1. rivers and lakes

2. all corners of the country; remote areas to which hermits retreat

3. section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law; the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武侠 (wǔxiá))

4. (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc; demimonde

5. (in modern times) triads; secret gangster societies; underworld