Jianghu - Premises in Jianghu

Premises in Jianghu

It is a tacit assumption in many wuxia novels that the law and order in the actual historical setting were dysfunctional or poor, like the change of dynastic China from Song Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty, to Ming Dynasty and to Qing Dynasty, periods in time correlating to tremendous upheavals and turmoil in the society. In Louis Cha's novels the dysfunctionality can come in two levels: firstly, law and order broken down locally within China and secondly, the sovereignty of China came to be challenged by invaders. Localised disorder is the predicate where the chivalry and the code of xia will be much needed to mend the ills of the world. The second layer of dysfunctionality in Cha's works would then become setting to showcase the patriotism and loyalty of the protagonists to their epoch or their emperors.

Even during periods of stability, neither the Imperial Court in the capital nor local governments could be relied on to protect the interests of the commoners. Travelling performers, itinerant traders and wandering craftsmen who spend most of their time "on the road" came to see their world as separate from those governed by legal authorities.

For those "on the road", the powers that matter most were petty strongmen who controlled local patches of turfs. Some of the strongmen were landed gentries or temples whose powers were derived from legal ownership of farmlands and villages. Others were bandits who claimed control over stretches of wilderness, mountain roads or riverways - any legal authorities present, if any, were too weak to contest the controls.

Integral to jianghu is the smaller circle of martial arts practitioners usually including the protagonists called wulin.