In case you don't know, I am the owner of a martial arts dojo in central China. You can even call me the "Young Master"—although I only learned about owning such a place after it went bankrupt. The small dojo closed without debt, but discussing "Wuxia" inevitably involves some personal grievances.
After all, in the eyes of manyFrom the perspective of those born after 2000, there was once a "golden age" where one could get rich doing nothing, yet my father wasted his prime years on "martial arts," a declining industry, which naturally makes me feel like I've suffered a huge loss:"I don't know if games are a scourge, but Wuxia culture probably harmed a generation."
You know how, in the later period of kung fu films, directors always liked to include plots where a retired hero is despised by his family for not earning money? Yes, I am thatfamily members who "expect their father to become a dragon." After allIt's already 2026, who would have the leisure to be interested in martial arts?
Huh?
There really are.
Game producer Liang Qiwei collaborated with Donnie Yen, usingcentered around the concept of "Wuxia Punk" to create the action game "Phantom Blade Zero". Before launch, it secured the domesticAAA single-player games inthe highest media score on Metacritic; after launch, player reception started low but rose steadily, now reaching a 94% positive rating, and the official sales exceeded4 million.
But to be honest, my first impression of this game wasn't great. I have a compulsion to explore every inch of the map; as soon as I entered Pang Town in Chapter 4, I found a key item and went back to Chapter 3 to unlock a major late-game side quest."Righteous Camp," meaning challenging high-difficulty areas beyond your level. And on the Godlike difficulty, I prefer using the slightly weaker "White Python Red Refinement", under the relatively rough early gameplay flow, Phantom Blade Zero gave me the impression of soft hit feedback, chaotic combat rhythm, and low rewards for active interaction.
But like many players, my experience improved rapidly from the mid-game onward. It brought me an unprecedented experience, particularly evident in two characteristics rooted in martial arts culture:
Firstly, Phantom Blade Zero"'s combat may seem chaotic, but it actually follows its own rules. This is especially felt when usingThis feeling is strongest when using high-attack-speed dual blades like "White Python Red Refinement." It breaks away from the structured attack-and-defense turns of mainstream ARPGs, featuring a back-and-forth exchange of moves that feels like a dialogue with the opponent.
Secondly, the action design in Phantom Blade Zero is diverse and visually stunning, with each move creating its own scene. The staggering steps of the Drunken Sword, the flowing continuity of the Soft Sword, the heavy momentum of long-handled weapons, and the swift, treacherous strikes of short blades—each category is full of imagination. Unlike other games that emphasize efficiency and power, its aesthetic expression is unique. This is a characteristic exclusive to martial arts, not found in other combat techniques.
Therefore, although I hold prejudices against Wuxia, seeing someone question it, even throwing outthe explosive theory that "Wuxia is just what chanbara films left behind," I couldn't sit still and wanted to write something—previously, Phantom Blade ZeroIn the review, Teacher Space Bear modestly claimed he didn't understand"Wuxia",I don't understand either. But if we ignore"what a hero is" and focuses solely on "martial arts," thereby exploring the fundamental advantages of domestic Wuxia action games, I can still briefly discuss it.
Let's start with the conclusion:
First,"Martial Arts" comes from the traditional opera of Old China, determining the orderly chaos and reciprocal nature of Wuxia aesthetics.
Second,"Martial Arts" comes from the martial arts system of New China, it decisivelyconfirmedWuxia must emphasize aesthetics, not just violent techniques.
Thirdly, Phantom Blade Zero's inheritance of this aesthetic is not perfect, but it has become a nearly excellent work thanks to its outstanding action performance. If, following Donnie Yen, more Chinese martial artists participate in future game production, it is only a matter of time before we redefine action games.
The problem also lies in"time":left fornot much time for "Wuxia."
Why? Let's break it down point by point.
One
Opera is the foundation of Wuxia, giving Wuxia martial arts aesthetics a unique distinction.
Because, among traditional operas worldwide, only local forms like Peking Opera, Cantonese Opera, and Qinqiang have specifically established martial roles. Actors such as Wusheng (martial male), Wuchou (martial clown), and Daomadan (martial female) must not only train their voices and posture like Western opera singers or Thai Khon dancers but also master various weapons and possess genuine kung fu skills.
In other words, we were the first to place action scenes at the core of artistic expression. It's understandable that all humans love watching fights. But Europeans, living in the Roman era, could watch"gladiator performances," born in "Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2" allows you to watch noble knights compete in tournaments. We don't have that tradition, but the demand exists—and opera fills this market gap.
This is also why action designs in overseas works, such as the "God of War" and "The Witcher" series, emphasize realism, efficiency, and brutality. In contrast, domestic martial arts choreography has an inherent tendency towards artistic expression, where looking good is far more important than decisive killing.
Ancient people were smart; they realized early on that one piece of content could be split into three parts for sale. They launched"highlight reels." SoonJusttheater troupe owners discovered that the extractedThe "fight scenes" sold exceptionally well because they were lively, intense, and had absolutely no barrier to entry. So, when China was blocked by the Iron Curtain of the Cold War in the 1950s, one of our major strategies was to use opera for cultural diplomacy.In 1955, masters Zhang Yunxi and Zhang Chunhua toured eight European countries with the Chinese Art Troupe, performing a fight scene from the Peking Opera "The Crossroads": audiences didn't need to understand Chinese to appreciate the cultural charm through the actions.
Demand creates markets, and markets nurture professions. To survive box office competition, theater troupes inevitably compete fiercely in action scenes. Actors master basic stances, then horse-riding routines; after performing backward somersaults, the audience still expects to see dual-blade fights. Thus, Wusheng and Wuchou evolved into independent specialties focused on martial arts. Many troupes recruited poor children as apprentices, training them rigorously from a young age.
This explains whyWhyLocal martial arts rarely follow the one-hitKO style. Because,its predecessorofStage martial arts has a clearofpurpose: awaiting applause. The longer the back-and-forth exchange of moves, the more opportunities for the audience to cheer. This martial arts logic is essentiallyonvery pragmatic—it serves ticket sales.
In the 1940s,Amidst turbulent times, many famous opera artists moved south to Hong Kong, laying the foundation for Chinese action films that later swept the world. The most influential schools within the opera academies were four: Tang Di's Oriental Drama School, whose notable student Ching Siu-tung became famous for choreographing fights in "New Dragon Gate Inn" and "A Chinese Ghost Story"; Fan Juhua's Chunqiu Drama School, which produced Lin Zhengying, the star and martial arts director of "Mr. Vampire"; and Yu Jim-yuen's China Drama Academy, which gathered stars of the Yuan Family Band—Yuan Long (Sammo Hung), Yuan Lou (Jackie Chan), as well as Yuen Biao, Yuen Kwai, and Yuen Wah. Additionally, the lineage of Peking Opera martial actor Yuan Xiaotian developed independently; his son, Yuen Woo-ping, known as Eighth Master Yuen, established his status in the industry with films like "Drunken Master" and "Kill Bill."
Feel the pressure of the Seven Little Fortunes
However, when the film industry was just emerging, it actually posed a threat to these opera masters: as audiences flocked to cinemas, theater box office revenues declined. At that time, people took extra roles in film crews to make a living. The movie "The Seven Little Fortunes" depicts the mindset of performers from that era: if given a choice, Uncle Ah Hua, who had already started acting in films, would still choose to perform on stage.
Because at this time, the trend of action genre films had not yet arrived, and martial arts served merely as part of dramatic films in cinemapresentation, and the filming methods were extremely rough: a single stage, wide-angle shots, with actors coming on stage to perform their signature moves according to the plot—it was less like a movie and more like a modernized Peking or Cantonese Opera performance.
Early Wuxia films
So we have to regretfully admit that the other person's remark"Wuxia is just what chanbara films left behind",is not entirely wrong.It wasn't until the late 1960s that the familiar paradigm of Wuxia martial arts officially took shape. The iron triangle of director Chang Cheh, screenwriter Ni Kuang, and actor Jimmy Wang Yu sparked a new wave of Wuxia at Shaw Brothers, with "The One-Armed Swordsman" becoming the first Hong Kong film to break the million-dollar box office mark.
Chang Cheh and Ni Kuang were deeply influenced by Japanese chanbara films; "The Three Swashbucklers" almost directly borrowed the story framework from the 1964 film "Three Outlaw Samurai." But the key point is,They absorbed the chanbara filmfilming approach for "kill scenes," shifting martial arts from stylized, routine-based performances meant for applause to tense, life-or-death struggles. This approach reshaped the landscape of subsequent Chinese martial arts films and continues to influence domestic action games today.
"Three Outlaw Samurai"
"The Three Swashbucklers"
Being inclusive is not shameful. If borrowing were original sin, "Dragon Ball," "Fist of the North Star," and "Street Fighter" would never have been created. Akira Toriyama personally admitted that he drewduring the "World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament", referencing scenes from Jackie Chan's movie "Drunken Master" while drawing. During the golden age of Japanese manga in the 80s, coinciding with the peak of Hong Kong kung fu films, with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Drunken Master, and Qigong influencing Japan in return. We can certainly say that the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament,Boss Rush-style tropes were pioneered by Hong Kong films,But this doesn't bring much sense of superiority. What is truly worth pride is"the student surpasses the master."
And the reason chanbara films could guide Wuxia for a period largely lies in their traditional theater. Although I mentioned earlier that only local dramas specifically established martial roles, Japanese Kabuki has specialized"choreography," theycall them "Tachiai Masters"—yes, the term often used by fighting game and action game playersthat"Tachiai."
Tachiai in Kabuki
"Li" means combat, and "Hui" means adjusting distance. The difference lies in the fact that Peking Opera actors possess real kung fu skills, whereas Kabuki actors do not. They simply follow the guidance of the Tachiai Master to complete stage positioning, action presentation, build-up with the music, execute moves, and freeze in poses with drawn or sheathed swords: this emphasizes the overall choreography of fight scenes rather than individual martial prowess.
Our theater did have such positions, but at that time, they were far from being as theoretical and systematic as theirs. However, after Hong Kong films fully absorbed this experience, many talents who started as Wusheng actorsTruly elevatingelevated the role of "martial arts director" to an unprecedented height, with influence extending to Hollywood.The so-called student surpassing the master is what matters most.
"Kill Bill2" clip
As development progressed, the two inherently borrowed from each other,you are in me,I am in you, and you are in me. Trying to determine a superior one is ultimately meaningless. However, if we focus solely on aesthetic differences, tracing back to the origins can clarify many confusions.
For "Onimusha Way of the SwordKatsugekiza, responsible for motion captureKatsugekiza, equipped with dedicated stance specialists and fight choreographers. "Phantom Blade Zero's martial arts consultant Donnie Yen, who was discovered by Yuen Woo-ping and rose within the Hong Kong film system. Correspondingly, it is easy to compare the different faces of the two games.
Kabuki fight scenes emphasize"Introduction ・ Break ・ Urgency". Sharp and piercing hayashi sounds build up the tension of confrontation, small drums simulate heartbeats, then the actor draws their sword, accompanied by a clapper strike, freezing the action. The symbolic meaning of the combat is fate, a single strike, extinction, and a ritualistic end. It pursues the moment of decision, emphasizing the solemnity of destiny being sealed.
Peking Opera and Cantonese Opera fight scenes emphasize"Tension・Relaxation・Pause・Pause". Percussion patterns layer upon layer to support offense and defense, urgent rhythms drive continuous combo chains, with pauses and frozen poses between movements. As one climax subsides, the next round of engagement begins. Its combat expressionis a dialogue of skills back and forth, a gradual unfolding of bodily forms and rules, and also a stage for the audience to appreciate segment by segment.
Cantonese Opera fight scenes
So this explains why "Onimusha Way of the Sword" and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, these sword-focused games all possess a clear offense-defense turn-based system: when an enemy's posture bar is broken, you can deal massive damage, with clean and straightforward feedback logic.
In contrast, Phantom Blade Zero ", which follows an integrated offense-defense route. Even under high-frequency pressure from enemies, you can find openings to counter-attack; Even if the BOSS's posture bar is depleted, they do not enter a execution stun state; some enemies can continue to maneuver and counter-attack at any time.
Players accustomed to other action games may initially find the pacing of Phantom Blade Zero chaotic. However, amidst the clash of blades lies a strategic depth involving frame analysis, reading moves, and seizing opportunities to interrupt attacks, with offense and defense shifting in an instant—this is where its deep gameplay resides. The core controversy lies in the mechanic allowing attacks to cancel out of defense: honestly, it sometimes feels like an instinctive reaction, as if you're operating on spinal reflexes rather than conscious thought.But from another perspective, it lowers the risk of enemies sneaking attacks during their turns, making the fast-paced back-and-forth grappling seen in opera and kung fu films possible. If you dare to actively seize moves amidst your opponent's offensive, you can gain a unique experience.
"Phantom Blade Zero" inthisdirectional attempts are not perfect, but the potential is undeniable. BecauseinItofBehind it lies a vast reservoir of move sets accumulated from traditional opera and Chinese kung fu films. Confidently speaking, humanity will"The extent to which 'martial combat is transformed into gameplay' might not even reach 11%."
Two
New China helped further develop martial arts aesthetics, but this development was full of"controversy".
In 1954, Wu Gongyi of the Tai Chi school and Chen Kefu of the White Crane school engaged in a written debate in newspapers, neither willing to concede. Finally, both parties publicly issued challenges, agreeing to a duel to the death. At the time, Hong Kong law did not allow private duels with death warrants, so the two moved to the New Garden Arena in Macau, with Ho Yin, known as the "King of Macau," acting as host and witness.
This battle caused a sensation in Hong Kong and Macau. Lo Fu, editor-in-chief of Sing Tao Daily, seeing the citywide hype, seized the opportunity to commission Leung Yu-sang to write a wuxia serial. Leung Yu-sang jumped on the trend, and within two weeks wrote the pioneering work of new-school wuxia novels, "Dragon and Tiger Fight in Jinghua." Meanwhile, another reporter in the editorial department, unhappy about having to chase trending topics for traffic, still diligently completedKPI, writing The Book and the Sword—yes, this guy's pen name is Jin Yong.
There is much to discuss here, but we will only mention one point:Even in Jin Yong dramas and Gu Long dramas with high-martial-worldview settings, and even later those approaching superheroes"Storm"series, all equipped with dedicated"Martial Stuntmen," responsible for designing entire fight sequences and arranging live performances. Therefore, wuxia is built upon "martial combat." Once these professional martial artists age, wuxia inevitably moves closer to "xianxia."
The reality of that duel was that the ring match between the Tai Chi sect leader and the White Crane sect leader was extremely ugly. They started by posing, but it soon turned into grappling, throwing techniques, and wild swinging. The result was: both beaten black and blue, but no one actually died—To a large extent, the "Xia" (chivalry) part is shaped by scholars.
Exactly one year prior, the First National Ethnic Sports Performance and Competition Conference was also held in Tianjin, presided over by Marshal He Long. The 383 martial arts events were the highlight of this conference, including sabers, spears, swords, staffs, whips, maces, hooks, forks, Shaolin Fist, Bagua Zhang, Xingyi, Hung Gar, possessing the grandeur of a military parade.
However, in the early days of the founding of the PRC, the security situation was complex, and traditional martial arts schools were often deeply tied to old village and clan systems, posing a risk of infiltration by hostile forces. Due to practical governance considerations, early ring combat tournaments were halted, and martial arts development was incorporated into a unified sports work framework, advancing under unified guidelines.
Coinciding with the Sino-Soviet honeymoon period, the "Big Brother" brought an advanced and scientific model of sports management. This meant breaking projects into independent competitive units with unified rules, scoring sheets, and grading assessments. This led to a highly controversial consequence—Martial arts were artificiallydividedinto traditional martial arts and competitive martial arts, with competitive martial arts later splitting into"routine performance" and "Sanda."
In 1956, Mao Bohao, then chief of the Martial Arts Section of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission, published "Performance and Competition of Martial Arts" in Issue 24 of New Sports, advocating routines as the core of martial arts, reshaping martial arts by borrowing the framework of Soviet gymnastics, laying the tone for the development of competitive routines. Professor Ma Mingda of Jinan University, later became a representative of many critics,In a 2011 interview with China Youth Daily, he questioned that the transformation of national martial arts back then could have had other possibilities, and blindly copying the Soviet model was not without drawbacks.
Undoubtedly, transforming martial arts into routine performance was a decision full of controversy. It directly caused martial arts to lag behind in the competitive fighting sector, a deficit from which it has arguably not fully recovered even today.
But from another perspective, this system also allowed various traditional拳styles to avoid survival of the fittest under competitive mechanisms. Meanwhile, it refined a group of martial artists who best understood how to make fights look good. In those days, mastering routines offered a clear path: being selected by the sports work team, advancing to district and provincial teams, receiving allowances, rations, established positions, and even housing. With good luck, one could even visit overseas with cultural delegations and stand on the diplomatic stage.
The most typical example is the above-mentioned11-year-old kid brother. When Nixon asked him if he wanted to be his bodyguard when he grew up, he replied that he wanted to protect billions of Chinese people. Friends familiar with this scene should have realized that this child is the 1975all-around champion for five consecutive years from 1975 to 1979, the later Kung Fu Emperor Jet Li.
So byIn 1982, after 25 years, another film with extremely rough shooting methods,screened in Hong Kong theaters. One location, wide-angle shots, actors showcasing their signature skills through choreographed moves in front of the camera according to plot needs—but this time not because the crew lacked understanding of camera blocking, but because every actor possessed genuine kung fu skills, making the director reluctant to cut.
It is the Hong Kong film Shaolin Temple, starring Jet Li and numerous mainland athletes: there is a saying in mainland China, claimed approximately500 million. The filmJointly produced by left-leaning film studios in Hong Kong such as Great Wall, Phoenix, and Sun Luen, restricted by the political landscape of the time, it missed out on the Taiwan market, and some Southeast Asian distributors were also hesitant. Nevertheless, it grossed 16.16 million HKD, ranking fourth in Hong Kong's annual box office that year, and created a sensation within the industry.
Hong Kong action cinema, which was already showing signs of decline at the time, rode the wave of martial arts fervor sparked by Shaolin Temple, capitalizing on the reform and opening-upafternew version game bonus. Jet Li, Xiong Xinxin, Zhao Wenzhuo, Wu Jing, Xie Miao—this group of mainland wushu team athletes most skilled at making fights look beautiful—were equivalent to a batch of ten-pull five-legendarySSR cards, greatly replenishing Hong Kong films withwavetalent. New Wave wuxia creators led by Tsui Hark were able to fully display their skills, just as Jackie Chan welcomed a second spring in his career.
The golden age of kung fu films thus arrived.
Martial artists trained in this standardized system have extended fighting lines, neat structures, and distinct outlines for each move. Their punches and kicks vary in speed, with tension and relaxation, offering strong visual appeal.
Jet Li is particularly typical. His foundation is Changquan, proficient in saber, spear, sword, and staff, and he later studied Tai Chi and Hung Gar, able to precisely capture the essence of different styles. Huang Feihong's Hung Gar is upright and heavy, Zhang Sanfeng's Tai Chi flows like water and clouds, and Chen Zhen's Sanshou is rigid and sharp, seamlessly switching the bodily logic of entire martial arts systems. This is also why directors like Tsui Hark favor him: In the aesthetic system of new-school wuxia, action should be an externalization of the character's temperament and thoughts, rather than a mere tool of violence.
Undoubtedly, Phantom Blade Zero " inherits this aesthetic lineage. Liang Qiwei named Blade, New Dragon Gate Inn, and Swordsman II in foreign media interviews, which are preciselyThe New Wave wuxia of the 80s, also representative works of martial artists like Jet Li and Zhao Wenzhuo who mastered standardized forms.
Liang Qiwei summarizes this kind of action expression as"Graceful and agile, switching moves, footwork and positioning",Within a largely realistic framework, it invests heavily in action choreography resources, prioritizing the beauty of body movement flow and the moves themselves. The Drunken Sword's staggering steps, the Spirit Snake Soft Sword's deflection and force redirection, and using sword flowers as shields are all concretizations of the warrior's temperament and martial philosophy: the Drunken Sword uses illusion to disrupt reality, while the Spirit Snake Soft Sword overcomes hardness with softness. This approach differs from designs centered on violent suppression, representing a philosophical expression unique to Chinese martial arts.
Drunk Sword, also known as Zui Jian
On the other hand, the wide variety, rich performances, and distinct temperaments of weapons grant thisARPG offers a peculiar role-playing experience. Just like before Star Ocean in 2024, I didn't know costumes could be a driving force for exploration in action games. "Phantom Blade Zero" clearly lacks character creation or appearance customization, yet distinguishes itself through its weapon move sets, allowing the weapon in hand to carry the player's personality. Those who choose the Drunken Sword are eccentric and unrestrained, while those who wield the Spirit Snake Soft Sword are flexible and adept at deflection—The protagonist Hun is taciturn, but I can role-play as myself.
But beneath this sense of role-playing, there are aspects that frustrate me. Some weapons in the game support triggering full combos with a single button press—I'm not saying one-button attacks lack depth; this article isn't concerned with mechanical depth, because the purpose of adding complex inputs in action games isn't to make them difficult or deep, but to give players a sense of agency and role-playing immersion.For example, in Street Fighter2"In Street Fighter, Zangief's Double Lariat requires rotating the joystick a full circle, simulating the action of wrapping and locking the opponent; Guile's Sonic Boom requires pulling back to charge before punching forward, recreating the process of building up energy; Ryu and Ken's Shoryuken input is forward, down, down-forward, requiring the player to drop their guard during input, representing the courage to bet Everythinggj.
This experience of moves flowing naturally from intent is exactly what Phantom Blade Zero " often lacks. This is also why I prefer the weaker White Python Red Refinement, because it has a trait called"Double Snakes Dancing," where alternating light and heavy attacks gradually increase benefits. This is a reasonable control logic, giving me the feeling of holding dual buttons and controlling the movesflow.
The scene in Tai Chi Master where Jet Li practices punches by stirring a water vat also became a psychological shadow for many parents back then.because many children imitated this move, resulting in the destruction of ceramic vats in multiple households—Following the actor's moves is part of the wuxia romance. If designing moves related to Tai Chi's flowing force redirection, I believe a better input would be holding defense while coordinating with the left stick on the controllerRotate the joystick in a half-circle.
Therefore, "Phantom Blade Zero" still seems compromised to me, failing to fully restore the distinct, move-by-move nature of martial arts combat,distinct power texture. Nevertheless, it remains the game that has gone furthest along this path in the wuxia genre, a path inheriting the rich action legacy of kung fu films. Its destination must be the revitalization of the glory of Chinese wuxia, andFounding a school and establishing a sect.
Three
But please note, I am referring to legacy.
The creative supervisor of "Phantom Blade Zero"Donnie Yen63 years old;Brother Jackie Chan, who finished filming "Catch the Wind" last year and is still fighting on the front lines72 years old; Jet Li has retired from acting for many years and is recuperating in Singapore;Xie Miao, the star of "Blind Fire"42 years old, is still relatively young, but he also comes from the competitive routine system,became famous in 1994 with "The New Shaolin Temple".
Kung fu films are not suffering from a temporary shortage; they have no successors.
In the past,Opera troupes were mass entertainment, and martial arts routines were a national sport. Together, they successively supported the talent pool for Chinese-language action films. They are the people in human history who best understood how to design beautiful movements; and this pool of talent resources accumulated from opera troupes and routine martial arts has now been almost completely consumed by the film industry.. But nowadays, both opera martial troupes and martial arts routines have slid towards marginal arts and marginal sports.—A clever woman cannot cook without rice; without a foundation of martial arts talent, wuxia is empty talk.
But there's no need to pity it.
On June 28, 1951, at the Daguan Yuan Theater in Shantou, six major Teochew opera troupes held a joint meeting, publicly burning a batch of contract documents and formally abolishing the child actor system. A folk saying goes: "If parents lack virtue, they sell their children to act in plays. The drums and music sound, tears fall drop by drop." The child actor system was the notorious slavery system of opera troupes in the old society.
Of course, the slavery system in Teochew opera is a rare extreme , but this does not mean that other troupes were humane."Acting must be fought out" is the consensus among traditional opera troupes. The term "Da Tong Tang" means that if one person performs poorly, the whole class gets beaten with rattan sticks. Many old artists refer to the apprenticeship period as "seven years in prison." This can be glimpsed from Jackie Chan's apprenticeship contract with Yu Jim-yuen:
"I, Li Yulan, voluntarily place my son Chen Gangsheng (Jackie Chan), aged nine, under Yu Jim-yuen as an apprentice to learn the trade of the pear garden (opera). It is agreed that the term is ten years. During this period, all earnings belong to the master, who covers food, lodging, and clothing. He is forbidden to return home without cause and may not withdraw midway. In case of natural disasters or illness, each accepts their fate. If he escapes privately, both families will search for him. If he is stubborn and disobedient, beating him to death is not subject to discussion. Upon completion of the term, he shall thank his master according to his conscience. This verbal agreement is without proof; this written document serves as evidence."
The movie "Seven Little Fortunes"
UnderUnder the prejudice that "actors belong to the lower nine streams," let alone ordinary families sending their children to opera troupes for some artistic ideal. The broad working class sent their children to sing opera, simply to survive and make a living. Training as a martial actor was manageable; at worst, one would bleed or get injured. The harsh domestication of old-era opera troupes distorted the bodies and minds of apprentices. The movie "Farewell My Concubine" is precisely a microcosm of this cruel environment.
Nowadays, performing arts have entered the mainstream and become national treasures. The feudal dross of the past has long been abolished, and training and selection mechanisms have become scientific and standardized. However, regardless of the quantity of talentorquality, neither matches the era of wild growth in the past. Nowadays, film actors can learn to ride horses in a few weeks and immediately trend on social media, flooding press releases; whereas action actors from opera troupes in the past practiced kung fu and gambled with their lives.
In this situation, how can we replicate the glory of the old era? Should we scour Southeast Asia for poor children, restart the "gu" raising process, and churn out martial arts talent? Clearly, my hypothesis here is too evil.
And back thenThe development approach prioritizing "martial arts performance routines" is also very unhealthy. As Professor Ma Mingda stated, this deviates from the traditional martial arts principle of "once you acquire the skill, you must test it against an enemy." What is produced are "martial arts disabled persons" (his exact words) with disconnected offense and defense, possessing only good looks, which is the flowery martial arts technique that Qi Jiguang warned against back in the day.
Martial arts styles like Bajiquan, Xingyiquan, Tongbeiquan, and Choy Li Fut originally possessed complete combat and sparring systems, but this lineage of adversarial training was not fully preserved. This has made it difficult for them to produce mature combat athletes in large numbers, with much of the talent instead flowing into the track of routine performance. In contrast, Professor Ma Mingda evaluated Chinese-style wrestling as the traditional martial art with the best-preserved adversarial system. This point is also supported by examples: nicknamed"Ghost Wrestler Yao" Yao Honggang relied on his foundation in Chinese-style wrestling to win the first Asian head MMA championship belt for a Chinese fighter in 2011.
Even at the highest level of competitive intensity,UFC, traces of traditional martial arts can also be seen. "The Spider" Anderson Silva(Anderson Silva) systematically studied Wing Chun. The Wing Chun concepts of centerline combinations and close-range short bridges aligned perfectly with his later fighting style. This was also because Wing Chun is one of the few martial arts that retained a complete framework for paired practice drills.
Grappling techniques are another example. My father served as an instructor at a police academy, and grappling was a key part of his curriculum. This is a practical combat technique used by armed police to subdue enemies when facing danger; criminals do not care whether the moves look good or beautiful.
However, these are ultimately just isolated cases. InUnder the real-combat rules of MMA, traditional martial arts as a whole remain on the margins. The development path prioritizing routine performance certainly supplied a large amount of talent for wuxia narratives and film stages, but it hindered the inheritance of practical martial arts systems. The lag in practical combat is an objective fact. Because of this, chaos like that of certain "Baoguo" figures emerged, creating an overall impression of mud and sand mixing together.
Image unrelated to text
Actually"Martial arts performance routines" are understandable. Its logic is similar to WWE, AJPW, and other professional wrestling promotions that are hugely popular in the US and Japan: the outcomes are scripted, the movements have performative attributes, but the competitors all possess solid foundations. The audience knows this clearly, yet they are willing to immerse themselves in the matches and regard them as idols.
But by observing online discussions about martial arts, I believe that today's audience lacks that unspoken mutual understanding. This means that those engaged inPeople engaged in "routine performance" will never be respected as they were in the past, and talent will become scarcer. In the future, whether in kung fu films or action games, there will likely never again be an entire generation dedicating their lives to mastering martial arts performance techniques, providing wuxia works with this visual tension derived from real kung fu.
If we say,"Xia" (hero) is the crowning ornament added by literati like Jin Yong and Gu Long, but "martial arts combat" is the tower body built by laborers with sweat and blood.Whenyear,orthe political situationforced by circumstances orpolicy promotion, the national martial arts craze reached its peak. When the tide receded, wuxia lost its solid foundation in martial arts combat, ultimately becoming a castle in the air.AndOnce an actor's movements cannot hold the scene, no matter how hard they try to talk about"Xia" (hero), all seem incongruous.
Perhaps in the future, within more standardized opera schools and more mature martial arts systems, capable fighters can still emerge"Martial Arts Star" or highly skilledof"Dragon-Tiger Stuntmen". But the former ecosystem of harsh polishing in opera troupes and layered selection in martial arts schools no longer exists. The golden age of martial arts action films cannot be replicated, nor does it need to be repeated.
Therefore,The urgent task for wuxia games is to take advantage of the remaining energy of this generation who understand action aesthetics—Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, and Yuen Woo-ping—to work with professionals to deeply explore the core of Chinese-language action film combat. Then, transform the choreographed sparring and unique action texture into design languages that can be sustained within gameplay.
This time window is not very large.
For example, White Eyebrow Boxing emphasizes"Rising and sinking, inhaling and exhaling, welcoming and sending off, close-range sticking bridges, breaking force with power"—this offensive and defensive philosophy itself constitutes a highly distinctiveaction game loop. The core gameplay of the French game "Sifu" is based on this martial theory: rising and sinking, inhaling and exhaling refers to stationary footwork dodging that follows the enemy's moves and coordinates with direction; welcoming and sending off refers to perfect defense that borrows and deflects force, disrupting the opponent's rhythm when timed correctly; close-range sticking bridges require staying entangled with the opponent, making only small movements to dodge rather than rolling away, focusing on breaking the enemy's balance; breaking force with power means accumulating focus to slow down actions, aiming at vital points to execute targeted counters.
"Sifu" achieved such a high level of action completion because its creative director, Jordan Layani, had trained in White Eyebrow Boxing under Liu Ben at Liu Weixin's White Eyebrow Boxing Gym in Paris for five years. He then invited his master to join the project as a martial arts consultant, thereby fully translating the kinetic satisfaction of martial theory into the game.
In contrast, "Phantom Blade Zero" places greater emphasis on the expression of action performance, making the participation of martial arts actors like Donnie Yen even more important—Regarding how to design movements to be more beautiful, our historical accumulationis undoubtedly number one globally.However, this aesthetic is rooted in that generation of martial artists trained in opera and traditional martial arts, belonging equally to non-renewable legacy assets. Opera and martial arts have inheritors, but the talent supply model that once nurtured this unique martial arts aesthetic,is already difficult to replicate.All that action games can do is merely preserve and translate the lingering charm they left behind.
However, just as "Onimusha The Way of the Sword" chose the late actor Toshiro Mifune as the face model for Miyamoto Musashi. The legacy remaining from the chanbara (sword-fighting film) era is still sufficient to support an excellent action game. Although wuxia may struggle to grow further, the existing treasury still has huge potential for excavation. If, years from now, when people mention wuxia, Chinese action games are the first thing that comes to mind, I think that would be the best ending for this history of martial arts combat.
Postscript
Due to space limitations, this article does not elaborate on the lineage of practical combat. But whether among the stuntmen of Hong Kong cinema or within China's sports martial arts system, practical combat practitioners have always existed.
Within the Hung Gar system, Lau Kar-leung's Lau Family Band was a force capable of rivaling the four major opera schools mentioned earlier. His martial arts principle was correct bridge and stance, with mutual decomposition of offense and defense. Every set of combat movements had to conform to martial theory and have a basis. Therefore, when directing"Drunken Master2", he had a fierce argument with Jackie Chan: he could not agree with Jackie's opera-acrobatic style of action choreography, even accusing him of betraying his master and ancestors—not surprising, since the film's protagonist Huang Feihong was indeed the patriarch of Lau Kar-leung's lineage.
Similarly, during the period when routine performance was prevalent, professors like Zhang Wenguang and Cai Longyun insisted on retaining teaching modules for sparring, grappling, and sanshou (free fighting). This led to the independence of Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) from the competitive martial arts system in 1979: holding separate competitions, preserving the spark for the subsequent development of combat sports.
And if we really want to discuss it, Bruce Lee, who pioneered a kung fu era, was himself a pioneer of mixed martial arts, implementing and promoting the concept of practical-first combat both domestically and internationally. The key reason he was not included in this discussion is that this"Practical Combatism" has a global character. I cannot determine if it counts as a unique aesthetic of Chinese martial arts combat or wuxia. This is also why the best films currently following this path come from Southeast Asia: Thailand's "Ong-Bak" and Indonesia's "The Raid" do not focus on flashy philosophical expressions, but highlight the ferocity and lethality of sharp techniques.
More critically, For another practical combat-style"Bruce Lee", the difficulty is no less than that of Jackie Chan's opera style or Jet Li's routine martial arts path. And since martial arts combat itself lacks spectacle, talking emptily about Jianghu chivalry, I havethis future is very pessimistic.
Finally, a piece of trivia. In our martial arts dan ranking system, the 5th dan is the endpoint for ordinary people, while the 6th dan requires publishing books and establishing influence. In other words: whether my father, a 5th dan holder, can become a hero certified by the Republic might depend on my own level.
References:
1. Hong Kong cinema was so recklessly extravagant:Bilibili UPHost Wang Zhiwu
2. Online interview with an obscure martial artist from Central China: the author of this article
3. "Phantom Blade Zero" shares inspiration from "New Dragon Gate Inn": Ali213.net
4. Kabuki Standoff Choreography(Katana ~ Long Sword):YouTube
5. Footage of Wu Gongyi vs. Chen Kefu Match:Bilibili
6. 1955 "Two Zhangs" Tour of Eight Western European Countries Footage: Bilibili
7. Rare 1974 Footage: Jet Li Shaking Hands with Nixon: Bilibili
8. Professor Ma Mingda on Chinese Martial Arts: China Youth Daily
9. "Performance and Competition in Wushu": New Sports, IssueNo. 24
10. Anderson Silva Wing Chun Technique Analysis:YouTube
11. Chinese Martial Arts Killing Techniques? Why Martial Arts Competitions Can't Be Held?: Bilibili Jianma Lao Jianjian