āThe Concept of Chinese Xiaä¾ The xiĆ” (äæ ) is a Chinese term and concept that refers to a righteous person who excels in Chinese martial arts and who uses their armed expertise to protect the innocent and right social unfairness or injustice (é¤å¼·ę¶å¼±). Such a person is said to possess āmartial virtueā (wĒ dĆ© ę¦å¾·), and usually regarded as a peopleās champion. The xiĆ” concept is the basis for the Wuxia genre of Chinese literature and cinema, and is fundamental to the understanding of the genre. Liang Yusheng, a founder of the post-war ānew schoolā wuxia literature, once asserted: āIād rather write a wuxia story with no force or martial arts, than to devoid them of the spirit of xiĆ” (å®åÆę ę¦ļ¼äøåÆę ä¾ )ā. Cultural correlations XiĆ” could be roughly compared to āchivalryā or āheroes/heroines", and similar in part to (and often translated as) the Western concept of knights and knighthood, but owing to differences in cultural contexts, there are both major and minor differences: The feudal overtones of Charlemagneās or William the Conquerorās enfeoffed cavalry made up of nobles by birth are wholly missing from the Chinese concept. Unlike a knight, the xiĆ” (āchivalrous manā) need not serve a lord or hold any military power; neither are they required to be from an aristocratic class. In comparison, the main identification of a xiĆ” is a code of conduct and an ideology of honor and social justice dedicated to serving the good of the people. The philosophyās expectations of good character in teacher-student relationships is a fundamental feature of traditional Chinese martial arts training. Another difference from western knights is that considerable numbers of these xiĆ” are women. Japanese bushido is a warrior code. As with western knights, it is based on a military casteās allegiance to a lord. A well-known description comes from the historian Sima Qianās Records of the Grand Historian: ā He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for anotherās troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. ā History The concept of xiĆ” goes back to the Zhou dynasty, especially the Spring and Autumn period. Referring to a class of warriors (the shi 士) whose social position is sandwiched between the commoners and the royalties, the xiĆ” (sometimes known as xia ke äæ 客 or xia shi äæ 士) is originally the military counterpart (wu shi ę¦å£«) of the more scholarly shi (ä»), who eventually developed into Confucian scholars. Both are highly prized by feudal princes and warlords, one becoming intellectual advisors who contribute to the governing of the state, and the other ending up as guest residents of their masters living by the blade. In ancient China, these warriorsā preference to use force to resolve a conflict sometimes made them unpopular and inseparable from the common ruffians in the eyes of bureaucrats. The legalist Han Feizi, for example, listed the xiĆ” among the five vermins of society. The concept of xiĆ” however underwent many transformations through the centuries. By the end of the Qing dynasty it has come to represent an ideal hero who wielded power by force, but could withhold it if necessary, and more importantly, possesses a sense of moral justice. Equivalence in Western Cultures A close equivalence of xiĆ” to the English world can be found in Robin Hood, frequently identified by the Chinese as a āxiĆ”-robberā (äæ ē) ā one with his own morally justifiable code of conduct despite being a law-breaker. Cartoon superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man are also called xiĆ” in Chinese translation (Bat-xiĆ” čč äæ and Spider-xiĆ” ččä¾ respectively). Although not addressed as xiĆ” in the Chinese translation, Johnston McCulleyās legendary fictional hero Zorro is often regarded as a closest resemblance to the Chinese stereotype of xiĆ”. Youxia (Traditional: éäæ Simplified: ęøøä¾ Pinyin: yĆ³uxiĆ” [jĒŹÉjĒ]) was a type of Chinese hero celebrated in classical Chinese poetry. Youxia literally means āwandering forceā, but is commonly translated as āknight-errantā or less commonly as ācavalierā, āadventurerā, āsoldier of fortuneā, or āunderworld stalwartā. The term éäæ yĆ³uxiĆ”, āwandering forceā, refers to the way these men solely traveled the land using force (or influence through association with powerful people) to right the wrongs done to the common people and the monarchy if need be. Youxia did not come from any social class in particular. Various historical documents, wuxia novels, and folktales describe them as being princes, government officials, poets, musicians, physicians, professional soldiers, merchants, and butchers. Some were just as handy with a calligraphy brush as others were with swords and spears. According to Dr. James J. Y. Liu (1926ā1986), a professor of Chinese and comparative literature at Stanford University, it was a personās temperament and need for freedom, and not their social status, that caused them to roam the land and help those in need. Dr. Liu believes this is because a very large majority of these knights came from northern China, which borders the territory of ānorthern nomadic tribes, whose way of life stressed freedom of movement and military virtuesā. Many knights seem to have come from Hebei and Henan provinces. A large majority of the characters from the Water Margin, which is considered one of Chinaās best examples of knight-errant literature, come from these provinces. One good example of Youxia poetry is The Swordsman by Jia Dao (Tang Dynasty): For ten years I have been polishing this sword; Its frosty edge has never been put to the test. Now I am holding it and showing it to you, sir: Is there anyone suffering from injustice? According to Dr. Liu, Jiaās poem āseemsā¦to sum up the spirit of knight-errantry in four lines. At the same time, one can also take it as a reflection of the desire of all those who have prepared themselves for years to put their abilities to the test for some justice.ā Recommend bookāThe Sword or the Needle: The Female Knight-errant. This study focussing on narratives about female knights-errant (nĆ¼xia) cuts along a thematic line in Chinese literary history, and thus seeks to contribute to understanding and appreciation mainly in three fields of inquiry: the formation of narrative subgenre; the literary representation of gender; and the particularities of the Chinese knight-errantry narrative. It traces the processes of textual collecting, editing, rewriting, and intertextual referencing by which narratives about female knights-errant were invented as, and forged into, a thematic sub-genre. The narratives about a character type who boldly transgresses gender boundaries are studied as an exemplary case for a general inquiry into the subversive significance of images of gender-bending strong female characters in the Chinese narrative tradition. Finally, the present study investigates into representations of the practice of Chinese knight-errantry, which includes assassination for social policing, private vengeance, and banditry.ā
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