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Post by caiyi on Jun 18, 2014 6:12:07 GMT
The cross dressing girls seem to be a common trope in wuxia genre. Famous wuxia authors like Jin Yong, Liang Yu Sheng, Gu Long and Wo Long Sheng, all have utilised this trope. Is this trope still popular in the wuxia circle? Do new writers still use this trope? On screen is it very easy to recognised a cross-dressing girl. But, in the novels, where all we have is written words, how fast can you recognise a cross-dressing girl? Currently reading 2 books that contain cross-dressing girls.  |
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Post by JohnD on Jun 20, 2014 3:32:23 GMT
This trope is simply reflecting the reality of the times: women didn't go outside by themselves, and they didn't go outside much at all unless they were going to a temple for some reason or were travelling. A lot of stories dating back as far as the Tang dynasty (maybe earlier, but I've personally read such stories as far back as the Tang) feature women dressing in men's clothing in order to travel. A woman, (excluding a child or an elderly woman), seen outside was considered inappropriate. If you notice any Chinese paintings of city scenes, there aren't many women out on the streets.
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Post by caiyi on Jun 20, 2014 4:23:55 GMT
Hi JohnD Yes, in reality of the times, women didn't go outside much. But, do you notice that in the wuxia world, many girls in wulin can move around freely? Also, in any one novel, only one girl will cross-dress. The other wulin girls in the same novel were in normal female attire. If in the wuxia world, women act like reality, there would be more than one cross-dresser around. |
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Post by siuyiu on Jun 23, 2014 4:16:38 GMT
well, given that both sexes wore their hair long and asian girls in general aren't voluptuous, it'd probably be quite easy to not see that they are cross-dressing girls.  |
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