It seems that China has had many arts, philosophies and cultures, such as calligraphy, Weiqi, architecture, furniture making, cooking, etc, that were divided into distinct schools of thought, sects, styles and clans.
So why is it that martial arts culture(and it's inclusive arts such as swordplay) has been the only art has been able to gain such wide popularity in novels?
Do you think it would be possible to write a novel about, for example ancient chefs in China, and make it as exciting as martial arts?