What is WUXIA? (Chinese fantasy)

Different kinda vid today :O
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#wuxia #Linfamy

[@Linfamy]

Did you like this topic? Live reading of Smiling Proud Wanderer: kzbin.info/aero/PLRjEYtD4Klx6CYwaAcOjRJFQtOjfokRpx&si=dITAcc6DlxsEMs3o Japanese folktales: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJixp5Shgb6BqtE Please consider supporting the channel =) 🔸PATREON (blog, art): www.patreon.com/Linfamy 🔸MERCH: teespring.com/stores/linfamy (shirts, stickers, phone cases, and more!) 🔸DONATE: www.paypal.me/Linfamy

[@simulatorupdater5131]

Yes

[@TangyTomato]

Its says 14hrs ago How is it possible

[@muhdzafri7551]

Ofc I do I watch them all the time

[@robertasd5787]

Yes

[@simulatorupdater5131]

He gets to comment on his video before we do

[@just_radical]

My favorite part of Wuxia is that Chinese people fly by T Posing

[@Linfamy]

Omg you're right 😂. Also, in older series, they showed people jumping UP into trees by filming people jumping DOWN from a tree and playing it in reverse. It looked soo obvious.

[@just_radical]

@@Linfamy Ah damn. I've only seem a few of the ones that came out in the last decade, but there's still some definite wtf camera and special effects moments so I can only imagine what it might have looked like back in the day.

[@robertdicke7249]

Rigged like... like they are a toddler pretending they are an air plane???

[@Linfamy]

To be fair though, I prefer the fighting in the older series. They had actual choreographed fights that looked real good, unlike today's CG and 1 million closeup shots.

[@anshikamalla7140]

I belive I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

"Adventures of homeless people" Also perfectly describes every RPG players

[@Linfamy]

XD

[@dmsammy7051]

I'm a wandering-sword-wielding-crusader, not a.... You know what, never mind.....

[@martytu20]

If you’re the Watcher, your home got blown up by a rampaging god.

[@mmyr8ado.360]

murderhobos

[@piyo4341]

LOL. Heroes are homeless.

[@randomperson2526]

0:17 "It's a lot of attractive people flying around with swords using powers" That pretty much sums it up

[@Linfamy]

😂

[@Sophia-wc9ys]

Lol I agree and sometimes when you read too much of the wu xia mangas it gets boring because basically the same thing happens again and again

[@TroutofHate]

Pretty much explains Chinese martial arts =/ No wonder why they don't do well in MMA matches where ropes and props aren't allowed.

[@DarktitanX2]

@@Sophia-wc9ys To be fair there isnt too many wuxia manga (I'm talking about the good series not the trash ones with sh1tty story.) A few of the series are like new generate from the same school so of course the techniques are similar.

[@rozniyusof2859]

TIL ThunderCats is a Wuxia

[@blvalverde]

"Turn the soundwaves into lethal soundwaves." It's called the sucking technique. My school band had a bunch of masters on it.

[@WildBillCox13]

Hehehehe +2 Karma

[@goonerOZZ]

Yea... That technique also means something else

[@crunchynuts9921]

Can I teach my girlfriend said sucking technique?

[@Linfamy]

What is this technique?

[@blvalverde]

@@crunchynuts9921 Well, you gotta learn first.

[@dotuananhdta]

Wuxia is super popular in Vietnam too. Jin Yong is pretty much a household name here. I like them so much that I learnt Chinese just to read the original novels. It's kinda like Marvel/DC universe with tons of superheros.

[@Linfamy]

Oh totally, my brother. I'm Viet and grew up with those series.

[@stephenlee1664]

Also very popular in Korea. We have several webtoons and webnovels that take inspiration from the worldbuilding of Jin Yong's wuxia. Some of my favorites would be the return of the blossoming blade and the legend of the northern blade.

[@dianatang4540]

@@stephenlee1664 yeah! I thought so! I thought is was wuxia genre when I first read it, but it's in korean. I was so confused😅

[@WallNutBreaker524]

​@@LinfamyYou're vietnamese? Yet are making videos in English? 😅

[@WallNutBreaker524]

​@@stephenlee1664Same. And I'm not East Asian. I'm Southeast Asian. Though my country isn't as close to Japan, China and Korea like Vietnam.

[@TheShogunate]

I remember I had a class in college all about Wuxia and martial arts in media, really cool stuff!

[@Linfamy]

Omg that does sound like a fun class

[@haikalraditya801]

Love your channel too

[@bonesbrigad.e___]

Funny seeing you here

[@kukothree]

your classes are better than mine, thats for sure

[@TeaSerpent]

The interconnection between Wuxi and proto Wuxia and Chinese martial arts culture is fascinating. So many of the names of schools and techniques in Wuxia up until the mid 20th century were taken from actual schools and kungfu techniques (although reimagined in fantastic ways). But at the same time so many names of kungfu techniques themselves directly reference characters, things, and events in older stories like romance of three kingdoms, water margin, journey to the west, various plays, etc. You'd be surprised how many martial arts styles claim lineage from fictional characters from various novels or plays. Styles like Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Bak Mei, etc. all claim lineage to fictional characters from a novel written in the 1890's. That novel took the mythology of certain southern Chinese gangs and reimagined them into a Wuxia style epic. From there the story and characters from it where rewritten into a galaxy of other offshoot novels and plays. These various older stories really defined how martial artists view themselves and stories since then have continued to influence how both martial artists and the general public view Chinese martial arts. But again all these stories themselves absorb and reimagine actual practices from traditional martial arts, folk religion, local mythology, etc.

[@plaunty]

And that's funny because Bruce Lee used to watch samurai movies and mimic the posturing techniques they had when he would leave the theater

[@satorius4337]

You're the first KZbinr I've seen that talked about Wuxia, I've been reading it a lot on and off in recent years. I just kinda got bored of Western Fantasy so I binged it once I found it and never completely stopped. I wonder what your favorite Wuxia novel is? I'm personally reading Super Gene right now

[@Linfamy]

I mostly only know Jin Yong's stories. Smiling, Proud Wanderer and Duke of Mount Deer are my favs 😍

[@satorius4337]

@@Linfamy Ah that's cool, I mostly read Wuxia webnovels, you can find a lot of translated ones on a website called Wuxiaworld, they often play with the tropes of the genre and give modern takes on it, I'd recommend to have a look at it if you're interested in that

[@Linfamy]

Thanks for suggestion 😀

[@inevitablesound7465]

Linfamy you only read wuxia but not xianxia, xuanhuan, etc?

[@inevitablesound7465]

Xianxia are also interesting, but they have a lot more fantasy elements such as flying, being immortal, spells, etc

[@murder7415]

There are many classics. I LOVE Chinese 武侠小说 wuxia novels. They're bloody amazing. 金庸's books are bloody mesmerising and captivating. My father grew up reafing 武侠, my grandfather grew up reading 武侠, and I grew up reading it too. 金庸 is a bloody good writer.

[@Linfamy]

Yeah his stories just suck you in. I also still listen to theme songs from the old movies 🎵😍

[@noahinvero351]

請翻譯

[@ngoctrand.6032]

Most Wuxia novels don’t mention “qi”, it’s actually called “nei-gong” means internal energy. The “qi” (which just means “air”) is the modern understanding which got popularized in the West

[@momsaccount4033]

Qi is not “just” air. The concept of qi can be translated as air, but it has a more spiritual connotation. Daoist qi isn’t the same thing as the regular air you breathe in and out through your nose and mouth. It’s a more mystical energy.

[@momsaccount4033]

In fact, a lot of mystic Chinese concepts (at least the ones I know of that originate from Daoism) are like this. Wuxing is a more famous example. “The Five Elements” is a notoriously inaccurate translation of the Wuxing concept because each “element” of the cycle (Earth Fire Wood Water Metal) doesn’t represent a material aspect of nature. It is very unlike the Greek concept of the four elements, which is probably the source of the misconception. There are both literal and non-literal connotations to the Wuxing cycle (which I prefer to call the “Five Motions”). They represent different emotions, senses, organs, stages of life, many many things. The base concept is basically the idea that all things in the universe shift, change, and interact with one another in sometimes invisible but constant and consistent ways. The concept of the “elements” is more like a visual demonstration that represents the cycle. The elements themselves aren’t literal.

[@arthemas8176]

Qi is the equivalent of prana in India, still translated as air but it has a spiritual concept of vital energy

[@madambutterfly1997]

when we doin Japanese occult like onmyodou

[@WildBillCox13]

"I've been having these spells lately . . ."

[@maniaemagna]

The idea of you reading wuxia makes me cry with joy.

[@Linfamy]

😂

[@ElhPudding]

Linfamy is branching out for Chinese stuff!? Yes! Please!

[@kydrik3874]

Wuxia popular even in Russia, there are many fans, like me.

[@Linfamy]

I didn't know that! :D

[@bigblockman11]

so do they also have one about a squatting gopnik wandering around Chernobyl trying to recover his mayonnaise?

[@Linfamy]

@Nom Anor maybe because Russia is right next door. Easier to spread

[@georgepalchikov7176]

​@Nom Anor History of Martial Arts in the late USSR is quite unique, I guess. Themes need no translation - a wronged hero trains hard to master himself, become stronger, and fight against the oppressors. Actually, MA became so popular that practicing and teaching "Karate" (everything was put under this umbrella term) was made ILLEGAL. People still practiced it illegally in the literal basements, building their dojos themself. "Karate" at that time had a lot of mythical aura for the Soviet citizens. Anyone who practiced MA had to be real tough since he had a lot of opportunities to show his skills - when the word got out that somebody was a "karatist" many people would like to challenge him into a fight. Especially guys from SAMBO or boxing schools. "Let's see how good this "karate" of yours is!" So, this basically was a real wuxia at that time! BTW, many MA, boxing, and wrestling schools formed real organized crime gangs after 1991 all across the former USSR.

[@joseignaciomontes5712]

I for sure know that we are rare since I'm a chilean (latin america) wuxia fan, I've only ever come across one in my college but only virtually in the anime club jaja

[@turtlepenguinXkizuna]

omg a couple of my friends are totally obsessed with wuxia novels and tweet about them all the time, I’m really glad to finally have some kind of background/understanding of wtf they’re on about 😅

[@Linfamy]

:D

[@linus198062]

"江湖"(Martial Art World, literally "River Lake") is a fascinating word. With an origin in Zhuangzi's philosophy, it is an ancient word which was given different meanings over time. Perhaps its closest English equivalent is "society", for as the saying goes 江湖 is any place where people come together. I love how wuxia novels romanticised the word, such that today we associate 江湖 with a world full of heroes and villains, friendship and betrayal, love and hate. It's one of my favourite word as a Chinese.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

If we want to be more honest about it, 江湖 in wuxia is a reference to the marshland bandit societies the genre originally derived its heroes from. Today we associate riversides and lakesides as places of leisure and culture where people meet up, eat and drink, and recite poetry or have philosophical debates, but this is mostly thanks to the great parks built during the latter half of the Qing dynasty. In the early Ming 江湖 was a scarier place populated by men and women of questionable morality. Let's not forget where all the brothels used to be located.

[@bar1scorpio]

@@andrewsuryali8540 we also see the term being frowned upon now because it's still closely tied to criminal groups in China. Of... course there's a very questionable morality to begin with, and it's hard to tell if they're written with a good degree of satire, like the Three Musketeers, or if they're to be taken straight as Ivanhoe or The Virginian.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

@@bar1scorpio Late grandpa from mom's side was a jianghu man born in 1917 when the world was changing and the Southeast Asian jianghu societies were losing their way after the birth of the RoC. He had some great stories of his fights as a youth. Late grandma was a bit more cynical and liked to point out that he made his fortune smuggling guns to freedom fighters in the late '40s. He may or may not have dabbled in piracy too. Late grandpa from dad's side was a merchant from a merchant family and grandma used to quip that he was lucky my parents met when they did. Ten years earlier and thing might have been very different.Tigers don't marry cows. Grandma also used to say jianghu people were all cowards because they always ran away when the guns came out. I think this shows that, ironically, she believed in their propaganda.

[@TeaSerpent]

Rivers and Lakes is actually an old traditional Chinese term that was repurposed and redefined for/by the modern Wuxia genera. In it's original context it actually meant something closer to "homeless" or "vagrant" although it also meant a lot more than that. Although I personally think the term "Underworld" is probably the best translation of it's actual use and meaning in Chinese culture. I also think it's closer to it's use and meaning in early 20th century Wuxia. But by the later part of the 20th century it had come to be used as basically just another way of saying Wulin "Martial Forest" (martial arts society). However within historical Chinese culture the term Jianghu described people who were not considered to be part of settled society. This included criminals, bandits, gang members, prostitutes, actors, travelling salesmen, travelling storytellers, puppeteers, travelling circuses, wandering fake monks and priests, wandering martial arts teachers (yes that was historically a very common thing. they were hired by farming villages when the villagers had extra money and downtime after the harvest, by villages in feuds needing extra training for their militia, or if skilled enough and lucky enough by rich people to teach their younger sons (older sons got actual educations)), beggars, etc. (yes there were also actual beggar clans. Just not the martial arts kind. Well actually there were sort of those too? the scummier poorer younger sons of banner families in Beijing actually made a "beggars clan" that worked the Manchu district of Beijing during the Qing dynasty. But that was more the younger unwanted sons of lower class rich clans, or upper class poor clans? anyways clans that had some money and power and military connections but not much by Beijing ruling class standards, basically the poor hillbillies of Beijing's upper crust military clans. So these young unwanted sons would dress up as beggars and go around on festival days and shake down businesses for food, booze, and money for prostitutes. Actual beggar clans also shook down businesses for food, booze and money but less in a threaten to beat you up way and more in the "every homeless person in this district is going to start using the doorway to your shop as a public restroom if you don't give up three hams and a barrel of wine once or twice a year" sort of way. The term was also sometimes used within East Asian Buddhism to describe wandering monks (ie Jianghu Seng). For some reason there was always a lot of water imagery in reference to homeless or underworld types in East Asia. For instance the term Langren "Wave People" is an old Chinese term which more directly translates to "vagrant" or "homeless". In Japan the same words are pronounced "Ronin" which referred to out of work Samurai. Despite that the term is really popular in modern times "Masterless Samurai" sounds so much more romantic and badass than more accurate translations like "vagrant" or "filthy bum" ("Ronin" was an insulting term and not something you would proudly claim). Even today in Japan people who work as bartenders, hosts, hostesses, prostitutes, etc. are said to be part of the "water trade". All of these names are ways of describing the uprooted unwashed masses dehumanized refuse washed around by circumstances from place to place. In many ways it's a very poetic and accurate description. Even today we don't help a homeless person, we punish them for being out in the open around "proper humans" in an attempt to flush them away somewhere else where don't have to see or deal with them. As far as possible origins go, Zhuang Zi does have one of the earliest references to "Rivers and Lakes", but it's being used in the literal sense of actual rivers and lakes however it is alluding directly to aimlessly drifting along the rivers and lakes (there's no getting together with people, it's just one guy by himself aimlessly drifting the waterways in a giant gourd). I don't think it has anything to do with the Water Margin as it's use predates the publication of that work. Although I imagine a lot of martial artists or gang members today would try to make that claim. But the thing is that rivers and lakes are not the same as marshes. Marshes were part of what were historically termed "Border Regions". This term didn't just reference the physical border of the country but also regions within the country that were not considered part of the jurisdiction of surrounding municipalities., regions which although theoretically part of the empire were not really policed or directly under the rule of imperial law, or regions in which ethnic minorities were given the rights to rule semi autonomously after swearing fealty to the emperor and being tasked with collecting taxes. So these border regions were dangerous unpoliced areas and often right inside the country near populated policed areas. The Liangshan marshes were considered a border area and were not directly under the jurisdiction of any surrounding area. This meant that in regions like this none of the surrounding municipalities would want to send a police force in to make arrests. Doing that costs money and if done comes with the possibility of failure which means punishment for those in charge. As it's not part of the area anyone in any surrounding municipality had to police they all wanted one of the other neighboring municipalities to deal with it. In cases like that the problem was often ignored until it got big enough for the provincial military to be ordered in. Actual rivers and lakes on the other hand were basically the highways of any premodern country including (especially) China. These were considered to be of very high importance as these are the avenues through which goods and people moved, trade was conducted, and taxes collected. Unlike marsh or especially rugged mountain regions the rivers, lakes, and canals were highly populated and policed and occupied a very different area in the imagination of period Chinese. The waterways were the main routes of trade and connected the country. As such they were also the areas in which wealth concentrated. Because of this they also attracted and concentrated things like itinerant entertainers, travelling salesmen, con artists, organized crime rings, petty thugs, beggars, people travelling to look for work, etc ie all the types of people historically described by the term "Jianghu".

[@yandererikazikuta586]

ok this video pleasantly surprised me, as a fan of both japanese and chinese mythology, culture and history i did not expect you of all channels who was so focused in japan's history to post something like this. As usual you did a great job!

[@Linfamy]

Glad you like :D

[@andrewsuryali8540]

This is the postmodern wuxia genre you're talking about, though. The original wuxia genre is very old and while it does contain supernatural elements, it is notably lacking in fantastical powers. The most famous classic wuxia novel is Water Margin (Shui Hu Zhuan, 水浒传) and it was written in the Ming Dynasty. The term Jianghu actually means rivers (jiang, 江) and lakes (hu, 湖) and it literally refers to the bandit societies similar to those described in Water Margin who built their bases in the marshlands of rivers and lakes where the law couldn't reach. So these stories' original heroes were Robin-Hood-style bandits. If you read Water Margin, the bandits are always generous with their money when they meet regular people. This is why in modern wuxia they don't seem to ever lack money; the bandits' attitude towards money and their deep pockets are carried over but not their profession. If you read pre-Jin-Yong wuxia novels, even fairly modern ones, the bandits all had their bases near rivers or lakes. It wasn't actually Jin Yong who pioneered moving them up to the mountains and giving them philosophical belief systems, but he definitely popularized both and came up with the standard tropes we have today. Also, older wuxia heroes were actually drawn from within the sword nobility or the scholarly gentry. More than half of the 108 heroes came from military families, the Chinese equivalent of knights, and their leader Song Jiang was a member of the scholarly class who served as a minor official before being forced into banditry.

[@methodicalraman2002]

TBH Chinese fantasy is cringe and good at the same time and somehow it make you want more of it 😆

[@Linfamy]

Yes, sometimes very corny. And English translations make it even more corny, like names of techniques 😂

[@danyi5572]

ikr

[@newname3718]

sum it up, very entertaining. :DDDD

[@kukothree]

its like rupauls drag race, its addictive and though it can be trashy, its good kekw

[@deepseafish257]

Wuxia novels are an addiction... First you, an innocent little baby, somehow stumble upon one and think "Yeah ok, this is weird, but I'm kinda bored and since this has a thousand chapters each of them must be really short (spoiler alert, they're not) so I might as well just read it until I find something better to do.". Then, after you are at least a couple of hundred chapters in you are like "Ok, so *this* one is really good and creative, but this must be an extraordinary book. Surely not all of them can be this good.", and from here on it's just a very steep downwards curve, going from Dramas to Historical Dramas to anything even tangentially related, until you've seen every major drama of the last decade (including a yearly rewatch of Nirvana in Fire, cause damn that drama is good) and can name all dynasties, know the most important emperors and can easily tell if a new character is a good guy or a bad guy by the way they bow.

[@Linfamy]

Quite the rabbit hole 😂

[@vivanyatodd5036]

I was literally a baby when I first introduced to them. I've watched it since before I can read. And some of them, like Return of thr Condor Heroes, became my bedtime stories, a very simplified version of it, but still make me really wanted to know the real version. Even learned Chinese for 2 years so I can understand the real version, sadly I have no talent in language and though I did managed to know enough to watch without subtitles, reading the Chinese novel is a no-go. 😞😢

[@keikuru1]

I'm a 30 year old white dude from the UK and I am so glad I discovered cultivation/web novels/wuxia and manhwa adaptations. The imagination of these authors is genuinely beautiful and on par with anything I've ever read. It's such a great escapism from real life you can just relax and enjoy a fantasy story. It's like experiencing someone else's daydream. I'm glad I discovered this part of another culture, I love the manhwa & web novels. ☺❤

[@aya_1170]

It's great to see a video dedicated to this topic!!! My mother really loved wuxia drama, so I practically grew up watching these.

[@Linfamy]

Yeah I grew up on these too :D

[@retroarcadde2128]

Can you take a look at “Journey to the West”?

[@zskr257]

ooohh the four classics :0

[@kingcrimsonwashere8736]

Let's see if he gets it done faster than OSP.

[@psyvana]

I already fell down this rabbit hole as there's a lot of newer wuxia on UK netflix though those seem to have a mix of drama and intrigue in them too, but I'm very glad you're going to use more time on this genre :D

[@madame360]

These dramas are addicting: Yeah the adventures of homeless people!

[@twenty-fifth420]

I am a writer and I was interested in diving into reading Wuxia myself. It just seems like a 'different world' compared to what I traditionally read or write. In fact so much so, I think I should issue a small correction @2:35 Yes, the average wordcount of a western fantasy, especially if you look at shorter works like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and some YA fantasy like Percy Jackson or anything by Sarah J Mass. But the range of values is actually quite high. In fact, Wheel of Time is the current series I am reading having the largest book being almost 400k words. Similar authors like Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson, Piers Anthony etc can yield books at high for 200k-250k depending on their writing turnout. I think you can slant this to shorter count authors, especially if you take other YA into account but generally speaking Epic Fantasy can yield similar word counts to Wuxia in the large scale, especially if you take into account the entire series these authors write currently. (Wheel of Time has a 4.5m word count total) One of my favorite pieces of fiction is One Piece and I generally love longer stories. I heard Wuxia stories especially the ones I am looking at on Wuxia World can get pretty large though. This video inspired me to give it a try after studying and I would love to one day write a Wuxia epic!

[@Linfamy]

Good luck on your reading journey! The Condor Heroes trilogy is a classic (mostly the first 2 books). My favs are Smiling Proud Wanderer, and Duke of Mount Deer. There are some quality fan translations out there.

[@user-nd6zw3eg8j]

agree, Thank you !

[@bobbytran3878]

Definitely looking forward to your live stream!

[@shopgirl77]

this is a really good explanation for newbies and love the hilarious spin. Really enjoyed this

[@ringomomoiro1121]

Oh you didn't mention about the part where they vomit blood for every thing... Reference to Mo dao zu shi

[@Linfamy]

Hahaha that's right! Blood can only come out of the mouth apparently 😅

[@JanelleLynn392]

I do wonder what that fake blood is made of also all the male leads seem to squeeze out the tears every few minutes

[@Linfamy]

Who said the blood is fake? 🤔🤔🤔

[@JanelleLynn392]

Well now that thought is stuck in my head

[@rosswebster7877]

Great change of pace Linfamy! I didn’t know about all these different intricacies of WuXia compared to knights and samurai. I’m now inspired to take up Jin Yong’s example, save up and buy my own newspaper so I can force people to read my fiction.

[@ewajaniak7932]

Amazing! Thank you so much for your thorough and insightful explanation.

[@marr1379]

Yet another amazing video! Thank you for posting as frequently as you do!

[@Linfamy]

Thanks for watching ;)

[@MatthewLMaw]

This was amazing, and exactly the kind of information I wanted to find. Fun, educational, not too dense. High-five-point-palm enriching heart technique to you, good sir!

[@333angeleyes]

Great episode as usual. Two questions about your reading the wuxia: > Will you just read or will you also illustrate? > Will you just read or will you add your own humor? I have said it before and I will say it again. Most of the stories and history facts that you present on your channel are nothing new in fact many of the folktales we have heard hundreds of times before. What makes your channel stand out as one of the best (in my opinion) is 1. your unique art style and 2. more importantly your humor. You once did some kind of space horror story which I loved and I'm not sure was it original or something you read (I assumed it was original) but what I loved about it the most was the fact that you injected your own humor into it which made it a great listening experience. Anyway that's just my 2¢ I know that you once said that all the drawing is very time consuming so however you do this wuxia project I'll support.

[@Linfamy]

Thanks for the kind words. You've stuck around for a while! Yeah that space story is an original by me. It was fun to do, though my voice acting is terrible. Maybe in the future I can write and have people voice act. It may be fun. The wuxia reading is just a straight livestream reading. These are long books, can't possibly draw it all. Summaries, maybe. I already did the first stream, check it out in the videos section :). I'm thinking of doing it live every Sunday at 5:30pm PT. Stay safe!

[@unicorn1221]

Please make a podcast series of Wuxia story telling!! OMG I'm so hyped!!

[@caleblangley663]

Super happy you made this video! I got into a Chinese show called Handsome Siblings on Netflix and I loved it, I think it is awesome that there is a whole genre like this!

[@Linfamy]

Ooh, didn't know netflix had a show like that. Thanks for telling me

[@josuesepulveda6850]

I did not now about this genre of fantasy in China"Wuxia" meaning"Martial arts heros"...very cool.

[@zacheel8748]

love your commentary on it all! thank you for your thoughts :)

[@WildBillCox13]

Glad you covered this, Lin. I set my PatchWorld novels in Wuxia/Xianxia settings and situations. Liked and gladly shared.

[@Linfamy]

Ah, a cultured man.

[@Gorad94]

Interested to see what title you plan to read. With the recent surge of wuxia novels I'm glad someone is talking about them.

[@g-liebbe3011]

I LOVE this topics and would definitely like to see more! Dramas for the win!

[@wiscatpereira9409]

I am on board to listen to you read ! Hopping to learn some accurate name pronunciation and stuff. Much love xx

[@jairusmacomber8374]

I really like this idea. I'm looking forward to hearing these stories.

[@bidishadey3815]

I would love it! Looking forward for your future videos. 😁

[@SanaTT]

I remember watching one of these when I was really young and it was interesting you didn't mention how cool their clothes are!!! like wow

[@absolutangel64]

I love this. I hope you do more videos about Chinese culture!

[@dovahbear0]

When I was stationed overseas I got into the wuxia light novels, Coiling dragon was the 1st story.

[@WildBillCox13]

Thanks for your service.

[@69Kazeshini]

I think coiling dragon xianxia which is a more brutal version of wuxia

[@dovahbear0]

@@69Kazeshini meh it's definitely more flushed out and written better than most other LNs of the same genre in my opinion. But fuck if they aren't long as hell some times and just absolutely getting overused plot points chapter after chapter.

[@chummychimchim6734]

Perfectly explained, thank you very much 💕💕💕

[@CCo1-22]

This is awesome! Keep up the good work!

[@phandlt7614]

Im getting back into watching Tv series and reading books. thanks for the hilarious and educational summary! I subscribed so fast >.

[@vinayakgupta2003]

This video on Wuxia helped me understand a lot powers like What is Chi here is called HAKI in one piece world so it kinda explains all of those wired (including Dials from sky island) powers that are not attained by Devil fruits

[@martytu20]

It’s ki in Dragon Ball universe

[@bar1scorpio]

@@martytu20 Which is exactly why "Chi" is an acceptable spelling. Tryna correct that $#!+ is just askin' for a fight.

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Great to see you cover this topic.

[@1003JustinLaw]

Dude this is just what I need for my Wuxia-themed D&D 5e spin-off, I'm writing it right now but I'll be referring people to your video when they don't know what Wuxia is. Oh me? I'm a first gen FoB from mainland China, I've read all Jinyong and Gulong Wuxia novels and can probably recite them backwards from memory. Very effective use of time during my teenage years, I know.

[@rebeccabertolini4420]

That is a straight up GENIUS idea, we need more RPG content based off of non-western fantasy, I would be down to play something like that!

[@lkzhang820]

As a Chinese audien，I like your description.

[@foxsnightmare]

Thank you for spreading wuxia info in english. I grew up in europe and always felt lonely being the only one around who's super into this. Hopefully others will pick up the interest upon seeing this.

[@amypieterse4127]

Love watching chinese Wuxia. Some shows I rewatch over and over. There are some interesting moral issues that are brought up in them.

[@deborahkogan8742]

You are always so interesting. Thank you!

[@Linfamy]

💗

[@deborahkogan8742]

@@Linfamy ♡

[@kv5917]

5:54 Knock out annoying customer Run to wash hands Police: 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@plaunty]

You do great work it is very entertaining and informative!! Keep it up

[@Linfamy]

Thank you ;)

[@aokhoinguyenang3992]

Most of these story(at least the ones Jin Yong wrote) take place in chaotic times (right before or during a war)-> The government has very little man power to spare on maintaining order-> These martial art heroes and martial art clans rule (keeping peace or causing trouble to gain power), sometime they would even intervene in wars to sway the result their way or the various military/political factions would try to bring them in on their side for extra manpower -> Creating a very dynamic ever changing setting as backdrop for the story

[@Littletime839]

"You could name a character to any Chinese person and they probably won't know who it is because of your accent" 😂 thanks for that, nearly spat out my tea

[@blacksweettee]

I LOVE Chinese fantasy! ❤️🙏🏾 I hope one of the stories you read is Legend of the White Snake.

[@airea_ameal]

I love Chinese fantasy series. And I love this video of yours. Will you also make one on XiānXia 🤗🤗🤗

[@R2d2koko]

U explained very good in detail 👍🏼

[@wetyewruyrtsutrdhjfg]

Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber could probably be called Fantasy Martial Arts: Harem Edition. Zhao Min: Tsundere Zhou Zhiruo: Kuudere/Yandere Xiao Zhao: Deredere Zhu'er: Another Yandere Zhang Wuji - indecisive MC with story breaking powers and deus ex machinas hitting him at every angle.

[@b.c4440]

Cool this was fun. I like learning about genres I’ve never heard of.

[@Sk0lzky]

Make sure you record those livestreams, I love the idea of audiobook series. They're like tv shows but don't suck and you can do other stuff while listening.

[@mkull910]

Love this video!

[@spacepope69]

You have just enlightened me. Thanks!

[@Linfamy]

:D

[@Donnerjkks]

Yesssss learning new storytelling & archetypes is my jam.

[@kaydotersic2638]

Was watching Kung Fu Hustle and when I looked into it's background it said it was a parody to this type of stuff but I didn't know how to look it up and found this was a really good explanation that helped understand the movie better and was funny to listen to thank you

[@angeliki5135]

The Oshu Fujiwara clan's home was in Hiraizumi, which is now modern day Iwate Prefacture. I have always been curious about Wuxia and Chinese fantasy, just like many always ask me about Greek folklore. Thank you for sharing this with us! 😊

[@Ryan_gogaku]

The Oshu Fujiwara's home was in Hiraizumi, in modern-day Iwate Prefecture.

[@VEROTIKAA]

yes doit please idlove to hear those stories they sound awesome

[@musAKulture]

oh wow. linfamy is finally encroaching/giving some love on my territory. sincerely, a translator/writer of the genre, sort of.

[@Linfamy]

Ooh nice!

[@konnitchiwonders8915]

I really love your videos ❤️💕

[@Linfamy]

Thank you =)

[@konnitchiwonders8915]

I'm actually one of your fans and it's an honour that you said thanks to mee🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@angelinaandersonbaires7702]

Loving it!!💁‍♀️

[@mandirarai1215]

Huh didn't know this was a genre. Haha I love watching "pretty people flying around with swords"

[@lucasblaise11]

O my gods, please make this a series!

[@mellodees3663]

Been into wuxia and xiaxia for a couple months now and just searched KZbin for more information. You were the first video suggested.

[@blackknightjack3850]

"What is wuxia?" The answer is that it's fantasy except instead of magic it has pure rule of cool.

[@bennysulistio6401]

Great job. Will look forward to this series. Wuxia is also a part of South East Asia Pop Culture, especially Indonesia. It became popular from 1990, when The Return of Condor Heroes was aired for the first time in a TV Station. Ask a random Indonesian about Yo Ko (the Fujianese dialect of Yang Guo) and his auntie Leong, he/she will know about them. And we definitely understand your reference of which character that are losing his hand. Lol

[@vincenttekelenburg3740]

Your idea about reading these stories sounds quite interesting! Kinda curious though: Will these be longer vids with longer stories, regular length vids with shorter stories or regular length vids with excerpts from longer stories that really catch it's essence? Not really familiar with the genre so I can't say which style I'd prefer myself. A channel I'd recommend to give you a bit of inspiration is wolf lord rho. The genre he focusses on is quite different but it gives a nice example on how to make reading stories in KZbin vids work.

[@Linfamy]

I was thinking just casual live streams of me reading haha. I'm not a voice actor so it'd be casual and in addition to the usual content.

[@Cpt.Truckingham]

Thanks for the well organized explanation, my friend wants to get into this kinda stuff and I sent him this video :-)

[@Linfamy]

Woohoo!

[@Alias_Anybody]

Kind of the Chinese version of western action-fantasy I'd argue.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

Well, if you think about it Star Wars is wuxia too. They use magic sword of light, can do things at a distance using a life energy called the Force, and the Jedi and Sith are basically the Shaolin Temple (sans baldness) facing off the Evil Sect. The modern wuxia genre in China has grown past its medieval fantasy world. The Long Hu Men universe (based on Tony Wang's comic series) is set in the modern era.

[@wavereader8847]

Historical fantasies with black and white magic unless there's more of them now that has nothing to do with the Chinese dynasties. If you read older novels like journey to the west, you find no chi, lightness skills, and acupuncture that freezes or stop bleeding/poisons. They would just call it magic in journey to the west. Also the book doesn't describe them flying through the air like they do in the action shows. I think that's just the special effect people and film makers doing that.

[@damedesuka77]

Oh wow you're branching out to Wuxia! Most Wuxia I know were from 90s Chinese (Hong Kong?) movies and that one TV series called Wind and Cloud from early 2000s. Basically it's part of my childhood. You know what I like the most about Wuxia aesthetics? Them flowing long hairs and billowing robes, on both men and women 👌

[@Linfamy]

That's my childhood too. I love the old movies because they actually had choreographed fights. Nowadays, it's fighting with CGI and close-up shots.

[@MagicianFairy]

I remember watching a version of a Wuxia adaptation. It was so surreal like a Spanish Soap Opera but Chinese. It was super hammy. No idea what was said or who was who.. but I enjoyed it.

[@latoyathunderstar9585]

Aww. 😘 I so happy you love us fandom. Btw, when lesson was on ‘qi’ I was thinking DBZ (ocean studio dub/subs), yeah kinda didn’t have the financial stability at time of Kai and Super. And when to chi blockade, I can relate to Neji’s and Hinata’s chi blockbuster moves. Heian-Kyo is the capital answer. 😅 I enjoy just guessing for your quizzes.

[@Ktotwf]

I really enjoyed this and you are pretty funny.

[@Linfamy]

💗

[@jonn1720]

1:23 I've never realised how they don't have money problems 😂. Maybe their sect supports them.

[@JanelleLynn392]

Totally worth it so many shows not enough time

[@rowanhawklan9707]

I like your idea and want to listen. Also I used to do Qigong Tai chi but had no idea what the name ment until I watched this video!!!

[@ringomomoiro1121]

I wish this video existed before I read Grandmother of demonic cultivation (or Chinese drama The untamed).

[@KGfy-eq3mc]

You draw very well. That old guy you drew might be my favorite drawing you made in this video. Have you ever thought of making dolls?

[@mathieur2306]

Hiraizumi is the name of Oshu Fujiwara city. Good vidéo, different from usual but always very interesting

[@Miraihi]

Accented cinema has a lot of great videos on history of Wuxia, really recommend it.

[@aimeelou2]

Of all the books or movies I've gotten my hand on, Wuxia is by far the weirdest. I take up one story and keep reading without taking any breaks for hours on end. After I finally become free, I sit down and wonder why I got so captivated by them. Some stories might not even be that good but I literally cannot keep it down.

[@dianatang4540]

How is it weird😭maybe ur just not used to the Chinese aspect

[@RgxSnowy]

Love to hear more

[@toan19812]

You forget chi can also be transferred. For example, a master with 50 years of chi, can transfer to a rookie, and that rookie is now obtained 50 years of chi power aka short cut to become the strongest.