Xianxia (traditional Chinese: 仙俠; simplified Chinese: 仙侠; pinyin: xiānxiá; lit. 'immortal heroes') is a genre of Chinese fantasy heavily inspired by Chinese mythology and influenced by philosophies of Taoism, Chan Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese folk religion, Chinese alchemy, other traditional elements of Chinese culture,[1] and the wuxia genre.
Protagonists are often cultivators of immortality and supernatural powers, or else are transcendent beings xiān (仙) already possessing such powers to varying degrees. Antagonists have similar powers, and often belong to either the yao (妖) tribe (i.e. fae tribe) or mo (魔) (i.e. demon tribe) or similar category of beings. Persons in the xianxia genre manifest talents or abilities such as flight, teleportation, telekinesis, materializing objects and force fields, creating and manipulating energy, etc. akin to other fantasy genres.
Concepts from traditional Chinese thought such as internal alchemy and external alchemy feature in this genre—gods, immortals, yaoguai, and demons all engage in meditative practices and the consumption of rare substances or creatures to improve their skills or to augment their power. Action tends to take place across multiple realms, the number of which depends on the author or the world in question, but this usually includes the immortal plane, the mortal realm, and in the underworld. The xianxia genre also tends to feature the existence of magical creatures who do not belong to either the yao (妖) or mo (魔) category, as well as supernatural artefacts capable of upending the status quo.