Anonymous 
Tale of Heike 

At the end of the 12th century, the Heian Dynasty came to an end. The centralization system in which the emperor and the nobles held real power was declining, and the feudal samurai group with territories and private armaments was on the rise. Genji and Heijia, as the two great samurai groups that held great power in both the court and the locality, due to the complicated grievances and the coveting of the ruling power, a fierce war finally broke out from 1156 to 1185 AD. The Tale of Heike takes the chronicle of history books as the main axis, and from the perspective of Heike, it describes in detail the whole process of Genji and Heike”s struggle for power. The Tale of Heike fully displays the majestic scene of Japanese medieval war flames. Because of its extremely high literary, historical and ideological value, it has been praised by Japanese literary historians as "the heroic narrative poem of the nation" and "the highest achievement of Kamakura literature". ", "Japanese National Literature". Its advent has not only pushed the Monogatari to the peak, but also a major change in the history of Japanese literature. It is an important symbol of the development of Japanese classical literature to a new stage, and has a landmark epoch-making significance.As a full-length epic masterpiece, The Tale of Heike has many editions, of which 13 volumes are recognized as popular editions. It took shape during the period from 1201 to 1221, and then has been continuously supplemented and perfected and passed down to this day. The content of the book can be roughly divided into four parts:Volumes 1 to 5 describe Ping Zhongsheng”s promotion from a military commander to a heavy court minister. Later, his son Ping Qingsheng became the Minister of the Supreme Court, and the Ping family was full of glory for a time, which made the world admire. However, after taking power, the Heike families quickly degenerate and become arrogant and overbearing, do whatever they want, disrespect the emperor, disrespect the people, undermine the Dharma, overpower the barbarian, and do all evil things, which arouses great dissatisfaction with the ruling and the opposition. The emperor and the old nobles conspired to bring down the Ping family, but they failed because of confidentiality.Volumes 6 to 8 tell the story of Ping Qingsheng”s death due to a fever. Because the eldest son Ping Zhongsheng died before him, he had to inherit the family business by the mediocre third son, Ping Zongsheng. Hei Zongsheng”s courage and talent are far less than his father and brother, and he lacks a strong personality. He was unable to cope with the ups and downs, and the Heike family began to flourish and decline. At this time, the descendants of Genji, who were deeply hated by a sea of blood, gathered up their strengths for many years. In addition to Kamakura Genyoshi, Kiso Yoshinaka, known as the "General Asahi", also rose from the North to conquer the Heike family, and took the lead to invade Kyoto with the wind and cloud, forcing the Heike family to withdraw to the West. Volumes 9 to 11 describe the complacent Kiso Yoshinaka, who thinks that the world is under control, so he is arrogant, rude and domineering. He acted wildly in Beijing, and the hearts of the people were lost. Genyoshi Kamakura took the opportunity to order his younger brothers Genbana Rai and Genyoshitsune to attack Yoshinaka. The Yizhong all rebelled against their relatives and left, and were quickly defeated. The focus of the book thus shifts to Gen Yoshitsune, who is regarded as the god of war. After Yoshitsune entered Beijing, he was trusted by the Emperor Houbaihe and was ordered to attack the Heike family. He has broken through all the way, and has won many battles and wins, and he is close to the base camp of the Heike family. The decadent Heike family was completely powerless to resist. In the end, Tanzhipu was transformed into Shura Purgatory, the sea was blood-stained, and the earth was covered in corpses. The young emperor Ande was thrown into the sea, and the Heike family was defeated. Since then, Genji dominates the government, and Japan has entered the shogunate era. However, Yuan Yoshitsune was also jealous of Yuan Yoshitsune because of his high merits, and he had to flee far away.Volumes 12 to 13 conclude with the story of Gen Yoshizawa, how to hunt down and mutilate the Heike bloodline, and how Emperor Andoku”s birth mother, Jianremonin, became a nun in despair, and ended up in Ohara Jikkoin for the rest of his life.