I don't think about fantasy the way most people do.
Lots of readers think in terms of tropes, genre conventions, aesthetics.
I think in terms of culture.
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#PulpRev
Lots of readers think in terms of tropes, genre conventions, aesthetics.
I think in terms of culture.
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#PulpRev
What is a Western fantasy?
Mythical creatures. Wondrous magic. Legendary weapons. Exotic locations. Perilous journeys. Grand quests.
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Mythical creatures. Wondrous magic. Legendary weapons. Exotic locations. Perilous journeys. Grand quests.
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What is a Chinese fantasy?
Mythical creatures. Wondrous magic. Legendary weapons. Exotic locations. Perilous journeys. Grand quests.
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Mythical creatures. Wondrous magic. Legendary weapons. Exotic locations. Perilous journeys. Grand quests.
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Look deeply and you'll find many similarities between Western (i.e. European and American) fantasy and Chinese fantasy.
Readers from different cultures can see the similarities with their own culture reflected in another's work.
That's not a bad thing.
But...
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Readers from different cultures can see the similarities with their own culture reflected in another's work.
That's not a bad thing.
But...
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What's the difference between Western and Chinese fantasy?
Or fantasy from one part of the world or from a specific niche versus others?
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Or fantasy from one part of the world or from a specific niche versus others?
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The common answer is tropes.
Let's take Chinese xianxia vs Western fantasy.
In a xianxia story, the characters gain powers through meditation, or consuming pills and potions.
In a Western fantasy, characters gain powers though strange rituals, contracts with spirits, etc.
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Let's take Chinese xianxia vs Western fantasy.
In a xianxia story, the characters gain powers through meditation, or consuming pills and potions.
In a Western fantasy, characters gain powers though strange rituals, contracts with spirits, etc.
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But these tropes point to something deeper:
How cultures see metaphysics, magic, and the potential of the human soul.
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How cultures see metaphysics, magic, and the potential of the human soul.
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In the West, magic is seen as unnatural.
It is granted by a deal with otherworldly forces.
It is the legacy of a weird bloodline.
It is strange and wild, outside the realm of human understanding.
It is extrinsic: it comes from outside the experience of common people. /8
It is granted by a deal with otherworldly forces.
It is the legacy of a weird bloodline.
It is strange and wild, outside the realm of human understanding.
It is extrinsic: it comes from outside the experience of common people. /8
In the East, magic is merely an extension of the mundane.
It is developed through intense inner work.
It may be granted by others, but it must be incorporated into your being.
It can be understood.
It is intrinsic: it comes from developing one's inner potential.
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It is developed through intense inner work.
It may be granted by others, but it must be incorporated into your being.
It can be understood.
It is intrinsic: it comes from developing one's inner potential.
/9
The typical modern (especially modern American) fantasy is the ever-popular X meets Y.
Take two or more wildly different elements, smash them together, and you get a fantasy story...
...Except that everything is framed in American norms.
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Take two or more wildly different elements, smash them together, and you get a fantasy story...
...Except that everything is framed in American norms.
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What is the experience of America?
The melting pot, where peoples from all over the world come to America and blend their cultures in an increasingly richer stew.
Beneath that is the assumption that all people want to be American, and the American way is the only way.
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The melting pot, where peoples from all over the world come to America and blend their cultures in an increasingly richer stew.
Beneath that is the assumption that all people want to be American, and the American way is the only way.
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In such a story, everyone thinks, talks and acts like Americans.
It doesn't matter if the story is set in fantasy China, India, or wherever.
The characters act as if they are in America, and are shaped by the unique circumstances that gave rise to the American nation.
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It doesn't matter if the story is set in fantasy China, India, or wherever.
The characters act as if they are in America, and are shaped by the unique circumstances that gave rise to the American nation.
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Yeah, they might pepper their speech with exotic terms, or they may eat certain cuisines, or they wear funny clothes and live in cool homes, but—
That alone does not make someone a member of that culture.
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That alone does not make someone a member of that culture.
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If a character is shaped by the ethos of modern America, and not the ethos that would have arisen from the setting he is in, then he is an American in an American fantasy.
All the other stuff is just surface detail.
It's superficial.
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All the other stuff is just surface detail.
It's superficial.
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Isekai fiction is extremely popular in Japan.
Typical Japanese high schooler / young adult is sent to a parallel world and embarks on grand adventures.
A time-tested formula... especially if they are simply transported to fantasy Japan.
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Typical Japanese high schooler / young adult is sent to a parallel world and embarks on grand adventures.
A time-tested formula... especially if they are simply transported to fantasy Japan.
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Having animal ears don't matter.
Having exotic pseudo-European names don't matter.
Having blue eyes and dark skin and anime hair don't matter.
All this, and more, is just surface detail.
It's set dressing, no more.
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Having exotic pseudo-European names don't matter.
Having blue eyes and dark skin and anime hair don't matter.
All this, and more, is just surface detail.
It's set dressing, no more.
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If the characters:
Use Japanese-style honorific speech
Use Japanese idioms, puns and ethos
Enjoy Japanese cuisine
Bow and prostrate the way Japanese do
Get embarrassed when addressed by their first names
They are Japanese.
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Use Japanese-style honorific speech
Use Japanese idioms, puns and ethos
Enjoy Japanese cuisine
Bow and prostrate the way Japanese do
Get embarrassed when addressed by their first names
They are Japanese.
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The appearance of a character doesn't matter.
The appearance of a building doesn't matter.
The appearance of an item doesn't matter.
What matters, to me, is the ethos, the norms, the underlying culture that runs through the work.
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The appearance of a building doesn't matter.
The appearance of an item doesn't matter.
What matters, to me, is the ethos, the norms, the underlying culture that runs through the work.
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When I see such things, especially in modern fiction, I experience a sense of profound disconnect.
The setting and the ethos are utterly disconnected. They have little to no organic connection.
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The setting and the ethos are utterly disconnected. They have little to no organic connection.
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It is one thing for a Japanese to act Japanese and an American to act American.
But when a fantasy Indian, Chinese, Korean, or whatever thinks, talks and acts like an American without being assimilated into American culture—
That is profoundly annoying.
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But when a fantasy Indian, Chinese, Korean, or whatever thinks, talks and acts like an American without being assimilated into American culture—
That is profoundly annoying.
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It tells me that the work is superficial.
That the creator treats the setting as little more props and set dressing.
That the characters themselves can wear different skins and adopt different backgrounds and still be the same people.
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That the creator treats the setting as little more props and set dressing.
That the characters themselves can wear different skins and adopt different backgrounds and still be the same people.
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When I wrote Saga of the Swordbreaker, I sought to integrate the characters, language, ethos, setting, metaphysics, everything.
Characters from different cultures think, talk, feel and act differently.
They even have different cultivation methods.
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Characters from different cultures think, talk, feel and act differently.
They even have different cultivation methods.
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What I wanted to do was to depict authentically how a character from a certain background and with a certain personality will view other people from other settings.
It's not all flattering, but I hope it is engaging.
It is the minimum I expect from my fantasy work.
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It's not all flattering, but I hope it is engaging.
It is the minimum I expect from my fantasy work.
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