author
Nai'an Shi
Best known as the traditional author of Water Margin, he is linked to one of the most influential adventure tales in Chinese literature. Even centuries later, his name is closely tied to a story of outlaw heroes, loyalty, and rebellion against corruption.
2 Audiobooks
水滸傳
by Nai'an Shi
About the author
Very little about his life can be confirmed with confidence, which gives Shi Nai'an an almost legendary place in literary history. He is generally placed in the late Yuan and early Ming periods, and traditional accounts associate him with Suzhou.
Shi Nai'an is most famous because Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan), one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, has long been attributed to him. The novel tells of a band of outlaws who gather at Liangshan Marsh and has had a huge influence on later fiction, drama, and popular culture across East Asia.
Scholars have also noted that the book's authorship is not completely settled, and some details of Shi Nai'an's biography may have been shaped by later tradition rather than firm historical record. Still, his name remains inseparable from Water Margin and from the rich storytelling world of classical Chinese fiction.