Wuxia

Wuxia or Wǔxiá (, Mandarin , Hanyu Pinyin: Wǔxiá, Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning "martial (arts) heroes", is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. Wǔxiá has figured prominently in the popular culture of Chinese-speaking areas since ancient times to the present, and the most important writers have devoted followings. The wǔxiá genre is a blend of the philosophy of xiá (俠, "honor code", "an ethical person", "knight-errant"), and China's long history in wǔshù ("kung fu" or "martial arts"). A male martial artist who follows the code of xiá is called a swordsman, or xiákè (俠客/侠客). Japan's samurai bushidō traditions, Western Europe's knight chivalry traditions, and America's gunslinger Western traditions all share some aspects with China's swordsman xiá traditions. The swordsmen in wǔxiá need not serve a lord or hold any military power and they are not required to be from an aristocratic class, although some are...