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Thread: Culture Clash

  1. #1
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    Default Culture Clash

    I recently wrote a wuxia fanfic and turn it in as an english class (college level creative writing class) homework. Everyone in class enjoy the story. As they critique my story, I notice that many of them kept using words like anime, samurai, ninja, and Japan. I had a cover sheet explaining my story, that it took place in China durning the Ming Dynesty. I even explain a bit about wuxia, but still. They don't seem to know the diffrent between China and Japan. A lot of them said that they love Crouching Tiger, and House of Flying Dagger. I hate both movies. By the way I was the only Asian in the class. I just want to share that experience with you guy. It was just fustrating.

  2. #2
    TommyH
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    Quote Originally Posted by wuxian
    I recently wrote a wuxia fanfic and turn it in as an english class (college level creative writing class) homework. Everyone in class enjoy the story. As they critique my story, I notice that many of them kept using words like anime, samurai, ninja, and Japan. I had a cover sheet explaining my story, that it took place in China durning the Ming Dynesty. I even explain a bit about wuxia, but still. They don't seem to know the diffrent between China and Japan. A lot of them said that they love Crouching Tiger, and House of Flying Dagger. I hate both movies. By the way I was the only Asian in the class. I just want to share that experience with you guy. It was just fustrating.
    by the sound of it i think it's really exciting. so when is te first chapter coming out? i thought you already wrote it. lol

  3. #3
    Member XiaoYu's Avatar
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    Goes to show it's time to push wuxia into the world. I'm going to be happy to support any authors who dare to write about ancient China instead of Japan in the next few years, be it historically accurate stuff or a totally fantasized China. Goodness knows, plenty of manga about ninjas and samurai is totally inaccurate and they have plenty of fans.

    What was your fanfic about?

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    Senior Member resident:alien's Avatar
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    did you at least try to explain to them that WUXIA is CHIVARLY which is similar to what those kids know as the MEDIEVAL TIMES and their tall tales of KING ARTHUR and ROBIN HOOD?

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    Senior Member Eliar Swiftfire's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by resident:alien
    did you at least try to explain to them that WUXIA is CHIVARLY which is similar to what those kids know as the MEDIEVAL TIMES and their tall tales of KING ARTHUR and ROBIN HOOD?
    It is? I tend to think that WUXIA is more like an equivalent of fantasy, or historical fiction in the vein of Lord of the Rings and such. Or maybe to be more precise, celtic fantasy, or such.
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    LOL, this reminds me. My English teacher assigned as a project where we had to re-write Romeo and Juliet into another voice or style. So I re-wrote it into a wuxia styled story. My teacher was very pleased that I had introduced this new genre of literature to her. But I don`t know if she really grasped an understanding of wuxia was a whole.

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    Senior Member resident:alien's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eliar Swiftfire
    It is? I tend to think that WUXIA is more like an equivalent of fantasy, or historical fiction in the vein of Lord of the Rings and such. Or maybe to be more precise, celtic fantasy, or such.
    that's what it basically is...historical fiction.

    lol...

    it's all good.

    just that, king arthur can't jump 30 feet in the air and execute wutong sword stance with that heavy armor on.


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    Senior Member Da Bao's Avatar
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    Oooh... It sounds so interesting... Please post the fic for us to read!!

    And really? Your classmates couldn't really get the concept of wuxia? I mean... I can understand if it's their first time reading or hearing a wuxia story, but they seriously don't get the fact it takes place in China?

    I remember doing something like having to rewrite a story too. I also redid mine in a wuxia like fashion. I thought the story was good and it was simple, but my few of my classmates really understood it. I later asked another teacher to read it (she's Chinese-American and also has a passion for wuxia novels), she also said it was very simple. If it was so simple why didn't they understand the concept of it being in China...
    Last edited by Da Bao; 06-29-06 at 03:15 AM.
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    I still working on my fanfic, I want to finish it before I post anything up. I been changing stuff around a lot. By the way I still in the writting class (it a free 0 credit calss), I'm taking a class when I don't have too, crazy I know. Then again I'm attemping to write a whole wuxia novel in english. Taking the class really help my writing skills (I can't read anythings and not analyze it anymore), I highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about writing (wuxia or not) to take a creative writing class. It's my 6 or 7 semeters in the class or 8, I lost count already. Actually there are people in the class who been in it for 10 years, its like I've join some sort of cult. Anyways I manage clear some confusion about China, Japan, swordsmen, samurai, ninja, etc to some people. As for others I just let them think that Wulin is a provence in Japan, hey as long as they like my stories.

    What about you guy, have you share your love of wuxia with other non wuxian?

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    Senior Member mind_wander's Avatar
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    Hey, I understand how you feel because I am only Asian guy in most of my course studies in the US. It is hard to discuss the concepts on the basic difference between China/Japan. Most just related it to the hollywood movies.

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