History of Wuxia & Xianxia Cultivation Trope Explained with Brandon Sanderson’s Magic System
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ค. 2024
- The history of Wuxia & Xianxia cultivation trope explained with Brandon Sanderson’s magic system.
Brandon Sanderson’s Lecture: • Lecture #5: Worldbuild...
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0:00 Introduction
0:27 What is Brandon Sanderson's Magic System?
3:29 What is "Cultivation
8:58 Chi Cultivation
10:43 Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine
13:06 Wuxia and Xianxia Difference
14:44 Similar Magic System, But Different Culture
18:14 Creating Limitations in Cultivation Fiction
21:55 Social Dimension of Conflict
23:02 The Secret Sauce of Wuxia & cultivaction
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📚SOURCES:
罗立群, 2008, 中国武侠小说史
水滸傳
WU Guangzheng, 2007, Buddhist-Taoist rivalry and the evolution of the story of Lü Dongbin’s slaying the Yellow Dragon with a flying sword
Ni Maoshing, 1995, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine
Xin Sun, 2021, How mindset beliefs work differently for Chinese and US students
John Christopher Hamm, 2005, Paper Swordsmen_ Jin Yong and the Modern Chinese Martial Arts Novel
Professor Stephen Teo, 2009, Chinese Martial Arts Cinema - The Wuxia Tradition
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If you’re a writer or just someone who likes to explore new ideas, then you should check out the classic Wuxia & Xianxia movies. There are plenty of stuff you can borrow for your own project.
love your video, your voice is great
Great Video :)
I like wuxia novels, movies not so mucj
I started reading wuxia&xianxia novels by douluo dalu and kinf liked that everything was somewhat explained. It made it easier to understand the others. Still I have to ask. Why are chinese author so repetitive? It feels like the author is writing to goldfishes with alzheimer with how much they repeat or talk something over. It is commom or just thie genre?
有没有中文字幕？？？
I see you have cultivated your channel's energy to a high degree.
Of course! 《crash zoom close up》How else can I dominate the Jiangtube?
What is this, a crossover episode?
He can feel the views flowing into his meridians.
Maybe, it's a time for a breakthrought
@@caretakercat7176 I happen to have an extra realm condensing pill for your breakthrough, just a measly top grade spirit stone for my troubles =]
These videos have been super helpful. When you mentioned that grit is valued over intelligence in these stories, I realized that most shonen protagonists are usually happy fools with really good intentions. If there is a genius, they are usually the hero's best friend or foil lol.
There's also something important that you're missing: friendship and hardwork, those are themes that shonen jump mandates in their battle shonen titles. Shonen Sunday, Shonen Magazine and Young Jump don't have such mandates.
I wonder what's with Chinese DUFF's,
Usually the typical Chinese shonen would have a fatty friend who didn't like cultivation but instead wanted to be a merchant. Thus becoming a stepping stone for the MC'S.
@@ryandumaguit4724 @Ryan Dumaguit Oh really? I guess they serve as a cautionary message for the viewer? Like this is what happens when you have no greater ambition or don't try to shape your destiny. I don't know much about Chinese Shonen so that is interesting to learn 😀
@@minni_x yeah I guess, I just want to point out that if you start reading cultivation novels you will start to hate two of it's sub genre which is urban cultivation where you will see foreigners wreaking havoc in china OP in the beginning but nerfed at the end or just simply nerfed at the very beginning. Foreign characters are so Chinese you can't tell which is which yet you can only tell in their names, foreigners would have the personality of Arrogance and Ignorance basically they're like the typical Chinese villains except they are of different race. Then there is the the most Oppressive, Destructive and Ludicrous sub genre of cultivation which is the SYSTEM. If you're wondering what it is basically a game interface or status which gives power to the MC. It is also the epitome of bad or lazy writing MC weak just slap some System magic for convenience. And don't read the Manhua it is completely garbage since most of it would have a butchered plot from the novel. Realistically it is the quickest to like and hate if it had bad translations, bad drawings or have zero character developments.
So why read this shit you ask. Simple because we cultivate in a technique called AUTO TRANSLATE much like in real life where we see people complaining grammar's we don't complain but you will use auto translate to understand other people's short coming and a word of advice if your head starts to hurt just stop and rest, because it is the sign of burning brain cells since most of the translations of Manhua would be Equivalent to Necronomicon Writing so just stop when needed to if not then good luck. And finally don't expect too much on their Chinese comics or novels since their plot is so thin even a blind person can see it through.
@@minni_x but most fat friend in chinese novel have good lives. They are rarely in danger. Get married. Get rich. And at the end of the novel they show up doing fine and happy.
Those that i have read
This video has gathered my chi to form my golden core, raised my understanding, and made me the strongest upon the lands in one go
Qi
Pfff watch out for your demon heart bruh your 5 basic emotions may corrupt you
Truly a cultivation moment of all time
I find it interesting that you mentioned the "anyone who works hard can succeed" element that was historically present in cultivation stories. Having read quite a few recent cultivation webnovels in Chinese, there appears to be a very clear theme these days that hard work alone is not enough. Most stories have some strict innate requirement for successful cultivation, like some special constitution or spirit roots (根骨，灵根，资质). You also need 法侶财地: cultivation techniques (which tend to be kept secret, only divulged to the privileged), companions (right connections to help you along), wealth (to afford expensive alchemical pills), land (with the proper fengshui, which is even more difficult to obtain than mere wealth since good fengshui land would already be occupied and not for sale).
Of course, the protagonist of the story would usually start out as trash and with nothing, and he ultimately achieves success not just because of hard work (sometimes not even with hard work) but because of extraordinary luck (finding some treasure or inheritance) or literal hacks (eg some "system"). It seems like "hard work" no longer resonates with the lived experiences of audiences, it does not explain the scarcity of success when just about anyone can "work hard".
My own hypothesis is that while historically cultivation (or wuxia) stories have emphasized hard work, it was never only hard work that brought success. My knowledge of older stories is limited but Guo Jing was lucky to randomly meet Hong QiGong, Yang Guo had OuYang Feng as a godfather, Zhang Wuji fell into a hole and got one of the most powerful techniques, not to mention being born into one of the most powerful sects. And because modern audiences are now acutely aware that hard work is not enough, they no longer buy into that explanation, resulting in authors no longer emphasizing hard work.
Agreed man. After reading tons of Chinese webnovels, I can safely assume its laziness. No, I take that back (kind of). These Chinese Web authors are jumping into a genre that takes years of patience, planning, and research to write a great story. but they need money to live. So they just pump out chapters and use the most awful yet time tested tropes to keep the story going and word count up! It seems to be a difficult situation for them. My reference is looking at the most successful Web authors. I Eat Tomatoes, or Er Gen. I think they have the money and time to dedicate themselves to making a well thought out and deep Xianxia.
I can confirm that "anyone who works hard can succeed" element was not really historically dominate in cultivation stories.
In fact, traditional Chinese history records tends to emphasis on the extraordinary factor of the main character. The most notable example would be the first emperor of Han was given the mandate of heaven after he slayed the white snake(and it's recorded in the official history).
In fact, influential literature such as the Romance of Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Fengshen Romance depicted people failed and was killed even if they attempted all they could.
Especially in Fengshen Romance, when the most powerful creator of Taoism was defeated and had his followers killed because he keep resisting the fate but his enemy kept bringing their allies(
his elder brother Lao Tzu even stroke a deal with the creator of Buddhism to fight against him).
Traditional Chinese novels has always had their focus on how fate is one's destiny.
@@harrytan5579 yes. And the fact that a lot of Asian cultures in general tend to celebrate someone’s success through the lens of luck really drives the point home.
You might be a nobody, but as long as you have extraordinary luck and the “I can do it attitude” you too can be very powerful. Though Luck usually plays a more dominant role in the success stories people tell
@@Joe27248 Cocooned Cow's Martial World is also a good example of a world that a ton of work was poured into. And that was a Xuanhuan due to its very different Cultivation system. Although Soul Cultivation wasn't detailed much, as the main character had no talent for it, it has one of the most detailed Body cultivation I've seen to date as well as a Fascinating Chi cultivation.
I really like Er Gen's ISSTH as well.
'I eat tomatoes' I think is the Duoluo Dalu series, Sealed Divine Throne, Child of Light, and Heavenly Jewel Change Author right? I really enjoy his works as well.
The main characters all work hard. But the key factor of success has always been the power of fate or luck. Luck and Fate are concepts that can be interchangeable, and the main character is also someone who has extraordinary aptitude and the X factor that just makes him the one person who can be so OP.
This is because ultimately these are escapist fantasies, for burned out people who think they are just one of the faceless few in society.
I'm impressed how you managed to explain all these concepts very accurately in English
I tread the path of cultivation at the age of 5, achieving foundation building at 10,core formation at 13, golden core at 18,nascent soul at 22,soul transformation at 25, achieving saint at 30,comprehending a major dao at 40 and attaining the emperor stage ......3000 dao in one
you haven't even reached void returning, noob.
Yo from mtlnovel?
3000 dao in one? you ain't even a immortal emperor and haven't carried the heavens will yet and you dare talk about dao? talk again when you reach that stage
chill bro you aint even a zenith heaven golden immortal yet, I on the other have cultivated the Creation Dao to its finest extent, effectively replacing Nüwa from the 10 Heavenly Dao Sages. My background on the other hand is something you can't compare to as I am Peng Clan's Young Master!
You guys haven't even left through the primordial chaos and become the fabric of the multiverse and all existence itself? Shame on you, only speak to me when you can touch upon the Great Dao.
Jin Yong's stories actually have a lot of "easter eggs" to discover around the 5 element theories and TCM, including the names of the different moves, the names of the characters, their weapons, character designs etc. He actually had a pretty good understanding of TCM principles and it's just another level of fun for readers in the know.
Based off your assessment of the “heritage” vs “cultivation” theory, I’d like to posit a theory on how this is reflected in a stark differences between the royal lineages of China and Japan as well as how this is reflected in their contemporary pop cultural media.
Whereas I feel that China leans more towards Cultivation, Japan seems more fond of a hybrid between the two ideas. Consider that China had the Mandate of Heaven that essentially democratised the idea of royalty. Even you, a mere lowborn peasant, can become the emperor if the Heavens favour you and vice versa, not even imperial ancestry can guarantee your position at the top.
The position of Emperor in Japan, however is far more firmly fixed. To date, it is the longest running imperial bloodline. Either you’re a member of the imperial family or you’re not. While the role of the Shogun perhaps has more akin to the Chinese imperial system in that it is not a position solely owned by one bloodline, it bears remembering that the most recent longest running era in Japanese history was the Tokugawa Shogunate, which itself was not a very socially mobile form of government.
That said, I think a hybrid idea Heritage and Cultivation can be seen in some popular shonen anime today. Goku, as a Saiyan has a potential of power far beyond any of his Earthling allies. And yet, he is only a lowborn Saiyan within his culture only managing to overcome elites like Vegeta through persistent attempts at self-cultivation. Likewise, the Uchiha clan of Naruto also hold major potential over any other bloodline in the series. And yet, from the early series we’re shown that merely having a Sharingan is not an instant “I win” button and attaining the highest levels of power requires a great degree of trials and tribulations.
I think Shonen in general has a tendency to explain a character’s supremacy in ability through their bloodline which is more Hereditary in mindset, but that the upper levels of their abilities cannot be reached without a Cultivation approach
Also look at the Magical Girl genre, where the characters’ powers are almost always either theirs by birthright, or granted by an outside agent (usually because they have somehow proven themselves worthy, but occasionally purely by accident) - come to think of it, getting powers purely by accident is pretty common in western fiction (Peter Parker gets bitten by the radioactive spider, etc)
Star Wars, the Shonen saga...
Somehow I feel like the tragedy tag would sometimes become a justification for the MC'S overpowered ness. I mean we have seen Comics from Asia and west were MC'S would have a zero to hero plot.
Not to mention the Japanese Emperor is considered to be the literal descendent of a god.
My favorite example of this dichotomy is Naruto. Where the main character is called a "Genius of hard work" by the narrative. But it turns out he was the son of the greatest ninja ever and one of the most powerful blood lines ever, has the most powerful demon in his belly button, and is trained by another of the most powerful ninja in the most powerful styles as a personal favor to his father.
It's an entirely hereditary narrative masquerading as a cultivation narrative.
This is a great video. The “you can do it too” factor does exist in some Western genres, especially the near-present-day Sci-fi/fantasy style. Animorphs had the greatest impression on me, as the kids in the books turn into animals just by imagining themselves to be an animal. I spent more than a couple hours as a kid trying to turn into a lizard or an owl. I think this is also one of the reasons Harry Potter became so popular.
Also, in the original (William Moulton Marston) Wonder Woman stories, WW's powers came from "Amazonian Concentration", and the stories often said things like "Any girl can be a Wonder Woman".
What? The Animorphs turned into animals because they gained the ability via Andalite technology from the morphing cube, not through pure imagination.
Harry Potter magic is also purely determined by being born with it, not something anybody can do.
@@SCDarkSoul the harry potter thing is a gigantic and sad irony that most people fail to see lmao
The "secret manual" factor is too true. Kenji and the martial arts explored in that has made me very interested in practicing everything Kenji learned as well, I was even practicing the basic taolu as you were explaining this idea lol.
"Have faith in the Lord Fifth, gain eternal life!
When the Lord Fifth appears, who dares to cause strife!"
-Sun Tzu, Art of War
I shall seal the heavens
Arguably the best wuxia novel.
that is NOT sun tzu😂
@@loftilhan4868xianxia*
one of my favorite wuxia is a book series by an author named Will Wright called Cradle. I think the reason i liked it so much is because it is western it actually goes out of its way to explain what all the cultivation steps are and why characters are doing certain things.
this video would have been perfect for me a few years ago when I first fell into xianxia/wuxia hell hole knowing absolutely nothing about it. but at the same time, learning and researching things myself had its own charm too, and the fan translations always provide footnotes!
Thank you so much!
I grew up reading and a fan of wuxia and xianxia media and I have always struggled to explain them to friends who aren't familiar with the background. I will use this video to try to explain to them because I genuinely think this genre have some of the most fascinating literature from my childhood.
Yeah this is probably the best explanation on cultivation you can get. Cultivation is one of those terms that only immersion can explain. The culture of jianghu is probably the biggest factor as it shapes the stories completely yet never is directly mentioned. Typically the System for cultivation go through a few basic levels Qi condensation, foundation establishment, core formation, nascent soul. If your ever wondering if a series is xian xia and not xuan huan then it will most likely contain those concepts or atleast use those concepts as a blatant reference.
been waiting for this, as always Great work!
Finally a channel which comes to fullfill my thirst of wuxia/xianxia knowledge.
Thank you for this one! I recently discovered this genre and I was so confused! I’m used to just rolling with things I don’t get from media outside my culture but it’s great to have an explanation. Super helpful!
Loved the videos. I have entered the world of novel cultivation for some time now and i loved it, so it is nice to learn about the real inspirations and the cultural history.
Ah man, so many great movies used for this vid. Gonna need to re-watch roughly all of them. Great vid, and I'll definitely have to keep this handy to show people.
Been looking forward to this video for a while!
New video! Gonna get some popcorn! 🍿
I'm looking for cultivation content and C.J. was amaxong as always!
Thanks a lot for this vid man.
Between reading manhua online, hearing about Amazing Cultivation Simulator, and learning that even my mom started watching a bunch of Xianxia/Wuxia stuff on Netflix, i sorely needed a primer on how this genre actually worked.
Watched sseth's vid sometime ago, thought it was ridiculously in depth/arbitrary. Turns out it was pretty standard in the general cultivation genre/landscape
Wow, I am glad this channel popped up in my feed- I’ve learned so much, and learned that I have much to learn.
Yoo dude awesome, ist sad that a lot of chinese webnovels now are just a colection of faceslaps that just throw away anything that the character used when they gat new powers
I think that's because the cheapest translator service for English goes for notoriously poor novels, because they underbid translation services.
There's plenty of good Xianxia, but a lot of authors can't pay for it it, because that company won't pay for the rights.
@@Leiliel1 yea but im talking even machine trsnslation and raws
But it is understandable considering that hey live in a censorship filled country so they drop 5000 chaptrrs for a quick buck
@@Leiliel1 nah, the quality of Chinese novels is getting worse, I would say is the CCP that gets restrictions even worse by the year.
A political climate that sucks the life out of storytelling? Here in the West I think we're starting to see what that looks like, sadly enough.
As a western wuxia fan, what a well done video! Thoroughly enjoyed your dissection
Identifying with the protagonist and when they grow stronger, you feel as if you are growing stronger, too. That is an insight I've not heard of, but it makes itself known even in Western literature. It is a subtle characteristic that is there, but I have not sussed it out consciously.
Thanks, Bro!
This is such an amazing work putting together so much information on martial arts cinema.
Not what I was expecting, but turned out to be exactly what I was looking for!
Yes, thank you for making this video.
I have watched all the series you used in this video. Love them.
It is interesting to note that there is also a great difference between traditional European magic and modern western fantasy.
Originally, becoming a mage required the study of ancient knowledge, forbidden lore and negotiation with mystical powers.
Not that different from eastern cultivation.
It never was - the statement about Western magic systems being mostly hereditary and Eastern ones being the opposite is IMO False.
At best Eastern stories just change the emphasis. In Eastern fantasies there are chosen ones in general. Sun Wukong was one too. He wasn't genetically predisposed, but he still was chosen one in a sense. He both was favored by luck and had a great mentor. Which is almost exactly what being "genetically" predisposed is - you are favored by luck to learn quickly - in eastern terms it would be called also "The inner potential" when it's strictly about persons talent. The main difference is that we attribute it to the blood and in the East it would be this "potential" and/or luck.
Yeah, magical ability being something certain people are born with and others aren't is a very recent invention in Western fantasy. I think a few different things gave rise to it:
1) Influence from superhero stories, where powers tend to be something bestowed on a character by happenstance.
2) Influence from Dungeons & Dragons, where characters are sorted into classes, only some of which are labeled as "magic users", creating a dichotomy between those who can use magic and those who cannot.
3) It's now much more common to have the person slinging spells around be the main character, rather than the wise old wizard who either supports or hinders the hero. But writers still like having very young, everyman heroes, the kind of people who aren't likely to have had the time or resources to become a magical expert. Having magic be an inherent ability explains why we don't see EVERYONE casting spells all the time, when it's apparently so easy that our main character can go from utter novice to badass wizard in the course of a single novel.
😅@@nc956
This video is really helpful as a fan of Xian Xia cdrama, it helps me to somehow understand things about cultivations stuff.
Another awesome video bro. I was reminded of the plot point I've seen a few times where the master agrees to admit defeat if the challenger can "land a single blow" or "knock my hat off my head". Only now to I have some understanding of why they did these things. No one wants to be perceived as a bully. Well, except for the villains.
因为能把你帽子打下来，就可以把你的头✘😉
I practice a system of life cultivation called Ren Xue, it's about improving health and uplifting life. Also, it has a Qigong system called Yuan Qigong, which is really good. I highly recommend to anyone 😁
When I was younger (early 2000s), I used to watch an Indonesian martial arts TV series, Wiro Sableng, based on the novels of Tito Bastian. I wonder whether the skills shown in the show should be labelled as hard or soft magic.
Wiro sableng can be considered wuxia i think
do you know indonesian magics have similar system to xianxia?
Thank you so much for this. Recently I got an interest in chinese media, so I had to figure out a bunch of things myself. But this video still helped a lot with source material and influences I've been wondering about.
The insight about common tropes was interesting too. Before Brandson mentionned it in his lectures I never noticed how common it is for genetics to play a role in magic systems. It might be part of the reason why chinese cultivation settings felt like a breath of fresh air to me as an average westerner.
i love your head picture,i really like this anime,凡尔赛玫瑰.but your head picture girl is a bad girl,sad
This helps illustrate how the Force in Star Wars is pulling from both Western and Eastern (or at least a superficial Western understanding of) literary traditions, and this often leads to confusion in the lore. The Force is both hereditary ("the Force is strong in your family") and requires cultivation ("I'm sorry I left before I finished my training"). But if the former is true, why did the Jedi remove Force-sensitive children from their families and then forbid intimate attachments instead of encouraging lineages of Force-wielders? But if the latter is true, why can some Force-wielders suddenly pull incredible powers out of nowhere based on who their grandfather was?
George Lucas just wasn't really that smart
Because Rian is an Idiot.
Having children will encourage attachment and love, which will lead to the dark side
While the force can be inherited, the Force will alays be producing Force Users. There are three main reasons the Jedi recruited as they did. One, the old no attachments thing. Two, the Jedi philosophy teaches one to trust in the Force, viewing it as an ally and not a tool, trying to cultivate a bloodline of force users would be like trying to domesticate the force. They trust the force to give them what they need. Notably Sith who saw the Force as a tool, did this sort of thing, ultimately it was more of a hindrance than an aid. Bloodlines only encouraged more infighting, and those with prestigious pedigree's often let their ego's get the better of them. (All the Good Breeding in the univurse won't help you if you don't apply yourself. Especially among the Sith) Three, The Jedi wanted to reduce the amount of possible dark side users in the galaxy. So they wanted to make sure force sensitive children always had a "good" place to learn. Usually this meant, among the Jedi, though some other more localized Force Traditions where allowed to thrive such as the Miraluka's Luka Sene (who where like Scholar Prophets) after having been vetted by the order.
In both xianxia and wuxia, your family lineage can also affect your aptitude for cultivation as well as learning the various branches of cultivation, 5 elements, jing qi shen, yin and yang. It's a complicated af system, limited only by the author's imagination. Like Guo Jing in the condor heroes, he would be more gifted in yang, jing and qi, but not yin or shen, but mostly he is a hard-working protagonist who had a lot of luck (气运）, a top of the line secret manual, and a good teacher。
Love the video!!!
omayghad as a regular reader of xianxia and wuxia novels, and a passion writer of said genres, this video really helped me give my friends a good rundown on these cultivation tropes and why I love them so much
This is a great video... I am a huge fan of cultivation novels and this videos are great for introducing people to this awesome world... It is a shame it didn't cover Xuanhuan novels, since currently that's the genre that is becoming popular amongst western readers, due to the fact that it is easier to follow the story and power system for those who know nothing about the cultivation world. Combat Continent (Douluo Dalu), Coiling Dragon, Tales of Demons and Gods, Stellar Transformations, and Against the Gods are just a few examples of the most popular xuanhuan novels nowadays
In xianxia and xuanhuan, there is also the concept of luck, destiny, and cosmic connection (usually something to do with their time of birth, ie 八字and astrological signs).
Sometimes this is merged into their inmate gift for cultivation. For example, 七杀绝命体 might be someone who was born when 7 stars formed an unlucky but powerful formation, which makes everyone close to him will all suffer bad luck until they die an early death, while he himself suffers horrible pain ever day, but cultivates super fast.
I enjoyed this video and the name pronunciations alot. Happy new year
I'm glad that they prefer the idea of working hard compared to it being genetically based. It always rankled me that people in fiction settings get their abilities based on genetics rather than working hard.
The "Secret Manual" trope in western form is known as the "Charles Atlas Superpower", named after the bodybuilders manual focusing on Dynamic Tension.
I always thought Dragon Ball might be the most recognizable wuxia/xianxia story in the modern day, and a lot of anime and jrpgs use these tropes in general
It's totally different. The dragon ball is a kind of cultivation and tempering. Xianxia is a unique literary carrier in China and is related to ancient Chinese myths
It's not all that unique. Dragonball is almost the same thing.
@@user-pq2ip1jf4x but goku is based on Sun Wukong
@@dudeonthasopha They have almost nothing to do with each other except for the same name.
23:40 Yes, very yes. I'm a big fan of Wuxia and Xianxia movies, some of my favourites being comedies like Mr. Vampire and Miracle Fighters. I'll catch myself trying to copy some of the moves, especially the way an attack would flow into a block, or a block would flow into a counterattack. It probably looks quite silly, me trying to copy a series of blows with one hand, cooking my breakfast with the other.
well done, this young master will allow this video to exist
my favourite cultivation novel by far is Perfect World. the system is unique and yeah there is mad plot armour but the book is fantastic
Perfect world is awesome
the writter has 3 novels，first is 遮天，the second is 完美世界，the third is 圣墟，the three novels are in a world system.but in different time.Your favorite one is the second 完美世界，in time it happened in the oldest time.
Excellent video, subscribing
This was cool because I’m getting a handle of the “progression fantasy” genre in western lit that’s just cultivation dressed up, as they’re reading a lot of these xian xia. I’ve grown up on the wuxia/martial arts movies, so this was super helpful!
I'm glad i clicked on this video! Great explanation
excellent videos!
Don't forget Sanderson's Zeroth Law: "When in doubt, err on the side of awesome."
Very interesting in found much of the books in read in your video and could use my own experience to compare.
I loved wuxia movies from Hong Kong during the '90s, but I feel the films that are coming from the mainland has lost a lot of their "touch" these days. It feels more like trying to look like MCU special effects just with a Chinese periodical skin. The older wuxia movies had their own signature style and pace. I hope those can be revived.
Finally, someone points it out! I totally agree! The wuxia stories of the 90's have a look and feel that affirms those watching that we are in a wuxia film and fulfill unsaid expectations. The mainland wuxia films these days have a Kdrama feel to it with hints of K-pop good looking characters. I have nothing against beauty standards but please get the feel right.
Man i love old school 80s to 90s hong kong cinema and their wuxia movies are cringe but in a good kind
现在拳拳到肉的动作片在中国没有市场，而且随着生活水平的提高，职业选择的增多，很少会有年轻人再去学习需要刻苦磨练的武术。从小学习武术的人往往一身伤病，年纪越大越糟糕，比如李连杰，成龙。目前在中国电影市场，资本觉得动作片市场太小不愿意投钱，年轻人看到没有前途不愿意投身专业武术的学习，陷入了一个死循环。
Man, first time I have seen xianxia fans outside the reading websites. I'm extremely excited to interact more with fellow xianxia fans!
I have been waiting for this! 5 minutes in you are talking about Soul Land and describe it as Xuanhuan that utilizes gaming mechanics. Would you describe it also as Litrpg or gamelit at that point?
Douluo Dalu as a novel is definitely Gamelit.
Oh my gosh dude I fell in this rabbit hole of Xianxia. I feel like this genre is the tiktok of literature, they normally are so cheap, poor written with weak characters and predictable plot and yet it's so pleasurable to read them, like in a guilty pleasure sense. Since I read Cradle from Will Wight two years ago, every single book a read since then had some kind of cultivation in it, I just can't stop.
Yeah its like literary junk food, just remember to take a rest from them every now and then.
Note that Xianxia itself is still a Old good genre in China, featuring the romance of training and become a powerful and immortal Shenxian, ofc not to mention a love story with beautiful Lady Shenxian; It is just too familiar to the Chinese people. Everybody wanna write a Xianxia novel, then bunch of crap emerged and makes it looks cheap. Ofc Wuxia are in the same situation.
Lol yes, most of it just poor written story, only few i have fun read them. Always weak to strong mc with cheat item or luck, typical gary stu/marry sue and the op enemy became idiot or got nerf when facing the mc
have you read lord of the mysterys
I thought this is going to be about "Courting death", "having eyes but not seeing Mt. Tai" etc. 😆
"JUNIOR YOU DEAR" coughs blood
Anyone else get bored and watch/read Naruto for the first time over lockdown after reading xianxia and wuxia for years, only to realise just how many similarities the power system and even some of the history and lore have with cultivation story tropes and power systems? Because goddamn, I nearly had a Qi deviation when I realised.
Lol your will must be weak...it makes me wonder, did you got to foundation establishment
Yeah my very first is a xuanhuan called dragon prince yuan, which Is an enjoyable read for a newbie reader back at 2020-2021. after that while reading many novels about xianxia,wuxia,xuanhuan(mostly with faceslaps got tired of it though)- I came across a fanfic about naruto
there i learned the similarities between naruto and xianxia stories.
Your deviation has made you unfit to cultivate. Reincarnate and hope you have a better luck in your next life.
Thank you!
As a long-time reader of wuxia and xianxia and aspiring to create a xianxia novel, I think Sanderson's second law seems less applied in xianxia. Limits and weaknesses in xianxia are apparent during the early stages of the cultivator's development. However, I am more interested in knowing the powers that the cultivators can study, learn, apply and even become an expert after hours, months and years of diligent practice. In xianxia or even wuxia, cultivators and martial artists can learn other artists' or cultivators' techniques and powers. But there are also limitations like the characters' body consitution in which a cultivator can't attune in learning and applying certain cultivation techniques because of constitution requirements.
When the cultivators progress in their path of progression they have become overpowered compared to other cultivators. Most especially when they reach the stages of immortality.
I honestly find the cultivation progression more interesting and logical compared to the Western styles of explaining magic.
Anyway, I would also like to point out that the Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism schools are incorporated in xianxia/wuxia. But the Vajrayan Buddhism school is more mystical. It really provides magic/mystical materials to its students. The concept of progression in realms may have also been originated from Vajrayana Buddhism. As a student, I have learned ways and techniques to progress in realms though I am not a monk, but a pragmatic student. When I stumbled upon xianxia novels in 2010's, I felt like asking how did they have these progression in realm terms when they should only be known to students in mystic arts. However, the terms of the realms are completely different though. But I find the terms in cultivation realms to be more logical and practical.
Been really enjoying your videos recently, especially the ones having to do with Wuxia. Def making me want to catch up on some Wuxia films, a lot of the footage you use makes me want to see those movies! Do you have a recommendation list? And a suggestion for good places to stream Chinese/HK movies?
倚天屠龙记ᥬ🌝᭄
th-cam.com/video/EKCDL7jjHqg/w-d-xo.html
I have been Reading Wuxia Webnovels for a couple years now. (to my surprise, it has the vastest variety of easily accessible gay fiction that I have found) I definitely have picked up on some of the cultural aspects of the writing and am starting to understand them more easily. That said, this video has been very helpful in my comprehension of what I am reading.
At this point, Wuxia has become one of the only things I read and I have even been tempted to write my own story in the genre but the idea of it is rather intimidating since I don't have the requisite background knowledge. I'm not saying I will write one or if I do be writing one anytime soon, but I definitely enjoyed this video and found it very helpful. Thank you.
Very interesting essay
23:10 Granted, Star Wars always takes a lot of influence from eastern storytelling, but you could argue that Episodes 8-9 embrace this trope. Rey comes into possesion of the Original Jedi Texts, which even the previous masters apparently didn't bother to read too often, and through them she learned a variety of techniques that had been forgotten or ignored by the Prequel-era Jedi.
Interesting video very cool to learn about the roots of the genre, I've been getting into it through the novel Reverend Insanity and a bunch of movies (watch Zu warriors from the Magic Mountain this morning) would love to see more of these types of vids
It's sad that Reverend Insanity has stopped.
Cool bro more please
In Ramakien, the Thai version of Ramayana, Hanuman seems to be able to do his various magic feats as needed. However, there is a story where one of the giants goes to a private area to meditate in order to create a special weapon, and Hanuman foils this by continually disrupting his meditation. That would seem to be a mixture of the hard and soft, but it's interesting how this division is drawn between the hero/villain camps.
I have been reading Chinese Xianxia fantasy web novels for over 10 years, I love this genre very much
I was LITTERALY just thinking about how cool it would be if there was a video explaining Cultivation by you based on your DND videos from the Don't Stop Thinking channel. Damn, I'm a prophet. Lol.
It's very detailed.
Very nice
That was really helpfull, I'm DMing a story with elements of Xanxia and having the bases here to consult is nice =3
Wait hiw do you handke different classes? Do players have different bloodline techniques? what do you use as a basis for rules, like is it homebrew dnd or based on some other tabletop? The idea of a xianxia campaign sounds interesting.
It's a very weird pokemon campain, so more xuan huan, based on the ptu system, the players are from different schools and have to perform a annual ritual with the empress to keep "something" from waking, simple main quest, but they can explore the world by they leisure.
@@yanac13 sounds cool
I did not expect Douluo Dalu, it's been years since I finished reading the English translation of that novel.
Love this trope.
Was not expecting my university to get a name drop - didn't even know Brandon Sanderson was teaching there tbh 😂
Haha! Lord of Mystery is a good novel who uses soft magic very well. I recommend you all to read it.
The best book
Intresting👍👍
Rather helpful video; thanks for taking the time to record it.
further notes.
Eh, growth vs fix intelligence is a bit of a mix. Genetics fixes your maximum potential, period...but having bad/no food, rest or education, certain diseases and traumas can all lower your intelligence to varying degrees. Fixing or working your way around any of these problems will raise your intelligence; sometimes significantly... but only to that genetic cap.
Plants, non- living objects (eg musical instruments), and even abstract concepts ( usually small gods that come into existence from the desires and faith of a lot of people) can also cultivate.
Me playing Amazing Cultivation Simulator. How about someone's fallen off treasure due to practicing a Yin based art that gains sentience.
I read xuanhuan fiction sometimes cuz I love how they blend other fantasy concepts into the stories, even if the stories themselves are full of jerkasses everywhere.
And yeah, manuals and skillbook type things are freaking everywhere!
Lots of pills and medicine stuff too.
Oh...the Luck they have is awesome. Although some explain it like in Reverend insanity
@@lordblanck7923 fellow dao cultivator
dual cultivation...
@@eccentricthought4511 greetings eccentric thought 😌
@@eccentricthought4511 fellow daoist
How fascinating
I would love to see a "Cultivation Theorist" channel on TH-cam tbh
Cultivation manhuas nowadays in a nutshell:
You eat a decade old ginseng pill, sit in a musty cave for 3 years, and go from Foundation Building Rank 2 to Foundation Building Rank 2.00001, which is still at least 500 levels below Supreme Star Dragon Emperor Ancestor.
But hey, it's all good! You know why? Because there's still over 3,000 chapters in the light novel, and the series probably won't end in another century! Not to mention that all the other big shots who could end you with a fart are too busy bullying other sects or terrorizing the rest of the Jianghu, so you're free to quarrel with the Hueng Clan because you just so happened to court death with the Ling Clan after not kowtowing to their oh-so-prodigidous 1 in 10,000 year genius with the Supreme God Blood Veins that his father stole from his cousin (sounds familiar?).
And you remember that amulet your inherited from your mother? Turns out that thing had the soul of a 200,000 year old immortal cultivator within it, so you'll probably be able to curbstomp those bigshots from the previous paragraph before the series even comes remotely close to ending!
Oh, what's that? Think you'll get bored? Well worry not, because in the next sequel, you'll be the one trapped in some macguffin because of plot, and you'll be forced into helping the same kid who was once so much like you for the next 3,000 chapters!
And this cycle will only continue until this genre dies out. *Cues to maniacal laughter*
Lmfaaaaaooo, is this nine hedgemon body arts or sum shit 💀
Wow man you just listed the all the story tropes I hate
Can you do an episode of justice bao please, that novel is also very popular in Asia.
The TV show in the 90s took over the Asian world with a storm and til today I even remember those shows.
The western people deserve to hear the stories too :)
It is useful to me.
Proud to be a Cultivation Novel Writer🥰🥺✌️
That sounds awesome, good luck! er, hmm, "may the stars align over your work in the 14th mansion of the black tortoise", that's better lol
Swallowed star is one of the best in my Playlist, don't know who wrote or who translated but it was definitely incredible art 👌
Swallowed star is cool, the author is knowed as I Eat Tomatoes in the west, and some other popular novels from him are Stellar transformation, Coiling dragon and Desolate Era.
time to install "amazing cultivation simulator"... again...
Both very good genres
As an avid web novel reader. This answers the questions I've put aside when I turn of my brain to read this. Sadly, most Chinese novels have been pretty trash lately. It's mostly just face slapping, power scaling shit. Mc beats a heir guy. The heir guy's father tries to kill the mc and fails. Then the grandfather, great grandfather, great great grand father then the ancestors, then the gods. Most characters is like a cardboard cutouts. This cliche probably happened because most Wuxia and Xianxia have these tropes. Some are still pretty good.
Psst CJ, can you tell me what some of those movies you showed clips of are because ngl they look cool as heck and i wanna check em out. Definately gonna check out Condor Heroes now >:3c. Also thank you so much for this video! It was very enlightening and gave deeper insight to the genres!
Do you have this in written form? This thing is amazing.
Cool~
I've actually been looking for stories outside of China that cover the themes of Xianxia, but filtered through their own culture; like what would Japan's take on the formula be?
On the most superficial level, a lot of common Isekai stories or "death game" stories (heck, even Korea's comics) have a "start weak, become god-like" theme, but its often because of an explicitly RPG based mechanic or "cheat" skill. Even the few series where hard work and ingenuity plays a major role, they still throw in a bunch of cheat skills in towards the end.
There's also the fact its hard to filter to find a story with... Say... A Xuanhuan setting but a XianXia story.
In any case, if this is far too specific a thing to expect to exist, then maybe I should start writing something like that.
Wouldn’t that just be Dragonball?
@@animation1234111 You're not wrong... I just expected to get more than just one example; especially since Dragon Ball is loosely based on Journey to the West.
It's just shounen? The guy even tells you. Power of friendship, learning from experienced seniors and elders.
@@LunaProtege Dragon Ball borrowed a lot from traditional Chinese fantasy, and loads and loads of shonen manga in turn borrowed a lot from Dragon Ball (though rather than using chi/ki like Dragon Ball does, most of its imitators gave their internal energy cultivation system its own name, like chakra in Naruto, nen in Hunter x Hunter, or reiatsu in Bleach).
Great Video. Hope you had a Merry Xmas and have a Happy New Year.
I think the difference between European Magic and Chinese Cultivation comes from their ruling class. Power in Europe was either heredity or won in war, while in China it was earned through the examine system.
😁💙
Sending love from a TCM doctor living in a Daoist temple, exploring internal alchemy within meditation.
LoL
Can’t fly though.