Reddit mentions of Outlaws of the Marsh (Chinese Classics, Classic Novel in 4 Volumes)

The idea of "Thieves Guilds" is not a new idea and did occur many times in history. Secret Societies and mafia like organizations can be found in many places in and in many periods. I specialize in Chinese history, and can answer your question in this context. For a great novel on a Chinese "Thieves Guild" read the Water Margin you can buy the best translation here The original was written in the Ming Dynasty about a group of loyal bandits who go together to form a Robin Hood style band. The idea of a "Robin Hood" band of bandits is not new, and forms the basis of a thieves guild found in many fantasy stories. Secret Societies often were an outgrowth of increased discontent or a way to bring order where centralized rule was lacking. The stories associated reflect real organizations. In China these societies included the Heaven and Earth Society, The Elder Brotherhood society, and can be traced many Rebellions such as the White Lotus Rebellion, Yellow Scarfs Rebellion, and many others. The "Guilds" or secret societies therefore played large roles in bandit organization which could lead to the overthrow of a local leadership.

If you're asking about a single-volume compilation of all four, I doubt there are any -- at least, none that aren't also major abridgments. A boxed set is possible, but when I went looking for editions, the one that ended up looking best to me was actually a group of sets issued by a single publisher -- 16 volumes divided between 4 boxes. Here they are:

• Three Kingdoms
  
  
• Red Mansions
  
  
• Journey to the West
  
  
• Outlaws of the Marsh
  
  I can't personally vouch for the translations, since I don't read Chinese, but they seem to be well reviewed.

Make sure you read his story before getting tattooed. He could be a little woman beater or rapist and then you are screwed.

Here is a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outlaws-Translated-Shapiro-Complete-Slipcase/dp/7119016628/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1MZ1Z84QXW4QO&keywords=outlaws+of+the+marsh&qid=1554200410&s=gateway&sprefix=outlaws+of+the&sr=8-1

Cool pic by the way.

My favourite Suikoden pic is Wu Song fighting a tiger by Kuniyoshi.

Edit- With regards to your question, my advice is just keep look and do as much research as possible. This way you will find images with meaning that resonate with you.

If you enjoyed Journey to the West, I'd also expect it to recommend Water Margin (a.k.a. Outlaws of the Marsh), Three Kingdoms (a.k.a. Romance of the Three Kingdoms), The Tower of Myriad Mirrors (a.k.a. A Supplement to Journey to the West), Quelling the Demons' Revolt (a.k.a. The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt, a.k.a. The Sorcerer's Revolt), or (if you enjoy short stories), Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

For each of these, I've generally linked to the translation that I understand to be best, though I'm not an expert. But regarding Quelling the Demons' Revolt, I've linked to an upcoming translation by someone well-known for their translations of 17th C. Chinese literature. Its previous translations are very different, because they're based on different texts--a shorter "original" and a later version doubled in length by a similarly famous writer--and I'm not sure which of those the new translation will be based on.

Anyway, Dream of the Red Chamber is one of the Four Great Classical Novels along with several of those listed here, but if you enjoyed the wild adventure elements of Journey to the West, I think you'd want to know about these others too. On the other hand, if Dream of the Red Chamber's plot appeals to you, then you should know about The Plum in the Golden Vase--I'm nearing the end of volume four (out of five) at the moment, and it has been an amazing read.

I've got this version but haven't started on it yet.

This is probably a bit outside what you intended but the Chinese classics Outlaws of the Marsh and Three Kingdoms have many really good political intrigue plot lines to steal from as well as hundreds of npc archetypes. And they are both fun to read as well.

> Underdogs using superior strategy to overcome an oppressor (business, culture, military)

For military strategy nothing beats the Three Kingdoms Romance, but it can get quite confusing and dry as it has a huge number of cast and can get quite repetitive.

Maybe you should try The Water Margin first. It's a tale of a band of 108 robbers forced to rebel against the central government. Somewhat like Robin Hood and his merry band, but much more violent. Many people say that the Sydney Shapiro's translation is the best.

> Low-tech Invention Stories

Check out The Genius of China. It's a distillation of the work of a famous expert on Chinese science, Joseph Needham.

To get a start on general Chinese history, you can also check out Understanding China Through Comics. Maybe it's less boring and easier to get started with comics?

The original "Suikoden" is a famous novels about resistances (exaggerated historical facts) written in China over 500 years ago.

Konami's Suikoden is called "Gensou Suikoden" in Japan. Meaning "Fantastic Suikoden". It continues to maintain a strong respect for the original novel at the plot level. (108 members and their waterside castle, the mighty empire...)

If you challenge this project, please read the original novel once.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/7119016628

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0804840954

Outlaws of the Marsh (This was a very fun read back when I was in highschool, there's a bit of dark humor too. Of the books listed here Outlaws of the Marsh is the funniest and very epic)

https://www.amazon.com/Outlaws-Chinese-Classics-Classic-Volumes/dp/7119016628/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=outlaws+of+the+marsh&qid=1558135198&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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Romance of the Three Kingdoms (The novel is intriguing and epic but might get too confusing depending on the age and person reading it- lots of characters and politics both personal and national)

https://www.amazon.com/Three-Kingdoms-Chinese-Classics-Volumes/dp/7119005901/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3Q6KP7GL4E200&keywords=romance+of+the+three+kingdoms&qid=1558135222&s=gateway&sprefix=Romance+of+the+three%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-3

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Journey to the West (The Monkey King. I admit I personally don't like the Monk & Su Wu Kong chapters and mostly enjoyed the Su Wukong's creation, desk job in heaven chapters and his rebellion. My man Su Wukong should've rebelled again, screw working for a living in heaven and their stupid workplace bureaucracy)

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Chinese-Classics-Classic-Volumes/dp/7119016636/ref=sr_1_4?crid=C0DF58D83YS3&keywords=journey+to+the+west&qid=1558135303&s=gateway&sprefix=Journey+to+the+west%2Caps%2C201&sr=8-4

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There's also Dreams of the Red Mansion but I never finished it so can't really recommend it.

So here's some of the textbooks I read (and still own) from my Asian History courses at college. All are worth reading over, but you'll also want teachers to help you, to talk with historians from China, and eventually just to go to China and see a lot of stuff for yourself.

The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, by Patricia Ebrey.

Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, edited by Patricia Ebrey.

Quotations from Mao Tse-Tung, written by the man himself.

Fiction:

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie.

The Outlaws of the Marsh, by Shi Nai'An and Sidney Shapiro.

The Three Body Problem, by Cixin Liu and Ken Liu.

These are a relatively good start to help you get a grounding in China's history. Everyone in this thread has also given some good suggestions. And visit /r/askhistorians; they'll have some better sources you can check out.

Outlaws of the Marsh, also known as Water Margin, is a classic of Chinese literature. It is a great book with an expansive world contained within. At the beginning of the book, an inept government official releases 108 demons from a sealed room in a monastery. These 108 spirits are reincarnated as the protagonists of the story, sent to earth to crusade against corruption and restore the throne to the rightful emperor. One by one, the 108 heroes (who are actually outlaws, I guess) collect at a bandit stronghold in the mountains before the government sees their deeds and tasks them with driving out foreign invaders. My favorite character is Lu Da, who I suppose you could compare to Barrett in some ways: big, strong, brash, and loyal. He is a military man who becomes a fugitive after killing a butcher. He is sent to a monastery to hide out, but his appetites and vulgarity prevent him from being a convincing monk, so the other monks kick him out. His story is pretty hilarious, involving a lot of drunken ass-whoopings.

Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. Not fantasy, but it has political intrigue and a really wild plot twist. I don't know that it is really all that similar to FF to be honest, but if you're a nerd like me then maybe you'll find something in it.

H.P. Lovecraft's stories are centered around a few central mythologies and offer a lot to the reader. Barnes and Noble printed his complete fictions in handsome synthetic leather binding. The short stories range from a few pages to a few chapters, so you can kind of pick and choose how much you want to read. You'll want to keep reading though. I've spent entire nights glued to the page, story after story. His dream cycle is more on the fantasy side, but he is known more for his cosmic horror. The Cthulu mythos has inspired a lot of creepy creature art. Related authors include M.R. James and August Derleth, but I have yet to get around to their works.

Water Margin is my favorite, but there are some short story collections that use oral storyteller phrases to shift focus. Look for Stories Old and New, the most famous of these collections. For Water Margin, this is the version you want, here titled Outlaws of the Marsh.