An Inquiry Into The Interpersonal Communication Of Marginalized Group In Water Margin

As a literary exemplar of itinerant culture of ancient China,Water Margin tells the story of the brave men of Liangshan as the most representative marginalized group of its time.This article aims to conclude the spreading patterns and the friendship traits of such marginalized group of ancient China through contextual analysis of Water Margin and dissection of the interpersonal communication of the brave men of Liangshan.Extrapolating from the past to judge the present,valuable lessons could be learned from exploring the rationale behind the existence of marginalized groups in Chinese society.The main party which participates in interpersonal communication in Water Margin is the brave men of Liangshan.The primary approaches of this passage,in an attempt to discuss the pattern of interpersonal communication of marginalized groups reflected by Water Margin,are divided into in-group interpersonal communication and out-group interpersonal communication.The in-group interpersonal communication of the Liangshan rebels is the emphasis.This article splits the brave men of Liangshan into upper and lower class according to their birth and the structural analysis of their social class.The two classes have noticeable differences in verbal and nonverbal behaviors and intellectual process;and these differences are ultimately reflected on the key issue of the ownership of Liangshan mountain.At the same time,I maintain that these differences and the subsequent conflicts are reconciled by the "common spirit" of Liangshan.From the perspective of ceremonial communication,the sovereigns of Liangshan,led by Songjiang,use ceremonies to construct and solidify the collective"common spirit".The resulting internal supervising mechanism unified the will and strengthened the recognition of the identity of the brave men of Liangshan.Communication between Liangshan rebellion and the outside world could be roughly divided into two parts:first,the communication with the ruling class via informal channel with the communication with the "son of the heaven" as the most critical;second,the communication with other similar rebellions.The brave men of Liangshan maintain their value when communicating with the ruling class while keeping with the justice and righteousness standard of the unruly society when communicating with other rebellions.When the Liangshan rebellion is treated by other groups according to the proper way,they respond with friendship and even partnership.However,to those do not obey the rules,Liangshan rebellion treats them at daggers drawn.Through the analysis of internal and external interpersonal communication of the brave men of Liangshan,one can maintain that the "common spirit" value is kept."Common spirit" on the one hand,functions as a cohesive in preserving stability;one the other hand,it functions as a guide for interpersonal communication.As an example of marginalized group of ancient China,the brave men of Liangshan's universal acceptance of the common value reflects one of the most important characteristics of the interpersonal communication of marginalized groups.In fact,the very pursuit and perseverance of independent spirit grant the rationality of existence behind the marginalized groups.Even though,with time,changes occur in these groups,yet the core value is always consistent.Thus,summarizing the interpersonal communication pattern of ancient marginalized groups serves an indisputable importance for the development of the present counterparts.