Shi Naian was originally from Suzhou, and later moved to Xinghua, which is located in the lower reaches of Lixia, with rivers and ports. His father, Shi Yuande, lives in Xinghua by boat. Naian has two younger brothers: the second brother Yan Ming and the third brother Chae Yeon.
Shi Naian was very clever when he was a child, and his father Yuan De sent him to study at Baima Farm in the east corner of Hailing. Baiju site is located at the intersection of Niuwan River and Yunyan River, where the salt industry is developed, the products are rich, the streets are bustling, and the humanities are gathered, which has the charm of a seaside town. Rich rural environment and good educational conditions have cultivated young Shi Naian.
Shi Naian is studious and quick-thinking, and soon grows into a knowledgeable person. /kloc-entered the examination room for the first time at the age of 0/9, and won the scholar in one fell swoop; 30-year-old, took the juren exam. During Yuan Taiding's reign, he went to Dadu (Beijing) to take the Jinshi exam. Shi Naian is ambitious and thinks he will succeed at one stroke. He once boasted that this branch would be successful and would be the first. Unexpectedly, it fell into Sun Shan. Naian feels that she has failed to live up to the high hopes of her elders, so it is difficult to see them in Jiangdong. At that time, most of his friends Liu Benshan lived in imperial academy. He knew that Shi Naian's moral article was worth serving as a model, so he worked for him in many ways. There is a vacancy in Yuncheng County, and he recommended Shi Naian to take the post.
During his stay in Yuncheng, Shi Naian advocated learning, being honest and clean, caring for people's feelings, and guiding agriculture and mulberry. His honest behavior has aroused the dissatisfaction of his superiors and local power groups, and he is often made difficult. At that time, there was a gentleman named Wu Lin in yanggu county who wanted to install his relatives, but Shi Naian sternly refused. Wu Lin bears a grudge and later falsely accuses Shi Naian on trumped-up charges. Shi Naian realized the darkness and struggle of officialdom, so he resigned angrily.
During this time, Shi Naian used his leisure time to pay attention to local stories; After resigning, I visited the scenic spots in central Shandong: Shuibao Village visited the descendants of Sung River, Jingyanggang visited the Songwu Temple, Shi Jiecun visited Sanxiantong, Huang Dunji (Huangnigang) visited the robbery site, and Lion Building listened to storytelling. Listening to the woodcutter's morning song, singing with the fisherman at night, crossing the golden beach, breaking the golden pavilion, wearing the black tuyere and climbing Liangshan Road ... Yuncheng's experience accumulated rich materials for his later writing of Water Margin.
The following year, when Xin Wei, that is, Shi Naian was 35 years old, Yuan Ting held another special scientific research. Shi Naian didn't lose his desire to be an official, and he traveled to Dadu to gain a reputation as a scholar, so he was appointed Yin of Qiantang County.
Shi Naian's character is unchangeable. He served as an official in Qiantang for two years, advocating farming and mulberry, paying little attention to taxes, enforcing the law impartially and restraining the mighty. The official system of the Yuan Dynasty: All the prefectures and counties in Lufu are dominated by Mongols, known as the Great Confucian Huachi, commonly known as the state supervision, with the Han people as the deputy. Therefore, Shi Naian's honest behavior is always interfered by his boss Lu Huachi. "Being an official is not for the people, it is better to go home and plant sweet potatoes." So, Shi Naian returned home angrily again.
After Shi Naian resigned, he has been wandering around the world for nearly 10 years. How can he be homesick? So, I bought a boat and changed trains all the way. I didn't know until I got home that my wife, Mrs. Ji, had died earlier than the year before. My father Yuan De was ill in bed and died soon. Shi Naian was devastated by family changes. Chae Yeon, the younger brother, understood his brother's feelings, so he helped him to build three huts in Huajiaduo, west of Baiju. Shi Naian personally wrote a couplet of "Wu Xing Mian Shi Ze, Chu Shui Qiang Yan", which showed his thoughts and feelings of seclusion in the water town. Soon, Shen's second wife, who taught agriculture and studied two lines, became a rural Confucian scholar with peace of mind.
In addition to teaching, Shi Naian often goes to teahouses, hotels and flag pavilions to listen to local old people telling stories and legends; Listen to the news allusions of business travelers from all directions. There is a bookstore in the south of Bao Bei Temple, which Shi Naian often goes to. Later, Shi Naian, based on the legacy of Xuanhe in the Great Song Dynasty, exaggerated it and began to write "Biography of Jianghu Vendors" (Water Margin).
Just then, Luo Daji, a big salt merchant in Taiyuan, Shanxi, went to Baiju to talk about business. He heard that Shi Naian was a man of insight, and he asked his son Luo Guanzhong to learn from Shi Naian. Luo Guanzhong, a clever student in Shi Naian, often helps Shi Naian proofread Yu Hai and write the Water Margin after his homework.
However, the cruel national oppression and class oppression at the end of the Yuan Dynasty caused fierce resistance from farmers and salt people everywhere. In the 13th year of Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1353), Zhang Shicheng Uprising broke out in Cao Yan, a seemingly peaceful and prosperous town near Baiju. Zhang Shicheng, a native of Zhangjiadun, Bai Juchang, made a living by punting, pulling fibers and selling smuggled salt. Because of the oppression and bullying of the department, transportation department and saltworks officials who could not manage salt affairs, they killed officers and soldiers, robbed rich households and rebelled with the brothers Shi Yi, Shi De, Shi Xin and Li Bosheng.
At that time, Yuan Heng, a military commander, fled to Zhang Shicheng to escape the arrest of the court for killing the Yancheng satrap. Shi Naian's cousin Bian knew that he had a military strategy in mind, so he strongly recommended it to Zhang Shicheng. Zhang and Bian personally came to the door and invited them to visit. Shi Naian wants to write with peace of mind and get away from the world. But in recent years, I have witnessed the extortion of officials at all levels, and I hate it. Zhang and Bian invited each other and generously promised to join the insurgents with Luo Guanzhong.
In the army, Shi Naian and Bian are Zhang Shicheng's civil and military assistants. Shi Naian was a strategist, who started with the banner of righteousness, but few soldiers were micro-armed. In order to expand its influence and show off its strength, when attacking Dingxi, Shi Naian taught Zhang Shicheng to buy more than 2,000 large and tidy white scale fish and put them on bamboo poles. In the moonlight, it was like a discerning force, scaring Liu Ziren, the big landlord of Dingxi Town, to flee hastily. Since then, the ranks of the insurgents have been invincible. They moved to Taizhou, Gaoyou, Jiangnan and founded Pingjiang (Suzhou), and Zhang Shicheng's Wang Ba career reached a brilliant climax.
However, after Zhang Shicheng became king of Suzhou, his victory made him go to his head, and he began to pursue ease and enjoyment, appointing villains and alienating sages. Many loyal ministers left Zhang Shicheng successively. Liu Ji left first. Soon after, Shi Naian's other two good friends, Lu Yuan and Liu Liang, also invited him to go.
The successive departure of loyal people did not make Zhang Shicheng clear-headed. He is still addicted to lewd enjoyment and "political slack", and the soldiers "are all eager for fertile land and beautiful houses" At that time, Fang Guozhen was stronger than Mazhuang, and Zhu Yuanzhang was eyeing it. There are endless wars and crises everywhere. Deeply impressed by the grim situation, Shi Naian once again remonstrated with Zhang Shicheng, stated the world situation and pointed out the road to reform. But Zhang Shicheng listened to the words of the villains Huang Jingfu, Ye Dexin and Cai, and was indifferent to the plan to promote reform. Shi Naian had a premonition that it was only a matter of time before Zhang Shicheng failed, so he disappeared quietly.
In the 23rd year of Yuan Dynasty (1363), Shi Naian came to Zhutang, Jiangyin, and Mr. Zhutang was hired as a teacher. Shi Naian read widely. He is familiar with astronomy and geography. When he was in Xujia Mengge, it was said that he had seen two "Feng Shui landscapes" for the Xu family, one was Xiangshan and the other was Shashan. There was a talent in Xiangshan, and later it turned out to be a Xu Xiake; There are many people in the sand mountain, and the Xu family is prosperous. Shi Naian also knows astronomy. It is said that it always rains on the day when the Xu family went to the grave to worship their ancestors (Tomb-Sweeping Day), which is very distressing. So Shi Naian chose the auspicious day of Xu Jiazhong's grave as the 10th day of March in the summer calendar, and it is said that it never rains for a hundred years. Shi Naian can still predict the future. One year when the rice was just heading, he told everyone to cut the rice and dry it, which was called "early belly rice", which was a good medicine for treating horse plague. That autumn, Zhu Yuanzhang was defeated in Niujiaotang, Changzhou, and horse epidemics prevailed. Military strategist Liu Ji bought "early belly rice" at a high price, and Zhu Tangren gained a lot.
Shi Naian is familiar with Yin and Yang, astronomy and geography, and there are many rumors in Zhutang area. Today, Xu Hongchun still hangs such a couplet in Zhutang's home:
When reading Song Jiashi, praise, the wind is high and the world is high.
Shi Naian is a good omen. This land is very famous.
In the 26th year of Yuan Dynasty (1366), Zhu Yuanzhang sent generals Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to attack Pingjiang with 200,000 troops. Shi Naian had a presentiment that after the fall of Pingkiang, Zhu Yuanzhang would strictly investigate Zhang Shicheng's staff. At the same time, considering the years of war, the Water Margin has not been finished, so we must find a quiet place to finish the manuscript. Shi Naian has been to Yang Shan (Huai 'an) when he was young, and he has a good impression on Yang Shan, and plans to settle in Yang Shan.
So, I sent a poem to Gu Ti, a good friend of Xinghua, for advice. The poem says:
Go to the end of the world in troubled times and find Yang Shan to go home.
May the grass grow and many kinds of trees grow, and don't let plums bear fruit like melons.
After receiving Shi Naian's poem, Gu Ti also wrote a poem back, saying:
You come to Jiangnan for interest, and smile at your old colleagues when you meet.
This is not a paradise, where can Taoyuan avoid Qin?
Apparently, Gu Ting invited him to his hometown Xinghua. As the saying goes, "Zhaoyang (Xinghua) has been good at avoiding soldiers since ancient times." Xinghua is a water network area and is not suitable for fighting. It is a paradise in troubled times. After receiving Gu Ti's poems, Shi Naian took his family all the way north to his hometown of Baiju. He looked around, reeds, flocks of chickens and ducks, just like Jiangnan water town, can not help but poetic:
Yongning's Baima farm, mountains and seas, and wild reeds have good scenery.
Running around waiting for new clothes.
Shi Naian returned to his hometown and felt cordial. His brother Chae Yeon hurried to have his old house repaired. In order to make a living, Xuan Nai 'an sat in Bao Bei Temple, teaching students and writing Water Margin. In order to concentrate on writing like patient An Tang, he hung a "Naian" sign on the door of his study. The villagers didn't understand it, so they called him Mr. Naian. Later, after the genealogy of the Shi family was written, some people in the clan suggested that the word "Nai 'an" should be written in the genealogy, but because all the genealogies were written, the word "Nai 'an" was added to the "smoke end". Of course, this is another story.
Shi Naian has rich experience and rigorous scholarship, and he is even more meticulous in writing Water Margin. It is said that this time, I am not satisfied with writing Song Wu and killing the tiger. At this moment, the fierce dog barked at the door. He ran out and saw that it was a drunk fighting with a bad dog. He saw the drunk skipping about. As soon as the dog turned around, he flew forward, held down the dog's head, raised his right fist, punched him more than a dozen times, and then fell to the ground. The evil dog rolled down and lay motionless. Shi Naian was so fascinated that he even shouted "Well played". Back in the house, he moved to the bench to be a "tiger", jumped around to imitate the drunken man's posture of hitting the dog, carefully pondered the drunk's psychology when hitting the dog, and finally wrote an immortal literary chapter of "Song Wu hits the tiger".
During this time, Luo Guanzhong has been helping Shi Naian to sort out and copy manuscripts and consider the trade-offs. Luo Yuan is an "ambitious king". Zhang Shicheng's failure made it difficult for his ambition to be rewarded. By sorting out the Water Margin, he expressed his thoughts of "upholding justice for the sky" and "getting rid of the old and innovating".
Soon, "Water Margin" spread in the society. Not only the peddlers and pawns can't put it down, but also the dignitaries are scrambling to circulate it. Finally, it was introduced into the palace.
When Zhu Yuanzhang first ascended the throne, he was afraid of people's resistance. After Zhang Shicheng was destroyed, Suzhou people were moved to remote places, commonly known as "Hongwu drove away". Now, someone wants to write a book about offending and advocating chaos, which is against the world. So I quickly sent someone to arrest Shi Naian and put him in Nanjing prison.
Shi Naian suffered a lot in prison, old and weak, and soon became ill. At that time, Shi Naian's old friend Liu Ji had occupied an important position. He waited for an opportunity to advise Zhu Yuanzhang, and Shi Naian was released.
After Shi Naian was released, he still had a lingering fear. Baiju is the hometown of Zhang Shicheng and the birthplace of peasant uprising. The Ming government has always been strictly controlled. How can a person like him who has committed the crime of advocating chaos be easily let go? At the same time, my old friends in Huai 'an invited me many times, so I decided to stay in Huai 'an to recuperate.
After arriving in Huai 'an, with the help of a friend, I rented a house in Xichengmen. After the accident, Shi Naian's health condition deteriorated day by day. Besides, he lacks medical care and medicine. It was last winter, and the old cold recurred, no different. Shi Naian knew that he was going to die soon, so he handed the revised version of Water Margin to Luo Guanzhong, and told him to sort out some damaged and lost memories, and he must print them in Fu Zi to repay his hard work for many years. He died at the age of 70, the year of Ming Hongwu Geng Xunian (1370).
After Shi Naian's death, his son Shi Lang was unable to move and bury his father because of his poor family. By the time his grandson Wen opened up wasteland, the economy was already well-off, but the court had already sentenced him to write Water Margin. If he openly recited it, I am afraid it would be a disaster for future generations. So he hired a straw boat, watered the grass with water, and hid Shi Naian's body under the grass. He lied that it was a sunken ship, and the little officials along the way saw that there was no oil and water to fish, so they were all released without inspection. After staying in Kuya for nine days, Shi Naian's body was transported back to Bai Juyi and buried in Shijiaqiao, which he chose before his death.