Megan's itty bitty wuxia primer
Nov. 6th, 2007 09:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreIt ended up rather longer than planned, but is still much shorter than it could be.
Here is wikipedia's entry on wuxia.
Pertinent excerpts:
Wǔxiá (traditional Chinese: 武俠; simplified Chinese: 武侠, Mandarin IPA: [wuɕiɑ], Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning "martial (arts) heroes", is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. Wǔxiá has figured prominently in the popular culture of Chinese-speaking areas since ancient times to the present, and the most important writers have devoted followings.
The wǔxiá genre is a blend of the philosophy of xiá (俠, "honor code", "an ethical person", "knight-errant"), and China's long history in wǔshù ("kung fu" or "martial arts"). A male martial artist who follows the code of xiá is called a swordsman, or xiákè (俠客/侠客). Japan's samurai bushidō traditions, Western Europe's knight chivalry traditions, and America's gunslinger Western traditions all share some aspects with China's swordsman xiá traditions. The swordsmen, however, need not serve a lord or hold any military power and they are not required to be from an aristocratic class, although some are.
*************************************************The modern wuxia stories are basically adventure stories set in ancient China. Plot differs largely from writer to writer, but there are very clear similarities with wuxia protagonists and those of the modern Western fantasy genre. The fantasy element is not a prerequisite; it is possible for wuxia fiction to be largely realistic, such as Louis Cha's Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse or The Book and the Sword. But as the genre requires, some, perhaps most, of its characters should know martial arts.
A common plot typically features a young male protagonist in ancient China, who experiences a tragedy (e.g. the loss of a family or an old master) and goes through exceeding hardship and arduous trials to learn. Eventually the protagonist emerges as a supreme martial arts master unequalled in all of China, who then proffers his skills chivalrously to mend the ills of the "Jianghu" world.
Another common thread would involve a mature, extremely skillful hero with an equally powerful nemesis with whom he has had misgivings, and the storyline would meander to a final showdown between the protagonist and his nemesis.
Other novels, especially those by Gu Long, create detective-type and romance stories in the setting of ancient China.
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To understand the concept of xia from a Western perspective, consider the Robin Hood mythology: an honourable and generous person who has considerable martial arts skills which he puts to use for the general good rather than towards any personal ends, and someone who does not necessarily obey the authorities.
Foremost in the xia's code of conduct are yi and xin, righteousness and honour, which emphasize the importance of gracious deed received or favours (恩 ēn) and revenge (仇 chóu) over other ethos of life. Nevertheless, this code of the xia is simple and grave enough for its adherents to defend for.
The importance of revenge is disputed, since a considerable number of wuxia fiction are influenced by Buddhist idea of pacifism, which stresses forgiveness, compassion and prohibits killing.
*************************************************Although wuxia is based on true-life martial arts, the genre elevates the mastery of this art to fictitious levels of attainment. Combatants have the following skills:
- Kung fu. Fighting using a codified sequence of movements known as zhāo (招), based on actual Chinese martial arts.
- Use of objects such as sewing needles, ink brushes, benches, abaci, or musical instruments as weapons with unfailing accuracy. The sword, staff, and spear weapons are still the most commonly used by combatants.
- Use of qīnggōng (T: 輕功 S: 轻功), or the ability to move swiftly and lightly, allowing them to scale walls, glide on waters or mount trees. This is based on real Chinese martial art practices. Real life martial art exponents practise qinggong by going through years of attaching heavy weights onto their legs. Its use, however, is greatly exaggerated in wire-fu movies where practioners appear to circumvent gravity.
- Use of nèijìn (內勁) or nèilì (内力), which is the ability to control mystical inner energy (qi) and direct it for attack, defense, healing, or to attain superhuman stamina.
- Use of diǎnxué (T: 點穴 S: 点穴) through dim mak (點脈), chin na (擒拿), or other related techniques for killing, paralyzing, poisoning, or controlling opponents by hitting or seizing their acupressure points (xué 穴) with a finger, knuckle, elbow or weapon. Real life martial artists train in these seizing and paralyzing techniques. Their effectiveness is greatly exaggerated in wuxia stories.
These skills are usually described as being attainable by those who devote themselves to diligent study and practice. The details of the most powerful skills are often to be found in manuals known as mìjí (秘笈). In some stories, specific techniques can be learned by spending several years either in seclusion with a master or cloistered with the Buddhist monks at a Shaolin temple.
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Jiang Hu (江湖) (Cantonese: Gong Woo), literally means "rivers and lakes" and is translated as "The World of Martial Arts" or "the martial (arts) world".
The Jiang Hu is a "shared world", an alternate universe, made up of martial artists and pugilists gathered in wulin (武林), usually congregrating in sects, clans, disciplines and schools of martial arts learnings. It is inhabited by wandering knights and princes, thieves and beggars, priests and healers, merchants and craftspeople. The best wuxia writers draw a vivid picture of the intricate relationships of honor, loyalty, love and hatred between individuals and between communities in this milieu.
A common aspect to jiang hu is the tacit suggestion that the courts of law are dysfunctional. Differences can only be resolved by way of force, predicating the need for xia and their chivalrous ways. Law and order is maintained by the alliance of wulin or wulin mengzhu, the society of martial artists. They are elected and commanded by the most able xia, who is usually (but not always) the protagonist of that novel (in some versions, such as the TV miniseries Paradise, the position is hereditary). This alliance leader is an arbiter, who presides and adjudicates over inequities and disputes. He is a de jure chief justice of the affairs of the jiang hu.
meganbmoore's much less informative but more succinct description: Wuxia are coming of age adventure stories set in ancient and medieval China. The heroes are (in my experience) usually young men raised in near or total seclusion, or who led simpler lives before starting on their adventures. Most are motivated either by a need to fulfill a promise to a parent or master, or by revenge(or both.) Though they don't always start out that way, they usually end up being one of the greatest fighter's of their time. Romance always plays some role, but with varying importance to the plot. Sometimes it will be a main focus, others, a more background thing. Most heroes, though, have several girls in love with them throughout the series. Some will love more than one girl(usually in succession, not simultaneously) and others (the good ones) will only love one girl throughout. If a series has 2 major heroes, there will usually be at least one of each kind. Some wuxia are straight up fantasy, and others historical dramas. Most, however, still have a touch of the fantastic, and all, even the most strictly historical, involve fantastical acrobatics, including impressive aerial feats(called "wire-fu.")I'm not going to get into wuxia movies(except to say that Hero seems to be the most popular but, IMO, none come close to matching up to Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon) but most that have been released in the US in recent years-Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, etc.-are of the straight historical drama with amazing acrobatics variety.
Chinese Paladin: A young scamp goes to get medicine for his sick aunt and meets, falls in love with and marries a princes raised on an island of fairies, only to learn that he was being used by men who wanted to kill the fairies. They give him amnesia, making him forget he was ever married, and he promises the wife he doesn't remember that he'll help her find her homelend. Along the way they're joined by two cousins-a sweet scholar and a spunky swordswoman-and the fairy's childhood friend and the young warrior in love with her(the friend.) A very flawed show, but I can't help loving it. The leads, though, are amazing beyond words in it...it's a miracle I was able to like Hu Ge and Crystal Liu after this. Starts funny, but the last third is a giant ball of angst.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: Hu Ge basically spends most of the series flipflopping between Ady An and Crystal Liu, but Eddie Peng only ever has eyes for Esther Liu and they are aboutthe cutest thing ever.
Return of the Condor Heroes: Based on an amazingly popular book, the son of a villain is taken as an apprentice to a young female martial artist only a few years older than him. They grow up in a cave and fall in love, and when they go out into the world, they learn that their love is considered incestuous by the kung fu world, as a master is almost the equivalent of a parent. This one is actually very plot-light for a wuxia, with the plot mainly being that Yang Guo obsessively love Xiao Long Nu and has issues dealing with his father being a villain. A very good intro series, and one that I was very into as I watched it, but not as much now. While I like the main characters well enough, the hero is a brat for most of the series and the heroine has an annoying tendency to always assume the worst of him, and doesn't seem to think for herself very much. The parts that interested me the most were the ones that dealt with the Legend of the Condor Heroes characters, making LOCH(the prequel to ROCH) my most anticipated upcoming wuxia. My comments are kinda harsh, but it is a good series, and a very good intro.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: Yang Gou's near obsessive love for Xiao Long Nu is about 80% of the plot. I'm not sure he realized anyone else was even a female.
Handsome Siblings: Twin brothers are born to a legendary hero, but a woman in love with the hero kills him and his wife and takes one of the twins to raise him to be an assassin and kill his brother. The other is taken by the father's friend, but he's poisoned and falls into a coma. The baby is considered lost because of this, but is raised by a group of loser villains. When they grow up, the brothers meet and become friends(they look nothing alike) Little Fish(lost baby) isn't a fighter but is a smart prankster, while Flawless Flower becomes a cold and repressed assassin. They meet (and both fall for) Orchid, a female martial artist looking for her father, andthe three have adventures. I love the overall plotline, and the romance between Flower and Orchid, but they literally butchered the thing catering to Dicky Cheung's OTT kind of humor, which was amazingly annoying in retrospect. The series works very well when focusing on the 3 leads in any combination, but too much of it is Little Fish solo adventures.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: Flower only ever has eyes for Orchid, but Little Fish loves three women. However, he more crushes on Orchid than anything else, and gets over her when he meets his True Love, who he's faithful to until her death. After her death, he slowly falls for a friend who helped him through it, and who always loved him.
Patriotic Knights: The son of a hero/villain(depends on who you ask) is sent out by his father to meet the nephew and heir of the father's old flame, to learn which lovers' kung fu was really better. Along the way he meets and falls for the younger sister of a villain, who tries to thwart her brother's plans, as well as befriends several kung fu groups, and (mutually unknowingly) the main he's supposed to fight. This one isn't necessarily the "best" but it's a very fun one with good romance and a solid story, and was pretty twisty and plotty.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: The main hero's love is almost obsessive as Yang Guo's. The secondary hero loves the main heroine at first, but starts to get over her when he realizes she loves someone else, and he eventually falls for another girl who loved the hero and had the same realization.
*descriptions are getting shorter because my fingers are getting tired*
Strange Tales of Liao Zhai: 6 fantasy stories 6 episodes each based on stories from Strange Tales From A Chinese Studio. Most are angsty supernatural romances featuring a mortal man in love with a supernatural woman. It's hard to really get into with out making this superlong, but I really liked it. It also made me forgive Hu Ge for Chinese Paladin.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: With one exception(the sole non-angsty romance) all the guys pretty much only have eyes for one girl.
Seven Swordsmen: Four young swordsmen trained on a mountain by a great hero join a former executioner and two village boys to help a rebel army defeat Evil Rulers. It's extremely plotty and twisty and rather complex, so hard to get into. But it's what got me into wuxia series, and was my favorite for a while. I wish, though, that I'd watched it later in, as there are a number of things that I appreciate a lot more now that I'm more familiar with the genre
Wandering Eyes Hero status: This is the one where romance probably plays the smallest part, but 2 heroes love 2 women(though one arguably was only drawn to but never quite loved the first one, and he tried to avoid a relationship with her because he didn't think they'd work out) but two others faithfully love one girl throughout.
Face to Fate: Another very plotty one, this one involves a war between the Good and Evil sects of the kung fu world, with a neutral fortune teller and a morally ambiguous healer caught in the middle. This is an extremely fun and low key wuxia, with a great cast of characters(the third hero is an assassin, and the heroines are a former thief and the daughter and foster daughter of the leader of the Good Kung Fu world) Unfortunately, going much more into the plot is rather spoilery.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: The main hero(the fortune teller) is initially in love with a married woman(but but wasn't married when he fell in love with her, and he hasn't seen her in years) but he soon gets over her and his romance grows from friendship and respect. The other 2 only have eyes for their girls from start to finish(well, the doctor is a playboy at first, but it changes the second he meets the former thief.)
The Gentle Crackdown: An amazingly, gloriously funny parody of wuxia that rips into every convention there is. it's about a police woman(ancient times) who's the daughter of a hero and a villain(but doesn't know about mom's past, just dad's) and a local official who's just as devoted to justice as she is. She kicks butt but isn't very smart, he's a genius but can't fight to save his life, and mom spends the whole series saving both their buts. i watch an ep. every time a wuxia annoys me or gets to me.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: The hero is something of a playboy, and the first half is the two becoming friends and learning to respect and rely on each other, but once he starts falling for her, he's utterly faithful.
The next three are my favorites:
The Little Fairy: A fantasy romance about a goddess/fairy and a mortal man who fall in love, except that she isn't allowed to fall in love with a mortal. The first third is all cute and sweet and fun and romantic and then you slam into the giant wall of angst and you could practically die of it. There's also a secondary plot with the hero's best friend who becomes a court martial arts scholar who loves a local girl but gets caught up in the affairs of a cat woman who wants to become human. its almost impossible to describe in some ways, but I love it.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: The hero is in love with the heroine about 10 minutes in and never realizes other girls exist. The best friend ...you can't tell if he loves both girls, or if he loves one and is beholden to the other. It's rather OT3-ish.
Sword Stained With Royal Blood: Chengzhi, the son of a fallen hero who led a failed rebellion is raised to be a great martial artist and take up his father's cause. In his travels he meets Qing Qing, the spunky if somewhat jealous and childish daughter of rogues(most of her problems are from being raised by rogues and having caring/security issues.) After her mother's death, they travel together and have adventures. Later, he meets a girl named Ah Jie, and they become friends, only for Chengzhi to later learn that Ah Jie is the daughter of the king who had his father killed. A very good series with a very interesting plot, and one of the few triangles that I actually like and am interested in(becaue it's not about "who do I love" but "I love this person...but if things had been different, I might have loved this one"), and the series brings what it means to be a hero into question.
Wandering Eyes Hero Status: While Chengzhi cares for and is attracted to Ah Jie(she's gorgeous and he's a 20 year old guy) he loves and is faithful to Qing Qing from start to finish, and never sonsiders a life without her by his side. I've seen some people insist he has to love Ah Jie(because she's prettier and a princess) or that he loved both girls, but i never saw any love for Ah Jie, who he shows great concern for but only treats as a friend.
Young Warriors: It ripped my heart out and stomped it into bits. This is the story of a family famous in history for being great warriors, but having the father and most of the seven sons die in battle, with the mother, wives and surviving son becoming a family of (mostly) female warriors. this is a family and historical drama, and my favorite, with every kind of hero or romance you could want, and an antagonist just as good as the heroes. More than any other wuxia I've seen, it makes you love the entire cast. Which kinda sucks, since you know a lot of them are historically required to die.
Wandering Eyes Hero status: With 2 exceptions, every guy in this is exclusively about one girl from start to finish. Of the 2, one's first love dies very early in the series, and he doesn't meet his future wife until late in the series. The other is all about his wife from the moment they meet, but he's captured by the enemy and gets amnesia, and when he wakes up, he's told he's married to another woman, so it isn't exactly his fault. But he never stops thinking he's missing something, which counts for something.
As you can probably tell, I've tried very hard to avoid Wandering Eyes Heroes.
The following aren't wuxias, but are very similar(and 2 heavilty inspired by) wuxia:
Damo(Korea) My second favorite drama ever, about the impossible love between a commander and a damo(low ranking policewoman/tea servant) and her connection to a rebel leader who is actually the brother she was separated from as a child.
Emperor of the Sea(Korea) Tied for my 3rd favorite. About Jang Bogo, a slave who became a powerful general and merchant, Yum Moon, a pirate and smuggler who was once his best friend, and Jung Hwa, the noble woman they both love.
Satomi Hakkenden(Japan) A fantasy about seven "brothers" who are joined by the spirits of a dead princess's children and have to save the princess's kingdom and defeatand evil sorceress. (This show is the main reason I like Takizawa Hideaki.)
