Gender issues in Chinese "wuxia" movies

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From KungFuCinema.com:

The astonishing images of gender equality seen in wuxia films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero and the recently released House Of Flying Daggers, are virtually unparalleled in contemporary media. Equally astonishing is the fact that these images can be traced back at least to the late 19th century, in the waning years of the Qing dynasty. Books describing the adventures of male and female martial artists living in the realm of the jiang hu, the “martial underworld,” created the genre of wuxia in 20th-century Chinese pop culture. Trace the stories back further and you'll find the classic literature of Imperial China and the regional opera troupes performing stories of Monkeys and Goddesses.

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From this foundation grew a literary and cinematic tradition in which women can change into men, or take on male roles and characteristics without losing their feminine traits. Some of the earliest surviving films of China are wuxia pien with swordswomen heroines. These young women forswear romance for a life of martial training and protecting the innocent. Xu Qin-fang, the grandmother of Sammo Hung, was the star of a typical early wuxia pien, Swordswoman of Huangjiang (1930). In one scene, she tracks a mysterious woman fighter to a small village. She spots a young mother teaching kung fu to her kids, and thinks she’s found her perp. Then she sees an equally adept woman practicing in the town square. So she has to check out all the women masters in town!

The concept generally referred to as kung fu forms the underpinning of stories of invincible swordplay, “light skills” or the ability to jump and fly, and the whole treasure chest of martial magic which is essential to wuxia stories. Good training and long practice will advance the student’s skills. In the jiang hu, men and women can meet on a level playing field. Not all of the writers and directors working in the wuxia genre have used this fluidity of gender roles to create strong, vibrant, and sublimely confident heroines, but a common characteristic of many of the most memorable wuxia pien of the past 40 years is the presence of "nu xia," women knights. (See filmography)

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A wuxia actress might be an elegantly-beautiful sword fighter in one film, and the tough-as-nails sidekick in another. An obvious requirement is to have some kind of physical training - popular Hong Kong actresses Cheng Pei-pei and Kara Hui Ying-hung studied dance, as did Zhang Ziyi, star of House of Flying Daggers. Even before the advent of CGI, much of the martial technique shown on film was an illusion. A good coach, a talented action director, can make anyone look impressive from the right angle. The real trick is in the acting. As icons of female power, the great nu xia actresses - Cheng Pei-pei, Hsu Feng, Hui Ying-hung, Angela Mao, Shih Szu, Polly Shan Kuan Ling Feng, Connie Chan Po-chu, Michelle Yeoh and, yes, Brigitte Lin, bring to life a world in which women have nothing to fear except the universal wuxia dread of meeting someone with better kung fu.

More at the link ...

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Indeed, throughout Chinese martial arts films, women with martial arts training are often portrayed as the equal of men in fighting ability. Nevertheless, the wuxia and kung fu heroines typically retain their traditionally feminine traits. These films are an interesting counterpoint to American action movies, where the rare female star must often assume traditionally masculine characteristics (e.g., Linda Hamilton's musculature in Terminator 2).

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1. Interesting, very interesting

I'd like to see more movies where women are shown as people who can do anything men can.

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2. Thanks for posting this

I'll be spreading the link around.

[Chovexani]

3. One of the many, many reasons I love the genre.

People that dismiss it as just silly wire-bound acrobatics are missing the point, IMO.

Interesting article.

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4. Crouching Tiger is all about gender, tradition and duty.

That's what makes it so much more than an action movie. The action is about what's going on in the plot. Every fight scene is a representation of arguments the film as a whole is making about gender, tradition and duty.