Cultivation Novels Explained

Have you ever seen a martial arts film like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Or watched one of Netflix’s Chinese fantasy dramas, like The Untamed or Once Upon Lianjiang Mountain? Congratulations! You’ve joined the millions of people who are fans of xianxia and, specifically, the cultivation (xiuxian) genres. These genres may be up and coming for western audiences, but worldwide they are ubiquitous and can be found in every form of media from the previously mentioned film and TV shows to novels and webcomics.

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However, due to the pervasive nature of such work in Eastern media, many of the concepts and tropes are not properly explained. In the hope of making such works a little more enjoyable for newcomers, here’s a primer on some common concepts and tropes that a reader might expect to encounter.

Cultivation novels and works are a sub-genre of the broader xianxia (Daoist immortal hero) genre. Common xianxia works include the recently popular Ne Zha movies about an immortal child who must decide whether to destroy or save the world and, of course, classics like Journey to the West and The Monkey King.

Cultivation novels focus on the process of becoming an immortal. Drawing upon Daoist concepts of returning to the Dao and immortality, individuals within these works attempt to perfect their bodies and souls to achieve immortality. Common tropes include an ancient China setting, conflicting loyalties and Daoist gods.

This all sounds very high-minded and lofty, and some of the stories are serious—but the cultivation genre contains myriad concepts, and you’ll just as often find incredibly fun action-packed adventures.

Many cultivation works utilize an ancient China setting, occasionally drawing upon actual historical periods, but more often than not, are set in a fantasy version of ancient China. Most forms of clothing, armor, and technology are a hybrid mixture of Chinese dynasties, focusing upon the “feel” of such times, rather than the historical reality.

For The First Step and the other novels in my A Thousand Li series, one of the choices I made early on was not to use a specific time period, though much of the clothing was based off the Tang dynasty, with the political environment of the Warring State period, where multiple kingdoms fought for dominance. Like many other authors writing in the genre, I’ve also kept much of the same geographical and environmental features of China including the bamboo forests, the massive and life-giving rivers and the canals and rice fields of the country.

Other historical aspects are cast aside, like specific headwear, naming variations, and specific clothing of historical China, in order to simplify the story and focus on aspects of the world that we’re trying to emphasize. 

The cultivation needed to reach immortality is often depicted as highly difficult. To achieve immortality, one must not only be a genius, but also have a series of fortunate encounters. Cultivation often occurs through stages, most commonly involving body cleansing, the use of qi, a natural energy in the world and living beings, and afterwards, a refinement of the soul. This might include developing a new “immortal soul” or refining the current human soul into an immortal being.

In the A Thousand Li series, the characters go through multiple stages to reach immortality starting with Body Cleansing, the process of clearing meridians of toxins and mortal waste. This particular meridian system is based off traditional Chinese medicine, though the number and variations of the idea can range in the genre.

In cultivation novels, ascending to the next stage often grants the character a significant increase in strength and ability. As such, a common trope is the protagonist being beaten or forced to fight an individual at a higher stage, requiring them to train ever harder or take greater risks. By “winning” against someone of a higher stage, the protagonist is shown to be unique and deserving of his achievements, while increasing stakes in the story themselves.

Many works are set in various cultivation sects. Borrowing from wuxia works, cultivation sects are modeled upon the idea of martial art sects—groups of individuals trained under a master or grandmaster, sworn to fealty beneath them in exchange for resources and training.

Due to the difficulty of cultivation, certain martial arts or specific cultivation manuals or methods  are often hidden or reserved for only the most loyal, most gifted, and most connected members in a cultivation sect. Resources can also be withheld, with the idea of specific pills, medicinal baths or weapons being particularly powerful. In The First Step, Wu Ying begins the story with an advantage because of the training he received in the Long family sword style.

Gaining the approval of the sect and the elders within are then a major driver of the plot for many cultivation works. To progress in the sect, ascending deeper by proving loyalty and ability is necessary. Such organizations might have an outer sect, inner sect and, a core level where the most loyal, most gifted members lie.

Another similar version of the idea are “families” of cultivators, or martial artists. For example, in the epic Soul Land (Douluo Dalu) series, the world is organized via families and clans, with the powerful Tang clan having signature skills and spirit beasts.

The jianghu—literally translated as rivers and lakes—is a term coined for the martial world in wuxia works. It also encompasses, in cultivation novels, the martial world and the conflicts between the various cultivators.

In many of these works, the world is depicted as having orthodox or upright, benevolent sects, like the Wudang sect or the Shaolin Temple; heretical sects, such as the Beggar sect who often live existences that reject traditional hierarchies or philosophies; and dark sects. Depending on the genre, heretical or dark sects may be combined, creating a two-sided conflict. Dark sects are often depicted as evil, utilizing a series of harmful cultivation methods, dealing with curses, poisons, and sacrifices to empower their people. They might also indulge in demonic practices, whether calling upon actual demons or becoming demons themselves.

Into this boiling vat of conflict in the jianghu, the protagonist of cultivation works enters. They might be a perennial underdog, an unwanted member of a sect or a family, a lucky individual who simply stumbles upon a natural treasure that will elevate them to new heights; or a smart-talking rascal whose genius allows them to progress ahead of better off nobles and treasured family members.

They might be studious members of the orthodox, or a reluctant member of a dark sect, forced to join against their will. They might even be villains in the story, misunderstood and falling in love with the upright hero of an orthodox sect.

Like western fantasy, the cultivation setting is only the background to an exciting range of stories that might feature everything from forbidden love, to underdog tales of victory, to thrilling, epic multi-realm battles for existence. I hope that this overview of the genre might lead some of you to understand the worlds being crafted a little better.

If you’d like to explore the world of cultivation novels, some of my favorites include Sarah Lin’s amazing Street Cultivation series—an urban fantasy take on cultivation and poverty; Er Gen’s incredibly popular series I Shall Seal the Heavens; and the aforementioned Soul Land series, by Tang Jia San Shao.

And, of course, if you’re interested in delving more into a cultivation work where readers learn about cultivation as the character does, and that clarifies aspects of Chinese culture, the A Thousand Li series is chockfull of footnotes to explain such matters.

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