Chinese wuxia fictions are always having martial heroes and righteous person as protagonists- they have consummate skills， act heroically in a just cause and recognized for being rebellious. The subject of wuxia is recognized for telling good stories， which could gather history， adventure， legend， military and love stories in one； adding it also possesses a strong oriental setting， maybe after seeing the regular subjects， it’s time to have a look at Chinese wuxia fiction？
　　If there’re some good Chinese subject works but rarely published abroad to recommend， wuxia fiction should stand out. The modern Chinese wuxia fictions， represented by Louis Cha金庸 ’s works， could gather the elements of history， adventure， legend， military and love in one story， showing outstanding story-telling abilities. In the contemporary time， the love part has got more ink， and the trend of generic historical novel （jiakong xiaoshuo） and unreliable imaginary novel （xuanhuan xiaoshuo） has become more prevailing. In the West， Chinese wuxia fictions published in English version are only limited to four books by Louis Cha， namely， The Smiling， Proud Wanderer， The Tales of the Flying Fox， The Deer and the Cauldron and The Legend of the Condor Heroes， and one by Gu Long 古龙， Arts and Tangled Love（Homa & Sekey Books， 2004）. Compared to the West， some Asian countries like Japan， South Korea and Thailand have published more of Chinese wuxia fictions in their local languages， which include works by Wo Longsheng卧龙生， Zhge Qingyun 诸葛青云， Gao Yong高庸， Huang Ying黄鹰， Chen Qingyun陈青云， Huang Yi黄易besides Louis Cha and Gu Long.
　　However， it would be a bit too hasty if we judge a work written in a different language by the number of times it has been published abroad， besides， Louis Cha has achieved a sales over 100 million worldwide （see the following part）. The success of The Deer and the Cauldron （English version）， as well as the wbig hit brought by Louis Cha and wuxia fictions， proved the market potential of this subject.
　　We’ve learned recently that the MacLehose Press is planning to publish the works by Louis Cha. With regard to this， we’re very delighted that we’ve interviewed the responsible editor Paul Engles and exchanged our ideas on their publishing Louis Cha’s works.
　　Great to know that Louis Cha’s works are going to be published in America. Cha is one of the finest Chinese contemporary wuxia writers， but things we’ve learned are there’re not many published English versions of Chinese wuxia fictions before. Could you have a few words on the reason for your publishing Chinese wuxia， and why to start with Cha’s works？ 　　Louis Cha was the obvious choice for our first foray into wuxia in translation because of his enormous popularity. He is one of the biggest-selling authors in history， with more than 100 million copies of his works sold worldwide to date. But really， we are publishing Louis Cha first and wuxia second – by which I mean that we are publishing Louis Cha because of his phenomenal story-telling abilities and the depth and range of his writing， not beca， use of any particular desire to translate the wuxia genre into English.
　　Some say that for Chinese xiake， or martial hero， their bravery， justice， devotedness and other qualities may remind people of chivalry as reflected in The Death of King Arthur， Don Quijote de la Mancha， Les Trois Mousquetaires and other works. To what extent do you agree or disagree？
　　Absolutely. These particular works have a very “classic” feel – so much so that one can almost imagine them to be contemporary accounts. And， yes， certainly， it is impossible to miss the parallels between the codes of honour adhered to by Louis Cha’s characters the notions of chivalry that underpin the classic adventure narratives of Western literature.
　　Any plans of publishing its ebook or digital adaptations？ To Chinese young readers， wuxia may not fascinate them as it did to their fathers or grandfathers in their youth， but computer games are an exception. Maybe things are the same with the young generation of America？ If Chinese wuxia is going to be adapted into computer and video games， what may need adaptation in your opinion to cater for the preferences of the young people in America？
　　Of course， we will certainly be publishing ebook editions of all the books we have contracted. And it is true that Louis Cha’s works have already inspired computer game adaptations. It was reported earlier this year that Swordsman， a free-to-play MMORGP developed by Perfect World， would soon be made available to gamers in the West. And they are also in the testing phase for a similar game （Legend of the Condor Heroes： Zero） based on the series of novels that we will be publishing. This is a very exciting development， and we hope to be able to harness to bring the works of Louis Cha to as wide an English-language audience as possible. Perhaps the success of the computer game versions will influence the way in which the translations will be packaged or marketed. Most likely they should. But we also shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that these books are classic works of adventure fiction which will also appeal to people who never play computer games. It may well be that multiple editions are published to cater for the widest possible audience. What is for sure is that it is a very exciting time to be bringing Louis Cha’s works to America and Britain. 　　We see eye-to-eye with Paul Engles on a few things above. In the following passage， we’ll introduce the role of the Jianghu setting in wuxia（that is， rivers and lakes）， as well as the overseas publishing situation of wuxia fiction. Considering the comparableness between the wuxia fiction and knight novel， the characters and plots in the knight novel have been included for comparison.
　　About xiake
　　By Liu Xushuang
　　I. The xiake image
　　The image of xiake in wuxia fiction is diversified. Xiake could be a delicate young man in a white long gown， a woman in black， a boy， a silver-haired senior， a monk， a nun， or even a fox immortal or an ape spirit. In Chinese wuxia fiction， all living things could be xiake as long as they have the intention of being chivalrous and thinking for the weak. An example would be Bai Yutang： "wrapped in a tattered head scarf， a worn blue gown， and with a pair of weathered riding boots， this hoodlum defies the typical image of a knight in shining armor. The knights under Scott’s pen are more conventional： with glittering armor， an emblematic shield， and a fierce black horse. He exhibits inner calm and control on all occasions， lowering his pike to greet princes and ladies with respect".
　　If we’d have a look back to the Chinese xiake， a female xiake like The Thirteenth Sister （Shi San Mei）， there would be a description like this： "the coldness shone through her cheeks’ pink， and an aura of death hovered around her slim waist… She turned around， and in an instant， raised her leg and kicked the corpse of the little monk to the corner of the wall …" Female xiake characters tend to be quite manlike compared to the wicked but attractive witches in knight novel – such as Vivian.
　　II. Why they fight
　　The highest ideal of every Christian knight is to fight for honor in the name of God， and to fight for the beauty in the name of God of Love. In comparison， the highest ideal of a Chinese xiake is to die for his or her intimate friend. The earliest xiake of China， Jin Ke during the Warring States period， who appreciated for being recognized by Prince Dan， tried to assassinate the first Emperor or Qin to repay Prince Dan’s kindness without fearing losing his own life. Chinese xiake place much importance on independence， and many of them took living in seclusion as their highest ideal. This is the oriental privacy culture， namely staying away from worldly affairs. Being worldly， if take an example from the knight novel， could be just like there’s a poison dragon or giant monster causing mischief at one place； they may kidnapped a wealthy beauty， or robbed a piece of treasure. So when the knight killed the dragon or the monster， he also won the beauty and the treasure. However， to Chinese xiake， no matter in earlier or modern works， could be as the words of Guo Jing- a famous character in Louis Cha’s works：“The majestic state of being a xiake， is being all for the nation and its people.”Xiake don’t care much about wealth and honor but for justice that they kept in mind， even it’s to sacrifice their own life. Bai Yutang in The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants broke into the prince’s mansion for a treasure box but ended his life unluckily in the copper net array. Guo Jing and his wife Huang Rong also died in the battle fighting for Xiangyang and the local residents. 　　III. The martial arts of xiake
　　Every xiake is a martial art hero or heroine （with The Deer and the Cauldron as an exception）. Some win battles by their sword， some win through sheer willpower， and in every case along the spectrum， martial arts plays an emblematic role. A xiake’s weapon plays such an important role as to be nearly human-like in its partnership， often honored with its own name. There are also fixed styles of using these weapons， which come with their own set of metaphors and descriptions immediately recognizable to the xiake reader. To exemplify， let’s have a look at an excerpt on the Thirteenth Sister breaking into the temple to save An Sheng at night from The Legend of Heroic Son and Daughter：
　　The woman saw the monk breaking in in full fury， so she attacked him first with her broadsword. The monk fight back with his wooden staff. So they two， one using a broadsword tipped with wild goose tail feathers， one using the Buddhist monk staff capped with dragon’s tail； the staff thumping ruthlessly， and heavy and unforgiving as Mount Tai （one of the five most magnificent mountains in China）， while the broadsword chopped powerful and deadly like the great waves of the sea. Only the light reflected by the broadsword and the imposing manner of the staff could be seen； thousands of silver sparks splashed when the weapons struck each other， dispersing an aura of death. The two fighters， one an impetuous monk in red， the other an attractive woman in black， grapple and yell throughout the cold dark night. What a marvelous fight！
　　In comparison， the description on battles in knight novel are often more simple and straight-forward. A big horse and a clunky helmet – two necessary parts of the knight’s whole – limit a knight’s choice of weapon movement. An example would be the fight between Ivanhoe and the Saint Knight from Ivanhoe：
　　The trumpets had no sooner given the signal， than the champions vanished from their posts with the speed of lightning， and closed in the centre of the lists with the shock of a thunderbolt. The lances burst into shivers up to the very grasp， and it seemed at the moment that both knights had fallen， for the shock had made each horse recoil backwards upon its haunches. The address of the riders recovered their steeds by use of the bridle and spur； and having glared on each other for an instant with eyes which seemed to flash fire through the bars of their visors， each made a demi-volte， and， retiring to the extremity of the lists， received a fresh lance from the attendants. 　　Arguably the most prominent characteristic of wuxia fiction is that xiake win their rivals with their inner strength. To many Western readers， the concept of inner strength may sound overly hokey or mystical. An American bestseller critic used to write in his commentary on Chinese wuxia fiction that Westerners believe the hardness and sharpness of things are the cause of damage， so in a description of a fight， fists are better weapons than palms， and for the weapons， the harder and sharper， the better. By contrast， among Louis Cha’s characters， bare palms are the most-used “weapons，” and the xiake with stronger martial arts tend to place less importance on the quality of the weapons they use， or do not even use weapons at all. Inner strength is the humanization of a concept， like a power from within a person that could be released into the air like magic （thus the symbolic strength of bare palms）. Inner strength tangible in this way； just as it can be delivered and wielded， so too can it be stolen. The greatest villains from wicked martial sects use their palms to steal a xiake’s inner strength.
　　Xiake’s romance
　　By Liu Xushuang
　　Before looking at Xiake’s romance， I would like to first comment on the knight. I believe the charm of the knight novel lies partly in its romantic stories. In Chaucer’s A Knight’s Tale， a knight expresses himself in a poem：
　　To boast of knightly skill I care not now，
　　Nor do I ask tomorrow's victory，
　　Nor any such renown， nor vain glory
　　Of prize of arms， blown before lord and churl，
　　But I would have possession of one girl，
　　Of Emily， and die in thy service.
　　However， it’s not until the 20th century did xiake started to treat love seriously. Nie yinniang married a young man who lived on making mirrors because he’s simple and honest and wouldn’t uncover the truth that she’s the immortal of sword. Furthermore， she abandoned his so-called husband and left without leaving a message.
　　Romance is a basic tone throughout the knight novel. The knights， besides travelling around and dueling with others， would fall in love with a woman， and sometimes their duels or adventures were for the reason of a woman. Unlikely， the increase of romantic elements in wuxia fiction was due to the wuxia writers during the period of the Republic of China. Among them， Wang Dulu王度庐 and Zhu Zhenmu朱贞木 are the two who made the biggest influence. Wang’s“Stork-Iron Pentalogy” was a sad story. Li Mubai and Yu Xiulian loved each other but failed to be together， which assembles much of Lanslot and Guinevere in King Authur.Luo Xiaohu and Yu Jiaolong， a dessert robber and the daughter of the Nine Gates Infantry Commander. Yu Jiaolong couldn’t get rid of the family views， so she headed forward to the remote alone after one night’s romance with Luo Xiaohu. ZhuZhenmu’s Madam Luo Cha is about an unusual love story： Madam Luo Cha had a mysterious background， and also acted as a mystery. A mysterious and scary woman like her performed a story of true love. After Zhu， the white-haired witch （LianNishang， in Liang Yusheng梁羽生’s works）， the “ghost princess” （Bai Feifei，by Gu Long）， and the holy girl of the evil religion （Ren Yingying， created by Louis Cha） were all more or less influenced by Zhu’s Madam Luo Cha. 　　Due to religion， the romantic story of Christian knights was deeply rooted in asceticism. Round table knight Sloate fell in love with King Arthur’s wife Queen Guinevere. Apparently， their love was not permitted. When King Arthur passed away， Sloate became a hermit， and Queen Guinevere served in the church. Also in Ivanhoe， beautiful Jewish girl Rebecca fell in love with Christian knight Ivanhoe， but all was in vain due to their religions. However， it’s another situation in wuxia fiction： many stories were about a beautiful girl of a minority ethic group fell in love with a handsome young man of Han ethic group， such as Princess Xiangxiang of Hui Islamic ethnic group and Chen Jialuo of Han， and the Mongolian lady Hamaya and Yang Yucong.
　　In the knight novel， the female were always in a passive position. A girl name Eileen was in an approved relationship with Lancelot， and at the end of the story， it’s Eileen died in depression and her body drained down with the river to her love Lancelot. In Chinese wuxia fiction， women fought for their love. In The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants， Ding Yuehua from a noble family insisted on holding a martial arts competition to decide who’d be her future husband. Here’s an excerpt from the book： “Mr. Zhan lowered his head in a great rush to avoid being attacked by the sword. As soon as he wanted to turn around， the lady turned over her fair wrist and peeled off Mr. Zhan’s head-covering with her sword. Zhan leaned over his body and jumped out of the stage， saying ‘You win， you win.’” Zhan Zhao then agreed on marrying Miss Ding out of admiration of her martial arts skills. That may go beyond the imagination of Western knights. The Thirteenth Sister fought with the evil monk in the darkness and rescued An， afrail scholar who became enchanted with her due to her bravery. If we assumethe beautiful princess killed the evil dragon and saved Saint George in the knight novel， will the proud knight allow himself to show love to the princess？
　　Jianghu in wuxia fiction
　　By Liu Xushuang
　　As a place that in reality exists though is not a specific destination， Jianghu is where Xiake carries out its justice. There is one sentence in Gu Long’s The Legend of Chu Liuxiang that could be a portrayal of Xiake’s life： “People feel they don’t have the freedom to act independently when they are in Jianghu. They are plagued with love and hatred， endless gratitude and grudges.”Jianghu comes from Zhuang Tsu， which has a sense of oriental philosophy， a symbol of freedom and detachment， contrary to the ideas of power and wealth embedded in the word Miao Tang. 　　In the Tang peoples’ legend， Jianghu has an unconventional feeling of a flourishing period of time. Whether in wine shops， private houses of high-ranking officials or the remote mountains by the East Sea which hold legends of immortals， the existence of Xiake is omnipresent. On Hong Funu （a heroine who often carried a red horsetail whisk with her） and Li Jing’s elopement， the two came across Qiu Ranke， a martial hero known for his curly beard who wanted to fight the governing power of Li Shimin–China’s Emperor at the time. One can sense the feeling of Jianghu thereafter as they drink and discuss politics， Hong Funu sitting besides combing her long hair. Mo Lethe slave concealed from his master Cui Sheng a date with a private female singer at a wealthy residence， which required climbing over ten high walls. When Mo Le was chased to be killed by the female singer’s master， he carried a knife and leapt over the high walls， never to be found again. Over ten years later， another man saw him selling medicine in Luoyang， looking exactly as he did ten years ago. This is another kind of Jianghu. In the fiction of the Tang Dynasty， Jianghu involves a worldly feeling， intricately meshing exciting fights with a poetic flavor.
　　Like Xiake， the life of knights was also full of drifting and fighting； they have also been travelling across mountains， plains， deserts and forests. Jianghu in Western hero epics that took place during the same period exuded a deep original flavor. The dark forests in North Europe， the frozen lake， the wetlands filled with an unpleasant and inauspicious smell， and the dangerous seas were all the stages of the heroes， and sea and lake monsters and poisonous dragons were the main foes. Witchcraft was the power that brought death like martial arts.
　　To Western knights， Jianghu and Miao Tang（the Imperial Palace） are not opposite. Knights adventured into Jianghu， but their last destination was the Imperial Court. As the knights of King Arthur searched for the Holy Grail， they travelled over land and water， hoping they could one day return to the Imperial Court and take a seat at the round table. However， the realm pursued by the Chinese Xiake is to “forget each other in Jianghu”； in other words， it is better to leave behind the entanglement brought by meeting each other in order to regain the freedom as it was in the past. This is why Bai Feifei decided to leave Shen Lang and go into the desert， and why Yang Guo hid his tracks from the martial arts circles and broke off all his connections. 　　Before the 20th century， Jianghu in China’s wuxia fiction， though varying from being as ordinary as real society or as different as monstrous and multicolored fairy worlds， is not cut off from the real world—Jiangshan restricts Jianghu. Although Xiake used to take fame lightly， they have not cast off their patriotism and loyalty. This is seen often， from when the Xiake character of Zhan Zhao in The Three Heroesand Five Gallants receives the honor from the Emperor to when the Liangshan heroes show obedience to the Imperial Court. However， when Pingjiang Buxiaosheng平江不肖生 later changed the tone as he separated Jianghu from the Imperial Court， he identified Xiake as a true part of the martial arts circles. His book The Legend of Wonderful Jianghu Martial Heroes， published in 1923， told a story of peasants in Liuyang and Pingjiang in Hunan province fighting over a water and land harbor， which later turned into the battle between the Kunlun and Kongtong martial arts cliques. The earlier martial arts novels comment more on Xiake and corrupt officials becoming enemies with each other. But after The Legend of Wonderful Jianghu Martial Heroes， the theme of the novel turns to gratitude and grudges， namely the fights between the Good Clique and the Evil Clique. This is a pioneering work in the history of wuxia fiction， upon which most of the wuxia fiction ever since has been based.
　　Publishing situation of Louis Cha’s works
　　By Liu Xushuang
　　Louis Cha， or Jin Yong， is a legend of the Chinese people worldwide. “Where there are Chinese， there are Louis Cha’s novels.”This is no exaggeration. Furthermore， beyond the Chinese， Cha’s novels also have great influence in East and Southeast Asia.
　　In early 1950s， when Cha just started his writing career， the Thailand language version of Jade Dragon became available in Thailand in 1958. This is also the first foreign language version of Cha’s novels. It’s also said after importing Cha’s The Legend of the Condor Heroes， there’d arisen a upsurge for Chinese wuxia fiction- till now， there’ve been the Thailand language version of Cha’s other works The Legend of the Condor Heroes， The Return of the Condor Heroes and Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre， which have been reprinted dozens of times. According to a Thai researcher studying the translation of Cha’s works， praise for Cha’s novels continued during the 1960s， when local Chinese newspapers often reprinted them. Many local people， including she herself， was starting learning Chinese foe Cha’s reason， and some were even writing their own wuxia fictions under Cha’s influence. 　　Until the 1970s， other countries in Southeast Asia， including Vietnam， Indonesia， Cambodia and Malaysia had all published the national language version of Cha’s novels. In Singapore and Malaysia， there’s also the simplified Chinese version.
　　Similar upsurge in Korea emerged in late 1970s. According to a research done by the Hanseong University Student Union， nearly half of the Korean students were readers of Louis Cha. Also， a research by a Korean publisher indicated that 12 Korean publishers had published the translation version of Cha’s works illegally- the major bookstores in Hanseong all had Cha’s book for sale. It was not until 2003 had Cha authorized the Gimm Young Publishers Inc in publishing the Korean version of his works.
　　In Japan， the Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co.， Ltd. published the The Collected Works of Jin Yong in 1995. And until late 1990s， nearly all of Cha’s works had published their Japanese version， and had been reprinted several times.
　　Like it is in China， in Korea and Japan， the trilogy of The Legend of the Condor Heroes are quite popular. In Korea， the publishers also released the collected version of the trilogy， which was named The Hero Gate. The young protagonist Guo Jing，after having gone through friendship and love and overcoming extensive hindrances， became a xiake at the end of the novel.
　　To Japanese and Korean readers， there exists a feeling of young animation. The sixteen-year appointment between the Little Dragon Maiden and Yang Guo， and the romance between Zhang Wuji and four beautiful young ladies in Legend of the Dragons layer Sword， both have a touch of elegance of the Oriental culture， making the readers feel more sorrow for the characters.
　　Due to cultural differences， Cha’s novel enjoyed limited popularity in the West. Although all of Cha’s novels have been translated in to English by enthusiastic readers， there’re official translated versions of only four books， namely The Book and The Sword， Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain， The Deer and the Cauldron and The Legend of the Condor Heroes， in spite of the The Legend of the Condor Heroes which has been out of sale at present. The English version of Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain was first published in Hong Kong in 1993， and again later in 1996； besides， it was printed for the second time in 2004. For The Book and The Sword， the Cambridge University Press published its first English version in 2004. Likely， for The Deer and the Cauldron， it was published several times by the Cambridge University Press in 1997， 1999 and 2002，and in 1998 it was one of the best sellers globally. That was because the anti-wuxia spirit of The Deer and the Cauldron was quite in the way of the post-modern literary school， which made it also one of the best recognized work in the Western literature and art circle. In the last century， when The Legend of the Condor Heroes was quite a hit in Cambodia， a rough French version became quite popular at the same time. However， the complete French version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes was not published until 2004 by the Youfeng Bookstore. And Cha was awarded with the Commanding Officer Medal for Literature and Art by the Cultural Ministry of France. 　　In the West， Cha’s novels are usually seen as best-sellers like Harry Potter. His The Deer and the Cauldron enjoys a four-star mark on Goodreads and enjoys the comments of “an adventure novel that never get you bored”. An old lady from America who watched movies starring Li Xiaolong said this book broadened her horizons， helping her learn more about wuxia fiction. Another German reader thought highly of the unconstrained plot and clever structure while also sighing at its translation， as she believed there must have been crucial parts in the original work that were lost in the translation process. As for the Confucian thought and Buddhist content， everyday readers have a harder time understanding its full meaning and significance.
　　Besides， in the Middle East， there’re the Israeli language version of Cha’s novels before 1998， whose readership were mainly university students.
　　Overseas publishing situation of other wuxia fictions
　　By Liu Xushuang
　　English versions of Chinese wuxia fiction play an important role in the popularity of this genre in Western countries. However， only the four novels by Cha mentioned above have been published officially， adding Gu Long’s The Eleventh Son： A Novel Of Martial Arts And Tangled Love （Homa & Sekey Books， 2004）. According to the calculation of translator Jia Ming， till now， there are 59 wuxia fictions that have electronic English versions consist of 59， among which 15 are by Cha， 36 by Gu Long， 3 by Liang Yusheng， 4 by Huang Yi 黄易， 1 by Wen Rui’an 温瑞安and 1 by Wang Dulu.
　　In Asian countries， Japan， Korea and Thailand are where the wuxia fiction enjoy the widest recognition. Besides， Louis Cha， works of wuxia writers like Go Long， Wo Longsheng， Zhuge Qingyun， Gao Yong， Huang Ying， Chen Qingyun， Huang Yi all have Thai version. Japanese readers have a strong sense of intimacy and closeness withwuxia fiction. Wuxia is actually a creation from a Japanese novel by Shunrō Oshikawa おしかわ しゅんろう， which introduced the general term for “samurai” and “knight-errant”. In Japan， the genre focuses on swordsmen and ninja， similar to China’s wuxia fiction.
　　The media plays an important role in the popularity of wuxia fiction. In Japan， the “Louis Cha Fever” appeared at a time when NHK Radio broadcasted Zhang Jizhong’s（a Chinese producer and director） TV plays， which were adapted from Jin Yong’s works. Computer and video games have also increased the influence of wuxia fiction. Indeed， it is clear that various media channels have proved effective in promoting the wuxia fiction.