The Water Margin chapter 13 水浒传 第十三回 赤发鬼醉卧灵官殿 晁天王认义东溪村

This excerpt from Jin Shengtan's annotated edition of Water Margin provides a commentary on the thirteenth chapter, "The Red-Haired Devil Slumbers in the Spirit Official's Temple, Chao Tianwang Becomes the Righteous Leader of Dongxi Village." Jin Shengtan highly praises the author's masterful craftsmanship in the overall structure of the novel, arguing that the author did not write hastily but instead had a clear plan from the beginning. By skillfully introducing Chao Gai as the central character in the thirteenth chapter after meticulously laying the groundwork in the preceding twelve chapters, the author demonstrates his profound literary skills.
Furthermore, Jin Shengtan expounds on the philosophical concept that "neither too many nor too few people can accomplish a task," suggesting that leaders must carefully choose the size of their team. He uses this as a metaphor to analyze Chao Gai's strategy in recruiting heroes to join Liangshan.
Finally, by analyzing the interactions between Chao Gai, Liu Tang, Lei Heng, and Wu Yong, as well as Chao Gai's dream, Jin Shengtan explores the novel's use of a combination of reality and fantasy in its narrative. He hints at the overarching theme of the entire novel as a "great dream," foreshadowing the imminent uprising of Liangshan.
这段文字选自金圣叹批注的《水浒传》，评论了第十三回“赤发鬼醉卧灵官殿 晁天王认义东溪村”的情节及其在全书中的地位。金圣叹高度评价了作者在布局上的匠心独运，认为作者并非仓促成文，而是胸有成竹，以晁盖为核心人物，巧妙地安排了前十二回的铺垫，在第十三回才正式引出晁盖，展现了其深厚的文学功底。 他进一步阐述了“人多做不得，人少亦做不得”的哲理，指出领导者需要谨慎选择团队规模，并以此影射晁盖招募梁山好汉的策略。 最后，通过分析晁盖与刘唐、雷横、吴用的互动，以及晁盖做的梦，金圣叹探讨了小说中虚实结合的叙事手法，暗示了全书**“大梦一场”**的主题，并预示着梁山起义的即将到来。