Water Margin - EP4 - What They Don't Want You To Know About Wu Song (Chinese Classic Summarized)

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This is the fourth episode of the Water Margin Summarised Series, based on the 120 chapters version of the classical Chinese Novel.
In this episode, we cover the origin story of the Tiger-Slayer Wu Song as written in the novel.
For cultural context, I discuss why he is much more popular in China than Japan and the 4 act story telling structure of East Asia. (Used by Hiroaki Araki of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure fame)
China: 起承轉合 (Qi Cheng Zhuan He)
Japan: 起承転結 (Kishotenketsu)
🕒[TIMESTAMP]🕒
0:00 Introduction
2:08 Wu Song the Tiger Slayer
3:39 East Asian 4 Act Story Structure
4:14 Wu Song Beats the Tiger
6:42 Wu Song Punishes the Adulterers
10:05 Wu Song & the Man-Meat Seller
11:00 Wu Song, Hero or Villain
13:58 Wu Song the Pilgrim
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🎥PLAYLISTS🎥
Three Kingdoms Summarized
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Cool Chinese History (By release)
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Hundred Schools of Thoughts:
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📚SOURCES:
水滸傳 (120回)
Liangyan Ge, 2003, Authoring "Authorial Intention:" Jin Shengtan as Creative Critic
William C. Hedberg, 2019, The Japanese Discovery of Chinese Fiction
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#History #Literature #Documentary #Asia

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Get the exclusive NordVPN deal with 4 extra months for free using my link nordvpn.com/coolhistorybros It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee!

[@fraderiktan1505]

i remember you mention the story of dog warriors?( i forgot what its called) when mention about suikoden, so i was wondering when the 4 classical series are done, i wonder if you could make a summary about it, at least i dont have to see so much anime version that may or may not have lots of changes to the story (i am also curious to this story as well since i notice on my search they have a lot of adaptation to anime and manga, but also too many that the original story became hard to find, basically if you google search the name of this story most of them are manga or anime adaptation went by the same name (and i dotn really trust adaptation when it comes to novel or books from 16th century, especially after this video make me realize they really changing a lot of the story (especially the massacre the children part) not saying that i dont believe in adpatation its just sometime they have to follow strict guidelines just to get it released

[@djordjekrsmanovic]

What a coincidence that around the same time you are doing this series they announce a remaster for the two suikoden games

[@CoolHistoryBros]

I know, right. Looks like the "STARS" aligned for me this time.

[@condorX2]

I need to replay that game. Cheers for the reminder

[@gunh4129]

The funny thing is that Wu Song can easily forgive two bandits who wanted to butcher his flesh to make a mantao.

[@kenken8765]

Well I'd go on a murder rampage too if someone did that to my big bro. Especially if he had dwarfism too like Wu Dalang. But yeah killing the general's family too may have been too much.

[@kenken8765]

- Water Margin is the well known gritty seinen manga (novel) adapted to anime (opera) - Jin Ping Mei is literally a hentai doujin spin off of a chapter from Water Margin Water Margin really is proto-anime/manga

[@mistergremm735]

More Interesting notes since this is dense book: Wu song didn't want to explicity tell Wu dalang that he's wife been openly flirting with him out of shame since unlike him, he's brother was weak willed, before he left he told his brother that he should reduce amount of work hours and return to home earlier while having his house closed which annoyed Pan Jilian and only increased her craving for love When Wu Dalang discovered Ximen Qing having affair with his wife, he angrily rushed which resulted in Ximen kicking him so hard it sent him downstairs and rendered him paralysed, while sick the adulterers continued their business on bed while Wu dalang can hear them loudly now while not being able to do anything only limented and grieved, as he's health got worse he angirly warned pan jilain that if he's isn't taken care off, soon his brother would return and when he discovers him in this state then he will have he's way with them and which ironically what initiated the adulterers to plot his downfall to silence him and cover the situation which almost worked Ximen had a good suspicion that Wu song will likely do some investigation work so he bribed the officials and judge to keep denying his evidence with his connections in court which what lead Wu song to declare that at this point he will handle everything himself and take Extreme measures when Wu song arrived Mengzhou expecting his life go nowhere now that he has no purpose or place to return to he heavily insisted on recieving 100 strokes punishment prisoners often recieve during their arrival yet strangely the warden and guards were heavily leaniant on him and reschedules the lashes without being bribed, this only made Wu song more anxiously cautious and with each day he recieves warm treatment he insistent on explanation until warden son expelled the beans after Wu song insitence that he won't wait a month for that *(Sad at the end once he's life started to go well and the promise of a beautiful singer is where he was backstapped yet again by the general and ended up leading to a further downward spiral)* When Wu Song murdered the 3 culprits during dinner, he saw all the fine wine and food, after days of being on the run and starving, he couldn't help himself but go to the table and starts eating despite the brutality that just occured, *(perhaps among the unitentially darkly comedic moment xd)* after getting wasted his belly and mind weren't satisfied and the slaughter continued on

[@Gb-be9bn]

Also my favorite quote from Wu Song to Pan Jinlian: "My eyes see you as my sister-in-law, but my fists do not"

[@daniellin1726]

The eating kinda feels sad to me. I can just imagine Wu song stuffing himself for a moment's relief from his fustrations and sorrows on his future: "Hell is not just fire and brimstone. Hell is just your life gone wrong." His life was just gonna get good dammit!

[@condorX2]

It's weird reading this while I haven't watch the video yet.

[@marcobuncit7539]

@@daniellin1726 Fate be like: No offense but your complex deeds kinda makes me go uneasy on you.

[@marcobuncit7539]

@@Gb-be9bn Moral: Noooo, there's gotta be a waaaaaay. Fist: A man who woke up & chose violence goes "RAAAAAAAR"

[@SeoulMan]

I remember a scene from Stephen Chow's "Love on Delivery" where a fight stalls and the commentators read from novels to fake the event on radio, but accidentally get slipped into reading Golden Lotus!

[@aceflashheart]

An entire universe of classical Chinese literature that I knew nothing about. Thankyou for opening this world up to us.

[@Chickpeiris]

Wu Song could be a hero or a monster , But one thing he is , Hes a Badass !

[@AGS363]

And again we have an "Evil Daoist Priest". It seems that their reputation was not the best.

[@deplatformedcrowprinceluna6339]

Honestly, despite Wu Song being a murderous drunk, he’s still my favorite Water Margin character due to his loyalty to avenging his brother, Wu Dalang’s unjust demise and his macho courage on eliminating the hostile tiger.

[@commentnahipadhaikar2339]

Autumn is here. Many festivals are going on here. Can you please make a video on festivals and thier cultural and historical context behind them from East Asia, related to Autumn, as I have heard about mid autumn festivals, etc.

[@carlothecoffeeguy3778]

Really enjoying these summaries! Would you do a video on Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi?

[@Gigas0101]

I get the feeling your summary of the Water Margin is going to give the Netflix adaptation a run for its money.

[@zetareticulan321]

I guess destroying Mulan wasn't enough.

[@timothykwoh6172]

My most favorite character next to Lu Zhishen. To me, he was always a righteous man that was not afraid to wipe out evil-doers the moment he encountered them. In fact, he is one of my inspirations on what it means to be a real hero.

[@kweassa6204]

The "forensics book" as mentioned in 8:25 probably deserves its own video in the future. The "無寃錄" translates to "The book of leaving no grudges behind", meaning it's a manual so that investigator may find the truth behind those that have been killed unjustly so the spirit can leave in peace. And it's literally a manual with specific examples like smell, skin color, apparent symptoms, in some cases a bit of dissection may also be involved, linking such symptoms to specific reason behind the death -- as in, blackened skin or tongues, inner throat color may indicate specific types of poison and etc.. Without exaggeration, it really is a medieval Asian CSI manual. The book was translated to neighboring countries, and even for hundreds of years after Song, has assisted local magisters in murder investigations. I would definitely love to see this as one of possible future topics on Cool History Bros.

[@deepseer]

It's 洗冤集錄. The translation in this video (Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified) is quite accurate. In western countries it is also known as Washing Away of Wrongs. My personal translation would be Collections (集錄) of Washing Away (洗) the Injustice (冤).

[@zetareticulan321]

The west will tell you they are the first ones that invented forensics, just like how they claim Germany was the first country to invent the printing press, when in fact it was China.

[@kweassa6204]

@@deepseer Ah! Thanks for the notice. Must be a different book then. Then we definitely need a feature on both of them!

[@tutran8363]

I was introduced to “Water Margin” at the age of 8 by my father. Wu Song was definitely my favorite.

[@MrTempoedoeloe]

As always a COOL content delivered

[@jasonblalock4429]

11:27 So does that make this one of the first "drunken master" stories, or is the trope even older than that?

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Hmm... I haven't come across any earlier depiction to be honest.

[@ginzomelo]

Another wonderful Water Margin episode. Thanks, CJ. 🤩

[@Bomber_Fish]

Fun fact: I just learned that the term "Red Poles" used by the Chinese mafia groups (triad) was referring to the weapon used by Wu Song from Water Margin. The "Red Pole" is a senior member of a chinese crime organization, they are acting as the lieutenants for the organization. In the Chinese mafia, in order to be appointed as the Dragon Head (The leader of the whole clan) members must first have the rank of Red Pole.

[@Moongob-om9zi]

Nice work bro👍

[@wilreed8478]

Aaaaye been looking forward to this to come out!

[@frankmartinez4856]

Water Margin, is my favorite chinese tales! Wu Song, Lu Sher Shen, Yin Ching, li Quai(Black Whirlwind)😮

[@emiliasmith5561]

The fact that the most prominent womaniser in chinese literature is literally called "semen" qing. All dumb jokes aside, great vid!

[@zetareticulan321]

😂

[@deplatformedcrowprinceluna6339]

XD

[@dandanwa]

Bravo, never thought that way😂

[@CARL_093]

your the best cj bro never break the long wait expectations see you nxt video

[@Majo_Ellen]

I was thinking in my head, is this the legend of the drunken master? Ohh! Also Song Jiang, I'm absolutely loving him. Can't wait till the next chapter. Thanks ad always for these fun edutainment videos.

[@Gb-be9bn]

Funny how you love Song Jiang when he is undoubtedly the most hated character of the novel. The most famous Song Jiang's hater is Jin Shengtan, who made the 70 chapters edition of the Water Margin

[@Majo_Ellen]

@@Gb-be9bn maybe it is just the way DJ CJ portrays him then. Pfth. Just this tiny man, of charisma, fortune, and a bit of daring cunning. 👀

[@jonzcool8005]

I like him too. Song Jiang is easily the most well-written character in this novel imo

[@JohnSmith-us9fv]

Brilliant video, not disappointed! 😆

[@sevang288]

I love ur history knowledge n interests keep it up.

[@jonzcool8005]

Can't wait to watch you cover Li Kui's hijinks

[@galren208]

Wu Song: "I killed them all. They're dead. Every single one of them. And not just the men. But the women and the children too."

[@damarquisjennings2755]

Cool history bros I didn't saw your Video Sunday!

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Sorry about that, the video was delayed to today because we were implementing the sponsorship.

[@damarquisjennings2755]

@@CoolHistoryBros That's okay. I just worried that all. but I like water margin!

[@damarquisjennings2755]

Cool history bros what do people eat in the Song dynasty?

[@alkristopher]

"Stupid endangered animal! That's what you get for being slightly in my way after an all-day bender!" Incidentally, I've started reading The Tale of Genji. I know you probably won't ever get around to summarizing that, but it would be cool if it were at least mentioned here and there.

[@user-mp5lb7sh5r]

Hehe, Wu Song is wearing the modern day term 'plot armor' 😁

[@nidohime6233]

Is just me or Wu Song has some paralels with Hercules? He was a great fighter, usually depicted as one of the strongest men of myth and legend, yet he not only got screwed by people everywhere but also he killed many humans, demibeings such as centaurs, and many other monsters. Sometimes by revenge or by an order, other times by accident, like when Hercules murdered his first wife and children which kicks out the famous Twelve Jobs as atonement for his crime. He even kills a big cat like Wu Song, a lion instead of a tiger. The main difference is the lack of direct deity intervention since Hercules himself was half god by being one of many, MANY Zeus bastard offspring. Ps: Wu Song would be a great Berserker in Fate/Grand Order. He might be friends with Hercules and talk about killing lions, tigers and maybe bears while drinking.

[@EdwinThePooh]

Is that a Jojo reference?! Great job btw, you guys never disappoint!

[@jasonblalock4429]

You expected a video about Wu Song, but it was I, DIO!

[@marcobuncit7539]

@@jasonblalock4429 Are you really approaching me?

[@sebastianjuara]

i love your content man

[@metsrus]

Wu Song did eventually become a real monk.

[@conradojavier7547]

CJ you Son of a Gun, I'm in.

[@AM22Salabok]

Did not expect a jojo reference from this series

[@lerneanlion]

Wu Song: *killed 15 people for revenge* Eren Yeager: Amature. P.S: Is it really that common back then for Siberian Tigers to come down into China?

[@deepseer]

There were local tigers (South China Tiger).

[@JR-tl2ym]

Back then China was teeming with wildlife. Not only were there South China tigers, but there was a giant crocodile that the local government hunted to extinction. Some believe this creature was the inspiration for the Chinese dragon back in the stone age. Literature also caution travellers to be cautious for charging rhinos. In the bronze age there were also large numbers of elephants.

[@hanchiman]

The most famous Hero from Water Margin in which his tale been retold and parodized including Stephen Chow did a parody of this in his TVB days. Wu Dalang become associated for Xiaobing or fried bread. The fight between Wu Song vs Ximen Hing was pretty brutal and one sided as he beheaded him in an open street after throwing him from a 2 floor restaurant floor. Also as I said in previous video before, avoid the 2011 CCTV version. Instead go and watch the 1998 version with fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping. 1998 version of Wu Song was way better than edgelord version of 2011.

[@zetareticulan321]

You can find the entire 1998 version on youtube woth English subtitles.

[@hanchiman]

@@zetareticulan321 I actually got the whole VCD collection, I did have plans to upload them all before in the past

[@FishBoneD14]

You should talk about song ci and washing away evils sometime

[@CoolHistoryBros]

I would, eventually.

[@FishBoneD14]

@@CoolHistoryBros exciting.

[@hunterkiller1440]

I only know Wu Song is a drunkard. But strong enough to kill a tiger with his bare hands.

[@alkristopher]

Like ya do.

[@iwatchDVDsonXbox360]

Thanks.

[@dropkickcorpse]

3:40 Huh, there's a common stance across Kung Fu styles called "Strike Tiger" and I think it came from this chapter in the Water Margin.

[@fargr5926]

There is another character in the 108 with similar personality and capabilities as wu Song, whose name is Shi Xiu. His nickname is death fighter the third.

[@thrillhouse4151]

Love these videos, one of my cats PEED on my Water Margin book one, so I never got around to reading it, this makes me wanna power through the pee and get through it hahah.

[@JohnDoe-mx6xh]

As always, love your videos 😌 Could you feature Gyebaek, a Baekje's general Or Heukchi-sangji(Heichi-changzhi), who was also a Baekje's general. Both had completely different ends but had some similarities.

[@FishBoneD14]

Wow I got here fast

[@MCorpReview]

This guy is so cool. Incredibly vengeful like wrath of Achilles 😅

[@samwill7259]

Want everyone to know you're cool? Fight a tiger. Nothing is cooler than a tiger.

[@deplatformedcrowprinceluna6339]

Unless the tiger meets Wu Song.

[@bredmond812]

The 4 act story reminds me a bit of the hero's journey structure.

[@obiwankenobi1784]

cool

[@ginzomelo]

If Song Jiang was a DnD character, he would be at the start of campaign a Lv1 Bard with 26 of Charisma. If he was brazilian, he would be our Lula: always conciliating and making people gather, but having some questionable deeds in order to achieve his noble goals lol ❤

[@crsnd338]

Man's a menace. He had his hands rated e for everyone

[@rayray6490]

@13:12. Wu Song have some anger issues lol. Turned full Anakin

[@cgt3704]

6:10. USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS USELESS

[@deplatformedcrowprinceluna6339]

Wu Song to the tiger: “MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!!!!!!!!!” MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!!!!!!!!!”

[@mikecostea967]

Nice! Will this series be 7 episodes as well?

[@Gb-be9bn]

Probably not. We're not even half way into the story, only around 25%

[@jonzcool8005]

I imagine with CJ's pacing the series might take 9-10 episodes

[@conradojavier7547]

Kong Ming, Kong Liang, you mean the Snooring Dragon, & the Sleeping Pheonix?

[@johnyricco1220]

This must be one the earliest forms of the crime thriller. A genre of literature focused on the underbelly of society.

[@vincently1995]

Wu Song vs The Tiger

[@alanchoichang8336]

oh shit! zhugeliang/kongming makes a cameo too??? lol

[@blastershogun]

"Simon King" is the Anglicized version of "Ximen Qing" :P

[@fraderiktan1505]

eversince i heard of wu song slaying the entire family that had set him up i have always feel somthing was off about as i know that wu song is a criminal that sometime take things too far, yet many people that talking about this often didnt mention killing the children part, now that you have said it at least it is just as how i expected he did kill all the family, he didnt spare anyone, a lot of youtube video say that he kill for a reason , but i dont see him that way as sometime his action seems unreasonable.

[@CoolHistoryBros]

He snapped. After killing the 3, he said something to effect that since he had killed those people, it makes no difference that he kills 100 more. This is actually what makes Water Margin a great work of fiction. The protagonists are not idealised symbols like 3 kingdoms characters. They have depth and darkness often left out by other fictions.

[@fraderiktan1505]

@@CoolHistoryBros i always love this summary video especially since i was working on a project that went similar to water margin (especially the 108 star of destiny part) i imagined what if all the star of destiny wasnt born on the same dynasty but what if it was spread out through different dynasty like maybe some were born a lot early like the northern song while other born in the southern song or even the yuan dynasty,The ming dynasty or even qing dynasty ( to me it is too coincidental that all are born to the same dynasty and will became a bandit in some way) Also i find it a lot more reasonable that he would kill even the innocent especially since some description said that he killed the maid because they kneel and beg for forgiveness (and it is said that because they kneel that means the maid are involved to the plotting in some way, this doesnt make much sense, as he had a sword that was covered in blood so who wouldnt kneel beg for forgiveness if anybody saw this adding that wu song can be really violent like a wild tiger especially when he was angry (as a person who became violent before when i was a kid i dont think he would forgive anyone, heck i even remember i didnt forgive anybody when i was angry as a child) it doesnt made sense if he would spare the children as well, this summary make a lot more sense than the video about the water margin from other youtubers as they seem to didnt show the violent side of the story probably because of the algorithm so i cant blame them Also i imagine some people watching this episode would think of the anakin skywalker massacre the entire tribe of sandman as a meme due to the similarity as both does the massacre because of their personal reason yet both didnt became their worst side, yet. Still though as a person who is interested in this series i hope you keep up the good work and it actually help me a lot to get some inspiration as i know they werent as black and white as the other summary often said

[@fraderiktan1505]

@@CoolHistoryBros i remember watching the older adaptation of wu song story especially the shaw brother version of the story (tiger killer by shaw brother) inside the story was pretty accurate and i have to admit that pan jin lian was really a tragic character to the story but as the story goes on you began to dislike her as a character especially her killing her husband, which is interesting of a structure for a story that i have never seen before (start as a tragic character that became a character you supposed to hate)

[@henryminh8597]

Nice! Your videos should be seen by more watchers. May I repost your channel without changing anything on the clean platform named Ganjing World? Thank you!

[@daudidris]

Wu Song is so cool 😭😭

[@andreascovano7742]

Can we have a video on chinese opera?

[@joshuatuplano7338]

I think Wu song is the ancestor of user of ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA

[@yudobaskoro3722]

Make a poster of that completed 108 Stars please later. (Or now)

[@songjunw8981]

Ah...WuSong is my favorite!

[@kenken8765]

Wasn't granny Wang actually sentenced to lingchi for corrupting Wu Dalang's wife?

[@hrs.ai2018]

"WuSong beats tiger"

[@teloyl]

Wu Song and Yan Qing was often referred to Yang and Yin for how polar opposites they are at dealing with same situations. Both Wu Song and Yan Qing are intelligent people, both are strong fighters in their own styles. But Wu Song is extremely confrontational and always jump to violence to solve problems. Yan Qing is more versatile, he is strong but uses more tact. We can see from the moment Song Jiang reveals his true nature when he expressed the desire of seeking forgiveness with the corrupted Government. Wu Song immediately made it clear he don't like the idea and from then on, distanced himself with Song Jiang. While Yan Qing continues to work efficiently and helped Song Jiang fulfill his dreams. But nope out after Song Jiang got his wish. In the end, the ones who escaped unscathed are Wu Song, Yan Qing and Gongsun Sheng. Gongsun Sheng is basically the perfect Balance. Sure he can't fight like Wu Song and Yan Qing and he is extremely low profile. But this is because the guy was the first to see through Song Jiang's true colors - It was subtle but he showed signs of disliking Song Jiang, then noped out the moment Song Jiang dethroned (Thru playing politics and schemes) Chao Gai as leader of the 108 heroes.

[@zetareticulan321]

Actually, Wu Sing didn't come out unscathed. He got one of his arms cut off.

[@teloyl]

@@zetareticulan321 Compared to the rest who got their minds and bodies broken (dead). I'd say he got off rather lightly.

[@gunh4129]

Who's Yan Qing and Gongsun Sheng?

[@toedpens4954]

@@gunh4129 other stars, you'll see them in the coming videos

[@looknailittlechannel]

I would say that Wu Yong and Zhu Wu get off relatively unscathed too

[@kharris309]

hey what about doing famous consorts and concubines, like Wu zetian, Yang gui fei, mi yue Hao lan : Joseons concubines Jang nak soo, Jang huibin they had a hand in asian history too

[@lolguy00]

More

[@fionaangelgerardoraiz9219]

I'm watching One piece so watching Water Margin is a piece of cake too😆

[@christopherthrawn1333]

What is unique about him please?

[@CoolHistoryBros]

There are just a lot of theatrical and cultural products featuring parts of his story.

[@Gb-be9bn]

His story arc is one of the longest in the novel, around the same length as the upcoming Song Jiang arc, and Song Jiang is the main character.

[@vitorpereira9515]

Hello there!

[@conradojavier7547]

Wu Song = Chinese Anakin

[@kharris309]

oh another female last but not least Empress dowager Cixi toooo forgot to mention her on my last comment

[@darwinsujaya2557]

Wait... His name is Kong Ming?

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Yeah. 108 is a lot of characters. They have to recycle some historical figures into the roster. LOL!

[@fargr5926]

This Kong Ming isn’t the one in three kingdoms.

[@jackwilliamatkins5602]

You will build a revolving penthouse on top of Buckingham Palace for the Lord Jesus Christ and you will reign in peace forever.