江湖

jiāng hú

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. 武俠|武侠[wu3 xia2])
4. (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc; demimonde
5. (in modern times) triads; secret gangster societies; underworld