So What is Jiang Hu? And Wu Xia and All That?

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THANK YOU FOR WATCHING

[@sjneow]

Jin Yong to Wuxia is like Tolkien to Western High Fantasy and Stan Lee to Superhero.

[@drawnseeker]

I just discovered the Wuxia and Xanxia novels and I fell head over heels in love with it. I read Gu long's short story 7killers and am now starting Condor Heroes. I stumbled upon the 2017 Condor Heroes drama and it captivated me. Thank you so much for the explanation of the genre. I've managed to find videoes on wuxia but mainly by western wuxia fans so it's so cool to get a Chinese POV on the genre. I'm just a black chick who fell down this amazing rabbit hole. I love the character dynamics and relationships as much as I love the fight scenes. Haung Rong is my favorite Wuxia character because she's so bright and cunning all while being fun.

[@objectiverational2363]

Can you link me on where to find English translations?

[@drawnseeker]

@@objectiverational2363 www.wuxiaworld.com/language/chinese and here's another link. This site not only has Wuxia but almost modern romance, sci fi and mysteries as well:volarenovels.com/novels/ Happy reading 😊

[@manju331]

Objective Rational I also use the Wattpad app.

[@AzadeSeif]

Okay, it's the theme song of that video: Wen Kexing looking at Zhu Zishu. I'm listening to you and images of WoH comes to my mind.

[@acrossthepacific5832]

It seems like Jin Yong and the creation of wu via is similar to J.R.R. Tolkien and the creation of the classic elves, dwarves, orcs fantasy world formula that western media has.

[@newname3718]

to me its like creating a parallel universe :D

[@SartoriasSD]

That was fascinating, thank you! It reminds me of how the Arthurian myth has been reinvented over the centuries, always serving that particular locale and culture. Arthuriana is not as old as Jiang hu tales, but the evolution--how writers of it appear to be in conversation with one another over the centuries--seems similar. (I came to Chinese wu xia specifically because of the underpinnings of justice, hope, brotherhood, etc as too much of Western TV right now seems a mirror for the news: venality, greed, corruption, etc.)

[@Bodhismile]

The first Chinese drama I saw was Novoland Castle In The Sky 2, with Xu Zheng Xi and Wang Yuwen. A delightful intro to the Wu Xia genre, with mystical characters, martial arts, personal challenges and growth, beautiful costumes and scenery, grand sets, etc. I’m enjoying other series of Xu Zheng Xi, Wang Yuwen, Wang Ziqi, and their fellow actors and discovering new favorite actors as well, e.g., Bai Yu and actors he has worked with-including NiNi, Chen Kun, Zu Yilong. I appreciate following these very talented actors and the stories they tell in their form of art.

[@ampm9100]

I am a fan of Jin Yong's novel-based dramas since I was young. Just knew how brilliant his novels are but never knew how much his works have influenced WuXia literatures and dramas this much even embeded in Chinese culture. He was a true legend. Thank you so much for your insightful analysis. Up until now I still wait for the next great WuXia dramas to come. Loads of Xian Xia dramas these days cannot catch my attention.

[@melindabarstow1519]

For me, the best thing that came out of covid was discovering CDrama. Followed by discovering the different KZbin Sites with commentary For different dramas. Found you that way.2 years later I'm still hooked. Thank you so much for this 1. Explains somethings I have been wondering about.

[@yorkiesweetpea23]

I just came across this one! At first, I didn't notice it being 4 yrs old. I just keep thinking how pretty Avenue X's make up is! So pretty, polite etc lol. I luv this look 😍.

[@xiaozhangege5501]

Thank you! I grew up watching these drama as a kid in Canada. Being half Chinese.... I watched many HK & Mainland drama. My cousin who is born in Vietnamese-Canadian, she wanted to watch Untamed and was confused and I wanted to explain to her but wasn’t sure how to... now I can send her this video.

[@period9_1.4.9]

Good on you on the clarity.. I'm often stunned on how to explain such concepts to my very Western educated kids and husband... hope will have luck with their understanding using yours. I really like the softer camera focus, presentation style and your outfit this time.!

[@tiffanyyang1740]

Why did I only NOW see this video!?!?!? Thank you Avenue X!!! Good informative video!

[@ninjacylon4671]

As always, informative! Thank you for the explanations! Can't believe it's been a year, but very thankful you decided to create a KZbin channel and bless us with your insights!

[@sandralow4246]

I just love this sort of information from you. 👍🏼👍🏼 Thanks!

[@MinPDLandlord]

Thank you for making this video. I've been trying to get my cousins to watch more chinese drama, especially the ancient period drama with WuXia theme and Nirvana In Fire have lots of JiangHu theme. I really want them to understand and appreciate these interesting concept/world. Overall, it was difficult to explain to them about the concept. Thanks for making this.

[@stefunnylim]

yesssss! love nirvana in fire too btw!

[@stefunnylim]

i just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this! 武侠 is a very large part of chinese lit that i absolutely adore (yet have never really been able to explain it well to my non-chinese friends) :-) now i have something that i can show!!!

[@itsnlee]

Thank you so much for explaining!! I'm very new to Chinese dramas so this is insightful. Love your channel

[@RandomNexus]

This was VERY informative! I enjoyed learning about a genre I've come to enjoy more and more in the last few years (thanks to both netflix and youtube). I thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@manju331]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful explanation. I do love the genre and am surprised to realize its origins. 💕

[@mai8927]

Great job!!!! Your channel is so interesting and informative. I'm a drama lover and love your reviews and opinions...I'm a also a huge fan of ten miles of peach blossom... actually, I'm re- watching the whole drama again!!!! Happy drama watching to you too!! 😉

[@toki7111]

As a kid growing up watching period and modern chinese dramas as part of a family thing that we do, i thought i knew what wuxia is but it seems not! you explain it really well and put it in perspective on a large scale!

[@kirk1968]

Thank you for explaining these terms, it really helped me to understand this better!

[@malysphom]

I always love your videos. So refreshing and educating for more learning.

[@munaahmed]

Love this video. It explained a lot to me. I only started to watch asian dramas about a year ago so your videos help me to uderstand how dramas work and meaning of genres. Good job. Please do more videos like this. I was wondering what the lovely music in this video was? Does anyone know?

[@andytran8893]

Lol my grandfather loved Jin Yong so much that he named my Mum after his idol. So because I’m Vietnamese, my Mum’s name is Kim Dung (read as Kim Yung).

[@MaySaysSo]

This was super interesting and answered a lot of the questions I'd been having! Thank you!

[@Damonistique]

Thank you so much for such detailed an explanation! Often wondered about jianghu after watching Nirvana in fire...

[@babesnurhasan2153]

Thanks for the understanding . Really a great help to acknowledge what we are seeing in the Chinese culture that is depicted in the Chinese movies or drama.

[@Carolina-hp6gj]

I really enjoy your videos! Thank u so much 4 sharing so much of this amazing culture and languege with us!

[@mouse1781]

Thank you for this very interesting, very clear explanation of what Wuxia is and everything that comes from this genre. I've only just gotten into this particular genre thanks to Word of Honor and now I'm trying to learn as much as I can about it because I've been enjoying it immensely

[@marinatzhang]

Hi AvenueX, I found your channel very recently so I am doing a bit of digging through your old videos. I really enjoy your videos, its pretty rare to see someone explaining C-Drama to the English-speaking audience and I really appreciated your explanation of jianghu. I moved overseas when I was a child, so although I really do love the Chinese language and culture, my outside environment isn't exactly facilitating of any growth in that sector. However, my idea of how wuxia came into existence challenges your view in the video a little. I agree that most of the wuxia novels now are influenced by Jinyong's novels, and his novels have very much influenced on how we see the genre of wuxia now. However, I believe that the fantasy of jianghu and wuxia have been around for a way longer time than the period you gave. If we look at some historical literature, it is apparent that historical people either were aware of jianghu and wuxia as an intertwined entity or had a dream of it. Li Bai in 侠客行 he wrote "事了拂袖去, 深藏功与名", so it can be seen that there was awareness or fantasy of a place where secretive martial artists would do their deeds quietly and secretively. Also, the assassin Jingke who was sent to assassinate the first emperor, Xun Wu who lived in the mountains for most of his life yet wrote the greatest book on military strategy that is still studied today...I do not believe that the concept of wuxia only came through in last century. Either there really are secretive wuxia faction for centuries or there has been tales of it for many centuries, the period in 1950s brought the tales to life through their novels and the popularity of these novels solidified wuxia as a novel genre. At the top of my had right now, I really cannot think of any other examples or better examples, (I am unfortunately not very learned in Chinese as I would like), but I do believe that wuxia is an idea that has been around for centuries. Of course, if my examples can be explained through other ways I very much do appreciate feedback. Thx.

[@GeneChiu]

Thank you for that great explanation of Jiang Hu and Wu Xia. I'm familiar with the Wu Xia genre of stories as I enjoyed watching them when I was a child. After a long absence, I started watching them again this past year and a half. I noticed that they always mention Jiang Hu in these stories, but I could never figure out what it means. I asked my parents about Jiang Hu, but they tell me it has to do with organised crime which didn't make sense to me. Now, I finally understand what they mean when they mention Jiang Hu in these TV series I have been watching.

[@user-yz3mu2rc3v]

i love the videos when you explain some idiom or chinese word, thank you!

[@mianzhou7596]

Wow, i only knew of the HongKong version of JiangHu, never thought of it's the counterpart of MiaoTang. Thank you for this Video.

[@christineubalde7154]

thank u for explaining these things because i really fell in love with the jianghu set up. i first fell in love with amazing twins starred by jimmy lin and tae, and im looking for that same vibe currently. i found it finally in word of honor series. some dramas is too heavy on political and history. now i know it is the genre that i have to watch for.

[@littleredhenl.7868]

Beautifully done... I'm late ...but no less enriched. This genre has influenced my art and my creativity... onward. I still want to fly.

[@odalchiszaratutu6793]

thank you so much for doing this video, you explain everything so clearly and with such robust data, this is by far the best explainationa bout wuxia and jianghu i've ever seen

[@KaichouClips]

Thanks for this in-depth explanation, I learned a lot

[@0mekyam0]

thank you for this very enlightening segment. yup, i just discovered it. : )

[@memske01]

Thank you! am happy to discover your channel! you teach me a lot!

[@annmarielyons73]

Thanks for the information, it was most informative as usual.

[@angiesookdeosingh5662]

Thank you so much for this explanation. I'm relatively new to Chinese drama and so I'm happy to understand this difference . I always wondered about this wuxia if it really existed in Chinese history...so I'm even happier to know it's origin.

[@richardtseng9535]

This is fascinating, thank you! Something I'm noticing that happens in cultures around the world is how we tend to celebrate and romanticize our outlaws and underworld. In Japan you have Yakuza fiction, movies, and manga, in America, you have gangster movies like the Godfather and Westerns with gunslinger showdowns at high noon, and you mentioned Robin Hood.

[@richardtseng9535]

As for the nature of all these martial arts techniques (qin gong and na gong), they weren't Jin Yong inventions, but are rather his interpretation of ancient Taoist alchemical texts, Buddhist scriptures, and performers' tricks. His descriptions of the different training and meditation methods to achieve these abilities are very similar to the 16th-century novel Journey to the West's (Xi You Ji) depiction of how the Monkey King came to acquire his powers. These were a mixture of so-called 'hidden' teachings and martial arts demonstrations Louis Cha or Jin Yong would likely have seen with the influx of Chinese opera performers, magicians, acrobats, and weapons experts flooding Hong Kong in the 50s and 60s. The organizations that they belonged to ranged across what we might call guilds, gangs and even Triads. All of them fell into what you described as the Jiang Hu. So really, Jin Yong's Jiang Hu is the same as the old Chinese description of it. It's just that he emphasized parts of it that were more exciting, exaggerated everyone's abilities and mixed in Chinese alchemy to give it credibility (itself an ancient precursor to science). This is why Wuxia is often compared to the European Fantasy genre and Jin Yong is considered the Chinese Tolkien. I'm not sure if the tradition of actors and actresses referring to themselves as 'walking the Jiang Hu' came before or after Wuxia novels became popular, but I have heard it repeated by Chinese celebrities.

[@princessvincecruz9894]

Im a Filipino but I don't know why the hell im soo fascinated to chinese culture...Hope you give us info about Siege in a Fog drama...

[@jaclynmae9357]

Hi Princess Vince Cruz! I see "Lang Ya Bang" in your profile pic, so you must be a fan 😊. I'm a Tsinoy, loved the series as well, but sadly no local TV station here had broadcasted this series. I wonder what the reception would be if it had been shown...

[@jayavarmn6833]

Thank you so so much for explaining these complicated concepts to us all. As all these years I have been looking for someone who has a good knowledge of chinese history and chinese literature or some chinese documentary that would explain and clarify these concepts, and give a proper distinction between Fantasy and True Cultural history. Thank you so much. It would be great to have a good english speaking documnetary on this subject matter done by the likes of BBC, NatGeo or The History Channel etc. So the next generation of Wuxia films or literatures fans can be further educated and appreciate ancient chinese culture and popularity of the genre, like myself who does not speak chinese but love the culture.

[@kisnaradhey5487]

You are looking beautiful. Day by day you are glowing more. In a typical Chinese costume you look really beautiful.

[@Moopies]

you are so knowledgeable! I absolutely love your videos. Now I want to watch a non Wu Xia historical..

[@oni7050]

Hello! I came here looking for content about "Joy of life" and found such a wonderful treasures! Thank you so much! you're wonderful and beautiful! very interesting and insightful. ❤ Subscribed! 😍 Greetings!

[@epf1250]

Thanks for making this video! Learnt so much!

[@hamsalexus6463]

Literature... Is such a wonder itself..... Just how many worlds, universes, and time it created and still is... It's one of the easiest ways and most creative places where people show how imaginative can the human brain be... It never ceases to amaze me.... And let's not forget how it influenced generations after the other.. And the solidity of us introverted people... Childhoods of people from different times these books that made it extraordinary... I can't even finish counting the books 📚 that built my childhood... No matter from what part of the world it was and is still enlightens me in a new window of imagination and creativity... They have incited me to create my world... I hope and wish one day I will be able enough to pen ✒️ them down on paper 📝... And share my world with others... Haaaah I wrote too much... Sorry, for the long passage.. And thank you for reading through...🤗🤗🤗❤🖤❤🖤❤❤🖤

[@comix5281]

Thank you so much for this!

[@squashdevicer]

Thank you for this explanation. I have always wondered what this Jianghu means. I am Chinese but not Chinese educated and third generation overseas Chinese so I can read very little Chinese but I love all these Wuxia stories. My late father loves to read wuxia stories before the days of TV but never had a chance or opportunity to ask him. Now I will die happy finally knowing what is this concept of Wuxia and Jianghu. The thing I can’t figure out is that how is it possible for these martial artists to “fly” using Ching Kung violating the laws of physics!

[@ukiss4ever7]

I'm a Chinese descendent, but I don't know much of the Chinese culture, language, and traditions. My mom knows only a bit of their tradition, but not the language and much of the culture. So it's great to learn about this :)

[@jayy1980]

It’s the same way Jedi fly. ‘The Force’ is a direct copy of qigong. I always laugh when westerners watch Star Wars and are so excited and giddy, then laugh and mock the exact thing you described. Hilarious because that’s exactly the western culture- as long as the west does it, it’s fantastic and makes perfect sense, but; the exact same thing from non western setting they can’t even see it’s the same thing lol. A blindnesses borne from a racist, arrogant, ignorant environment where everything that is not from white culture is described using a superficial, ignorant and racist viewpoint. Let me say again: ‘The Force’ is a direct copy of qigong, and yet white western culture cannot even draw a link between the two 😂😂😂

[@TheAssez]

*Thank you!* 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[@msolqq]

Your videos are always enlightening... This one has many interesting side issues I'm wondering if you remade this video in 2021...would there be additional information???

[@moonmissy]

I do miss Louis Cha's Wuxia. I read all 13 of his novels and totally fell in love with his imagination of Wuxia world. No contemporary writer can measure up to Louis Cha's (Jin Yong) imagination and literacy. He's like the R.R. Tolkien of Asia.

[@misspandaeyesforever]

Thank you for the explanation !

[@jonathanchang1574]

I'm not Chinese. I've always just assumed jiang hu as a metaphor for society at large, and wu lin to be martial arts society. Rivers move, but forests stay relatively in the same place.

[@jonathanchang1574]

@sxpr33t Yes, how did you know? :/

[@jonathanchang1574]

@sxpr33t Sure buddy, whatever helps you sleep at night

[@taesbreadcheek]

every time this channel pops up in my home page i thought my screen broke

[@lilyTlily]

A very interesting video. I finally understood where this genre of fantasy drama came from. These wuxia xiao shuo are way ahead the western genre of fantasy dramas/shows such as Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. Keep these videos coming.

[@buckrogers5331]

Or even Star Wars. The Jedi Order is paper thin compared to whats available in Chinese mythology or modern tale telling.

[@jenniferariesta6635]

The Chinese has wuxia, the western has The Chosen One concept.

[@buckrogers5331]

Well done, madam. Yes, it is quite incredible to think that the wuxia genre existed only since the 1950s. I think the idea of the righteous hero existed way before, given the injustices often mentioned due to feudalism and nepotism of the Chinese ruling class. (Note the popularity of Justice Bao tales) Whatever wuxia there was that existed in the past often linked to the heavens or heavenly entities. Messrs Yu Sheng and Jin Yong both kind of formalised the wuxia genre, taking out the heavenly (aka fantasy elements) and giving it a martial art structure. Thus we often hear of wuxia having to train many years (like 20, and always on a mountain) to achieve some kind of legendary skill. Of course you have the Shaolin monks to pervade the idea of the invincible pugilist of great internal strength and leaping skill as well (think Jackie Chan, lol). And also not sure if Yu Sheng or Jin Yong did what they did in reaction to the overhyped Samurai culture of the Japanese, whose idea of wuxia is simpler albeit structured and codified to imperial service. I mean Chinese swordsman and swordplay have a much much longer history and yes, the Chinese populace were calling out - consciously or unconsciously - for both historical and cultural stories after all the turbulent times they have had to live through.

[@rogerfaint499]

Might thought of as "existed" only since the 1950s but the fact that such heroic stories in China existed about 2,000 years ago from the sagas of Romance of the three kingdoms, All men are brothers, etc.

[@lolnoorly]

Agree with all the above. I think it all existed but someone finally came a long and tied it all together and added exaggerated heroic deeds. Similar to the US has in terms of The Wild West and Billy the Kid. Also similar is JRR Tolkien and his contribution to fantasy and lore -- he basically created all of it and every fantasy movie that comes out these days has some kind of premise that ties to his original books.

[@buckrogers5331]

I believe Tolkien took reference from a lot of Norse mythology. The thing is, the British never had a mythological past and so Tolkien created one. Now it has become lore. Feels good, doesn't it?

[@aaronton2703]

Wu Xia also became fantasy genre. Bc in most JIn Yong Wuxia fiction they have powers

[@pattyb9445]

Very interesting video, thank you.

[@wanwilkawa3507]

Gracias, me gusto mucho la explicación y aumento mucho mi curiosidad por los dramas

[@Sailormac2]

This video should be required viewing for all Untamed/Word of Honor fans, given that for a lot of us, this was our first exposure to Chinese pop culture. It explains A LOT. Really, really A LOT.

[@Sailormac2]

@sxpr33t Yes. The Untamed ix xianxia - it deals with high fantasy and cultivation. Word of Honor, on the other hand, is wuxia - it is set in "the martial arts world."

[@ArionRDAW]

The Korean equivalent is "murim" (moorim) and is heavily influenced by the Chinese originals.

[@StuninRub]

Murim (Wulin) is different, it is used interchangeably in wuxia novels, but is completely different. Murim (Wulin) means martial forrest, which is a fancy way of saying martial community. Jiang Hu is not a place or a community per say, but is similar to the concept of what is known in the west as the "real world".

[@violettej8008]

murim＝wulin(武林)，This is also Chinese culture, which is South Korean's plagiarism and misappropriation of Chinese culture

[@The0Maketu0High0Roll]

Great video, subscribed

[@truezyf]

very precise and deep instruction.

[@yuankode]

Jin and Liang may have enriched it, but wuxia exists long before them in the form of 《虬髯客传》, or even 《水浒传》. Just consider this poem by LiBai: 《侠客行》 - 李白 赵客缦胡缨，吴钩霜雪明。银鞍照白马，飒沓如流星。 十步杀一人，千里不留行。事了拂衣去，深藏身与名。 闲过信陵饮，脱剑膝前横。将炙啖朱亥，持觞劝侯嬴。 三杯吐然诺，五岳倒为轻。眼花耳热后，意气素霓生。 救赵挥金槌，邯郸先震惊。千秋二壮士，烜赫大梁城。 纵死侠骨香，不惭世上英。谁能书阁下，白首太玄经。

[@calkestis5817]

Yuan Kode yeah, Jin and Liang did the world-building and created a popular genre, but it’s all derived from préexistant concepts. I would compare them with Tolkien

[@vivealexcheng]

Yes, even before that, all the Wuxia (侠客) in this LiBai poem are from Warring States period (many recorded in ), and "十步杀一人" was a direct reference of the famous debate by Zhuang Zhou (庄子) on 天子剑 (emperor's sword), 诸侯剑 (princes' sword) and 庶人剑 (common people's sword). There was always fantasies from the literal class towards Wuxia, but it was those popular novelist build up the fantasy world. It's actually comparable to crime fiction, stories of puzzle solving in criminal setting existed from ancient times, but crime fiction tradition as we know today was only formulated in 19th century.

[@buckrogers5331]

Could you explain the poem? Thanks!

[@truezyf]

+Buck Rogers poem can't be translated.

[@ventettaweis9044]

I thought Zhang Sanfeng was a real person who created Tai Chi and became very fictionized in Heavenly Sword Dragon Sabre. Jiang Hu probably did existed before but not well known, and it was what actually inspired Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng. For sure, Shaolin Kungfu still exists and many other traditional Chinese martial arts really do exist so there got to be a real Jiang hu somewhere lost or unknown in history. Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng did not create those martial arts as they cannot fight...but we know there are some good fighters out there and neither Jin Yong or Liang Yusheng were the grand masters. It is very sad to see martial arts gone when watching modern dramas these days. Blaming all those computerized and slow motion techniques. I believe Shaw Brothers was successful with martial arts films as early as the 1930s already, and there were tons of crazy names for those martial art techniques and skills in their films. I'm not sure too but I believe that was what inspired JY and LYS?

[@ruio7030]

在金庸之前是还珠楼主。还珠楼主的大作蜀山奇侠传已经形成了现代武侠的原型。仙侠小说反而更多靠近还珠楼主。

[@AlejanderLong]

对

[@SurrealisticLEO]

I've just currently figured out what Wu Xia kind of ment (before this video) based on some stories I've read and some Chinese dramas I've watched (mainly The Untamed), but I've never delved deeper into the meaning of Wu Xia; come to think of it, all these very successful Chinese movies (i.e. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers", etc.) that were released also in Europe and rest of the Western world during the 90's an early 2000's and the recent "The Grandmaster", they all had this Wu Xia element. And because I've watched these as growing up and thinking that this was actually what it must have been in Ancient China, I thought that this was something real - well, not the gravity defying leaps from treetops, but all that swordplay and acrobatics. Who knew that this is something so recent and actually utterly fictional. Glad I watched this very informative video, because now I can understand why these worlds are built up as they are in all of these stories, series and movies. Oh, now I feel like watching all those movies again that I mentioned above, they are sublime, at least in my honest opinion.

[@wiser.kinder.calmer.6530]

文武双全 cool! Didn't know that idiom before

[@shinanliao8794]

Very educational. Thanks :)

[@jayavarmn6833]

Also madam, could you please add some english subtle to some of the good lengthy chinese interviews with the author Jin Yong (Louis Cha) on KZbin as no one has done it. Its very frustrating to not being able to get any english subtles for those interview. thank you.

[@user-ie8kd1gq7k]

《三侠五义》 is actually the first WUXIA novel!

[@serenalovesckcy3254]

哇，很深入的解释，谢谢！😀😀

[@jamesgan684]

The place where people are in calls Jiang Hu!

[@xihangyang]

it also mean gangster in modern china.

[@florinaarano8000]

I know this might not be to your liking but is there any chance we'll get a Novoland special from you? 😆 Or xianxia? Are the realms or tribes the same for all series?

[@1313fina]

天啊！我一直以为轻功和内功都是之前有的词汇！

[@soshistan9857]

Avenuex can you talk about Jin Yong please

[@edisonyang3658]

Thank you for this very informative video but I still have some more questions. I'm fairly new this genre, but from the Wu Xia dramas that I've watched, aside from you've explained in the video, I also see constant mention of this "Central Plain," or "Wu Lin," especially Wu Lin community. So, is Jiang Hu and the Central Plains the same place? Is it not? And what exactly is Wu Lin? I always get it confuse with Wu Xia.

[@buckrogers5331]

Wu Lin is the pugilistic world. You often hear of wu xia trying to be number one in the wu lin world. That is what they are referring too. Jiang Hu can be referred to as the outside world (of the palace) - where common folk live. Remember in the past, many notable Chinese cities are walled in and thus have their own set of laws and customs - including curfew. So, to be in jiang hu is to live the carefree life of the common folk outside the city. Kind of like the "wider world" so to speak.

[@vivealexcheng]

"Central Plain" (中原) is the heartland of China, as oppose to boarder area or foreign country, it varies due to shifts of national boundaries in different dynasties, but it often refer to several provinces in central and northern China, such as Henan province. Jiang Hu doesn't have such geographical definition, there would be Jiang Hu in foreign land too. Wulin is the Wuxia community, it's like academia for academics, there isn't necessarily organized membership, but you do have a sense of community, some moral code and values that everybody agreed upon.

[@bili_-tr2nm]

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.

[@lilylynnong3818]

have you ever seen 武林外传? It's a classic ^^

[@anamarf]

Yey!! Chinese history lesson! \o/

[@bangchu3579]

解释得太好了吧！再给我2000个词汇量我也说不出这些来……

[@girasolll2810]

Michael Zhou 我也是😭这回学习了

[@Holly220U]

Thank You

[@irisboker6365]

thank you so much

[@colonyofcells]

Wuxia and xianxia uses lots of terminologies that are sort of similar to those from India. In Fighter Of The Destiny, lots of xianxia terms are used like using their energy, spirit, meridians, etc.

[@buckrogers5331]

But Indian folklore has no "dimark" - pressure point paralysing skill, nor any martial art of note.

[@reesespeanut4778]

Wuxia is more of martial arts and xian xia more of like fantasy. Xianxia does have some indian influence from Buddhism. The flying gods play big part of xianxia.

[@calkestis5817]

Actually a 侠客 is kinda like a superhero

[@gufbrindleback]

Jiang Hu reminds me a lot of the Wild West.

[@user-wr9gq8cb3v]

up主的英语太好了。最近看了山河令，想给我的外国朋友安利，但不知道怎么解释武侠仙侠这些概念。就一直看你的视频。感谢你的解释。up主也在加拿大吗，还以为在英国

[@AlejanderLong]

小姐姐以后可以再讨论一下仙侠和还珠楼主哈哈，还珠楼主也是那时候的人

[@lawrenceluo3365]

“江湖？就是我坐着的这块地方，喝着的这碗酒！”

[@AvenueX123]

哈哈，有人的地方．．．．．．

[@KelsangGyatso123]

what is the name of the bgm？

[@josebelmar5942]

喔。原來如此。眼睛開了哈哈

[@federicad6318]

解释得太好了

[@christopherwilliams8343]

*pops in from the future* Hai^⁸ hai^⁷

[@bangchu3579]

冒昧问一下您最喜欢的金庸小说是哪一部？

[@AvenueX123]

这是个问题，嗯，要说故事还是天龙八部，cp目标肯定是郭靖黄蓉，要说下笔的自我颠覆和神来又是鹿鼎记。

[@ForTheNextGate]

What's the drama you talk at 10:30 ? I only understood ''.... Fire''. :'(

[@alienorbt]

Nirvana in Fire

[@Houlahula]

I just want to clarify,so something like wu dang, e mei, clan like that is just fiction right? I mean, so is there really a hero like wuxia in the past day or not? Thanks

[@AvenueX123]

shao lin is real, Buddhist monks who can fight, wu dang is the Taoist hub, e mei I don't think so.

[@danielzhang2823]

So, what's the meaning of "Wu Lin"?

[@buckrogers5331]

Means pugilistic world, that's all. Wu - as in "martial", Lin - as in "world, forest, etc."