Illustrated Biographies of Characters in Outlaws of the Marsh consists of two volumes, Biographies of Characters in Outlaws of the Marsh Illustrated in the Baimiao Style (by Sun Shi) and Biographies of Characters in Outlaws of the Marsh Illustrated in the Gongbi and Zhongcai Styles (by Zhang Lin). 108 portraits from the two volumes, respectively.
The details of Sun Shi and Zhang Lin’s lives are unknown. We can only gather from Sun’s preface that he was from Jingkou (a place name in ancient China) and born between late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. Sun Shi’s portraits are characterized by their tender strokes, smooth lines and vivid expressions which give hints of different personalities – and which compare favourably with Chen Zhanghou’s Poker with Portraits of Outlaws of the Marsh (shui hu ye zi). Zhang Lin’s color portraits are characterized by their vivid expressions and even painting – outshining all portraits illustrated in the Gongbi and Zhongcai styles.
Sun Shi’s book was originally held by Zheng Zhenduo (whose pseudonym was Xidi), but now belongs to the National Library of China. Zhang Lin’s book is in the possession of the Nanjing Library and has become the most valuable item in its collection.
What follows is a compilation of the two books published as a whole. Catering to both domestic and foreign readers, the manuscript preface and comments in Sun’s book have been typeset with exegeses appended. Zhang’s book provides a biography with an English translation for each portrait.