Wuxia cuts deep in West

China’s martial-arts genre wuxia has conquered various art forms, from video games to movies such as Ang Lee’s acclaimed “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.

Now, it’s finding new territory in the West, where wuxia-fever is spreading fast thanks to new technology.

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” (“Strange Hero”).

Breedveld, a self-professed wuxia fanatic, watches the show on the Internet through web-streaming sites like Youtube.

“I don’t speak Chinese, and I absolutely cannot read Chinese, except for the words ‘kung fu’,” he says. “But I don’t mind reading subtitles.”

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

The brainchild of Susanna Liang, a Chinese web designer who lives in the United States, Wuxia Edge features translated wuxia media links, and a blog about everything related to the genre. Liang launched the site a few years ago but it didn’t take off until late last year. “I started it because my husband said there weren’t any websites with updates on Chinese shows.”

Liang admits it’s not easy to spread the genre across cultures. The lack of promotion and basic knowledge of wuxia are among the reasons why the genre has been so slow to take off in the West. But the Internet has enabled her to meet and bring together a lot of people with a love for wuxia. Liang says she has even found someone who translates Chinese shows.

Chris Dayton, who lives in the US, and is one of the founders of the wuxia translation group Jiang Hu Fansubs, says his site has received an overwhelming response in recent times.

With about 10 members, Jiang Hu Fansubs started in 2007 after a forum discussion between wuxia fans. Dayton says the idea is to help those who want to learn Chinese and to spread the joy of wuxia.

“After about two years of ‘fansubbing’, my Chinese proficiency improved considerably,” Dayton says.

Liang is now optimistic about wuxia’s chances in the West, saying Youtube hits for certain wuxia series have increased from 3,000 to 8,000 views in a little over a year. “I just want to share it with as many people as possible.”