Chinoys Tend To Collectively Call Xianxia And Wuxia As Ko Cha/Ko Chiah TV Series

Chinoys are usually Hokkien speakers, descended from Fujian, China. As always, may Filipinos remember that the Chinese people aren't their enemy but the Chinese Communist Empire (a mockery I made for the Chinese Communist Party). Back then, I remember there was a NICHE MARKET where Betamax rentals in the 1990s had a few Chinese shows WITHOUT translation. There was the Chinese Sunday Theater. If I'm not wrong, ABS-CBN called it the Chinese Variety Show, which once aired Fu Peimei's cooking show (undubbed), and it was later dubbed. Meteor Garden became the revival of the Chinese Sunday Theater. It was Chinese Sunday Theater with the DUB. GMA-7 competed with My MVP Valentine. Both shows introduced me to F4 and 5566.

However, the regular Chinese-language drama (hence my tags here are Chinese Drama, whether they came from China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan) began diversifying. It wasn't enough for Meteor Garden's subtitles to unintentionally trick my mind, "That's what your grandmother watched!" The term Lannang-ue (literally, Our People's Language), which was once used as a term as the language of Chinoys, is used to call the Chinese language in general. Chinoys may have started calling these Chinese language films with the informal term Lannang-chut. Pinyin shares an informal term with Zhuyin -- the original Chinese alphabet. The contemporary TV dramas were just the start. They were called Lannang-chut, meaning Our People's Play.

Ancient costume dramas came out. I remember when ABS-CBN aired Eternity: A Chinese Ghost Story (2003) with the late Barbie Xu as Nie Xiaoqian. Meanwhile, GMA-7 also aired Return of the Condor Heroes (2006) starring Crystal Liu as Xiao Longnü. Chinoy parents may have called these shows under 古早 (Kó͘chá, Gǔzǎo in Mandarin) and 古裝 (Kó͘chiah, Gǔzhuāng in Mandarin). However, we must be careful not to confuse Wuxia and Xianxia. Wuxia focuses on martial heroes while Xianxia focuses on immortal heroes. A xianxia often can be compared to a hagiography. A Chinese Ghost Story describes how Xiaoqian became a Taoist immortal. In some traditions, Xiaoqian joined a prestigious group of fairies led by Lüzhu aka the Maiden in Green. However, in Return of Condor Heroes, we don't celebrate Yang Guo or Xiao Longnü becoming saints, just as WAR HEROES.

However, the journey can't be denied because they both wear ancient costumes and use preposterous martial arts. The shorthand was to call both Xianxia and Wuxia as Ko Cha because it was convenient. Both types of genre focus on ancient costumes whether's it's Xianxia (which tends to be hagiographical) or Wuxia (which is martial arts). Pretty much, that's the reality how both can be collectively called Ko Cha or Ko Chiah.