Western palace politics vs the underbelly of society

[NotaNuffian]

Well, this is the first time I actually think about the notion of underworld in wuxia, namely because of the manhwas that I read lately.

Have anyone ever noticed how the government, be it medieval and modern, will make little attempts to influence the underbelly of the society? While in eastern works like those in Japan, China and Korea, with China's xianxias and wuxias being the most prominent by having the emperor and his men not meddling with the underworld and when they do, they stir so much shit up that a shit hurricane brews up.

Online have a bunch of people agreeing that wuxia's heroes and warriors are nothing more of assassins and sellswords, ronins who roam around the land either doing odd jobs killing bandits or becoming bandits themselves. These types of wandering warriors are often weak but experienced and sometimes will join a local government like sects or shaolin temples in order to:

A. Get coverage and recognition
B. Get better equipment and kungfu

Notice the words "local government" as these powerful sects might work with the emperor (cuz politics and technically the land is still the emperor's) and they are basically self governed like self titled barons and counts in the lands.

I know in the olden days, even in the west, the king has a lot of difficulties in dealing with local powers and this is where fantasy stories of wandering "yet gallant" knights saving princesses and vanquishing dragons and heroic pugilists storming the palace to have a chat with the emperor. It is not because the emperor is magnanimous that he wishez not to confront these powers, but rather he could not due to lacking manpower and resources. Even in the modern days, as long as the underbelly don't cause too much trouble, the government will not find them trouble as well.

It is as though the scheming and shrewdness within the parliament don't mingle well with the rough and violent underworld.

 

[Zirrboy]

You need thugs to beat up, simple as that.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

It's not like the government doesn't influence it. They interact differently, and most people won't be able to see those interactions. This 'underbelly' is tied with the government. It's two sides of one coin, at least in real life.

 

[NotaNuffian]

It's not like the government doesn't influence it. They interact differently, and most people won't be able to see those interactions. This 'underbelly' is tied with the government. It's two sides of one coin, at least in real life.

Yeah, and that makes writing it a wee bit awkward, at least for olden wuxia writers and CN writers unless they want a vacation into the facility Peng Shuai is in.

I think when I wrote this, I was thinking about the actual western interaction between the two powerhouses, because I vaguely recall only in fairytales, a king of a nation would task a knight of unknown origin to save his daughter or some BS.

Normally kings would work with those with same or similar position, like crown princes of sorts. Never had I ever seen a king would lower himself to work with a ronin.