《水滸傳》乃傳達一種對反於文明體制外的原始氣性，由於是直接切入社會體制的對立面，在不同的時代中，水滸故事常負載不同時代的集體心靈，而呈現不同風貌的水滸精神，明代的一百二十回本乃承續南宋話本的意識，透過招安後的行動，肯定這股岔出體外的勇悍之力，具有鞏固國族的忠義精神。七十回本則流傳於清代，金聖歎刪去招安後情節，以忠義精神乃發於人文體制，水滸精神純粹是法外之徒的原始氣性。七十回本與一百二十回本因時代思潮的影響，呈現出兩種結構、兩種悲劇意識。在結構上最大的差異是結局的處理，即這股原始氣性背反體制從各方聚顯於梁山泊，之後何去何從的省照。一百二十回本是重回人間，從體制逃出也當再回到體制，因而呈顯出儒家情調的悲劇意識；七十回本則是回歸天地，一股野氣剎時幻化成空，流露出道家意味的生命觀照。

　　　　　The Shuihu zhuan conveys an anti-society message on a very basic level, and in different times its narrative served as a vehicle for the expression of different anti-society sentiments. The 120-chapter version of the Shuihu zhuan written in the Ming Dynasty continues the "zhao an" theme of the Southern Song colloquial stories, in whch rulers affirm the courage and ability of rebels by offering them amnesty in return for government service. In the 70-chapter version of the Qing Dynasty, Jin Shengtan removed all of the passages dealing with the "zhao an" theme. In this later version, the values of loyalty and righteousness, which are expressed in more humanistic terms, are embodied soley in the words and deeds of knights-errant existing outside of mainstream society. Affected by the times in which they were written, the 120-chapter and 70-chapter versions of the Shuihu zhuan display differences in structure and tragic motif. The greatest difference in structure lies in the way the ending is handled. In the 120-chapter version, where the rebels first leave and ultimately return to mainstream society, the tragic motif is imbued with Confucian overtones. In the 70-chapter version, the dissolution of the rebels'wildness as they ascend to heaven at the close of the story reveals a Taoist life view.