Anyone interested in reading translations of the newer wuxia or even xianxia novels?
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personally, i would rather have better translations of existing novelsā¦ some of the fan translations are badā¦ i understand the translators do their best but poor translations mean we canāt fully appreciate the textā¦
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Thanks for the feedback! I agree with the need for improvements of existing translations.
However, some people would feel that they would rather read translations of new or previously untranslated stuff rather than re-read something they have already completed. Itāll be glad to hear the opinions of those who feel this way so we get the perspective from the other side.
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What are the new novels that you speak of?
I read a bit of Douluo Dalu. Didnāt like the translations though. Appreciate the effort but the quality was quite a turn off. It started out promising then went downhill. Perhaps the quality was compromised in the rush to meet the demand.
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Iād be interested in reading new novels, but as Iām unfamiliar with these, can you share example of a new novel and written by whom? Thanks. btw, what is xianxia (pardon my ignorance)?
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I read the first translated chapter and then went back to reading the Chinese text instead. The translation misses out a lot of details and get some things wrong.
These are contemporary works by emerging authors. There are a few such a Douluo Dalu, Coiling Dragon, Stellar Transformation.
Wuxia novels revolve around chivalrous heroes. Xianxia stories have immortals as the protagonists. I would place xianxia under high fantasy? Though it is more of a mix of high fantasy and mythic fantasy.
Iād like to chime in and ask what are the new novels too. Iām really interested in this.
Xian Xia is a good idea, but is that a different genre or the new wuxia? If xian xia is accepted here, that would open up a lot more topics to talk about as itās quite popular now.
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Itās a different genre, or perhaps sub genre. They are both about xia but have different settings. Xianxia involves immortals while wuxia are about mortals.
Xian Xia is probably a different genre. Or a sub category? I donāt see why we canāt discuss that here.
I swear I replied to this but seems like my post didnāt get through. Well, I put some thought to it and I would say xian xia is a sub genre. I see wuxia as the equivalent to fantasy in general. Xianxia is more like high fantasy. Shenmo would be mythic fantasy.
You probably missed my reply to @DongfangBubai. There seem to be some interest in this so Iāll do up a post about these new novels.
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I guess I really missed that! Seems like your missing post appeared too! I think our forum is becoming quirky!
I wonder if itās the theme or the forum itself. Any thoughts on the current theme?
What is the main difference between WuXia and XianXia novels?
I operate a fiction site (penana.com) where there are also writers of English WuXia. But XianXia is a relatively new term for me. Can someone explain as I heard from some of the above discussion that XianXia can be more popular.
Thanks:)
Coen
I am definitely interested in new materials, even though I am still working my way through old materials.
As the saying goes, old but gold. Enjoy your adventure reading them!
Xia is literally hero. So both wuxia and xianxia are heroic stories, with different elements.
Wu means martial, which implies the stories involve martial arts as we see depicted in the gongfu, or kung fu for Westerners, in movies and dramas.
Xian means divine or immortal. Xianxia stories usually involve beings who, while not immortal or divine, possess abilities far beyond humans. This includes longevity or abilities that border magical or supernatural. In contrast, wuxia stories are more grounded aside from the extraordinary martial arts abilities.
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