History Main / MagicalAsian

* The Ancient One is the previous Sorceror Supreme and trained Marvel's ComicBook/DoctorStrange in magic. The Ancient One's colleague Kaluu counts as well, Kaluu has taught Doctor Strange black magic and was at one point the resident black magic expert for ComicBook/LukeCage's branch of [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]].
* Yao Fei the Accomplished Perfect Physician from DC's ''Great Ten'' is a magical Chinese doctor. He gets transplanted on the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' TV show and becomes the archer mentor to ComicBook/GreenArrow, but still retains his healer roots by being the person who Oliver Queen learnt medicinal herbs from.
* Yu Ti, as well as pretty much everyone else from K'un-Lun in ComicBook/IronFist.
* [[Characters/WonderWomanAllies I-Ching]], Comicbook/WonderWoman's martial arts mentor from the period at the beginning of the Bronze Age where she lost her powers for [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 four years' worth of stories]], is a textbook example. He is an elderly [[BlindSeer blind]] martial arts master and expert in all things supernatural. In the latter capacity, he helped Superman when he faced off against the mystical [[ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore Quarmerr entity (AKA the "Sand Superman")]]. More recently, he's been acting as a mentor to [[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Kenan Kong, China's "New Super-Man."]]
* ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Subverted. Nick Fury finds one at the Birla Temple, but it was just a facade to conceal an illegal genetics operation in a highly advanced lab inside the temple.

* Yinsen from ComicBook/IronMan's origin, who exists only to be very wise and honorable and then die so Iron Man [[StuffedInTheFridge can get motivated to kick evil ass]], is an Asian version of this. (He has since been retconned to Afghan rather than East Asian and was played by Shuan Toub in the [[Film/IronMan1 2008 film]], but still kept the Asian name.)

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Downplayed. The series takes place in a largely Asian-inspired world, but younger characters tend to have American accents while older, wiser mentor figures tend to have more stereotypically Asian accents, regardless of what nation they are from. Iroh is the most prominent example (he was originally played by Creator/{{Mako}}).

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheDestroyer'' series. Chiun is a Korean who is the Master of Sinanju, which is the sun source (original) martial art and the basis for all other martial arts. He teaches his knowledge to the protagonist, Remo Williams. The reason stated in the series for not simply employing Chiun to do the killing (instead of training Remo to do the killing) is to avoid invoking the related "Phantom Oriental" trope in passers-by.
* Parodied in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series by Lu-Tze, the sweeper at the Temple of Oi-Dong, who is also a master of the martial art Déjà Fu (in which the hands move through both time and space). Also played straight, in that as a result of the NarrativeCausality of the Disc, Lu-Tze ''does'' have power over the course of history.
-->'''Rule One:''' "Do not act incautiously when confronting little bald wrinkly smiling men."
* Teshoo Lama, the Tibetan priest who accompanies the eponymous character in ''Literature/{{Kim}}''. He charms everyone around him with his wisdom and honesty, be they travellers in a train, Hindu priests, an old captain, an English museum caretaker, and even Kim himself. He's on [[TheQuest a quest]] for the River of the Arrow of the Buddha, which is claimed that it can cleanse anybody from sin, and could [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence detach him from the Wheel of Things]]. Kim was already marvelled on first meeting him because he couldn't tell his race or caste, having previously thought he knew them all in the world.
* The title character of "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao", who sets up his carnival in a small town, taking on multiple personas and using other means to impart wisdom tailored specifically to many of its inhabitants.
[[/folder]]

* After Music/TheBeatles had their famous flirtation with Indian mysticism and were disciples of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, only Creator/GeorgeHarrison stayed the course and became one of the Hare Krishna sect (leading to a cycle of devotional songs such as "Within You, Without You" and "My Sweet Lord"). Meanwhile, Creator/JohnLennon became violently disillusioned and wrote songs about Yogi being a total fraud ("Sexy Sadie" and "Come Together").

* Teshoo Lama, the Tibetan priest who accompanies the eponymous character in ''Literature/{{Kim}}''. He charms everyone around him with his wisdom and honesty, be they travellers in a train, a Hindu priest, an English museum caretaker, and even Kim himself. He's on [[TheQuest a quest]] for the River of the Arrow of the Buddha, which is claimed that it can cleanse anybody from sin, and could [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence detach him from the Wheel of Things]]. Kim was already marvelled on first meeting him because he couldn't tell his race or caste, having previously thought he knew them all in the world.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hydrick James Hydrick]] claimed to have learned telekinesis from a Chinese master.
* {{Invoked}} by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_Ling_Foo Ching Ling Foo]], a Chinese magician popular in the USA during the late 1800s and early 1900s, as well as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chung_Ling_Soo William Ellsworth Robinson]], a Caucasian magician who [[{{Yellowface}} pretended to be Asian]].
[[/folder]]

He will often be referred to as sensei, sifu, master, or [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment master sifu]]. Your training will be complete WhenYouSnatchThePebble from his hand.

Often overlaps with OldMaster. Also compare MagicalJew and AsianAndNerdy.

Often overlaps with OldMaster. Also compare MagicalJew.

The Magical Asian, like the MagicalNegro or MagicalNativeAmerican, exists to dispense lessons to Caucasian characters using the wisdom of his people. He (and it's almost always a he) will usually be a [[AllAsiansKnowMartialArts martial arts master]], a practitioner of traditional Asian medicine, or a sage of some Eastern religion. If he is not explicitly supernatural, he will often be so highly skilled in his art that it will [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower appear superhuman]]. Martial artists will be impossibly good fighters, the medicine-men will be able to easily diagnose and cure any illness (bonus points if he mentions chi or chakra), and the sage will be enlightened with some kind of supernatural intuition. Expect at least one scene of them meditating, growing bonsai trees or engaging in any other blatantly non-Western activity.

Their appearance almost always includes [[WizardBeard a beard, often long]], as well as hairstyles and clothing typical of their respective culture, with bonus points added if theclothing is in fact some kind of [[CultureEqualsCostume ancient, traditional attire]]. They will often talk in YouNoTakeCandle fashion, commonly with a heavy accent, and quote [[ProverbialWisdom proverbs]] and {{Koan}}s attributed to Creator/{{Confucius}}, Creator/{{Laozi}}, [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Buddha]], or some other famous Asian sage.

Unlike the MagicalNegro, the Magical Asian is not always nice to his Caucasian protégé. It is common for the Magical Asian to put his student through a number of demeaning and seemingly pointless tasks. However, it always turns out that there is a purpose to these tasks that helps get his lesson across, with [[Film/TheKarateKid Mr. Miyagi's]] famous "WaxOnWaxOff" routine being one of the best known examples. They also frequently have a habit [[ZenSlap of slapping their disciples with a hand, a stick, or a sandal]], either to punish them for some misdemeanor or to lead them to enlightenment through an unexpected sensation. These tendencies are possibly related to AsianRudeness.

Contrast with the YellowPeril, who shares many of these traits (Asian, old, knowledgeable, thick accent, droopy moustache and antique dress sense) but is ''evil'' — and hence comes off as much more racially and culturally offensive (as opposed to the Magical Asian trope, which can seem clichéd and clueless but tends to at least be well-intentioned).

* [[Characters/WonderWomanAllies I-Ching]], Comicbook/WonderWoman's martial arts mentor from the period at the beginning of the Bronze Age where she lost her powers for [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 four years' worth of stories]], is a texbook example. He is an elderly [[BlindSeer blind]] martial arts master and expert in all things supernatural. In the latter capacity, he helped Superman when he faced off against the mystical [[ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore Quarmerr entity (AKA the "Sand Superman")]]. More recently, he's been acting as a mentor to [[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Kenan Kong, China's "New Super-Man."]]
* ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Subverted. Nick Fury finds a one at the Birla Temple, but it was just a facade to conceal an illegal genetics operation in a highly advanced lab inside the temple.

* Yinsen from ComicBook/IronMan's origin, who exists only to be very wise and honorable and then die so Iron Man [[StuffedInTheFridge can get motivated to kick evil ass]], is an Asian version of this. (He has since been retconned to Afghan rather than East Asian, and was played by Shuan Toub in the [[Film/IronMan1 2008 film]], but still kept the Asian name.)

* Pai-Mei from ''Film/KillBill''. His treatment of students is less WaxOnWaxOff and more TrainingFromHell, since while he's an OldMaster, he is still a rather rotten bastard.

* Dr. Yang in ''Alice'' by Woody Allen, who teach lessons about love and life, using magic, to Mia Farrows' character.

* Subverted in ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'', where the Indian guru teaching the secrets of Hinduism to a roomful of credulous white disciples is quite blatantly only in it for the money, and is feeding them profound-sounding nonsense to justify the "living expenses" they are paying him. He is explicitly an Expy of Music/TheBeatles' guru Maharishi Yogi (see below under Music), right down to the name.

* After Music/TheBeatles had their famous flirtation with Indian mysticism and were disciples of Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, only Creator/GeorgeHarrison stayed the course and became one of the Hare Krishna sect (leading to a cycle of devotional songs such as "Within You, without You" and "My Sweet Lord"). Meanwhile, Creator/JohnLennon became violently disillusioned and wrote songs about Yogi being a total fraud ("Sexy Sadie" and "Come Together").

* He doesn't appear in ''Webcomic/ParadigmShift'' in person, but Mike has made occasional references to his ''sifu'', and his background was quite typical of this trope; he was a bit of a delinquent as a teenager, but studying martial arts under an OldMaster taught him self-discipline and got him interested in Zen Buddhism. As of the most recent story arc before the comic went on hiatus, he's started paying it forward to his partner and [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend definitely-not-love-interest-she-swears]] Kate.

* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': Uncle, voiced by Sab Shimono. A highly-skilled practitioner of ''qi'' magic, he could send spells through the phone, but didn't know how a fax machine worked.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', younger characters tend to have American accents while older, wiser mentor figures tend to have Asian accents regardless of what nation they are from. Iroh is the most prominent example. He was originally also played by Creator/{{Mako}}.
* PlayedForLaughs in the ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' episode "[[VillainsOutShopping Operation: M.U.N.C.H.I.E.S.]]" when the KND sends out thousands of probes to [[SeriousBusiness track down their favorite cereal]], and when the one in the supermarket goes dark, the Japanese GenkiGirl Numbuh 3 suddenly adopts the mannerisms of a mystic sage and says "No... it is there."
* Uncle from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', voiced by Sab Shimono. A highly-skilled practitioner of ''qi'' magic, he could send spells through the phone, but didn't know how a fax machine worked.
* Earl in the final season of ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' is an affectionate parody of this trope, as he's an elderly Asian martial arts master who teaches Pops to use his powers through [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall in-universe]] WaxOnWaxOff-style [[TrainingMontage training montages]].

[[folder: Music]]
* After Music/TheBeatles had their famous flirtation with Indian mysticism and were disciples of Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, only Creator/GeorgeHarrison stayed the course and became one of the Hare Krishna sect. (leading to a cycle of devotional songs such as ''Within You, without You'' and ''My Sweet Lord''). Meanwhile, Creator/JohnLennon became violently disillusioned and wrote songs about Yogi being a total fraud (''Sexy Sadie'' and ''Come Together'').

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

* [[BigGood Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan]][[note]]While conventional definitions of race can't easily be applied to humans in the Star Wars universe, her appearance was based on Korean-American actress Sno E. Blac.[[/note]] in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' was a rare female example. While she was more of a side character in the Jedi Knight storyline and was absent in others, in the ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'' expansion [[spoiler: she takes on a role reminiscent of Yoda and alongside the [[SpiritAdvisor Force ghost of Darth Marr]] teaches Force-sensitive characters how to draw on the light side and DarkSide of [[BackgroundMagicField the Force]] [[VillainBeatingArtifact to construct a lightsaber attuned to both]].]]

* Subverted in ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'', where the Indian guru teaching the secrets of Hinduism to a roomful of credulous white disciples is quite blatantly only in it for the money, and is feeding them profound-sounding nonsense to justify the "living expenses" they are paying him.

* Subverted in ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'', where the Indian guru teaching the secrets of Hinduism to a roomful of credulous white disciples is quite blatantly only in it for the money, and is feeding them profound-sounding nonsense to justify the "living expenses" they are paying him.

* After Music/TheBeatles had their famous flirtation with Indian mysticism and were disciples of Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, only Creator/George Harrison stayed the course and became one of the Hare Krishna sect. (leading to a cycle of devotional songs such as ''Within You, without You'' and ''My Sweet Lord''). Meanwhile, Creator/John Lennon became violently disillusioned and wrote songs about Yogi being a total fraud (''Sexy Sadie'' and ''Come Together'').