* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The 108 outlaws ''aren't'' simply a group of merry men, but whether they're genuinely trying to preserve justice in an unjust society or a mob of brutish marauders really just comes down to perception.
** Song Jiang claims to "Deliver Justice on Heaven's Behalf" but many consider his actions and intentions to be anything but selfless. He had always desired to be an official from the start, but couldn't get to any position above a magistrate's assistant due to a scholarly deficiency and a lack of public connections. Jin Shengtan, a Qing Dynasty literary critic who had established much of the public consensus regarding the book, had interpreted his leadership of the outlaws to be little more than a means of fulfilling ''that'' desire, and by leading far more capable warriors to their deaths whilst fighting against enemies of the Song, he could effectively gain the credit for Liangshan's victories and secure a position in the imperial court.
* EnsembleDarkHorse:
** Wu Song, despite being a major character, has been turned into basically the face of the entire book, with numerous traditional stories dedicated to just him.
** In Wu Song's backstory is [[TheCasanova Ximen Qing]] and [[FemmeFatale Pan Jinlian]], two of the most iconic characters that aren't members of the outlaws.
** Shi Qian, the slick, smooth-talking thief whose second-to-last rank never hindered his notability.
** Hu Sanniang. It's easy to forget, but Sanniang was very much a BreakoutCharacter whose enduring popularity was helped by the numerous adaptations, thanks in part to being a standout ActionGirl. In the book her role was pretty miniscule, having only two lines, and was mostly a SatelliteLoveInterest for Wang Ying.
** The 120-chapter version of the text, which details the campaigns before Fang La, has some minor characters that nevertheless achieved some recognition. These include the warlord Wang Qing's AxCrazy wife Duan Sanniang, Tian Hu's own take on [[CourtMage Gongsun Sheng]] in Qiao Daoqing, and ''especially'' Qiongying, the other LadyOfWar who would eventually become Feathered Arrow Zhang Qing's lover.
** And of course Li Kui, who doesn't even show up for more than 70 chapters, but still makes enough of an impression to [[BreakoutCharacter get progressively more attention than most of his compatriots]]. Some critics have suggested that the entire story may have started out as a peasant tale about a BarbarianHero named Li Kui, and that other characters like Song Jiang may have been only added after it passed into literary circles who decided they needed a more fitting AudienceSurrogate.
* EvilIsCool: Though it is a stretch to call them "evil", several of the outlaws count, such as [[HairTriggerTemper Li Kui]] and [[{{Pirate}} Zhang Heng]] as well as the numerous Earthly Fiends. The bandit king Fang La and his men also count. Cai Jing, despite being a CorruptPolitician, gets this a bit since both this version and his real-life counterpart were renowned calligraphers. And also the adulterous couple of Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian, whose schemes were adapted and expanded into Literature/JinPingMei.
* FairForItsDay: The 71 chapter revision written during the Ming Dynasty is largely criticized today for its [[{{Bowdlerise}} bowdlerising]], including the removal of more than a third of the original's chapters and several poetry passages, and [[{{Anvilicious}} rather heavy handed]] condemnation of rebellions. With that said, it also made the book more accessible to commoners by simplifying the language and removing lots of filler, and some even prefer the revision for its improved characterizations of the major outlaws.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Like fellow Chinese classic novel ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', ''The Water Margin'' is widely read in Japan, helped influence Japanese literature in the 17th century, and led to derivatives such as ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}''.
* HoYay:
** Partly due to the ValuesDissonance, but almost all the males tend to prefer the presence of other males than women.
** How about Song Jiang and Li Kui? The fact that Li Kui happily dies with Song Jiang, and Song Jiang agrees to be ''buried with Li Kui'' instead of his wife?
* OlderThanTheyThink:
** It's likely that the UrExample of JustLikeRobinHood is not in fact Robin Hood (whose first published story postdates the first publishing of ''Water Margin'' by a slim century or so), but the folk tales of Song Jiang that ''Water Margin'' was based on.
** The novel brings together a stable of tropes that would centuries later become the trademarks of the FilmSerial: {{Cliffhanger}}s, OnTheNext, FindOutNextTime, and a generous helping of AsYouKnow.
* SignatureScene: Wu Song fighting the tigers is usually the first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think of this book. In fact, the story is so famous that it's basically become a staple of Chinese folklore, and to many people, hearing the name "Wu Song" is likely to bring up that particular story into their minds before the novel of origin.
* StealthPun: Wu Yong's name is pronounced the exact same way as a Chinese phrase meaning "Useless". The pun is doubled if one considers the man's nickname, "the wise/resourceful star". Becomes HarsherInHindsight when you realised that Wu was helpless in preventing the tragic fates of the Liangshan outlaws.
* ValuesDissonance: Some of the heroes, seeking revenge or to fight corrupted officials, will [[FinalSolution kill EVERYONE of the victim's family, from old to infant]].
* TheWoobie:
** What makes [[TokenGoodTeammate Lin Chong]] such a memorable character.
** Also Hu Sanniang, who was forced to join the very people who murdered her family and marry a SerialRapist before being killed trying to help these people.
** Wu Dalang, Wu Song's estranged older brother, spent his whole life being horribly bullied for his dwarfism, which was made even worse after he was forceably married to the most beautiful woman in town after she rejected the advances of her husband. Life seemed to change for the better when Wu Song arrived in Yanggu County, but as soon as he leaves his wife hooks up with a handsome rich guy with the help of his nextdoor neighbour, [[YankTheDogsChain and things would only go downhill from here]].
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