Wuxia
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Wuxia which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although Template:Lang is traditionally a form of fantasy literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms such as Chinese opera, Template:Lang, films, television series and video games. It forms part of popular culture in many Chinese-speaking communities around the world.
The word "Template:Lang" is a compound composed of the elements Template:Lang (Template:Lang, literally "martial", "military", or "armed") and Template:Lang (Template:Lang, literally "chivalrous", "vigilante" or "hero"). A martial artist who follows the code of Template:Lang is often referred to as a Template:Lang (Template:Lang, literally "follower of Template:Lang") or Template:Lang (Template:Lang, literally "wandering Template:Lang"). In some translations, the martial artist is referred to as a "swordsman" or "swordswoman" even though he or she may not necessarily wield a sword.
The heroes in Template:Lang fiction typically do not serve a lord, wield military power, or belong to the aristocratic class. They often originate from the lower social classes of ancient Chinese society. A code of chivalry usually requires Template:Lang heroes to right and redress wrongs, fight for righteousness, remove oppressors, and bring retribution for past misdeeds. Chinese Template:Lang traditions can be compared to martial codes from other cultures such as the Japanese samurai Template:Lang.
History
Earlier precedents
Even though the term "wuxia" as the name of a genre is a recent coinage, stories about xia date back more than 2,000 years. Wuxia stories have their roots in some early youxia tales from 300–200 BCE. The Legalist philosopher Han Fei spoke disparagingly of youxias in his book Han Feizi in the chapter On Five 'Maggot' Classes about five social classes in the Spring and Autumn period.
See also
- Martial arts film
- Xianxia novel – a subgenre of wuxia novel
- Zhou Tong (archer)
