Latest News:  

English>>Life & Culture

Wuxia on the Web goes West as genre spreads

By ERIC JOU  (China Daily)

09:45, April 13, 2013

Chinese wuxia series are becoming increasingly popular in the West in a similar fashion to Western TV shows gaining audiences in China, thanks to devoted fans and the power of the Internet.

Wuxia, which translates as "martial hero", is a genre of Chinese fiction related to martial artists. It appears in various forms, from video games to movies - such as Ang Lee's highly acclaimed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

On an average weekday, 20-year-old Jonathan Breedveld, who lives in the Netherlands, grabs snacks from the fridge the minute he arrives home, carries them to his desk, turns on the computer and continues where he left off the day before - with the latest episode of the adventure series Guai Xia Yi Zhi Mei.

Breedveld, a self-professed wuxia fanatic, does not watch the show on TV. Instead, he watches it on the Internet through Web-streaming sites such as YouTube.

"I don't speak Chinese, and I absolutely cannot read Chinese, except for the words kung fu," he said. "I want to learn it. I think it's a beautiful language, but I don't mind reading subtitles. I can read very fast."

Breedveld said his first wuxia film was Jackie Chan's Forbidden Kingdom.

"While googling Liu Yifei (one of the actresses from Forbidden Kingdom) on the Internet, I discovered that she played in the series Return of the Condor Heroes," said Breedveld. "I watched one episode and was immediately hooked."

Having fallen in love with the genre, Breedveld then discovered Wuxia Edge, a website dedicated to sharing wuxia TV series on the Internet.


【1】 【2】 【3】



We recommend:

Beauties in China Fashion Week

Rare photos tell stories of Leslie Cheung

Sexy female stars with long legs

Bikini-clad girls move on Robstep

Beautiful actresses in TV series

Female star: Zhang Li in casual style

"Journey to the West" staged in NW China

Creative sculptures made of vegetables

Ten most beautiful islands on Earth

Email|Print|Comments(Editor:LiQian、Ye Xin)

Related Reading

Leave your comment0 comments

  1. Name

  

Selections for you


  1. Naval escort taskforce starts visit to Morocco

  2. Venezuela reinforces security for elections

  3. Vancouver Int'l Airport named best

  4. HK carries out avian influenza tests

  5. Seize every minute to do homework

  6. Snow hits China's Changchun

  7. Eighteen 'subway eccentrics' hot online

  8. Rare glimpse of pioneering art

  9. Japan automakers recall 2.92 mln cars

  10. Bird flu concerns threaten Yum's sales

Most Popular

Opinions

  1. Survivors say SARS lesson mustn't be forgotten
  2. Chinese takeover not threat: German research
  3. Is strong trade data too good to be true?
  4. Hit film triggers discussion on giving birth abroad
  5. Philanthropists donate less as economy slows
  6. New media trend for Chinese language study in US
  7. Follow-up work needed for yuan's going global
  8. Boao Forum for Asia makes China, world closer
  9. Devoted to a life defending nation
  10. Errors in urbanization must be avoided

What’s happening in China

WWII TV dramas border on the ridiculous

  1. Beijing confirms taxi fares to rise
  2. Shanghai seizes 6,000 tonnes of foreign waste
  3. Mother's labor camp lawsuit court hearing begins
  4. War victims' monument targeted by developer
  5. Failed bank robber blames a broken heart