I've been doing some research into the noble values that Wuxia heroes represent. Now I'm planning on using 5 as stats: Bravery, Justice, Loyalty, Benevolence and Propriety. Now these would be fine if the latter two weren't problematic: Benevolence and Loyalty are pretty much synonymous and Propriety is somewhat odd in the context of an rpg - doing the 'right' thing.

In LotW (the new version of WotG) the virtues they use are: Benevolence, Righteousness (is that Propriety?), Loyalty, Honour and Force - not sure where that comes from. The game also includes a series of corrupt/selfish virtues to make the total 10. I think these include Vengeance, which can also be viewed as a wuxia virtue (according to wikipedia). There are a variety of different sources that skirt around the same set of values, often with synonyms (such as Gallantry instead of Bravery).

What I'm looking for is a list that I can use that's practical. If the virtues are really just fluff and/or just blur (such as Benevolence and Loyalty - the stat I'd use for actions helping others) then it's no good to me.

Bravery, Justice, Loyalty, Benevolence and Propriety.

In my wuxia game the stats were more than fluff as the inherent conflict between them e.g loyalty + benevolence, justice + propriety compel the melodrama inherent in the genre. Using them as tools to produce characters torn by their obligations models the fiction. Do you serve the Emperor and execute the nameless peasant who is a friend of your mentor?

But if that's too 'story' then sorry I dunno.

Propriety is less wuxia than the others. Its more of a classical "gentleman's" virtue.

This goes into Design & Development.

This is probably far more based on Japan than China, but it seems to me 'Honour' versus 'Humanity' is a pretty prevalent theme in much eastern fiction. Kindred of the east had Yin opposed by Yang, and Hun opposed by P'o. With Hun being your self control, and P'o being your inner demon. Which I think worked and are broad enough categories that you could do something with them.

Honour and Hun are probably synonymous, basically a Willpower stat.
P'o is a anger/aggression stat.
Humanity is a empathy stat.
Yin is an academic contemplation stat.
Yang is a bouncing around impressing people stat.

It is very easy to get bound up in the geometry of what is essentially chinese folk medicine. This is the approach that Weapons of the GOds/Legends of the Wulin takes. It is certainly very interesting and worth studying. However while it might be fun to use wu xing cyles as stats and trigrams as skills or whatnot, I don't think that really captures the spirit. In the source material of wuxia this doesn't happen either.

I have decided to go with three elements instead, along with a more traditional attribute+skill model: Virtue, Excellence and Vengeance.
Virtue collects points through behaviour. Act honourably and/or righteously and you acquire points. When you have enough to match the difficulty of an action, you trade them in and get a free pass due to being a righteous force. You don't roll, except to determine the margin of success (nice and simples).
Excellence functions the same way, but is acquired when your skill or ability is acknowledged in the game world (ie by an NPC), or when you roll REALLY well (exceed difficulty levels above the prescribed level for the current actions).
Vengeance will probably again function the same way, but I'm not sure. It's gained when the hero is wronged or when he acts dishonourably. That latter part should probably also incur some measure of a corrupting element, but I'm not sure what that would be.