Scott W. Gregory

Scott W. Gregory, an Associate Professor and co-director of the Center for East Asian Studies, delves into the transformations of the classic Chinese novel, The Water Margin. He reveals how this beloved tale of bandits was reshaped by various editors, showing the text's malleability in the context of Ming print culture. Scott discusses the novel's episodic style, the impact of commercial publishers, and the voices of influential commentators like Jin Shangtan. His insights illuminate the dynamic interplay between print and narrative in early modern China.

Scott W. Gregory, an Associate Professor and co-director of the Center for East Asian Studies, dives deep into the transformative world of print in early modern China through the lens of the classic novel, The Water Margin. He discusses how this beloved tale of outlaw heroes was adapted by different editors, highlighting the moral complexity and ambiguities in its various editions. Gregory uncovers the role of commercial publishers in reshaping meanings and reveals how Ming print culture made the text malleable rather than fixed.