ReignWulin:Wulin Culture

Meaning of Wulin

The rigidly conservative culture of the Han lands has a chaotic and freewheeling counterpart - the "Jiang Hu" underworld. "Jiang Hu" in the Han language means "rivers and lakes" and originated as reference to the lawlessness of far frontier regions of the empire, where bandit gangs and clans fought and kept their own rough idea of order in the absence of the officials. The term "Jiang Hu" has since evolved from its literal reference to the frontiers to a general idea of the underbelly of Han society - criminals, beggars, wandering performers, anyone who doesn't "fit in" the stratified castes of the Han is considered part of the "Jiang Hu", which shouldn't be understood as implying unsavoriness so much as "wildness" or "separate from polite society". A brutal bandit who robs, rapes and kills travellers on the road is a member of Jiang Hu, but so is a pure-hearted itinerant monk who plays chess for his supper.

"Wulin" is a term for a subset of the Jiang Hu, that has been variously translated as "the world of martial arts", "the pugilistic fraternity" and "the circle of warriors". The Wulin is a counterculture of martial artists who are organized into gangs and sects, operate in a way totally removed from the official authorities (resolving their disputes amoung themselves), and prize their own specific code of honor. During this time of Marukani conquest many of the Wulin sects, which were already institutions organized around combat training, have become the heads of popular rebellions against the foreign rulers. For this reason, the Wulin as a whole is persecuted by the Marukani government.

Although there is much in-fighting between the various gangs and sects, the members of the Wulin generally feel a strong sense of brotherhood with each on the basis of their shared counterculture lifestyle. A Wulin fighter will often offer hospitality and assistance to another member of the Wulin simply on the basis of "since we are both in the world of martial arts". Anyone who competes in the Wulin and operates by its codes can be considered part of the Wulin - even Marukani fighters compete in some tournaments! The Wulin does not care about your race (or sex - you would never see a woman in a Han or Marukani army but no one raises an eyebrow at the sight of a woman fighting in the Wulin), only about your skills and your respect for the code of the errantry.

Code of the Errantry

• Duels: The Wulin is a culture devoted, above all, to the development of martial arts skill. A victory that is won through superior numbers or equipment is considered meaningless and dishonorable. When matters come to blows in the Wulin, the situation usually becomes a formal one on one duel, almost always without armor and usually without weapons. If one opposing force outnumbers the other, the remainder will stand by in reserve to take the place of anyone who falls. Not only would it lose honor for your sect to double-team, a bystander intervening would be showing disrespect for their sect brother by implying that his skills are inadequate to handle himself. Most duels are not to the death or even intended to cause much lasting injury (the skills of most in the Wulin are sufficient to fight with lethal weapons without risk of seriously injuring each other) - the goal is to force your opponent to acknowledge defeat and lose face. Killing an opponent in a duel is considered murder unless the duel was necessitated by grevious crimes on their part. Needless to say, attacking an opponent from surprise is considered extremely unchivalrous.
• Face: Face is perhaps the most important commodity in the Wulin community. Every time combatants duel, Face is on the line in addition to the explicit stakes. Injuries against an opponent's Face are taken at least as seriously as physical wounds. A combatant who insists on using nothing but bare palms in a duel against a sword-wielding opponent, for example, is aggressively offending his opponent by trying to cause him the maximum damage to Face possible when he wins the match under this disadvantage. On the other hand, a martial artist who needs to win a duel but wishes to avoid lasting resentment from his opponent may try to minimize the amount of Face lost by his opponent, by humbly presenting the pretense that his victory was narrow or making excuses for why his opponent wasn't in a position to fight at full capability. This generosity is the sort of thing that can make the difference between a powerful martial artist being truly respected in the Wulin instead of simply feared.
• Respect: The Han culture prizes filial piety as one of the greatest virtues. Within the Wulin subculture this passion for filial piety is often transferred from one's birth parents to one's sifu, partly because many Wulin fighters are adopted into their sects from the outside world at a young age and literally raised by their sect, and partly because the over a decade of training required to awaken one's Essence is a much more demanding and intense relationship than one has to one's parents. The end result, is that a student is expected to treat his sifu with total deference and obey orders from him without hesitation or backtalk. In the less orthodox sects there may be less formality involved this relationship but the basic principle of respect and obedience will still hold. An important element of this relationship is the idea that your sifu "owns" the kung fu he has taught you, and to reveal the secrets of his techniques to others without his permission is akin to stealing from him - a terrible sin.
• Loyalty: Another highly prized virtue within the Han culture is loyalty. To be considered truly righteous, one's loyalty to one's sect should be above question, and treason against your sect is considered the most despicable crime, more worthy of death than rape or murder. A Wulin fighter should also show loyalty to her race by not selling out to and cooperating with the Marukani. In addition to group loyalties such as these, personal loyalty to one's friends is considered a lofty and noble sentiment. Fighters in the Wulin who have grown especially close friendships will often "swear brotherhood", much as noble Dragonblooded sometimes do (it's likely the practice was introduced into Wulin culture through the Immaculate sects), and many legends of the Wulin revolve around sworn brothers so loyal to each other that they forsook their standing in the Wulin or even their own lives rather than betray each other.
• Justice: Those who commit crimes need to be held to answer for them. Within the Jiang Hu underworld, the laws of the Marukani government are considered pretty irrelevant. Protecting the innocent and holding the guilty accountable is the responsibility of anyone with the strength necessary to do so. This means aggrieved Han people will often petition members of the Wulin to right wrongs for them, and to an extent a Wulin fighter is expected to take care of such things. A darker side to this principle of justice is that a member of the Wulin who has been wronged himself is expected to personally take his own revenge - and that failing to punish someone who has transgressed against you can lead to loss of Face for yourself.
• Honor: A proper Wulin fighter will never break his sworn word of honor, not even if he has been tricked and his words are twisted against him. Also, it is considered proper to scrupulously note when others perform favors for you, and consider yourself obligated to them until you can perform a similar favor for them in the future. Note that for this reason, Wulin fighters are often reluctant to request favors from members of other sects, even those with which they have good relations, because they will suffer a loss of Face until the requested favor has been repaid in kind.

Face

Face is your level of prestige within the Wulin culture. It is not the same thing as general fame in the Han region - a reclusive hermit of a martial arts master could have his name unknown to virtually all of the common people and the Marukani government, but if he shows up at tournaments to compete then he will have a level of Face relative to his deeds. And similarly, even though Zhang Bao is one of the most famous and influential figures within the Han region, heading one of the most successful popular movements, that doesn't translate into Face within the Wulin.

Face is not even a reputation for sheer power and fight record, either. The five Immaculate Masters of Shaolin are almost indisputably more powerful than Three Mountains Chang, but Chang enjoys more Face than they do. Why? Because Chang founded his own school instead of rising through the ranks of an existing one. Because Chang invented his own style of martial arts instead of simply inheriting a style that was passed down to him. And because Chang's disciples in Wudang have proven themselves to be both skilled and chivalrous, that has shown Chang to be a great teacher. Face is partly earned by the journey to martial arts mastery, but once one reaches the level of a master, further Face is a matter of "giving back" to the Wulin community.