Wuxia Weapons: Fans

Today we wanted to talk about one of the weirder weapons we see in wuxia stories: paper fans. If you’re new to wuxia, you might be (understandably) confused how this could be a weapon…but in wuxia, everything can be a weapon if you can infuse it with qi.

In the same way one can make their body hard enough to repel bullets, or light enough to float through the air, in wuxia you can infuse your weapons to give them similar properties. To a master, their weapons are but an extension of their body, after all.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt if the fan is made of metal knives instead of paper, and the imagery of this weapon has taken off outside of wuxia as well, seeing appearances in everything from anime and manga in Japan, to children’s cartoons, superhero comics, and arcade games in North America.

Here are some fun DIY videos on how to make a beautiful paper fan of your own, or a metal death weapon, totally your choice: Paper fans by SK Academy of Fine Art:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKHg9hbstLs

Kitana’s War Fans (from the Mortal Combat series) by Man at Arms: Reforged:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KolHYBojRzI

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by S. Sifton

Immortal Staff

Image sources: https://thirdmirage.wordpress.com/tag/wuxia-weapons/ https://www.buzzfeed.com/candicedarden/jackie-chan-adventures-was-the-best-cartoon

http://www.chinesedrama.info/2015/12/drama-legend-of-condor-heroes-2016.html