Understanding Chinese Fantasy Genres: A primer for wuxia, xianxia, and xuanhuan by Jeremy Bai

Author:Jeremy Bai [Bai, Jeremy & Bai, Jeremy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-15T06:00:00+00:00

Part 3: Magical Aspects

Chapter 12: Differences between Daoist Magics, Divine Abilities, and Magical Techniques

Throughout his years of practicing cultivation, Meng Hao had acquired all sorts of divine abilities and magical techniques. Not many of them left him moved, or left him with a feeling that the technique was especially powerful....

“You can’t escape,” he said. “No matter what you say, I’m going to catch you!” His eyes flickered coldly, and his heart beat with excitement. As far as he was concerned, this pink-robed young woman was a treasure trove of divine abilities and Daoist magics.

I Shall Seal the Heavens – Er Gen

What are Daoist magics, divine abilities and magical techniques? What are the differences and similarities between them? How are they used in novels?

What I usually translate as Daoist magic is daofa (道法). Dictionaries usually define it as “a magic art” of some sort, generally associated with Daoism, but not exclusively. It could be a Buddhist technique. The term can also have definitions that don’t relate to fantasy settings.

Divine abilities are shentong(神通), which I’ve seen translated in a variety of ways. For instance, translators might use “magic power” or “supernatural power,” and there are even more mundane ways to translate it, as it’s a common word used in everyday speech to refer to amazing skill, talent, etc. I usually use “divine ability” because the character shen(神) has a connection with gods or divine beings.

Magical techniques are shufa (术法), which I have not found explained in any Chinese-English dictionaries that I use, and I use around 20-30. In the works I’ve translated, magical techniques are a wide variety of skills and ability that could range from magic to witchcraft. And I have never seen a detailed definition of them in the narrative of any story I’ve translated.

The main question I usually see asked is: how can we identify the similarities and differences? The short answer is that you can’t.

In the works I’ve translated, I’ve seen all of these words used synonymously. I have seen some authors imply that divine abilities are more powerful than magical techniques, only to contradict this definition in same body of work. And in terms of function, both divine abilities and magical techniques essentially do the same thing as Daoist magics. I’ve even seen the terms used interchangeably within the context of one chapter or even paragraph.

Keep in mind, they are real-life terms that authors have appropriated to use in Chinese fantasy novels, so when I say they’re all the same, don’t forget that the authors are entitled to do whatever they want in their work. It’s the same in English. If you’re making up your own fantasy world, you might make the rule that ‘magical spells’ require physical components, but ‘incantations’ only need verbal elements. In other words, the fictional definitions might not necessarily match up to the real-life definitions. That’s the beauty of writing fiction.

In Chinese fantasy novels, it’s the same. In the end, it’s best to read carefully and wait for the author to explain the terms, either by definition in the narrative, or better yet, by showing and not telling.

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