A Chinese-to-English novel translation website, Wuxiaworld.com, is enjoying unexpected popularity in the United States.
A screen save of the website. [Photo:Wuxiaworld.com]
The website, founded in 2014, is the largest platform for English versions of Chinese martial arts stories and fantasy online novels translated by Wuxia enthusiasts.
Wuxiaworld is now one of the top 2000 websites in the United States according to the web traffic rankings produced by Alexa, receiving some 4 million page views per day. It is now recognized as a brand name in Chinese-to-English novel translation excellence.
The founder of the website, Lai Jingping, better known by his online username RWX, is a former American diplomat.
According to Asia Times, Lai moved to California with his parents at the age of three, and grew up in America. He developed an interest in Hong Kong Wuxia TV drama as a teen, and through his passion for the genre picked up the Chinese language from both his parents and through courses at university.
Lai studied Intentional Relationships at the University of California, Berkeley, where he started translating popular Wuxia novel series, such as Coiling Dragon on the SPCNET forum, continuing to translate after becoming a diplomat.
In December 2014, Lai wanted to find a home for his translations, and the Wuxia fantasy website was born.
China Reading, a leading authorized digital reading platform has already reached an agreement with Wuxiaworld.com to gain copyright authorization for some of the novel translations.
With some 4 million page views per day, the website is home to a growing community of loyal fans not only American, but also around the globe.
