Those who are familiar with the Chinese word wuxiá (“martial heroes”) may associate the word with memories of  martial arts films and television programs that portray a fanciful depiction of Chinese martial arts to audiences around the world. However, there is more to wuxia than meets the eye. Wuxia is in fact an entire literary genre that depicts the exploits of ancient Chinese martial artists. It has proven to be popular enough to be used in a number of modern cultural media, including Chinese opera, films, television series and video games.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2022/11/01/wuxia-and-the-history-of-kung-fu-movies-legendary-tales-of-chivalrous-martial-heroes-of-ancient-china/