Editing Jianghu (section)

== Background ==
In modern Chinese culture, ''jianghu'' is commonly accepted as an alternative universe coexisting with the actual historical one in which the context of the wuxia genre was set. Unlike the normal world, in the ''jianghu'', the ''[[youxia]]'' (wanderers or knights-errant) are free to act on their own initiative, including with violence, to punish evil and foes, and to reward goodness and allies. While the term literally means "rivers and lakes", it is broader than that: roads, inns, bandit lairs, deserted temples, and the wilderness are all classic places associated with the ''jianghu'', places far from government interference.<ref name="teo">{{cite book |last=Teo |first=Stephen |date=2009 |title=Chinese Martial Arts Cinema: The Wuxia Tradition |url= |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Edinburgh Scholarship Online |page= |doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9780748632855.003.0002 |at=Chapter 1, online edition}}</ref> [[Vigilantism]] is normal and accepted in a way that would be impermissible in a more realistic setting. Different wuxia novels have their own versions of the ''jianghu'' and its implications. Authors vary on whether they have one consistent setting or reinvent the ''jianghu'' in each work; [[Jin Yong]]'s ''[[Condor Trilogy]]'' has one continuity, whereas [[Gu Long]]'s ''jianghu'' would be distinct in every novel, for two examples.<ref>{{Cite web |last=樂天Kobo電子書 |date=2019-03-24 |title=金庸小說的「江湖」：有人就有恩怨，有恩怨就有江湖，人就是江湖 |url=https://www.thenewslens.com/article/115854 |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=The News Lens 關鍵評論網 |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref>

One of the most notable sources for helping define what would be thought of as the ''jianghu'' was the 14th-century novel ''[[Water Margin]]''. In the novel, a band of noble outlaws, who mounted regular sorties in an attempt to right the wrongs of corrupt officials, have retreated to their hideout. These outlaws were called the ''Chivalrous men of the Green Forests'' ({{zh|t=綠林好漢|s=绿林好汉|p=lǜlín hǎohàn|labels=no}}) and they then proceed to have various adventures, mixing heroism with more roguish activities.

One of the earliest coinage of ''jianghu'' was by a dejected [[Song dynasty]] poet [[Fan Zhongyan]] (989—1052) in his poem ''[[Fan_Zhongyan#Literary_works|Yueyang Lou Ji]]'',<ref>Last paragraph in 岳阳楼记...嗟夫！予尝求古仁人之心，或异二者之为，何哉？不以物喜，不以己悲，居庙堂之高，则忧其民；处 '''江湖''' 之远，则忧其君。是进亦忧，退亦忧；然则何时而乐耶？其必曰：“先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐矣！”噫！微斯人，吾谁与归！</ref> in which the context of ''jianghu'' was set out as distant to the courts and temples, meaning a world in its own right.