Lably
Skip to content

Xianxia

Chinese fantasy genre

  • 9 min read
  • 5 chapters

Explore on Lably

ToursExplore Lably’s 3D tours

Protagonists of xianxia stories are often practitioners or trainees of magic and divination — i.e. truth cultivators (修真者) or simply cultivators (修士) — seeking spiritual enlightenment, immortality and supernatural miracle powers, or else are transcendent beings called xiān (仙), who have either already ascended or have mastered such aptitudes to varying degrees. Antagonists of xianxia stories typically have similar powers, and often belong to either malevolent rival clans/schools of cultivators, or mischievous/malicious tribes or gangs of ling (fairies and sprites), yao (monsters), mo (demons), gui (ghosts and undead beings such as zombies and vampires) and similar category of inhuman sentient beings. Persons in the xianxia genre manifest superhuman talents or physics-defying superpowers such as flight/levitation, teleportation, telekinesis, divination/soul flight, shapeshifting, materializing objects and force fields, manipulation of energy and the elements, etc.

Concepts from classical Chinese philosophies such as internal alchemy and external alchemy feature in this genre—deities, immortals, yaoguai, demons and ghosts all engage in meditative practices and the consumption of rare substances or creatures to improve their skills or to augment their power. Action tends to take place across multiple realms, the number of which depends on the author or the world in question, but this usually includes the immortal plane, the mortal realm, and in the underworld. The xianxia genre also tends to feature the existence of magical creatures who do not belong to either the yao or mo category, as well as supernatural artefacts capable of upending the status quo.

Etymology

The characters forming xianxia are xiān (仙) and xiá (侠). A xian is a being from Chinese mythology, particularly from Taoist legends, that can be one or more of these things: a powerful spirit, a god, a zhenren, and/or someone who has obtained immortality or extraordinary longevity through self-cultivation to become a transcendent being.

A xia is sometimes translated as 'hero' or 'vigilante', but specifically implies a person who is brave, chivalrous, righteous and defiant. The character was originally used as one of the characters in the word wuxia and was transferred to the word xianxia to make it apparent that the modern xianxia genre was inspired by the popularity and several other elements, including powers gained from qi manipulation, of wuxia.

Sign in to keep reading

4 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Literature

MahabharataAncient smṛti text and Sanskrit epicOxford English DictionaryHistorical dictionary of the English languageScience fictionLiterary genreIliadEpic poem attributed to HomerLiteratureWritten work of artPoetryForm of literature