Alice Poon's Blog - Posts Tagged "chinese-fantasy"
Historical Tidbits Re: Wuxia Fantasy Genre
Today I would like to share a few historical tidbits regarding the "Wuxia Fantasy" genre.
(1) Wuxia genre researchers generally agree that 水滸傳 Water Margin—one of the Four Great Classical Chinese Novels—is the precursor of the Qing- and Modern-era wuxia fiction. Jin Yong the wuxia fiction grandfather himself admitted that his early works were indeed influenced by Water Margin.
(2) In the Tang dynasty (618 – 907), the most popular genre fiction written in classical Chinese was called "legends" 傳奇小說. Such legends were structured as short novels and grouped into four main categories—wuxia, romance, historical and supernatural.
(3) All these numerous Tang legends were later compiled into the mammoth anthology (consisting of 500 volumes) called 太平廣記 Extensive Records of the Taiping Reign and edited by the Song scholar 李昉 Li Fang and others.
(4) The most well-known “wuxia legend” collected in the Anthology as 卷一百九十三豪俠一 (Volume 193, Wuxia I) is called 虬髯客傳 Legend of the Dragon Beard. This is widely considered the first wuxia novel. The story tells how Dragon Beard helps Li Shimen seize the throne as the second Tang emperor, Tang Taizong.
(5) Another popular “wuxia legend” from the Tang dynasty is 聶隱娘 The Assassin collected in the same Anthology as 卷一百九十四豪俠二 (Volume 194, Wuxia II). There is a 2014 award-winning film adaptation of this story directed by Taiwanese director 候孝賢 Hou Hsiao Hsien and starring 舒琪 Shu Qi.
(6) The fantastical martial arts feats as depicted in the Tang “wuxia legend” 聶隱娘 The Assassin are very likely to have inspired all the qinggong (flying kungfu feats) in wuxia/xianxia fiction of later eras.
The excerpt below shows how the protagonist is trained in kungfu by a nun and her two female disciples. The two disciples can fly around the mountain crags like monkeys leaping from tree to tree. The nun gives her a pill and an ultra sharp dagger. She learns to fly like the two disciples and in time, she feels light as the wind and can use her dagger to stab monkeys, tigers and leopards. After three years, she’s able to stab eagles in flight.
Excerpt:-
及時，至大石穴之嵌空數十步，寂無居人，猿狖極多，鬆蘿益邃。已有二女，亦各十歲，皆聰明婉麗不食。能於峭壁上飛走，若捷猱登木，無有蹶失。尼與我藥一粒，兼令長執寶劍一口，長二尺許，鋒利，吹毛令剸，逐二女攀緣，漸覺身輕如風。一年後，刺猿狖。百無一失。後刺虎豹，皆決其首而歸。三年後能飛，使刺鷹隼，無不中。劍之刃漸減五寸。飛禽遇之，不知其來也。
(1) Wuxia genre researchers generally agree that 水滸傳 Water Margin—one of the Four Great Classical Chinese Novels—is the precursor of the Qing- and Modern-era wuxia fiction. Jin Yong the wuxia fiction grandfather himself admitted that his early works were indeed influenced by Water Margin.
(2) In the Tang dynasty (618 – 907), the most popular genre fiction written in classical Chinese was called "legends" 傳奇小說. Such legends were structured as short novels and grouped into four main categories—wuxia, romance, historical and supernatural.
(3) All these numerous Tang legends were later compiled into the mammoth anthology (consisting of 500 volumes) called 太平廣記 Extensive Records of the Taiping Reign and edited by the Song scholar 李昉 Li Fang and others.
(4) The most well-known “wuxia legend” collected in the Anthology as 卷一百九十三豪俠一 (Volume 193, Wuxia I) is called 虬髯客傳 Legend of the Dragon Beard. This is widely considered the first wuxia novel. The story tells how Dragon Beard helps Li Shimen seize the throne as the second Tang emperor, Tang Taizong.
(5) Another popular “wuxia legend” from the Tang dynasty is 聶隱娘 The Assassin collected in the same Anthology as 卷一百九十四豪俠二 (Volume 194, Wuxia II). There is a 2014 award-winning film adaptation of this story directed by Taiwanese director 候孝賢 Hou Hsiao Hsien and starring 舒琪 Shu Qi.
(6) The fantastical martial arts feats as depicted in the Tang “wuxia legend” 聶隱娘 The Assassin are very likely to have inspired all the qinggong (flying kungfu feats) in wuxia/xianxia fiction of later eras.
The excerpt below shows how the protagonist is trained in kungfu by a nun and her two female disciples. The two disciples can fly around the mountain crags like monkeys leaping from tree to tree. The nun gives her a pill and an ultra sharp dagger. She learns to fly like the two disciples and in time, she feels light as the wind and can use her dagger to stab monkeys, tigers and leopards. After three years, she’s able to stab eagles in flight.
Excerpt:-
及時，至大石穴之嵌空數十步，寂無居人，猿狖極多，鬆蘿益邃。已有二女，亦各十歲，皆聰明婉麗不食。能於峭壁上飛走，若捷猱登木，無有蹶失。尼與我藥一粒，兼令長執寶劍一口，長二尺許，鋒利，吹毛令剸，逐二女攀緣，漸覺身輕如風。一年後，刺猿狖。百無一失。後刺虎豹，皆決其首而歸。三年後能飛，使刺鷹隼，無不中。劍之刃漸減五寸。飛禽遇之，不知其來也。
My Talk on the China History Podcast
On April 9, 2024, the release date of my latest wuxia-myth novel The Earthly Blaze, I had the privilege of chatting on the China History Podcast with the host, Laszlo Montgomery, on my favorite subject of Jin Yong (the wuxia fiction icon) and the Wuxia Genre. The talk covers Jin Yong's life, his works, their impact on popular culture, the history and evolvement of the wuxia genre, and other interesting tidbits.
The China History Podcast is a hugely popular podcast that has a large and devoted audience, consisting of 50 percent US residents and the other 50 percent living all over the world. The Podcast is accessible via Youtube, Audible, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Here's the link to the Jin Yong/Wuxia episode on Youtube:-
CHP Jin Yong Wuxia Episode
Enjoy!
The China History Podcast is a hugely popular podcast that has a large and devoted audience, consisting of 50 percent US residents and the other 50 percent living all over the world. The Podcast is accessible via Youtube, Audible, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Here's the link to the Jin Yong/Wuxia episode on Youtube:-
CHP Jin Yong Wuxia Episode
Enjoy!
