Category Archives: Wuxia Series

Wuxia Woman, Where Are You?

by CeeFu

So, it may seem that I’ve abandoned my love of Chinese wuxia, having seen the bright lights of the kdrama Queen Seondeok and the sexy manly of Korean idol bands like SS501 (oh yes, a WHOLE entry devoted to them is coming)…..

Fret not, I’m still down with my wuxia! I thought people might get a little sick of me continuing to wax poetic about Zhuge Liang, because I can talk all day long about Romance of the Three Kingdoms!  I teach an Asian film and lit class, and that time is rolling around again for the biannual showing of Red Cliff, Parts 1 and 2.  I did watch Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame awhile back, and was pleased, just haven’t got around to putting my thoughts down.

But the historical kdrama and the Chinese wuxia series are closely related to my interests: women you don’t want to mess with, and talented handsome  men who tag along! (How many times do I gotta tell y’all about applying to be my own personal Hwarang?  Then again, I have to think about what function a contemporary Hwarang would have….and do they need a health plan?). So I need a basis for comparison. Plus, the Chinese series are a little slow in coming….I’m not really interested in Chinese Paladin, and I’ve heard bad things about The Jade and the Pearl.  The last ones I watched were The Master of  Tai Chi (with my perennial boo, Vincent Zhao) and The Four (with, you know, those four guys).  While The Master of Tai Chi had several significant women’s roles, The Four had none.  Well, that’s not true, it did have one, but she’s kinda disappointing in the end. Ok, more than one, but it was still not the greatest for women. I keep meaning to hit the new versions of The Book and the Sword and Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, but not yet.

I’ll be back in full effect once my YesAsia shipment gets here: most notably, the 95-episode treatment of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, True Legend, Reign of Assassins, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (DOOOONNNNIIIIEEEE!! I know, not wuxia, but it’s Donnie Yen!).

Don’t worry, I keep my eye on the wuxia world………

Women and Wuxia

by CeeFu

Ok, I’ve put it off long enough.  It’s about time I started my women and wuxia article.

This is what I have so far:

At the end of Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, the novel posits a reimagining (?) of the woman warrior narrative, suggesting that the way of peace is ultimately better.  That may be true, but it seems to play down the huge legacy of woman warriors in the wuxia tradition. Beyond Mulan, wuxia is crowded with women who can (and often do) beat you down.  Yet in many of the wuxia films, these women are placed in oppositional roles related to men.  The implication of Kingston’s book seems to be that it’s too hard to be a woman warrior, or at best, being a woman and being a warrior are antithetical.

This notion is challenged, not so much by wuxia films, but by wuxia dramas.  I intend to examine three to show how this dichotomy is negotiated in ways that allow women to be women and warriors.  I’ll be looking at three figures:

The Kung Fu Couple:  The most recent incarnation of Eagle Shooting Heroes (2008) continues to represent the relationship between Huang Rong and Guo Jing as one that is more egalitarian than one might expect.  Not only is Huang Rong trained in kung fu by her father, for a good deal of the series, her ability surpasses Guo Jing’s. And yet, they remain a couple.  Hmmmmm.

Mothers and Sons: We’ve seen mothers teach their sons kung fu in movies such as Fong Sai Yuk, and this tradition extends to the wuxia series as well in Project A.

Kung Fu Matriarch: Probably one of the most intriguing examples of women and wuxia is in the series,The Young Warriors.  You’ve heard me wax poetic about Mama Yang, but what is really interesting is that she is a kung fu mama AND a regular mama.  She’ll correct your form, but also give you dating advice.  All while sporting those red robes, well-coiffed hairdo and perfectly manicured hands.

So this is where I am. Updates to follow!

Rock the Bells: Ding Dong Suckers!

by CeeFu

So I’m finishing The Master of Tai Chi, and noticed just a passing shot that featured a large bell, which got me to thinking how prominently bells are featured in wuxia dramas. Surely there is something to this.

Need to stash your super secret kung fu manual? Carve it on the inside of a bell.  Not only is this the case in The Patriotic Knights, I also think this trick is used in the old school Return of the Condor Heroes ’83.

Wanna deliver some old school justice?  Put your adversary in a bell and set a fire like in  The Legendary Warrior. This move is particularly satisfying, but you gotta commit to watching the whole thing to find out why. Schnacky!

However much I may like the large bells, my favorite use of bells are small bells.  While our ninja friends may value stealth and secrecy, nothing beats the sheer coolness of wearing a bell, or several.  Romance of the Red Dust is NOT my favorite series, but I’ll watch that for dude with bells on his belt.  Which he rings just before he kills you.  Or chickie in…..you guessed it….The Patriotic Knights, whose staff has bells.  She can’t be more than a teenager, but I’ve seen her mess people twice her age up with that staff!

What do bells say?  They say, “I’m so bad, I don’t care if  you know I’m coming!”  Now, all I need to do is find some……..

Spirit of the Sword (2007)

by CeeFu

My quest to see all of the wuxia dramas starring Nicholas Tse continues with Spirit of the Sword.  Ok, I don’t hate it, and I don’t not like it, I just think it could be better.  I do like the fact that Patrick Tam is in it, which reminded me that I really like Patrick and must watch more stuff that he’s in.  I like the story.  I’m particularly intrigued with the notion of race and how it impacts how the characters get treated (i.e. oh, you aren’t from the Central Plain, you need to get to steppin!)  I like the multiple swordswomen in this one too.  And every good wuxia drama needs a good villain.  I was almost convinced that the villain was not the villain.  How delicious!  Despite the subterfuge, I like how the drama committed to the fact that he’s the villain.  If you are going to be a villain, you got to be bad, like killing folks family bad, like whacking allies bad, like breaking the brotherhood bad.  Woohoo!

But I think it could be better.  I’m used to advertising for wuxia dramas misdirecting me..ok, so it’s not really about Nic’s character but his brother.  Fine.  Oh, its not really about these swords.  Fine.  But the pacing is slow, and we spend too much unnecessary time on the romance.  Now you have to understand that I started watching those 1980s wuxia dramas that are really slow, with lots of monologues about the ever-present romantic triangle and I didn’t mind that.  I like the romance, but really, the pacing in Spirit is unnecessarily slow.We know that nobody likes Nic’s character and aren’t thrilled about Gillian Chung’s character’s romance with him, let’s move on, shall we?  I also wished they would have spend more time on the reconciliation of the half-brothers.  I mean one minute you want to chop him up, and we are supposed to believe you will stand by his side in the final climatic fight?  I’m just not buying it, even if it is Nicholas Tse.  And then there were parts that were just funny.  I mean, how effective is a sword that is almost as big as me?

Would I watch it again?  Yeah, but I wouldn’t be thrilled about it.

Rant!: Butchering that Passes for Editing

by CeeFu

One of my greatest pet peeves is having faceless editors make decisions about my viewing entertainment.  I hate finding some 20-, 30-, 40-episode wuxia series micronized to 2-hour nonsense.  I naively hoped that it was not a trend when the only version of Wind and Cloud with Vincent Zhao available to me was unrecognizable.  To my horror, it is a trend:  Book and Sword, Buddha’s Palm, The Legend of Hero, just to name a  few.  If I want to sit and watch five 45-minute episodes back-to-back, that’s my business.  If I want to keep up with a ridiculous number of characters, who are editors to tell me I can’t?  If I want to get dragged into multiple subplots, no one should stop me. Oh, but it’s not just the series.  Why is it that years after declaring Fong Sai Yuk my favorite Jet Li film, I watch a Hong Kong version only to find a musical number?  I like musical interludes, and I was robbed!!!  

Really, why do the powers-that-be believe they know what English-speakers want?  They are often wrong.  Why not just give the people what they want?  This is where globalization goes horribly awry.

Eagle Shooting Heroes (2008)

by CeeFu

It’s quite a statement to say, but I’m going to put it out there:  this is my favorite wuxia story EVER! This is the second version I’ve seen (the first was the 59 episode, 1983 version, Legend of the Condor Heroes).  Whether its crazy 80s special effects or the more sophisticated fare, what stays relatively the same is the story:  dimwitted boy and clever girl. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I revel in seeing Guo Jing act like a moron (but it is fun), but I’m always amazed at how strong Huang Rong is. She is not only smart, she’s clever (it’s not the same thing).  Yeah, she’s got problems playing well with others, but wouldn’t you if your father was Huang Yaoshi (more on him later).  This the fascinating thing for me and what tends to at least challenge what we think about warrior women in the west (thanks, Maxine Hong Kingston), namely that Rong is in a lot of ways a teenage girl with skills of her own who helps others (namely, Jing!).  She’s girly, and she’ll beat you down.  

So, yes, giddy to see Rong, but was ECSTATIC to see my boo, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, as Huang Yaoshi.  He does indifference like no on else!  He comes in and out of the story, but it’s always fun when he shows up.  Wong does the character justice, and I just find it fascinating that he has enough sense to teach his daughter kung fu before she goes out in the world (unlike other series–yes I’m talking about you, Men and Legends).  I mean, look at the expression on the faces of people when they find out that Rong is the daughter of “Evil East.”  On the more intellectual side, however, this father-daughter relationship is rare and brings up interesting questions that, dare I say, may challenge some feminist assumptions?  For example, she learns from her father, and yes, the mother is out of the picture, but isn’t his parentage what she eventually needs in the big, bad world?  

Still thinking (translation: I reserve the right to wax poetic on ESH in a later post!)

The Young Warriors: The Family That Battles Together…..

by CeeFu

I recently finished Young Warriors (aka Young Warriors of the Yang Clan), and it epitomizes what I like about wuxia dramas.  Everyone fights!  This is the story of the fabulous Yang family, whose sons served the kingdom and eventually gave their lives, even when the fathead king made really bad decisions.  This legendary family is known for their loyalty, and apparently have been immortalized in wuxia drama before, but this version focuses on their lives before the questionable leadership of the king takes them all down.

Of course the sons are all upright, righteous guys who help the weak and support the people.  I know we are supposed to be in awe of the father and the seven brothers, but really, the mother, wives and girlfriends steal the show (they all dress amazingly well also!). Mama Yang is no joke!  She can literally beat her sons down if she had to.  But, for the most part, she doesn’t have to. She raised them right. What I find interesting is that she is also very maternal, and doesn’t lose her femininity in the process.  It’s an interesting combination. Even when they get into trouble with the king, she’s willing to stand up for them.  My favorite part is when the ‘lost son’ finds his way home, thinking he’s going to extract some revenge on his parents while honoring them at the same time?  So he’s antisocial to both, but saves the father from some assasination attempt.  He goes around talking smack to the mother, the other brothers don’t appreciate that.  Then she snaps out of it and basically tells him:  you have fulfilled your filial duty to your father, but not to me.  He shapes up quick, fast and in a hurry.  Later, the ladies don their own armor.  How cool is that!  And where can I get mine?

The gender dynamics are interesting in other ways as well. When the inevitable tragedy hits the family, and one of the sons, Wu Lang (I’m calling you out!), just can’t handle it, and decides he’s going to ignore his wife and become a monk.  While I have to say I’ve seen series often consign women to this fate, it was interesting to see it done to a man.   Wu Lang, pull it together!  

This is one of my favorites, and will definitely be included in my not-even-started projects on women in wuxia and the kung fu couple.