EDITOR'S NOTE This year is significant for those around me and in Rather than draw a rational conclusion through the fact this entire country – we are striding into a use of questionnaires, statistics, and percentages, I new era. Milestones include the celebration of 50 much prefer the personal, in-depth and intimate years of nation-building, the loss of our founding touch that connects us through theatre, the arts and Prime Minister, and many more. This year, be it in the humanities. Hence, in this momentous year, I terms of sensitivity or rationality, there is a strong wish to reflect upon the past through the Practice connection between the era and our sense of self. Journal. No matter a distant or recent past, be it a theatrical or personal past, I would draw upon I am acutely aware of the importance of them to more deeply recognise our present, our conclusions. Every milestone provides us with an theatre and our humanity. opportunity to conclude; in fact, the greatest significance lies in it. Conclusions are about This year, the Practice Journal has a refreshingly looking at past events with a current perspective. I new appearance, in line with the online reading believe that as eras come and go, the values of habits of our generation. I am grateful to the people and society are constantly in flux, and what graphic designer for the minimalistic design style. we hold dear to us would never be the same. In I will strive for higher standards in terms of every conclusion, it gives us a chance to view the content, and enable the Practice Journal to be ever past from a new perspective, and to see the present more reader-friendly and accessible. clearly for what it is. We cannot simply exist from moment to moment; we ought to live consciously Suhuai in the present. This can be achieved only if we understand and not forget the past. SPOTLIGHT Wuxia-loving kids will not go astray Words / Huang Suhuai (Record)Translate / Wei Shimin On a Sunday afternoon at Grassroots Book Room, there was a discussion on the topic of Wuxia. This event featured playwright Liu Xiaoyi of the Wuxia play Legends of the Southern Arch by The Theatre Practice, and veteran TV screenwriter Koh Teng Liang. The session covered questions such as: What is the relevance of Wuxia to us? How has Wuxia impacted upon our lives? Mystical legends or fairy tales for adults? Both of them started off by reading Wuxia novels. Born in the 1980s, Xiaoyi also encountered Wuxia When Teng Liang was in primary five, there was a from a young age. When he was small, there was a scarcity of fun things to do in his free time, and he bookshelf with two racks and only one Wuxia was not allowed out to play. Hence he turned to book – The Young Flying Fox by Louis Cha. reading as a hobby. His father was also an avid Xiaoyi read and re-read this novel multiple times, reader, and had a stack of books piled beside his until the book practically fell apart. However, pillow. His recommendations were of classics Xiaoyi had a strange reading habit as a child, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and which was to read random chapters in no Romance of the States in Eastern Zhou Dynasty, particular order, so as to piece together the as he did not deem Wuxia novels as worthy of structure of the story on his own. For instance in reading. Unexpectedly, Teng Liang became a the case of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he fervent Wuxia reader. At this point, Teng Liang was unable to fully take it all in due to his young takes out a tattered book with yellowing pages – age, thus he would stick to his interests by reading Sword Stained with Royal Blood by Louis Cha, familiar chapters such as To Borrow Arrows With published in the 1960s, and retained some writing Thatched Boats, and Seven Catches. He only by his father. The book is circulated in the started reading a large number of Wuxia novels audience, much to the fascination of the younger when he was in secondary school. He finished all people present. novels by Louis Cha, and even re-read some of them multiple times. He would imagine himself to Koh Teng Liang’s favourite line: A world of be a Wuxia hero as well. Wuxia lives within every man. For Xiaoyi, Wuxia is fantasy and fable. Violent aesthetics or Eastern philosophy? Teng Liang takes out another book with a fighting Should a creative piece embody “Wu” without scene on its cover, and introduces the style of “Xia”, it would merely tap upon the use of brute martial arts as fashioning a rod out of a twisted strength and violence to solve problems. It is the piece of wet cloth, to be used as a weapon. As this inclusion of “Xia” that completes the essence of proved to be mightily painful, he regularly put it Wuxia. to good use as a child. Inspired by the movie The Shadow Whip, his heavenly whip would be the “Xia” covers a wide range of things. Xiaoyi asks iron’s cable, as he horsed around with his younger the audience to suggest what “Xia” might be? sister. Xiaoyi also mentions that as a child, he Responses were rich and varied. Some say it was would often impersonate Wuxia characters with to “kill the evil for the masses”, or to “rob the rich neighbouring kids, and use a tree branch as his for the poor”, a young man suggests “to protect sword. women”, and a lady immediately responds that females could also become “heroines”. Others feel Teng Liang says that every child would go that “a brotherhood loyalty” is important. Lastly, through such a phase, and he does not agree that someone mentions that of being “highly skilled”, Wuxia would increase violent tendencies in kids – and Xiaoyi points out that in a Wuxia piece, the he is one such example. Xiaoyi echoes in highest-skilled person might not necessarily be the agreement, and qualifies it by saying that “we are epitome of “Xia”. both very refined people”. (Photography: Ric Liu) In preparation for his scriptwriting task, Xiaoyi delved deeply into understanding Wuxia. The individual characters of “Wu” and “Xia” are unique on their own. The principle of Wuxia has two basic constituents. First, the imaginative colours of “Wu”, which is grounded upon Chinese philosophies such as Qi, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, etc. Without “Wu”, the Wuxia genre would not be fulfilled. However, Xiaoyi feels that “Xia” is even more important, as it symbolises a certain spirit that goes beyond the physical entity. History as Key; Culture as Foundation Koh Teng Liang feels that Wuxia is important, Teng Liang is especially fond of a phrase by the and finds it a pity that such a world is slowly character of Guo Jing from The Legend of the fading away. Those born in and after the 1990s are Condor Heroes: “The greater hero is one who no longer enamoured of Wuxia. In view of devotes himself to the country and people”. This popular stories such as Harry Potter, the world of is a sentence that has resonated with him from a Wuxia seems to be a distant memory. One of the young age. He feels that the nationalistic sense of reasons for this is that children nowadays no giving need not be a direct teaching from schools; longer read about history. To read Wuxia without the heroic spirit also guides our love for the the historical context is to be missing the key. country. Koh Teng Liang mentions that Meteor, History provides the key to unlock the Wuxia Butterfly, Sword has been influential for him, and universe. With the deteriorating standards of the brotherhood loyalty left a deep impression television, an emphasis on special effects and a upon him. He feels that the values of “loyalty, lack of substance, there is little to motivate young filial piety, etiquette, decorum, integrity and a people to read Wuxia novels. He feels that Wuxia sense of shame” in the Chinese culture are is the spiritual legacy for all Chinese people, and commendable, yet they seem to be losing favour should be treasured, lest it disappears for good in together with the falling popularity of Wuxia. 20 years’ time. Xiaoyi adds on that there are three building blocks are inherent in the Wuxia spirit. He personally of Chinese culture – Confucianism, Buddhism and favours the heroes embodying the spirit of Taoism, Taoism. These three sects have been hugely as they are carefree, without burdens, and in influential upon the Chinese, and similarly upon pursuit of a boundless lifestyle. The final chapter Wuxia culture as well. The ethical principles of could very well see them abandoning the Confucianism and the benevolence of Buddhism capricious world to live in peace incognito. Text vs Drama, Realism vs Spontaneity Xiaoyi says that for novels, a Wuxia narrative is It is a challenge for a film production to transform carried along through text, and readers would use the beautiful text into screen language for the their imagination to fill in the gaps between the benefit of audiences. Teng Liang agrees on this, words. With the advent of film, the narrative and says that the “Dejected Spirit Fist” created by became propelled by the visual screen rather than the character Yang Guo could well have appeared text, and for the playwright and director, this comical if it had not been properly translated to fit posed the challenge of shooting a storyline in the screen.