The jianghu is not a map region. It is the social world that opens wherever the courts do not reach — and wuxia stories are about the people who live there by an unwritten code. These thirteen words cover the world, the community, the hero, the chain of transmission, and the four abilities every school teaches.
Start with the summary, then read the entry you need. Every definition below is the general cultural term; how a specific game implements it belongs to that game's own guide.
Term
Usually rendered as
What it is
Usual misread
Jianghu
rivers and lakes
the social world outside office
a wilderness map
Wulin
martial world
the whole martial fraternity
a single guild
Xia
knight, hero
a role defined by an ethic
a power tier
Shifu
master
the link that transmits a lineage
a rank or boss title
Zhanglao
elder
a senior seat on a council
an old retired master
Neigong
inner skill
internal practice and breathing
a passive buff
Neili
inner energy
the reserve neigong builds
a mana bar
Qinggong
light body skill
weight control in movement
flight
Anqi
hidden weapons
concealed projectiles
archery or traps
Zhenqi
true qi
refined qi, the trained version
a second mana bar
Dianxue
pressure points
striking points to disable a body
magic paralysis
Menpai
school, faction
a lineage with doctrine and techniques
a guild
Biaoju
escort agency
armed protection for hired cargo
a courier company
Containment, not separation: the jianghu is the world, the wulin is the people in it, and a school's four skills are taught inside that community.
Jianghu
jiang hu · rivers and lakes
Jianghu means rivers and lakes, but it names the space outside official law, where reputation is the rule.
English UIjianghu / martial world
Do not readIt as an open-world region or a wilderness zone. A town with a magistrate still has a jianghu inside it, and the concept travels with people, not with terrain.
In gamesUsually a lawless frontier map, a reputation system, or an open PvP layer. The accurate version is a network: who owes whom, who can be named, who will hear of what you did.
Wulin is the martial community: every school, master and sworn group, watching each other's duels.
English UImartial world / wulin
Do not readIt as one guild or one faction. Wulin is the whole population of martial practitioners; a single sect is a zongmen or a pai, not the wulin.
In gamesOften a ranking ladder, a tournament bracket, or a network of rival schools. When a game says “the martial world is watching”, it means reputation inside this fraternity.
Xia is a fighter who keeps a personal code, whatever the law says.
English UIhero / chivalrous wanderer
Do not readIt as a knight or a power tier. A xia can be poor, unarmed, or weaker than the opponent; what qualifies the role is the decision, not the stat line.
In gamesUsually a morality axis, a class archetype, or a title earned by quest choices. The genre's tension comes from the fact that the code conflicts with the law and with survival.
Shifu is the teacher who passes on a lineage — techniques, rules, and obligations that last for life.
English UImaster / teacher
Do not readIt as a rank in a hierarchy or as a boss label. “Master” in English suggests mastery of a skill; shifu implies a position inside a transmission chain, with duties on both sides.
In gamesCommonly a quest giver, a skill-tree gate, or the source of a school-specific technique. Betraying or surpassing the master is a standard plot beat precisely because the bond is not contractual.
A zhanglao is an elder: a senior officer with a seat on the council, not a martial rank.
Do not readIt as an old person or a retired master. Age is often implied, but the word is a position — a young, strong player can hold the seat.
English UI“elder”, “senior”, “officer”.
In gamesSect councils, guild rosters and sect-war command. Elders usually control recruitment, storage or auction access, which is why the seat matters more than the title sounds.
Neigong is the inner half of a martial art: breathing and posture trained to build energy you cannot see.
English UIinternal skill / inner art
Do not readIt as a passive buff you unlock. Neigong is an activity — something you do daily — and stories use interrupted practice, wrong methods and impatience as the source of injury and failure.
In gamesOften a separate progression track from weapon skills: meditation sessions, breathing minigames, or a slow passive stat gain. It usually cannot be rushed, which is the point.
Neili is the reserve neigong produces: the energy you spend to hit harder or absorb a blow.
English UIinner force / inner energy
Do not readIt as mana in the magical sense. Neili is refined physical energy, recovered by rest and practice rather than potions, and overdrawing it is described as injury rather than an empty bar.
In gamesUsually a second resource bar used by heavier techniques, or a shield value spent to negate damage. When a game lets you “burn” it for a burst, that is the classic desperate move.
Qinggong is “light body skill”: trained lightness that lets you leap, run walls, and land silently.
English UIlightness skill / parkour
Do not readIt as flight. Gravity still applies; the skill lengthens jumps and softens landings. The floating, weightless look in wuxia film is the visual exaggeration of this training.
In gamesShows up as wall-running, air dashes, double jumps and silent landings. Games rarely use the word, but the movement system is almost always a direct adaptation of it.
Anqi are hidden projectiles — needles, darts, knives — and the threat is that you cannot see them.
English UIhidden weapon / throwing weapon
Do not readIt as archery, traps, or a ranged class. A bow is carried openly; anqi is defined by being unseen, which is why using it in a formal duel is often treated as dishonourable.
In gamesUsually a rogue or assassin kit: fast projectiles, low damage, high utility. The social rule survives in PvP etiquette — a hidden-weapon kill is often read as unsporting.
Zhenqi is refined qi: what neili is made of, as opposed to the raw breath you were born with.
Do not readIt as a second mana bar. The distinction is quality, not quantity; a game that shows both is modelling refinement, not two pools of the same thing.
English UI“true qi”, “true energy”, “inner energy”.
In gamesResource stats and cultivation screens. When a game has both qi and true qi, expect one to convert into the other.
Dianxue is hitting or seizing pressure points to numb a limb or stop a technique. It wears off.
Do not readIt as magic touch or permanent paralysis. It targets a known point on the channel network, so it fails against armour or a body that does not share the map.
English UI“pressure points”, “acupoint strike”, “paralysis touch”.
In gamesStun, silence and disable skills. Cooldowns usually represent the time needed to reopen the point.
No. It is a social world that appears wherever official order is thin. Two characters in the same city can be “in the jianghu” or outside it depending on whether they live by its reputation and code.
Is xia a character class?
Not really. Xia is an ethic attached to whatever abilities a character has. Games convert it into a morality axis or a title because a stat line is easier to build than a code.
Can shifu be translated as “master”?
Yes, if you mean “teacher”. Avoid using it as a rank — a shifu is defined by the transmission relationship, not by being above other fighters in a hierarchy.
Is neili just a mana bar with another name?
Mechanically it often is. Culturally it is refined physical energy, built by practice and spent by effort, which is why restoring it usually means rest and meditation rather than a flask.