I meant for this article (and my other one) to be a small introduction to a Chinese genre. If you feel like there is anything wrong with it, feel free to reply in the comments section. We learn new things everyday, don't we? And, I could be wrong on a few things. I'm not this Wuxia/Xianxia genre god, or whatever. I'm just purely trying to spread the love for these genres. :D
BUT, if you are here to just troll or cause necessary attention, I would prefer you to just DM me and tell me your frustrations about this article there. If you are absolutely confused, please DM me. I would love to explain everything to you!
Also, my comments are not arguments. These comments below this comment are purely explaining some common questions I have received.
Here are a few questions I have received quite a few times about this article (I'm just rewording them):
I have to disagree with The Legends being a Wuxia drama. Although I would concede with it being only 15% Wuxia…
I'm sorry if I upset you in any way. I chose the Legends because it has a few good examples of Wuxia elements in the drama. This is also why I did not put it as the six main recommendations.
Come on, it was just an excuse to talk about Word of honor even in an article that doesn't suits it.
Do I have to watch all these dramas to give people good recommendations? Is this a rule established somewhere that no one told me about?
Word of Honor has been recommended to me by countless MDL'ers and a few other close friends. These recommendations are not just my Wuxia favorites, but other people's favs as well. I specially asked many people on the MDL feeds what their favorite Wuxia dramas were, and did thorough research on them. If the majority of people like a drama, it's probably a good drama. I hope you understand what common sense is.
Alright, I'm not gonna argue any further. This is literally pointless. Oh, so with tons of things to do you decided to argue about a topic that you don't seem to understand at all. Ok :)
It’s truly a Wuxia story. The only element is the immortal Kung Fu, but it’s not a true immortality like in…
Well, you see, I tried explaining, but I couldn't manage to get them to understand. So I just have to confirm that WoH is a Wuxia. After everyone's help and clarification, I can confidently say that it's a Wuxia. :)
Is Hao Du awesome or what? He appears ruthless and cold but is actually the most caring on the inside. I knew he could win the fight because he actually had a reason to try his best, even if it meant breaking numerous bones and suffering countless injuries. Unlike Ashina She'er, who was fighting to keep his image, Hao Du fought for the love of his life, Leyan. He isn't the all sacrificial type of guy, but he is a guy who finds most importance in his love and treasures her greatly.
Leyan, you've found yourself an amazing man! Treasure him like he treasures you!
OH NO WHY DID THEY HAVE TO CENSOR THE KISS. I'M SO UPSET. T^T. I get it China, you need to censor everything that comes in your way, but a LB kiss? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! I WAS LITERALLY WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT AND YOU HAD TO RUIN IT.
I've asked this question to quite a few of my MDL friends already, but:
Is Word of Honor a Wuxia? It says so in the genres, on several chinese sites, and is confirmed by some people I know. And are there any Xianxia elements?
I tried explaining to someone on MDL that a Wuxia drama can have Xianxia elements and vise versa, but they just aren't convinced.
A paragraph in my article:"Another obvious difference is the line drawn between the real world and fantasy. It…
Um...I didn't interpret your comment that way. I just said that you could try watching a Wuxia drama and then a Xianxia drama and then compare them.
Many Wuxia dramas have Xianxia elements, including WoH and The Untamed. But they always have a little more elements of one genre than the other. In the end, some people classify it as Wuxia while some others classify it as a Xianxia. It's perfectly fine if you classify WoH as a Xianxia, some others just told me they classified it as a Wuxia.
Come on, it was just an excuse to talk about Word of honor even in an article that doesn't suits it.
I'm sorry? WoH has Wuxia elements, anyone who has watched the drama knows this. I, as someone who hasn't watched WoH, specially asked multiple people about the drama. What excuses do you see? I'm just trying to introduce an awesome Cdrama genre to people.
If you guys still aren't convinced, go delete the Wuxia genre on the WoH page on MDL and see what the approval staff say.
So Word of honor is a wuxia even if there's Ye Bai Yi who's an Immortal? Guess I'm even more confused now XD
A paragraph in my article:
"Another obvious difference is the line drawn between the real world and fantasy. It should also be mentioned that the Wuxia genre appeared in Chinese works earlier than the Xianxia genre and that Xianxia can be said to be Wuxia but with fantasy elements. Sometimes, dramas can be classified as Wuxia, Xianxia, or even Xuanhuan at the same time. Great examples include The Untamed and Word of Honor. In the end, viewers sometimes classify the drama as one genre, but this doesn't mean that the drama does not have elements of another genres as well."
It's also helpful to read other people's comments.
As a girl with Chinese heritage, my parents had always told me of how prosperous the Tang Dynasty was under Li Shimin's reign, but I just learned that many more characters in LB are real life people as well!
Here are some I find the most interesting:
Take Ashina She'er: Besides being a Khan, he became a general of the Tang Dynasty (because of certain circumstances). He was highly respected, and also married one of Li Shimin's sisters. He was even buried beside Tang Taizong after his death. Wow! (the Great Khan in this drama and several others were also real life people.)
And Wei Shuyu and his father, Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng served as a chancellor for 13 years under Tang Taizong's reign, and was very influential. (Wei Shuyu married one of Li Shimin's daughters, but I don't know who she exactly is.)
The crown prince in this drama, son of Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, was the emperor's eldest son, but he was later deposed because of his neglect for Han Chinese culture. He took much more interest in Turkish culture, from speaking Turkic, to wearing Turkic clothes, and even pretending to be a Turkic king! I do find him cute in this drama, but he is not the best fit for being a crown prince with his playful personality.
And, wow! Li Shimin had so many children! Over 10 sons and 20 daughters! But even with a huge family, he managed to make the prospering Tang Dynasty even more prosperous. And did you know that the Tang Dynasty was filled with people around the world? People from Europe and other places in Asia came for education, traveling, and other purposes.
Whew. These people are interesting! Never thought that a drama would make me do research on its characters!
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I meant for this article (and my other one) to be a small introduction to a Chinese genre. If you feel like there is anything wrong with it, feel free to reply in the comments section. We learn new things everyday, don't we? And, I could be wrong on a few things. I'm not this Wuxia/Xianxia genre god, or whatever. I'm just purely trying to spread the love for these genres. :D
BUT, if you are here to just troll or cause necessary attention, I would prefer you to just DM me and tell me your frustrations about this article there. If you are absolutely confused, please DM me. I would love to explain everything to you!
Also, my comments are not arguments. These comments below this comment are purely explaining some common questions I have received.
Here are a few questions I have received quite a few times about this article (I'm just rewording them):
Word of Honor has been recommended to me by countless MDL'ers and a few other close friends. These recommendations are not just my Wuxia favorites, but other people's favs as well. I specially asked many people on the MDL feeds what their favorite Wuxia dramas were, and did thorough research on them. If the majority of people like a drama, it's probably a good drama. I hope you understand what common sense is.
Alright, I'm not gonna argue any further. This is literally pointless. Oh, so with tons of things to do you decided to argue about a topic that you don't seem to understand at all. Ok :)
Leyan, you've found yourself an amazing man! Treasure him like he treasures you!
*calming down calming down*...T^T
Yeah, after asking numerous ppl and receiving Wuxia from most, I was 99% sure that WoH is a Wuxia. But I just can't seem to explain this to someone.
Again, ty!
Is Word of Honor a Wuxia? It says so in the genres, on several chinese sites, and is confirmed by some people I know. And are there any Xianxia elements?
I tried explaining to someone on MDL that a Wuxia drama can have Xianxia elements and vise versa, but they just aren't convinced.
Really appreciate it! :D
Many Wuxia dramas have Xianxia elements, including WoH and The Untamed. But they always have a little more elements of one genre than the other. In the end, some people classify it as Wuxia while some others classify it as a Xianxia. It's perfectly fine if you classify WoH as a Xianxia, some others just told me they classified it as a Wuxia.
Wuxia=martial arts
Xianxia=fantasy (but with Chinese mythology)
You perhaps have to watch a Wuxia and a Xianxia and then compare them. That's the only way left if you don't understand my articles.
If you guys still aren't convinced, go delete the Wuxia genre on the WoH page on MDL and see what the approval staff say.
"Another obvious difference is the line drawn between the real world and fantasy. It should also be mentioned that the Wuxia genre appeared in Chinese works earlier than the Xianxia genre and that Xianxia can be said to be Wuxia but with fantasy elements. Sometimes, dramas can be classified as Wuxia, Xianxia, or even Xuanhuan at the same time. Great examples include The Untamed and Word of Honor. In the end, viewers sometimes classify the drama as one genre, but this doesn't mean that the drama does not have elements of another genres as well."
It's also helpful to read other people's comments.
Here are some I find the most interesting:
Take Ashina She'er: Besides being a Khan, he became a general of the Tang Dynasty (because of certain circumstances). He was highly respected, and also married one of Li Shimin's sisters. He was even buried beside Tang Taizong after his death. Wow! (the Great Khan in this drama and several others were also real life people.)
And Wei Shuyu and his father, Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng served as a chancellor for 13 years under Tang Taizong's reign, and was very influential. (Wei Shuyu married one of Li Shimin's daughters, but I don't know who she exactly is.)
The crown prince in this drama, son of Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, was the emperor's eldest son, but he was later deposed because of his neglect for Han Chinese culture. He took much more interest in Turkish culture, from speaking Turkic, to wearing Turkic clothes, and even pretending to be a Turkic king! I do find him cute in this drama, but he is not the best fit for being a crown prince with his playful personality.
And, wow! Li Shimin had so many children! Over 10 sons and 20 daughters! But even with a huge family, he managed to make the prospering Tang Dynasty even more prosperous. And did you know that the Tang Dynasty was filled with people around the world? People from Europe and other places in Asia came for education, traveling, and other purposes.
Whew. These people are interesting! Never thought that a drama would make me do research on its characters!