The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
War Against Wuxia: Jin Yong, Banned Books, and Taiwan’s “Rainstorm Project” – S5-E42
Dec 25, 2025
Scott Crawford, a Taipei-based author known for his works on ancient China, dives into the vibrant world of wuxia novels, explaining their origins and the moral codes within. He discusses the legendary author Jin Yong, whose impactful stories faced censorship through Taiwan's Rainstorm Project, which led to the banning of many titles. The conversation unveils the paradox of banning a writer with an anti-CCP stance, along with exploring the underground culture that kept these novels alive amidst government crackdowns and moral panics over student obsessions.
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Jianghu: A Moral Underworld
- Wuxia stories mix historical settings with heightened, almost supernatural martial-arts action that creates a distinct moral underworld called the jianghu.
- This blend lets authors explore tangled loyalties and chivalric codes outside normal law, producing deep dramatic tension.
Guo Jing's Torn Loyalties
- Jin Yong's Legend of the Condor Heroes follows Guo Jing, torn between being a Song patriot's son and being raised by Genghis Khan.
- That torn loyalty exemplifies wuxia's recurring theme of conflicted allegiance across history and identity.
Rainstorm Project's Wide Sweep
- The Rainstorm Project was a state-led, long-term campaign specifically targeting the entire wuxia genre in Taiwan starting 1960.
- Authorities seized 120,000 novels within days and later banned about 400 titles, showing the scale of the crackdown.
