Utilizing it, a martial artist can accomplish superhuman feats of speed, agility, strength, endurance, etc… It can even be used to heal wounds and nullify poisons. It is the practice of controlling ones breathing and internal mechanics to stronger martial arts capability.Īnother skill character use in wuxia novels and dramas is Striking of Acupoints (点穴). It is the cultivated energy within a martial artist’s body. This is one one of the first practices wuxia heroes have to learn.Īnother common skill that martial arts must train is Internal Energy (内力). Together they literally mean “light work”. The word “qing” means light, while the word “gong” means work. This is what allows many of our heroes (and villains) to fly across rooftops and walk across water. Many heroes in wuxia will practice “qinggong (轻功)”.

The main character of Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre (倚天屠龙记), Zhang Wuji (张无忌), with his four love interests. However, Jin Yong’s Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre sheds light to the fact that just because unorthodox sects are not honored by the official sects, doesn’t mean they have to be evil or cruel. Religious Sects that practice an evil religion are usually given the name “cult”. The unorthodox sects are usually called Religious Sects or Cults (教) instead of the name given to orthodox sects (派/宗). And so, unlike the “orthodox” sects which are concrete and appear in various wuxia works of fiction, “unorthodox” sects are usually unique to an author. While there are certain “unorthodox” sects, they differ between different novels and authors.

Emei Sect (峨眉派) - In Jin Yong novels, Emei consists solely of women and is led by Buddhist nuns.

There are many other “orthodox sects” within wuxia novels: They also must follow Buddhist customs and practices.

Shaolin Sect (少林派) - Disciples are Buddhist monks that train martial arts with Buddhist roots.

Their martial arts skills are based off of the taoist philosophy of “taiji”. Traditionally, the Wudang only accepts male students.

Wudang Sect (武当派) - Disciples of the Wudang Sect train under taoist influence.

The two big “orthodox” sects are Wudang and Shaolin: While many of these sects are represented in wuxia novels and dramas, they do have historical roots as well. The lead actors acted the fight scenes themselves. Originally posted by the666thbloggerofshaolinĬrouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (卧虎藏龙) is well known for how amazing the fight scenes are. Often people on the jianghu will refer to each other as “Xia” in a way of respect. Another important term that often appears is “Xia (侠)” meaning “hero or chivalrous”. Often wuxia heroes will “wander the Jianghu” and many endings have wuxia heroes, “retiring from the Jianghu”. Jianghu can be treated like a place, or work in sentences. Jianghu is often seen as a lawless, chaotic place full of unpredictability, but also endless potential. However, the wulin consists solely of martial artists and the schools and sects that practice martial arts. The jianghu is composed of people, sects, or schools that practice martial arts, and those who are “outcasts” from normal society. It is the counterculture society of workers who made their living with the skill of their own two hands: craftsmen, beggars, thieves, street performers, fortune tellers, wandering healers, and many martial artists. Because wulin could also literally translate to “martial arts forest (wu - 武 - meaning martial arts and Lin - 林 - meaning forest)”, people often mistake the wulin for a place with concrete borders instead of what it actually is - a community. One common mistake people make in trying to understand the concept of “jianghu” is believing that jianghu is a place. Jianghu in Chinese (江湖) literally translates to “rivers and lakes”, while wulin (武林) translates to “martial arts”. Jianghu and wulin have basically the same meaning, and those two terms can be used to describe the same thing. One term that is used extremely often in wuxia dramas, and in other historical dramas as well, is jianghu or wulin. A wuxia drama is typically very easy to distinguish from your typical historical story since there will be a lot of fight scenes in a wuxia production. The term wuxia in Chinese basically means “martial arts”, which is fitting since the main element of wuxia novels and dramas is martial arts.

The most recent drama adaptation in 2017 has the highest ratings out of 9 other adaptations there have been. The Legend of the Condor Heroes 2017 (射雕英雄传) is one of the biggest works in wuxia. This will be less of an “explaining the concept”, but more of an introduction to basic elements of wuxia/xianxia dramas. I often mention “wuxia” or “xianxia” in my posts but I have never really taken the time to analyze what these two genres mean.

Two kinds jing mei character analysis