Wuxia

Wǔxi? (also Wu Xia) (; pronounced "oo-shyah") literally meaning "martial arts chivalry" or "martial arts heroes", from Mandarin Chinese, is a distinct genre in Chinese literature and cinema. Wuxia figures prominently in the popular culture of all Chinese-speaking areas, and the most important writers have devoted followings.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The wuxia genre is confined and peculiar to Chinese culture, because it is a unique blend of the martial arts philosophy of xia (俠, "chivalry", "a chivalrous man or woman") developed down the centuries, as well as the country's long history in wushu. Samurai bushido traditions share some aspects with Chinese martial xia philosophy. Although the xia or "chivalry" concept is often translated as "knights", "chivalrous warriors" or "knights-errant", most xia aspects are so rooted in social and cultural milieu of ancient China that it is impossible to find an exact translation in the Western world.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mandarin Chinese: Mandarin ( or ), is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and south-western China. When taken as a separate language, as is often done in academic literature, the Mandarin language has more native speakers than any other language. The "standard" in Standard Mandarin r...

Genre: A genre is a division of a particular form of art according to criteria particular to that form. In all art forms, genres are vague categories with no fixed boundaries. Genres are formed by sets of conventions, and many works cross into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conve...

Cinema: Cinema can refer to:...