Wuxia

Wuxia, literally martial arts and chivalry, is a genre of Chinese fiction and low fantasy concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China, traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature whose popularity has led to its adaptation across Chinese opera, comics, television, film and video games, forming part of popular culture throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The term combines wu, meaning martial or armed, and xia, meaning chivalrous or heroic, and a wandering martial artist who follows the code of xia is often called a xiake or youxia. Heroes in wuxia fiction typically do not serve a lord, hold military rank or belong to the aristocracy, often originating instead from the lower social classes of ancient Chinese society, and a code of chivalry generally requires them to right wrongs, fight for righteousness and bring retribution for past misdeeds. Although commonly described as a subgenre of martial arts film, wuxia in its strict literary sense is distinct from that broader cinematic category.