book is "extremely interesting", and there are many "loose words and lingering rhymes and expressions in the middle", which is more evidence of the above-quoted "Wang Jin Kaizhang", we can conclude that Guo Ben's writing must be in line with Li Zhi's commentary on " The hundred chapters of "Loyalty and Justice Outlaws of the Marsh" are not far from the original version. Li Zhi (Zhuo Wu) died in the 30th year of Wanli (1602), at the age of seventy-six.The "Water Margin of Loyalty" that is handed down in the present age probably originated after Li Zhi's death, because he liked to criticize miscellaneous books, and his hometown Jia reprinted it, so he took advantage of this celebrity who died in prison and gained a greater reputation.The "Water Margin of Loyalty" reprinted by Uncle Okajima in Japan includes an article "Reading the Preface to Water Margin of Loyalty" by Li Zhi.Although this preface is collected in "Burning Book" and "Li Shi Anthology", both "Burning Book" and "Anthology" are compiled editions after Li Zhi's death, so there is not enough evidence.For example, there is Jin Shengtan's "Foreign Books", which seems to be a pretext for the selection of bookstores.If Li's commented edition was published before 1600, Hu Yinglin had the largest collection of books and was highly respected, so he should not miss this edition.Therefore, I suspect that Li's commentary was printed after 1600, probably not long after Li's death, around 1605.Probably the Guo version was not circulated much, but Minzhong Fang Jia's abridged version was very popular. At that time, writers such as Hu Yinglin felt sorry for it, so Fang Jia had the need to reprint the Guo version, so he pretended to rely on Li Zhi's commented version.Take a look at Li Zhi's comments preserved in Okajima Pu's engraved edition, and almost none of the words in the hundred and twenty chapters are the same.For example, in the second chapter, there are more than a dozen eyebrow comments in each of the two books, but only one is the same.The two books are both so-called Li Zhi's critiques, but there is such a big difference, so we can conclude that the two books are both under the guise of Li Zhi. This kind of Li Shibaihuiben is probably based on Guo Ben, so we can deduce Guo Ben's nature from this kind of copy. Guo Ben seems to have remodeled the existing "X", "Y", "Z" and other books. The deeds of the "X" book are rough, and it seems that all of them have been adopted. The two sections of Tian Hu and Wang Qing in "Y" are too naive and ridiculous, and it is really worthless to adopt.However, the author of Guo Ben's rewriting took a fancy to the short passage in which Wang Qing was framed by Gao Qi, so he proposed this paragraph, and changed Wang Qing to Wang Jin, Liu Shixiong to Liu Shiquan, and Wang Qing, who claimed to be the separatist regime, to Liu Shiquan. A filial son who sees the beginning and the end of the dragon changes an unconscious story into the saddest and most profound opening chapter of "Water Margin".In addition, the two paragraphs of Wang Qing and Tian Hu were completely deleted. Although Guo Ben is based on "X", "Y" and other scripts, there must be many creative elements in it.The author (Shi Naian or Wang Daokun) really wanted to write a great novel with all his energy, and wanted to let it go without being restricted by old materials, so the forty chapters (written from Wang Jin) To make trouble in Jiangzhou), it is really a wonderful writing.These forty chapters can be regarded as the writing of creation, which is the most exciting part.But after the author reached the fortieth chapter, his strength gradually weakened, and he gradually returned to the old materials, hastily squeezed in all 108 people, hastily recruited them, and hastily sent them out to conquer Fangla. These parts are far less exciting than the first forty chapters.The chapters below seventy are even more sloppy, interspersed with many childish "Water Margin" stories in Yuan operas, such as Li Kui and Qiao sitting in the Yamen, Li Kui carrying Jing, Yan Qing shooting geese, etc., all interspersed.Putting it together, I still can't make up a hundred times.The two passages of Wang Qing and Tian Hu have been completely deleted, so the shorter story of Zheng Liao in the "Z" book has to be added. Therefore, Guo Ben and the so-called Li Zhuowu’s one-hundred-chapter version were greatly remodeled using all the deeds of the "X" version, adding the "Z" version of the Liao Dynasty story, and borrowing from the "Y" version to remake it. The old story of Wang Jin and Gao Qiu was used as the beginning, but the two parts of Wang Qing and Tian Hu were completely deleted. However, according to Hu Yinglin, in the later years of the 16th century, there was an abridged version inscribed by Jia in Minzhongfang. (See above for his theory.) Mr. Deng Zhicheng's "Bone Dong Suo Ji" Volume 3 quoted Jintan Wang's "Elements" and said: This book has its own wedge every time, and it is not handed down today.I saw that all the books engraved in Jianyang Bookstore were cut and shrunk to make them easy to sell, and many of the books were printed and cut.This book was also deleted when Jianyang Bookstore reprinted it. It is impossible for each chapter to have a wedge before it; this is the same as what Zhou Lianggong said in "Book Shadow" that "each of the hundred chapters uses a strange language to lead the head", which is the same rumor, and I will discuss it later.The deletion of "Water Margin" by Jianyang Bookstore in Wang Yanhong's record can be confirmed by Hu Yinglin's record, and they are both recorded by people at that time.This kind of deletion, we have seen now, there are one hundred and fifteen chapters, there are one hundred and twenty-four chapters, and there are one hundred and ten chapters that we know even though we have not seen it.These notebooks are much simpler than Li Zhuowu's commented ones.Mr. Lu Xun called these books "simplified editions", but he did not believe that the 150 chapters editions were the abridged editions of Minzhongfang Jia mentioned by Hu Yinglin. He thinks that the 150-chapter simplified version is "clumsy in writing, diverse in structure, and vulgar in middle poetry, as if it was created at the beginning without polish. Although it is not the original, it is close to it." Lu Xun advocated the 115-chapter bamboo slip The achievement of this book "almost precedes the copy book".His reason is: "If you use words to make sentences, there are always differences from the traditional version. If you delete and save them, you can change them without trouble." The reasons given by Mr. Lu Xun are not convincing to me.When discussing Jin Shengtan's seventy chapters, he once said: However, if the tone of the text is slightly changed due to the deletion of poems, it is still based on the hundred chapters. This shows that the saying "If you delete and save, you can change it without trouble" cannot be fully established.Try again the one hundred and twenty-four chapters I got. The abridgement is even worse, but there are more changes.As Lu Xun quoted Lin Chong's passage in the snow: There are six hundred and one characters in the hundred chapters (Japanese translation) (same as the hundred and twenty chapters) There are two hundred and forty-eight characters in the hundred and fifteen chapters There are only one hundred and forty-one characters in the hundred and twenty-four chapters It can be seen that the one hundred and twenty-four chapters is the most abridged version, but this version also has obvious changes.For example, Lin Chong met Li Xiaoer, a son of wine born in Tianwangtang, and his wife and his wife overheard Lu Yuhou's conspiracy in the hotel, and they reported to Lin Chong and advised him to pay attention. He went to the streets to find his enemies, and later he took over the forage field.This large section has more than 2,000 characters in the 100-chapter and 120-chapter versions, and more than 1,100 characters in the 150-chapter version.But in the 124 chapters, Li Xiaoer, his wife and their hotel are gone.It is only said that one day, a bartender came to invite Guan Ying and the messenger to have a drink. When they arrived at the store, they saw two people dressed as military officers, who called themselves Lu Qian and Fu An, and showed the letter of Gao Taiwei to the manager and the messenger. , they made up their minds and broke up.The full text is only more than 350 words.Therefore, if the story of Li Xiaoer and his wife is added, there must be 1,100 to 2,000 words; if they are deleted and reformed, more than 300 words will be enough.It can be seen that the abridgement is often necessary to be rewritten. Therefore, Mr. Lu Xun's statement of "deleting and saving without trouble to rewrite" cannot prove that the hundred and fifteen chapters of the book are closer to the ancient one, nor can it prove that this kind of simplified edition is completed before the hundred and five chapters of the complex edition.Mr. Yu Pingbo also advocated this statement, the same mistake. There are many kinds of abbreviated novels with illustrations per page that are most popular in the market today. They are specially made for children and the upper class, and are commonly known as "picture books".The pictures on each page occupy almost the entire page, and above the pictures are printed texts of forty or fifty characters, including, ,, "Xue Rengui Zhengdong" and so on. abridged.After reading these notebooks, I know that the saying of "deleting, saving, and rewriting without trouble" cannot be established. Therefore, I argue that the one hundred and twenty-four chapters and other simplified editions are probably the abridged editions of Fangjia mentioned by Hu Yinglin: the part from wandering away from demons by mistake to Zhao'an and conquering Liao, and the later Wenzheng Fangla to Juan At the end, the Baihui Guoben is deleted; the part where Zheng Tianhu and Wang Qing are inserted in the middle is the old version before the Baihui Guoben (called "Y" version above).Adding these two paragraphs, without deleting the Zhengliao paragraph, there are more than a hundred times.Therefore, there is a difference of one hundred and twenty-four back to one hundred and twenty-four. The popular "Squad against the Four Bandits" came from these Fang Jia's abridged editions.I used to believe that "The Four Bandits" came from the "original hundred chapters", but that was my misunderstanding. Four essays on one hundred and twenty chapters This kind of abridged version with two paragraphs of Tian Hu and Wang Qing is naturally more popular than those finely engraved Guo Ben and Li Ben, so ordinary readers always feel that Tian and Wang are missing in the hundred chapters, like an incomplete book. of.所以不久便有百二十回本出现，即是现在商务印书馆翻印的“出像评点《忠义水浒全书》”。因为大家感觉百回本的不完全，故这部书叫做“全书”。 这部百二十回本又叫做“新镌李氏藏本《忠义水浒全书》”，卷首有“楚人凤里杨定见”的小引，自称是“事卓吾先生”的，又说“先生殁而名益尊，道益广，书益传播，即片牍单词留向人间者，靡不珍为瑶草，俨然欲倾宇内”。 李贽死在万历三十年，此书之刻，当在崇祯初期，去明亡不很远了。 杨序又说，他在吴中，遇着袁无涯，遂取李贽“所批定”付无涯。大概杨定见是改造百二十回本的人，袁无涯是出钱刻印这书的人，可惜都不可考了。 此本有“发凡”十条，其中颇多可供考证的材料，故我在《水浒传后考》里，鲁迅先生在里，往往征引“发凡”的话。但十年以来，新材料稍稍出现，可以证明“发凡”中的话有很不可信之处，如第六条说：古本有罗氏致语，相传“灯花婆婆”等事，既不可复见；乃后人有因四大寇之拘而酌损之者，有嫌一百廿回之繁而淘汰之者，皆失。 这些话，十年来我们都信以为真，故我同鲁迅先生都信古本《水浒》有罗氏致语，有相传“灯花婆婆”等事；鲁迅又相信古本真有百二十回本。我现在看来，这些话都没有多大根据，杨定见并不曾见“古本”，他说“古本”怎样怎样，大概都是信口开河，假托一个古本，作为他的百二十回改造本的根据而已。 罗氏致语之说，除此本“发凡”之外，还有周亮工《书影》说的：故老传闻，罗氏一百回，各以妖异语冠其首。嘉靖时，郭武定重刻其书，削其致语，独存本传。 又《王氏小品》也说：此书每回前各有楔子，今俱不传。 这都是以讹传讹的话。每回前各有妖异的致语，这是不可能的事。的前面有“洪太尉误走妖魔”的一段，这便是的“致语”。全书只有这一段“妖异语”的致语，别没有什么“灯花婆婆”等事。“灯花婆婆” 的故事乃是《平妖传》的致语，其书现存，可以参证。这是因为和《平妖传》相传都是罗贯中作的，两书各有一段妖异的致语，后来有人记错了，遂说“灯花婆婆”的故事是古本的致语。后来的人更张大其词，遂说一百回各有妖异的致语了。（参看胡适《宋人话本八种序》页1—4，又页27—30） 至于古本有百二十回之说，也是“托古改制”的话头，不足凭信。大概古本不止一种，上文所考，“X”本无征辽及王、田二寇，必没有一百回：“Y”本有王、田而无辽国，“Z”本有辽国而无王、田，大概至多不过在百回上下，都没有百二十回之多。坊间的删节本，始合王、田二寇与辽国为一书，文字被删节了，事实却增多了，故有超过百十回的本子。杨定见改造王、田二寇，文字增加不少，成为百二十回本，所以要假托古本有百二十回，以抬高其书；其实他所谓“古本”，不过是建阳书坊的删节本罢了。 百二十回本的大贡献在于完全改造旧本的田虎、王庆两大寇。原有的田虎、王庆两部分是很幼稚的，我们看《征四寇》或百十五回本，都可以知道这两部分没有文学的价值。郭本与李卓吾本都删去这两部分，大概是因为这些部分太不像样了，不值得保存。况且王庆的故事，既然提出来改作了王进，后面若还保留王庆，重复矛盾的痕迹就太明显了，所以更有删除的必要。后来杨定见要想保留田虎、王庆两大段，却也感觉这两段非大大地改作过，不能保存。于是杨定见便大胆把旧有的田虎、王庆两段完全改作了。田虎一段， 百十五回本和百二十回本的回目可以列为比较表如下： 百十五回本 （84）宿太尉保举宋江 卢俊义分兵征讨 （85）盛提辖举义投降 元仲良愤激出家 （86）众英雄大会唐斌 百二十回本 （91）宋公明兵渡黄河 卢俊义赚城黑夜 （92）振军威小李广神箭 打盖郡智多星密筹 （93）李逵梦闹天池 旧本写征田虎一役，全无条理，只是无数琐碎的战阵而已。改本认定几个关键的人物，如乔道清，孙安，琼英郡主，用他们作中心，删去了许多不相干的小战阵，故比旧本精密的多多。旧本又有许多不近情理的地方，改本也都设法矫正了。试举张清匹配琼英的故事作例。旧本中此事也颇占重要的地位，但张清所以去假投降者，不过是要打救被乔道清捉去的四将而已。改本看定张清、琼英的故事可作为破田虎的关键，故在第九十三回即在李逵的梦里说出神人授与的“要夷田虎族，须谐琼矢镞”十个字，又加入张清梦中被神人引去教授琼英飞石的神话，这便是把这段姻缘提作田虎故事的中心部分了。这是一不同。 旧本既说琼英是乌利国舅的女儿，后文乔道清又说她是“田虎亲妹”，这种矛盾是很明显的。况且无论她是田虎的亲妹或表妹，她的背叛田虎，总于她的人格有点损失，至于张清买通医士，毒死她的父亲，也未免太残忍。 改本认清了此二点，故不但说琼英“原非邬梨亲生的”，并且说田虎是杀她的父母的仇人。这样一来，琼英的背叛，变成了替父母报仇，毒死邬梨也只是报仇，琼英的身份便抬高多了。这是二不同。 旧本写张清配合琼英，完全是一种军事策略，毫无情义可说。改本借安道全口中说出张清梦中见了琼英，醒来“痴想成疾”，后来琼英在阵上飞石连打宋将多人，张清听说赶到阵前，要认那女先锋，那边她早已收兵回去了，张清只得“立马怅望”。这很像受了当时风行的牡丹亭故事的影响，但也抬高张清的身份不少。这是三不同。 这一个故事的改作，很可以表示杨定见改本用力的方向与成绩。此外如乔道清，如孙安，性格描写上都很有进步。田虎部下的将领中有王庆，有范全，都和下文王庆故事中的王庆、范全重复了，所以改本把这些人都删去了。 这些地方都是进步。 王庆的故事改造更多。这是因为这里的材料比较更容易改造。田虎一段，只有征田虎的事，而没有田虎本人的历史。百十五回本叙田虎的历史，只有寥寥一百个字。百二十回本稍稍扩大了一点，也只有四百二十字。王庆个人的故事，在百十五回里，便占有四回之多，足足有一万三千多字。材料既多，改造也比较容易了。 不但如此，上文我曾指出王庆故事的原本太像王进的故事了，这分明是百回本的改造者（施耐庵？）把王庆的故事提出来，改成了的开篇，剩下的糟粕便完全抛弃了。百二十回本的改造者也看到了这一点，故他要保存王庆的故事，便不能不根本改造这一大段的故事。 原本的王庆故事的大纲如下： （1）高俅未遇时，流落在灵璧县，曾受军中都头柳世雄的恩惠。 （2）高俅做殿前太尉时，柳世雄已升指挥使，来见高俅。高俅要报他的大恩，叫八十万禁军教头王庆把他该升补的总管之职让给柳世雄。 （3）高俅叫王庆比武时让柳世雄一枪。王庆心中不愿，比枪时把柳世雄的牙齿打落。 （4）高俅怀恨，要替柳世雄报仇，亲自到十三营点名，王庆迟到，诉说家中有香桌香炉飞动进门的怪事，他打碎香桌，闪了臂膊，赎药调治，误了点名。高俅判他捏造妖言，不遵节制，斥去官职，杖二十，刺配淮西李州牢城营安置。 这是王庆故事的第一段，是他刺配淮西的原因。这段故事有几点和王进故事相像：①两个故事同说高俅贫贱时流落淮西；②高俅的恩人柳世雄，在王进故事里作柳世权，明明是一个人；③王庆、王进同是八十万禁军教头，明明是一个人的化身；④王庆、王进同因点名不到，得罪高俅。因为这些太相像之点，这两个故事不能同时存在；故百回本索性把王庆故事删了，故百二十回本决定把这个故事完全改作。 这一段的改本的大纲是： （1）王庆不是八十万禁军教头，只是开封府的一个副排军，是一个赌钱宿娼的无赖。 （2）王庆在艮岳见着蔡攸的儿媳妇，是童贯的侄女，小名唤作娇秀。他们彼此留情，就勾搭上了。 （3）一日王庆醉后把娇秀的事泄漏出去，风声传到童贯耳朵里。童贯大怒，想寻罪过摆布他。 （4）他在家乘凉，一条板凳忽然四脚走动，走进门来。王庆喝声：“奇怪！”一脚踢去，用力太猛，闪了胁肋，动弹不得。 （5）王庆因腰痛误了点名，被开封府府尹屈打成招，定了个捏造妖言，谋为不轨的死罪。后来童贯、蔡京怕外面的议论，教府尹速将王庆刺配远恶军州。于是王庆便被刺配到陕州牢城。 这里面高俅不见了，柳世雄也不见了，八十万禁军教头换成了一个副排军，于是旧本的困难都解决了。 王庆故事的第二段，在旧本里，大略如下：（1）王庆在路上因盘费用尽，便在路口镇使棒乞钱。遇着龚端，送他银子作路费，并且给他介绍信，去投奔他的兄弟龚正。 （2）他到四路镇龚正店里，龚正请众邻舍来，请王庆使一回棒，请众人各帮一贯钱，共聚得五百贯钱。 （3）不幸被黄达出来拦阻，要和王庆比棒，王庆赢了他，却结下了冤仇。 （4）王庆到了李州牢城，把五百贯钱上下使用，管营教他去管天王堂，每日烧香扫地。 （5）王庆因比棒打伤了本州兵马提辖张世开的妻弟庞元，结下了冤仇。 张世开要替庞元报仇，把王庆调去当差，寻事叫他赔钱吃棒，预备要打他九百九十九棒。 （6）王庆吃苦不过，把张世开打死，逃出李州，在吴太公庄上教武艺。 又逃到龚正庄上，被黄达叫破，王庆把黄达打死，又逃到镇阳城去投奔他的姨兄范全。 （7）王庆在快活林使朴刀枪棒，打倒了段五虎，又打败了段三娘，段三娘便嫁了他。 （8）恰好庞元在本地做巡检，王庆记念旧仇，把他杀了，同段三娘逃上红桃山做强盗。 （9）王庆故事中处处写一个卖卦的金剑先生李杰，李杰邀了龚正弟兄来助王庆；王庆请他做军师，定下制度，占了秦州，王庆称秦王。 这段故事，人物太多，头绪纷繁，描写的技术也很幼稚。百二十回本的改作者决心把这个故事整理一番，遂变成了这个新样子：（1）王庆刺配陕州，路过新安县，打伤了使棒的庞元，结识了龚端、龚正弟兄。龚氏弟兄与黄达寻仇，王庆打伤了黄达，在龚家村住了十余日，龚正送他到陕州，上下使用了银钱，管营张世开把王庆发在单身房内，自在出入。 （2）后来张世开忽然把他唤去做买办，不但叫他天天赔钱，还时时寻事打他，前后计打了他三百余棒。王庆后来在棒疮医生处打听得张世开的小夫人便是庞元的姐姐，又知道张世开有意摆布他，代庞元报仇。王庆夜间偷进管营内室，偷听得张世开与庞元阴谋，要在棒下结果他的性命，一时怒起，遂杀了张、庞二人，越城逃走了。 （3）他逃到房州，躲在表兄范全家中，用药销去了脸上的金印。有一天，段家庄的段氏弟兄接了个粉头，搭戏台唱戏，王庆也去看热闹，在戏台下赌博，和段氏弟兄争斗，又打败了段三娘。次日，段太公叫金剑先生李助去做媒，把段三娘嫁给他。成亲之夜，忽有人报告，说新安县的黄达打听得王庆的踪迹，报告房州州尹，就要来捉人了。 （4）李助给他们出主意，教他们反上房山去做强盗。后来他们打破房州，声势浩大，打破附近南丰荆南各地。王庆自称楚王，在南丰城中建造宫殿，占了八座军州，做了草头天子。 这样大改革，人物与事实虽然大致采用原本，而内容完全变了，地理也完全改变了，描写也变细密了，事迹与人物也集中了。 百二十回本作序的杨定见自称“楚人”，他知道河南、湖北、江西一带的地理，故把王庆故事原本的地理完全改变了。旧本的王庆故事说王庆占据“秦州”，称“秦王”。书中可考的地名，如梁州，洮阳，秦州，皆在陕西、甘肃两省。这便不是“淮西”了！杨定见是湖北人，故把王庆的区域改在河南西南，湖北全境，及江西的建昌一角。（看本书百五回，页47—48）所以王庆不能称“秦王”了，便改成了“楚王”。旧本的卖卦李杰是洮西人，此本也改为“荆南李助”，这也是杨定见认同乡的一证。 原本中的地名，如“天王堂”，和林冲故事的天王堂重复了，如“快活林”和武松故事的快活林重复了，改本中都一概删改了，这也算一种进步。 改本把王庆早年故事集中在新安、陕州、房州三处，把龚端、龚正放在一处，把李杰的几次卖卦删成一次，把张世开和管营相公并作一个人，把庞元和张世开并在一块被杀，把吴太公等等无关重要的人物都删了。——这都是整理集中的本事，都胜于原本。 原本的王庆故事显然分作两截：王庆得罪高俅以至称王的历史，自成一截。宋江征王庆的事，又自成一截。这两截各不相谋，两截中的人物也毫不相干，前截的人物如李杰，段氏兄妹，龚氏弟兄，皆不见于后截。这一点可证明李玄伯先生假定的短篇的《水浒》故事。大概王庆的历史一截，只是一种短篇王庆故事，本没有下文宋江征讨的结局。这个王庆本是一条好汉，可以改作梁山上的一个弟兄，也可以改作《水浒》开篇而不上梁山的王进，也可以改作与宋江等人并立的一寇。后来旧本的一种便把他改作四寇之一，又硬添上宋江征王庆的一段事。百回本的作者便把他改作王进，开篇而不结束。 百十五回等本把这两种办法并入一部，便闹出种种矛盾和不照应的笑话来了。杨定见看出了这里面的种种短处，于是重新改作一番，把李助（李杰）、段二、段五、段三娘、龚端等人，都插入后截宋江征讨的一段里，使这个故事前后照应。这是百二十回本的大进步。 至于描写的进步，更是百二十回本远胜旧本之处。百十五回本叙王庆的历史