江湖 jiāng hú

DEFINITIONS

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

CHARACTERS

江 jiāng
HSK 4
large river; yangzi; surname
湖 hú
HSK 6
a lake; Hubei, Hunan; bluish-green