Question Help, explain cultivation!

I have a friend who has actually become interested in the idea of Chinese translated novels recently. She hasn't read any, but after explaining a few different genres/tropes to her, she wants to give it a try. Problem is, she wants to know about cultivation novels and I honestly can't figure out a good way to explain it to someone who grew up in the states, has never read/seen Asian literature or movies beyond me getting her to sit down and watch Ip Man, and so doesn't really have any type of foundation to work off of.

So my question is this: Does anyone have a simple, concise way to explain a cultivation story to a Westerner? And is there an easy novel to start her on that kind of eases you into the genre?

(the novels I read all assume you know wth cultivation is and how it works. I know how it works, but I can't figure out how to explain it without it becoming a garbled mess)

 

Sorry, I’ve tried explaining it to my husband without luck. I have the feeling that My Disciple Died Yet Again had a pretty good explanation and that I didn’t understand cultivation myself until I started reading that... I could be wrong, though.

 

Just send her to me, i'll explain cultivation cauldrons.

 

Dragon ball Z. You train, you gain powers, and you surpass the human limit. It's just that cultivation novels go in depth with a proper order, theory, and system, whereas Dragon ball Z is like AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

 

You know...I never actually thought about DBZ like that. Huh

 

Cultivation is typically the practice of absorbing the lifeforce, or qi, of the world, refining it to a state where it can be used, then using it to improve the body for the purposes of strengthening the body and extending one's lifespan.

 

First get her addicted to anime (this is stage 1) , then after her addiction is past stage one, she'll naturally look for new sources of entertainment which leads us to stage 2 manga, when she finally consumes every single manga in the genres she likes she will move on to stage 3 asian novels. What's past this stage I suspect not even god knows...

 

Uh cultivation is like training the body to its utmost limit. You "cultivate" to reach immortality, you use the world's energy to refine your body and you seek to understand the very nature of the world (this is dao). By refining the body, refining the spirit, and seeking enlightenment about the dao you tread more into the path of immortals. Then depending on the series you either end up as god or a high deity of some sort.

 

All based on the same origin. We improve the body by taking in energy and refining it. After that we learn to utilize that strength to perform internal energy. Next step is emission of energy. Mastery is control of external energy.

Just explain it as a spiritual road from a mortal that needs to eat, to a cultivator that controls his own energy influencing the world, to a god that controls the heavens.

 

try letting her read coilling dragon? a bit similar to western magic with a touch of cultivation.. @.@
maybe that will help her slowly adapt to cn novels..
thats my first one too btw..

 

Coiling Dragon teached me all I needed to know about cultivation so I would recommended it as the first novel she should read. She could also try some manhuas or dramas to get a visual representation.

 

Start her off with Desolate Era on wuxiaworld. The protagonist is originally an ordinary human from earth, it goes into great detail explaining the structure of a cultivation world, and the various types of cultivation and their stages. It has important xianxia concepts like tribulations and daos. Plus it is one of the very few xianxia stories where the protagonist doesn't go around murdering anyone that looks at him the wrong way.

I think picking a non psychotic protagonist will be essential if you want to make a good first impression. Although if you want to be funny you could recommend something like Chaotic Sword God, or Peerless Martial God.

 

Let you friend read this
https://immortalmountain.wordpress.com/glossary/wuxia-xianxia-xuanhuan-terms/
Play games in relation with cultivation (it helps) like 9dragons (because I like it, you can choose another MMO)
Make your friend read novels and watch drama that explain what cultivation is like Nightfall or Ze Tian Ji (if you want)

 

Usually a general martial arts setting where characters meditate or train over long periods of time in order to permanently increase the strength of their body.
The nature of this means that older people, who have trained for longer, tend to be way stronger than younger people.
As you cultivate your strength to higher levels you will gain the ability to use fantastical techniques, and in some cases become a literal god.

 

It's about taking drugs and getting high, once you are high enough you transcend the heavens into an immortal.

On a side note, isn't dbz probably the cultivation most westerners would be familiar with? Only difference is instead of power level, its more like breaking through SSJ stages.

 

This is a web page from WuxiaWorld explaining various Cultivation/Xianxia terms:
Xianxia/Cultivation Terms

 

I think of it as absorbing energy distributed throughout the world, and using it to sort of 'purify' your body. Over time, as this energy becomes more concentrated in the body, you can use it to break through 'stages' by cleansing the meridians. Over time, the more of these meridians you open up, the more of this energy you can circulate and thus use. etc etc..

Coiling Dragon is probably a good starter?

 

These both sound like really good choices, thank you!

 

Easy,

It's a story about neets that go berserk and start killing people when they're out of their caves.