Asian SF/F (not Japan)

[oyceter]

Hi! I am lazy and depending on the goodwill of the internet to help with research!

So: tell me about Asian SF/F!

It must be:

• Created in Asia by Asians


• NOT from Japan


• Any medium


• Bonus points if I can get my hands on it (I am in the US and read/understand Mandarin Chinese)


• Extra bonus points for SF/F from and/or about Southeast Asia or South Asia

I have a slightly better sense of SF/F created in Asia and popular in the US, though if you have notes for your specific country, that would also be good! Please note: NOT from Japan.

For self: rachelmanija's notes on Indian SF/F

ETA:
Korea:
- Pahanjip (Korean folklore + Tang China ghost hunters, manhwa)
- Bride of the Water God (Korean folklore (?) + alternate world + beast bridegroom, manhwa)

China:
- Swordsman II

Comments

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

Would the six book series that included "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" count as fantasy?

[oyceter]

I... don't know. I don't count all wuxia as fantasy personally, but I do count things like Swordsman II (Asia Undefeated/Dong Fang Bu Bai) as fantasy, given the magical transgenderism and etc. What fantasy elements are in it? I don't remember much from the movie, but that's all I know.

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

Hmm... What would you call fantasy? I find sci-fi easier to define than fantasy. The movie struck me a fantasy because of the mystical nature of things, the god-like skills with the sword (*takes moment to swoon over swordplay*) and the dream-like quality a lot of it took. Fantastical martial arts were a part of it as well.

But that may be magical realism instead of fantasy. *ponders*

[oyceter]

I don't generally count the l33t sword skills as fantasy, just because it seems more like a wuxia genre trope (sort of like l33t gun skills in action movies). Ditto with the flying through the air or the qigong/things with acupuncture points.

The part of Crouching Tiger that did strike me as somewhat fantastical was the ending with the waterfall, but the rest felt more like action-adventure historical wuxia, if that makes sense? I had a discussion with several other wuxia watchers who also didn't tend to think wuxia in and of itself qualified something as fantasy, so you can have period wuxia and then wuxia with shapeshifters and vampires and demons and etc.

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

That does make sense, thanks.

I will ponder more, although last time I haunted this thread you had lots of suggestions!

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

If we go way far into the end of outright magical stuff, rather than ghost stories or flat-out kung fu, I think that Bride With White Hair could fall in there. Given the evil brother-sister pair's curse and the demonic transformation...?

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Oh, and there's the magical flower, too -- and in the sequel, you get to see that it really does work according to legend...

(obsessive fangirl, moi?)

[oyceter]

Yes! I need to rewatch it!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're willing to count the Swordsman series as fantasy, I'd also suggest The Bride With White Hair (http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/bride_with_white_hair.htm) -- you've got a girl raised by wolves, evil hill tribe cultists led by a megalomaniac pair of fraternal conjoined twins, and a magical transformation sparked by a broken promise. It's based on a 1950s wu xia novel, which I yearn hopelessly to see in English someday...

A lot of the classic Tsui Hark is fantasy, too -- Green Snake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Snake), another one based on a novel, has sister snake-spirits with great magical powers who shapeshift into human form. Zu (http://www.greencine.com/webCatalog?id=2980) has a common soldier getting sucked into a huge apocalyptic battle to save the world, with demons and sorceresses and huge magical battles. And the whole Chinese Ghost Story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Chinese_Ghost_Story) series is full of supernatural elements.

For that matter, with the fuzzy overlap between fantasy and horror, perhaps horror titles like Mr. Vampire (http://www.dighkmovies.com/v3/142/142a.html) could work here as well? They're typically full of revenants and ghosts and Taoist magic and all that fun stuff...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I had forgotten about the conjoined twins.

I second your other recs and add 2002 (human cop/ghost cop buddy movie; spirit money extrapolated into origami weapons burned on Earth become real weapons in the spirit realm, climaxing in a battle featuring an origami grenade launcher) and Wicked City (monsters among us, more buddy cop action, woman merges with pinball machine). (Hong Kong)

A lot of Hong Kong martial arts movies are borderline fantasy, ie, most of the action is not fantastical but then the villain shows up in a flying armored car like a giant trilobite (New Legend of Shaolin).

I usually avoid Asian horror movies because they are often terrifying (Mr. Vampire is more of a comedy and is fun and not scary) but this link might interest you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-Horror

I haven't seen any of these either, but from what I hear Thai horror movies are often about ghosts, demons, etc; a favorite demon is the Thai vampire, whose head detaches and flies about with its intestines trailing from its neck! http://www.thaiworldview.com/tv/tv4.php

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I would totally never recommend the Bollywood fantasy Aabra Ka Daabra (http://telophase.livejournal.com/tag/wtf+bollywood%3F). Unless one had plenty of alcohol on hand. (Speaking of which, it could be an evening's entertainment pre-, during, or post-A-Kon.)

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

Would Wicked City fulfill the requirements though? It's based on the Japanese novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi, who's better known for his Vampire Hunter D novels.

a favorite demon is the Thai vampire, whose head detaches and flies about with its intestines trailing from its neck!

Man, she gets around. That's our vampire (well, one of them) in the Philippines too. And she's been sighted in Malaysia too, IIRC.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

You guys get the cool vampires!

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

It's the jungles.

Our other vampire is the beautiful woman with the hollow tongue. No fangs for us, I guess.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

The traditional American colonial vampire just takes the vitality from others until they die, unless the coffin's been dug up and the head removed (and sometimes burned). Apparently it sprung up as an explanation for TB epidemics.

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. I have yet to really figure out where our vampire mythos stems from. To me, it just all seems to boil down to "Women are scary."

I need a disembodied head icon

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Wicked City: Hmm. It was produced in Hong Kong, though. Oyce can decide.

Flying head vampires: awesome!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

If you have time, I would love to hear more about your vampires.

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

What would you like to know?

I would have to add the caveat that the Philippines consist of over 8,000 islands and I come from only one of them (Negros from the Visayas region), so the mythos & beliefs I grew up with don't necessarily coincide with the supposedly well-known majority. That said, my family's hometown is a fishing village in a relatively rural area so our local folk belief is a living, evolving thing.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Your explanation about the hollow-tongue woman was pretty darn cool. Is there a way to kill or repel her? Is she dead? Is she evil or just hungry?

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

I thought the HK live-action Wicked City was based more on the earlier anime that was first based on the book? (Still just as potentially disqualifying, but that just adds another layer of influence...)

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

A lot of Hong Kong martial arts movies are borderline fantasy, ie, most of the action is not fantastical but then the villain shows up in a flying armored car like a giant trilobite

That must have come from the same magical-vehicle rental agency as the wooden ninja submarine in Swordsman III/The East Is Red!

[oyceter]

Woman merges with... pinball machine? For the win!

Ooh. Hrm. I think my stomach is too weak for any sort of horror movie, especially ones with flying intestines, but I will try to read up on those, thanks.

[oyceter]

OMG! Another movie based on the White Snake legend! By Tsui Hark! With Maggie Cheung! I love you so much for this link.

Oh, and I forgot that I watched "The Promise" as well, though I found it cracktastically wretched.

And yeah, must think about the overlap with horror, especially with horror influenced by folklore and mythology...

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Maggie Cheung AND Joey Wong, slithering all over the place and vamping it up! It's excellent, your typical lush insane pretty Tsui Hark fantasy.