The Way of Wuxia

The Way of Wuxia

Wuxia is a Chinese genre best described as heroic fantasy. Typically, wuxia stories revolve around noble vigilantes who fight injustice, usually in the shadows.  The term wuxia translates to both “Martial Hero” and “Martial Chivalry”. 

Wuxia heroes share some similarities with other heroic archetypes, i.e., Medieval knights, Japanese “Ronin” samurai, and even the Old West gunslingers. But wuxia has its own unique flavor and style. The best example being that wuxia heroes are quite often female. This is virtually unheard of in the realm of heroic fiction, making wuxia both progressive and subversive. 

Wuxia is inherently dangerous. There’s something hardwired into wuxia that makes it drastically contrary to the norm. It’s been banned at various times in China.

Wuxia heroes follow a strict code of chivalry. So, they are duty bound to right wrongs, fight injustice, and dispense retribution. In addition, their code also stresses the importance of benevolence, courage, justice, individualism, loyalty, truthfulness, disregard for wealth, and disregard for glory. These days, such values are considered laughably unfashionable. They’re a joke. That’s because, in the modern world, the thug mentality has been aggresively promoted and sold like a commodity, and with great success. In fact, the success has been so great that the thug has now risen to the status of cultural icon. 

Wuxia is a genre. But it’s also a mentality, a mentality completely at odds with the modern world. 

The way of wuxia is a path I greatly admire. Because wuxia values inspire people to reach their full positive potential. For this reason, wuxia is one of the most important genres of all time, especially today.