| 江湖 | jiāng hú | rivers and lakes / all corners of the country; remote areas to which hermits retreat / section 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[wu3xia2]) / (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc; demimonde / (in modern times) triads; secret gangster societies; underworld |