Outlaws, Cowboys and Monks
The books, superstitions and events that made the genre
当武侠遇到电影
by Billy Chung Kwok
SWIFT DISPENSING OF JUSTICE AND PERSISTENT VENGEANCE ARE AT THE HEART OF THE CODE OF XIA
(Note: "Water Margin" is a book written well before the 16th century.
Set during the chaos of the crumbling Song Dynasty (960-1279), it was,
according to most scholars, based on real events. Written as countless
intertwining mini-stories, "WM" paints tales of some one hundred odd
social outcasts who, along with Lu, rebel against tyrannical officials.
From their guerrilla fortress in the marshy mountains of Shandong, this
gallant fraternity leads an outlaw uprising against a falling empire.
They form in turn, the archetypes for many a wuxia legend to come.)
The form of fiction know as wuxia encompasses all the tales of swordsmen and fighters who righteously stand up for the weak. These Chinese Robin Hoods use wu (武,martial arts) to cultivate xia (侠, chivalry and heroism). Brotherhood, passion, honor, the principle of repaying benefactors, swift dispensing of justice and persistent vengeance are at the heart of the Code of Xia.
(Note: the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) was on its final leg and warloards had already begun carving up the remains of the dying regime. The memory of the Boxer Rebellion was fresh on people's minds, but the masses still held onto their faith in the ancient and supernatural kung fu masters of the xuxia art forms. There was no reason not to. The real life Boxers traced their lineage to secretive and venerable martial arts societies. Ancient Buddhist and Taoist incantations and a strict diet and exercise regimen allowed practitioners to harness the spirits of the gods. This gave them superpowers, like flying, bulletproof skin, palms that could shoot thunderbolts, fireproff feet and supreme sexual prowess, just to name a few.
This book was adapted to film 被改编成了电影
This special effects in the movie were awesome 电影里的特技真棒
(Note: the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) was on its final leg and warloards had already begun carving up the remains of the dying regime. The memory of the Boxer Rebellion was fresh on people's minds, but the masses still held onto their faith in the ancient and supernatural kung fu masters of the xuxia art forms. There was no reason not to. The real life Boxers traced their lineage to secretive and venerable martial arts societies. Ancient Buddhist and Taoist incantations and a strict diet and exercise regimen allowed practitioners to harness the spirits of the gods. This gave them superpowers, like flying, bulletproof skin, palms that could shoot thunderbolts, fireproff feet and supreme sexual prowess, just to name a few.
This book was adapted to film 被改编成了电影
This special effects in the movie were awesome 电影里的特技真棒
