Hello i have a question regarding a fantasy wip. The magic system i made says that everyone has a magical essence in them and if they practise hard they can harness it to become powerful and perform all kinds of magic. The elves in my wip live in a society strongly inspired by the ones seen in xianxia and wuxia novels. I have been debating having the elves actually use the words qi and cultivation and all the terminology that comes with it. Because for me problem lies in that although the magic flow in each person works similar to qi it has a different origin (i made my own deities as well and its related to them) furthermore iw ould have to think of what other people not living in their society would call it. For example, i have a human society inspired by the mughal empire. I feel like having them refer to magic as qi feels very weird but i also think finding their real world equivalent of it (if that even exists in hinduism, sikhism iâm still in the early parts of worldbuilding so i dont know). Do you think i should just not mention qi at all and have them all use original terminology eventhough people might notice the similarities or should i try to find fitting equivalent?
 Fantasy magic system similar to QI
Sikhs donât practice magic and Sikh mysticism is somewhat closed.
Additionally, if the elvesâ society is based on aspects of Sikhi, they would likely be oppressed under the Mughal inspired society - as Sikhs were oppressed by the Mughal Empire, particularly in the 1500âs - 1700âs, this is something to be handled carefully if the elves are inspired or somehow based in Sikhi.
- SK
Are the gods the same across the cultures? If so, I would definitely delve into the very different societies that emerged while still worshiping them. Take a current example: The Mahayana Buddhism that is practiced in India has distinctions from the Mahayana-based Zen Buddhism that is practiced in Japan, Thien Buddhism, which is practiced in Vietnam, which all have distinct differences from Theravada Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism. Each culture may have different names for the gods, for terms of religious practice, for any holy texts, etc.
Hinduism is not the only polytheistic religion in existence--rather, it is culturally polytheistic, with various schools of thought on pantheism, monism, monotheism, and atheism as well. I wouldnât relate the designed deities specifically to Hinduism, especially if these gods take a direct influence from across spheres of influence. I would take the coding route, and either ensure the inspiration is clear and properly researched and implemented, or focus on looser connections. Many fantasy authors will use a pantheon of their own creation with influences from existing traditions, but differentiate them by declaring the magic concepts and how they affect the makeup of the world. This has its own drawbacks, but less than if you choose to design deities for a religion youâre unfamiliar with.Â
How closely does this actually relate to xianxia and wuxia? This needs some more research into the cultures that these works are influenced by. If the concept works the same way mechanically, and is only differentiated by virtue of the origin from the created pantheon, then why the emphasis on the difference? I would introduce some differences into the magic system to make it clear that the concepts of qi and cultivation are inspirations, and come up with a different vocabulary that could then be related back to the pantheon that bestowed the magic upon the characters.
~ Abhaya
There are ways to plausibly create a story linking a magical concept inspired by qi to a South Asian setting. It requires a lot of historical research: think college student senior thesis level.Â
How? The Silk Road and Buddhism
Iâll be discussing qi and analogous concepts, particularly their relationship with martial arts in the context of Asian history. Qi, particularly its application to traditional Eastern medicine and martial arts, draws a lot of influence from the synergy of Mahayana Buddhist principles and Chinese Daoism. In South Asia, the Sanskrit concept of prana similarly lends itself well to Ayurvedic medicine and South Asian martial arts. Itâs a little obvious if one thinks about it in the context of the dominance of numerous Hindu traditions in the subcontinent for the majority of the regionâs history. If you have stratified class systems tied to religious dogma (Caste) and you designate people as warriors (Kshatriya), they likely are learning martial art skills in a codified form (See the Charanavyuha). Similarly, you will also have individuals with lower social status/ from marginalized regions who will develop their own form of martial arts to counter oppression and invasion (See Shastra Vidya and Kalari, respectively).Â
In terms of well known Indian martial arts in the present, weâre mostly talking about Shastra Vidya, developed by the Sikhs in the 16th century CE and Kalari, from Kerala (11th century CE). Though Shastra Vidya is distinct to Sikhi, the preceding styles and influences for Shastra Vidya have been traced as far back as the 16th century BCE.
To what degree one credits South Asia with influencing Chinese martial arts depends on who you ask, their level of nationalism and which country they are from, but it is indisputable that Chinese and South Asian martial are linked via Buddhist influences that facilitated cultural exchange across South Asia, South East Asia, and East Asia for an 800 year period. Has anyone ever wondered why mudras (hand movements) used in classical Indian dance, Vajrayana Buddhism and Shaolin all look...pretty similar? (Northern Shaolin + Bharata Natyam here, and yes, I did). Buddhism, like Jainism and Sikhi, is as much a product of Hindu influences as it is its own religion.Â
It spans over a millennium, but Buddhism is your link between Hinduism on one end, Mughals at the other, and Chinese martial arts somewhere in between. Iâll add the Mughals were a bloodthirsty lot, but they were also enthusiastic patrons of local culture, including martial arts. After all, it never hurts to have a group of highly trained warriors on your payroll. I might personally favor pulling more explicitly on the cosmopolitan aspects of Mughal governance for your Mughal coding, perhaps comparing their tactics with the Mongols for reference. Thereâs a world of difference between Kublai Khan or Akbar compared to Aurangzeb or Genghis Khan. Iâve outlined the broad strokes below in greater detail, but how you use this historical background effectively for your world-building, how you research, what reference books you choose and the care with which you select them: thatâs all on you. You will need to use reputable scholarly resources in order to avoid the majority of New Age Appropriative Garbage that seems to jump out of google whenever one uses terms like qi or prana (See Disneyâs Mulan remake and the cottage industry of alternative spiritual healers in the US).Â
Over the years, Iâve noticed many Asian martial artists recognize the underlying philosophical concepts that different traditions share even if we are unaware of the history behind it all. Whether one calls it ki, qi, prana, whether we refer to the bodyâs energy centers as chakras, cakra, chakka or rin, many practitioners are drawing on shared complex histories, etiologies and pedagogies, albeit in ways that manifest specifically for each slice of place and time, shaped by a history of conflict and religion.Â
I personally think a smart move on your part is not to ignore this shared history. Cultural diffusion doesnât mean that everyone ends up with the same thing. Rather it means that the dimensions of a successful imported practice or concept take on characteristics shaped by unique, local cultural and political forces. With regards to terminology, see Mod Rinaâs conlang guide for how to avoid using terms that outsiders often interpret like qi. You arenât setting this story in the real world, so why use real cultural terms?Â
To that end, I recommend the text show characters from different places, different ethnic groups, even different species all participating in a system that is shared, with differing terminology, applications and varying levels of mastery between individuals due to multiple aspects of life, rather than just how hard someone practices. Maybe humans have less access to your magic system because their lifestyle is distanced from the internal state that allows one to access their potential? Maybe the same can be true for elves that have strayed from these principles? I think you can do many fun things if you really treat your magic system like martial arts, where many of the limits are internal, rather than external.Â
- Marika.
For the full story that Marika spent too much time on, see below the cut.
