Chinese knight-errant

''Youxia'' () was a type of ancient Chinese warrior folk hero celebrated in classical Chinese poetry and fictional literature. It literally means "wandering vigilante", but is commonly translated as "knight-errant" or less commonly as "cavalier", "adventurer", "soldier of fortune" or "underworld stalwart".

Background

Of the two characters of the term, ''yóu'' (遊) literally means to "wander", "travel" or "move around", and ''xiá'' (俠) means someone with power who helps others in need. The term refers to the way these men solely travelled the land using physical force or political influence to right the wrongs done to the common people by the powers that be, often judged by their personal codes of chivalry. ''Youxia'' did not come from any social class in particular. Various historical documents, wuxia novels and folktales describe them as being princes, government officials, poets, musicians, physicians, professional soldiers, merchants, monks and even humble farmers and butchers. Some were just as handy with a calligraphy brush as others were with swords and spears. The ''xia'' originated in and were associated with the Mohist ideology, which stressed the importance of equality. At the end of the Warring States Period, former ''shi'' knights who did not transition into scholar-officials became ''xia'' as Mohist defenders of the weak. The 16th and 17th century saw a great revival in the ''xia'' culture of using martial arts to right wrongs. Some of these were recruited to serve in the Ming resistance against the Qing.

According to Dr. James J. Y. Liu (1926–1986), a professor of Chinese and comparative literature at Stanford University, it was a person's temperament and need for freedom, and not their social status, that caused them to roam the land and help those in need. Dr. Liu believes this is because a very large majority of these knights came from northern China, which borders the territory of "northern nomadic tribes, whose way of life stressed freedom of movement and military virtues". Many knights seem to have come from Hebei and Henan provinces. A large majority of the characters from the ''Water Margin'', which is considered one of China's best examples of knight-errant literature, come from these provinces.

In poetry

One good example of Youxia poetry is ''The Swordsman'' (劍客) by Jia Dao (Tang Dynasty):

For ten years I have been polishing this sword;
Its frosty edge has never been put to the test.
Now I am holding it and showing it to you, sir:
Is there anyone suffering from injustice?Liu, p. 68.

According to Dr. Liu, Jia's poem "seems...to sum up the spirit of knight-errantry in four lines. At the same time, one can also take it as a reflection of the desire of all those who have prepared themselves for years to put their abilities to the test for some justice."

A metric translation of the original Chinese poem with one iamb per Chinese characterTian Min, 2020
Medium article.
/ref> reads as follows:

A decade long I honed a single sword,
Its steel-cold blade still yet to test its song.
Today I hold it out to you, my lord,
and ask: "Who seeks deliverance from a wrong?"

Analogous concepts

*Bogatyr in Russia
*Futuwwa in Middle East
*Fianna in Ireland
*Knight-errant in Europe
* Ronin in Japan
*Sae Sok O-Gye in Korea

See also

*Gan Ning
*Li Bai
*Song Jiang
* Tang Yin
*Wuxia
*Zhou Tong (archer)
*'' The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants''

References

External links

*
The Knight-errant in Chinese literature
', a 12-page paper by James J.Y. Liu. (accessed 12-20-2008)

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Chinese folklore
Chinese warriors
Chivalry
Stock characters
Tang dynasty poetry