Did knights-errant ever really exist, or were they just a part of the collective Chinese imagination, handed down since ancient times?

Commenting on his recent hit Crouch-ing Tiger, Hidden Dragon, director Ang Lee said he had made the film to introduce the West to the world of the Chinese knight-errant. If the film's success is any indication, the image of noble, handsome knight-errant Li Mu Bai has firmly established itself in the Western consciousness. While the heroes of modern chivalric romances may not all be as handsome as Li Mu Bai, they all "possess a sense of justice that they would die for." As the dictionary says, knights-errant are just, brave and kind, eschew violence, and help those in need. "Since ancient times, knights-errant have been courteous, brave defenders of the right."

The Chinese have long held knights-errant in high esteem. Even today, the term provides ample fodder for the imagination. What exactly is the popular image of the knight-errant? How did that image come to be? And just who could be a knight-errant?

If you ask most people where the idea of the knight-errant originated, they will point to the chapter on knights-errant in Sima Qian's Historical Records, which dates from the Han dynasty, around 2000 years ago. The chapter mentions two knights, Guo Jie and Chu Jia. About the former, Sima Qian writes: "Although his actions were not just, he was true to his word, saw things through, had no fear of death, and helped people in difficulty." These few phrases from Historical Records are perhaps the most concise definition of the Chinese knight-errant.