江湖
jiānghú
ㄐㄧㄤ ㄏㄨˊ
- 1rivers and lakes
- 2all corners of the country; remote areas to which hermits retreat
- 3section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law; the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠|武侠[wu3 xia2])
- 4(in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc; demimonde
- 5(in modern times) triads; secret gangster societies; underworld