Discussion Use of Social Darwinism in Xianxia

Just recently while reading a chapter on the Marquis of Grand Xia, I stumbled upon this passage

"Fan Lingyue turned and gazed the teen in his eyes, a mocking glint flashing through her eyes as she did so. “In this world, it has always been the strong who dictated the terms for the weak, don’t tell me you are truly naive enough to believe that everyone is able to decide their fate?”
(and the rest followed the same tone and meaning, which Is to imply that with power you wield absolute control over any not similar to oneself.)

And while reading this I came to realise that many novels in the Xianixa genre makes use of social darwinism in their world building, I could even go as far as to say that Social Darwinism is the foundation on which the genre relies most.

I know that these stories are just that, stories, but I unfortunately can't revolve my head around the fact that with power - even otherworldly and fantastical strength way above the norm, that you can continue to legitimise your acts of aggression through a way of thought based on social darwinism.

I have really grown weary of reading MC and others calling an ordinary populace weak because they haven't had the same 'luck' they had and simply answers that all their problems stems from them being weak and that dying is simply an effect of some inherent weakness they possess. But what I find most of all infuriating is that the novel in question even goes out of it's way to say that the populace will not act against the invaders for the countless atrocities committed upon them and will simply continue like nothing happened, why? Because they are weak.

Oh a villain tortured an entire group of sickly people? Bah, it's their own fault for dying. Who told them to be so sickly and weak in the first place?

This - perpetual - type of reasoning in these novels is the reason my brain cells have decreased.

What do you guys think? Am I the only one sick and tired of the constant use of this type of reasoning to legitimise ruling, acts of unprovoked aggression and perpetual deaths of numerous civilians in these novels?

 

Take my method when you feel brain cells degrading, drop the novel play some games praise the sun and put the novel in the never read list

 

This is mostly due to the sociocultural state of China, and its long history of conquering and being conquered.

 

My friend this kitty thinks you are burned out, go outside for a bit and look at the sun, and maybe, just maybe, go for a jog and clear your mind. And if you still want to read something go read nightfall, that better describes xianxia in a more mentally appropriate way to say the least.

 

While I do get your point, the reason that thinking exist is that those who are powerless cannot really join their hands and fight those who are powerful. Superior people always have existed and with a supernatural setting it's just shows more clearly. The premise of being treated as humans in this novels is that you're acknowledged as one. That's a crucial difference from the real world where being condemned by billions of people might actually get you killed. So the only hope for equality in novels with social Darwinism is the existence of people within the top echelon to care for the weak.

 

I noticed that way of thinking affecting me a little bit. So I quit it and started reading more relaxed novels. That was the start of my journey to quit novels (which will never end probably).

 

The strongest/richest/smartest person/country is going to have the final say and that's a fact. In this life you have to options
- Be happy with what you can get without working hard
- Work hard and try to be the one who has the final say

In most of the cases what you say it's true but there are people who fight for what they want not only the MC. Most of them die but some of them success.

Life is like that, many try but only few people are the ones that truly archive their goals and dreams

 

when that happens to me i read a complete nonsense story like library of heavens path and strongest system both great pallete cleansers (warning shut off brain first to read both)

 

Honestly although It's such a well known trope one picked at the most, its also one of things I find interesting, although the way it's displayed in Xianxia novels is absolutely retarded, since practically everyone shows up is some Arrogant idiot, but if you really look at it, it really is quite the interesting concept, after all the way it should technically work in a xianxia setting is that the further the novel progresses the less people there will be however people will get more cunning, stronger, intelligent etc as time goes on, where everyone is different in some way, some are treacherous and cunning using poison, some are Bold and Powerful using pure strength and defense, while others are more support living this long due to being able to live among groups of powerful people, everyone you meet has their own back story just as rickety and treacherous as yours, every battle is a battle of life and a death where people put their lives on the line walking the edge of a blade, becoming ruthless in the process, everyone's out with their own agenda there's no time to spare for people outside of that, if people are weak and bullied then they can only blame themselves and the Heavens, for its survival of the fittest, and they aren't the fittest, whether that is "morally right or wrong" doesn't matter, for in a world where only strength matters, every resource and every second counts, for there isn't enough resources for everyone to be immortal, to cut it short its an incredibly interesting concept that just seems terrible through the way it's covered in CNs

 

Everyone living in a western society see it as ridiculous, that's one of the reason for our society to exist: so that doesn't happend, or at least in a not so rampant way. In some African countries with gangs and the like, that kind of Darwinist society still exist.
Making a novel with social darwinism as a base it's just boring most of the time, but it isn't what the author wants to focus on. Instead, the important part is the backwater MC with nothing except guts, winning the cultivation world random lottery. The MC becomes strong while beating everything in his way to glory. Society stays the same way as the start of the novel, MC becomes a fairy tale for the people in the slums.

You already gave your brain when you started reading chinese novels.

 

I understand where you are coming from, but I don't agree with that you can only accept their decision.
History has shown that being provoked enough will eventually make the weakest man react firmly and fiercely, that's a fact. Yet in those novels that reaction doesn't exist outside of a protagonist gaining enough strength to kill those that inflicted pain upon him. The reason for it not existing lies in the reasoning that weakness shares an adoption of acceptance - an acceptance of their low level role as slaves to the powerful and nothing more.

 

Its also due to the existence of cultivation (either martial or immortal).
The way I see it, while the strong oppressing the weak in current society may be seen in the actions of people, it doesn´t go beyond that since the power of a country is in the state and its people. Even though some countries are more developed than others, to act against a weaker country, they must have the consentment of a diverse group of parties, and whatever action is taken will have feedback from their own citizens as well as other countries.
Meanwhile, in chinese novels we have people that have the strength of a state or a country. If they want to harm or take something from someone else, they will act by their own moral compass. It´s like, if North America were a single person instead of a collective many and he/she wanted something from his weaker neighbors. As it would be one person taking something from another single person, without the implication of war and the responsability for millions of people, would his/her own morality refrain him/her action of stealing from the other? I think not.

 

It's all social Darwinism just what determines strength changes in real life.

There is quite literally no difference between what occurs in these novels and what happens in reality other than the super powers. Every country has it's version of social Darwinism being played out just some versions are more direct and violent and others are more cunning. A good example is the United States of America, although there seems to be a lot of "trying to help the poor" or " protecting the weak and innocent" it is all a sham about controlling these groups for different interests whether that be votes for a political party or shaming others with their "nobility". It all boils down to gaining or losing power. If there was nothing to gain the number of empathizing people would be marginal at best.

 

I also do not agree with your statement that the powerless can't join hands. I can somewhat understand that they can't defend themselves against an otherworldly being with enough power to destroy the world, but those without power will in the end always act against their oppressors in one way or another. Whether its through armed resistances, denial of services or more.

 

China is a place where you have to fight for the resources you want. That's not taken literally in most cases anymore but I can see how they'd swap it back to that in the novels. I mostly just gloss over those parts of the novel or drop it altogether if it's too frequent of a theme.

You could try reading romance novels?

 

I kinda just thinks that MC is a wish fulfilment for the weak, both in the novel and RL when they lack the ability to fight the oppressing higher power. I can be sure that there are weak people fighting, just that they died off somewhere and nobody cares, same in RL as well.

 

Even if they managed to join hands, it couldn't change the fact the they are still weak. Yes, they might have gotten stronger but that doesn't make their voice gain enough weight to change their circumstances. They would still remain oppressed unless there is someone who becomes strong enough to resist that oppression (but can you still that the weak fighting the strong?)

 

Democracy was somewhat a respond to this. A singular person may be weak confronting a larger entity, but a large group of people joining together could confront a larger entity.

A strong United state is many times better than a strong singular person.

 

That sounds like what I call a 'ragesterbation' story. I call them that because they're written by and for people (quite commonly Chinese, but they exist everywhere) who seem to get off on impotent rage, as they witness or experience some great injustice they can do nothing about. These scenes are usually presented as the MC's motivation for growing stronger, but that's just an excuse. These scenes will happen over and over, just with more powerful villains, and the MC will never go back and fix the injustice once he has the power to.

I don't understand how people can enjoy feeling angry and helpless and I don't want to understand it, but they do, and there are lots of stories pandering to that perversion. If you find yourself reading one, just drop the story before your blood pressure climbs through the roof.

 

Romance novels have come to be what find enjoyment in now, I can longer force myself to enjoy another Xianxia story.