Journal of Chinese Martial Studies

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Reconstructing Chinas Indigenous Physical Culture

Taijiquan: Symbol of Traditional Chinese Martial Arts Culture

Bajiquan (Eight Cardinal Boxing) and Liuhe daqiang(Six Harmony Spear)

Summer 2009 Issue 1

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Shaolin Kung Fua Cultural Treasure for Humanity


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Reconstructing ChinasIndigenous Physical CultureMa Mingda

Shaolin Kung Fu-a Cultural

Treasure for HumanityShi Yongxin

Bajiquan (Eight Cardinal Boxing)and Liuhe daqiang(Six Harmony Spear)Ma Mingda

Preamble on the Origin and

Development of Hung KuenLam Chun Fai

Chinas Duanbing MovementMa Lianzhen

Taijiquan:Symbol of Traditional

Chinese Martial Arts Culture

Stanley Henning

The Archery Tradition of ChinasBoreal HuntersZhao Shiqing

Boxing Manual and Key Principlesof Boxing Methods

Luo Zhengcheng

Main Stories

05 Editors Bios

06 Editors Foreword

Summer 2009 Issue 1

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768498

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Ma Fengtu

Martial Arts

Scholar &

Warrior

Ma Mingda

Chinese Archery

Stephen Selby

Taijiquan:

Heavenly Pattern

Boxing

Wong Yuen-Ming

From Ape Worship in

Ancient China to

Animal Imitation in

Modern Competition

Wushu

Ma Lianzhen

Ji and Ge in ancient

China - from Western

Zhou to End of

Warring States Period

Kenneth Blair

Hung Kuen

12 Bridges

Jesse Gooding


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hao hiqing

Wong Yuen-Ming

Stanley E. Hennin

Ma Ming Da

Deng Changyou

Wong Yuen-Ming graduated with a BSc. in Engineering Studies in 1987. He has been studying Daoism and Taijiquanfor almost 30 years, doing fieldwork and research in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong where he currently lives. Hisresearch work mainly focuses on Daoist Sects and practices of the Ming Dynasty, relationship between Daoism and theMartial Arts and lesser known Taijiquan lineages.

a Lianzhe

Ma Lianzhen graduated from South China Normal University with a Doctorate degree in Education in 2008.Currently, he is a member of the teaching staff at the Sports Science College of SCNU. As a researcher, he has beenactive in martial arts related studies and practices and has published many papers and articles. In addition, as a

family member and third generation successor of Mas Tongbei martial system, he is fully devoted to continuing thefamily tradition and the duty of preserving Chinas ancient martial heritage.

Stanley E. Henning served 28 years (1965-93) in the US Army in a wide variety of assignments throughout theAsia Pacific region, and served as an interpreter in the Pentagon when the US and China established diplomatic rela-tions in 1979. Since retiring from active military service, he taught English language and literature at Yunnan Normal

University from 1995-96, and served as a civilian China policy officer in the US Pacific Command between 1999 and2004. In 2000 he attended the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army National Defense University International Sympo-sium Course. Henning has written articles on Chinese defense strategy, language, and Chinese martial arts history. He

studied Yang style Taijiquan and Shanxi Che style Xingyiquan under Wu Chao-hsiang in Taiwan, and holds a Mastersdegree in Overseas Operations from the University of Hawaii and a BA in History from the Virginia Military Institute.

Deng Changyou, graduated from Jinan University,majoring in History of Sino-Foreign Relations, with a

doctors degree. Personal research interests mainly focuson sports culture, exchange of international sports cultureand sports translation. Major recent publications include

Qian Zhongshus Philosophy of Cultural Fusion and Aca-demic Methodology (Social Science in China, 2001, no.1), Deconstruction and Reconstruction the Formation

and Evolution of the Pattern of Discourse of May FourthLiterature (Social Science in China, 2001, no. 1), On Over-stepping the Original in Translation (Translatio Nouvelles

De La Newsletter, 2001, no. 1-2), Splendor of Qinghai(Guangdong Travel & Tourism Press, 2006), Travel inBeijing (Guangdong Travel & Tourism Press, 2007), Chinese

Wushu Treasure Stamps Album (China National PhilatelicCorporation, 2008), Wushu and the Olympic Games Stamp

Collection Album (China National Philatelic Corporation,2008), etc.

Zhao Shiqing graduated from University of

Durham in Great Britain with a Bachelors degree inPhilosophy in 2000. Since a young age he has beenstudying the martial arts and is proficient in severaldisciplines. He has studied southern styles Chinese

martial arts, holds a second dan black belt in Budokanstyle karate, and is a qualified instructor in kick box-

ing. Currently, he is studying the Tongbei system ofmartial studies with Prof. Ma Mingda. In addition,since founding the Orochen Foundation in 2004 he

has been active in documenting, promoting, and pre-serving endangered minority traditions in northeastChina, with a focus on numerically small, marginal-

ized ethnic groups. He is also the writer and editor forthe Uncooked magazine.

Ma Mingda is professor of history at Jinan University and holds visiting professorships at Northwestern Uni-versity of Nationalities, Northwestern Normal University, and Guangzhou Institute of Physical Education. In anacademic career spanning over three decades, he has published extensively on ancient Chinese history, classi-cal literature, Chinese sports history, Chinese philology, and Islamic history in China. Prof. Ma is also a pioneer

in Chinese martial studies, with decades of research and practice in classical armed traditions, such as the greatspear, two-handed sword, staff, and whip-stick. He is the editor for the Encyclopedia of Chinese Martial Arts(1995), and his previous publications such as Shuo jian conggao and Wuxue tanzhen (2 volumes) are now

standard reference works in Chinas martial arts and sports history. Today, as head of the Tongbei system ofmartial studies, he is devoted to promoting and reviving Chinas classical martial arts and indigenous sports.


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Summer 2009 5

Reaching the perfect balance of literaryskills (wen ) and martial prowess

(wu ) has been the aspiration ofgenerations of martial artists in Chinaalthough sadly, in the past as well as

in modern times, few have achieved

this goal. It was therefore withouthesitation that I accepted Prof. Ma

Mingdas proposal to be involved inthis project that he had been planningpassionately for some time, that is the

set up and publication of a periodicalspecifically on Chinese Martial Studies.

Our aspiration is to appeal to both thescholar of Chinese Studies, with a focus

on martial studies but not necessarilylimited to that field, and to thosemartial arts enthusiasts determined

to go beyond the knowledge of

the concepts and history of PhysicalCulture in China which should helpthe reader put the whole subject into

perspective. While Shi Yongxin takesus on a journey across Shaolin and itsculture, Ma Mingda again investigates

the prominent Bajiquan style and itsrelationship with the six harmoniesspear.

Lam Chun Fai talks about the origin ofpopular southern style Hung Kuen andMa Lianzhen gives a detailed account

of Chinese short weapons (duanbing)with a vivid report of the important taskhis group is trying to achieve in keeping

the tradition alive in practice.

Stanley Henning provides us with

food for thought when he inquiresinto one of his favorite subjects of

A Word fromThe Publisher

PUBLISHER

Wong Yuen-Ming

[email protected]

CHIEF EDITOR

Ma Mingda

[email protected]

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Zhao Shiqing

EDITOR

Ma Lianzhen

EDITORIAL BOARDDeng Changyou

Stanley E. Henning

Ma Lianzhen

Wong Yuen-Ming

Zhao Shiqing

WEBSITE

www.martialstudies.com.hk

DESIGN

Asia Brand Media Ltd.

Journal of Chinese Martial Studies is a semiannual

magazine published two times a year by Three-In-One

Press, Post Office Box 71197, Kowloon Central Post

Office, Hong Kong. Fax: (852) 27855682

Copyright 2009 Three-In-One Press. All rights reserved.

The title Journal of Chinese Martial Arts Studies,

its associated logos and contents are the property of

Three-In-One Press. No part of this periodical may be

reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written

permission from the publisher, except by writers who

may quote brief passages to be printed for review or

reference. Please contact the publisher for enquiries

about making use of any of the materials published in

this journal.

Standard Chinese transliteration is used throughout

this journal with the exception of commonly used

transliterations that have already been adopted into

common usage

For enquires about subscription, advertising rates and

other specifications, please email:

[email protected]

Blending Martialand Literary Skills

n

Reaching the perfect balance of literary skills(wen) and martial prowess (wu ) has been theaspiration of generations of martial artists in China

practical skills and eager to look at thetheoretical and historical background of

the subject. The task and the challengewe face is to become the first periodicalin the Martial field to approach the

matter from an academic point of

view and to entice a wide range ofreaders with correspondingly different

backgrounds.

The orientation we have chosen is to

combine the depth of scholarly researchwith some easier-to-read articles,to merge references and academic

quotation with some elegant andseldom seen iconography in an attemptto create a publication charming for

both the brain and the eye.

This launch issue opens with anexploration by Prof. Ma Mingda on

Taijiquan while Zhao Shiqing presentshis important research into the lesser

known tradition of Archery among theOrochen minority.

We close this launch issue with an

introduction to an old boxing manual, afeature we are considering to continue

on all future issues.

We strongly believe this new

publication has great potential and candraw the attention of a wide varietyof readers from all walks of l ife. We

value your comments and suggestionsto improve it constantly and shallappreciate the submission of your

contributions.


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Martial studies is one of the oldestdisciplines in the world, but at the same time it is a new and

rapidly developing academic subject. At the dawn of human

existence, the occurrence of warfare made possible the

accumulation of combat experience and knowledge, which

led to continual innovations in weapons and martial skills,

and quietly sowed the seeds of martial studies. As time

went on, martial arts social functions gradually expanded,

while political and military leaders became increasing

attuned to the importance of mastering these skill s. From

hard won battle experiences different martial skills were

distinguished and classified into different theoretical

frameworks, giving rise to self-containing traditions and

spawning specialist treatises, which in time generated the

unique field of martial studies.

In China, martial studies reached maturity some time

between 722 BCE and 221 BCE, corresponding to the

Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, which was

also the era that witnessed the birth of Confucianism.

Confucius thinking had a profound impact on Chinese

martial studies. In fact, he was a keen promoter of martial

studies, and a thinker and educator who placed equalemphasis on literary and martial cultivation. At the time,

a specialist discipline known as jian (sword) discourse

appeared in China alongside professional martial artists

who taught fencing techniques and jian discourse, as

well as experts in unarmed combat and related literature.

In addition, skills and training in archery, charioteering,

and weaponry all underwent significant development, and

produced many well-known exponents and texts. In the

same period, concepts of the dao of combat and the

dao of jian were expounded, which elevated discussion

of military strategies and jian discourse to the lofty

philosophical and moral planes of the Eternal Way and

Confucian ethics. This suggests that Chinese martial studies

had already evolved into a complete system, and had

achieved a high level of rationalization.

Generally speaking, however, as the era of cold weapons

drew to a close, martial skills inherited from antiquity

gradually fell into disuse, until some were completely lost in

the near-modern period, and we could only steal glimpses

of them from historical arms and a limited amount of extanttextual data. Nonetheless, a number of martial skills survived

because of their social value, while others made a timely

transition into competitive sports, in which new guise they

now appear in sports stadiums around the world. Out of

these the most popular and successful are various types of

unarmed combat sports, but also include archery, fencing,

wrestling, and others.

In the modern period martial studies throughout the world

experienced the same neglect and transformation. However,

there has been a revival of interest in traditional martial

studies since the second half of last century. This is duein part to the popularization of sports in society, but also

linked to the rising demand for pluralism in global culture,

particularly in the field of sports. Substantial growth in

interest in traditional martial studies has strengthened

the discipline, which eventually broke loose from the

shackles of physical education. Additionally, beside a

few traditional events such as archery, fencing, boxing,

judo, and taekwondo, which have been already accepted

as Olympics events, diverse new forms of combat sports

continue to spring up in different parts of the world, and are

boasting an increasing number and variety of tournaments

At the dawn of humanexistence, the occurrenceof warfare made possible

the accumulation ofcombat experience and

knowledge, which led tocontinual innovations in

weapons and martial skills,and quietly sowed the

seeds of martial studies.


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Summer 2009 7

and championships. More important, the techniques and

theories related to these combat sports are growing more

vibrant, with intensified research being conducted into

understanding their principles. All the while, the academicperspective directed to their study continues to expand,

involving scholars from many different disciplines, and

are gradually giving shape to an interdisciplinary modern

martial studies. This demonstrates that the ancient

discipline of martial studies is alive and continuing to

develop, and that in the contemporary society of growing

economic and political homogenization, there is still space

for martial studies a discipline founded on the basis of

cultural pluralism to develop.

Chinas martial studies has followed a long developmental

path. It is steeped in the sediments of history and preservesto the present day a large amount of textual information,

technical theories, and diverse popular sporting forms,

including the familiar martial arts, archery, wrestling,

dragon boat racing, equestrian sports, etc. Because of their

historical relation to military activi ties, these sports may

rightfully be included in the domain of martial studies.

What needs to be emphasized is that China is a vast country

with immense cultural differences across its regions, and

that it has been a multi-ethnic country since the ancient

times. As a result, over the course of time Chinese martial

studies had appropriated diverse cultural elements, giving it

a rich and exceptionally complex structure. Moreover, long

before large scale import of Western culture in the modern

period, Chinese culture already possessed foreign elements

and had been considerably enriched from interaction with

external socio-cultural groups. In this process, overland and

maritime routes of the celebrated Silk Road provided a vital

channel for cultural exchanges between east and west.

The same is true of martial studies. The development of

Chinese martial arts was profoundly influenced by cultures

of the Indian sub-continent and Western and Central Asia,

or more specifically, by Buddhism and Islam; and since the

Ming Dynasty, by Japans warrior tradition, particularly in

regard to the development of swordsmanship. On the other

hand, Chinese martial arts continued to spread overseas andexert influence on martial arts developments in neighboring

countries and regions.

All in all, martial studies are one of the most important

components of traditional culture. It is at once a classical

discipline and a new and challenging academic subject.

Combining motion and stillness, physical training and

bookish research, martial studies simultaneously strengthen

the body and exercise the intellect. Indeed, to expand

ones intellectual horizon and integrate diverse fields of

knowledge into a coherent system had been the lifelong

goal pursuit of Ma Fengtu, perhaps the most outstanding

martial scholar in modern China. Guided by this principle,

he inherited and developed the Tongbeisystem of martial

studies, whose central philosophy is to integrate differentaspects of knowledge in readiness for all eventualities.

Following this precept, we would like to commemorate his

120th birthday by launching the inaugural issue ofJournal

of Chinese Martial Studies. Through this publication, we

aim to promote international exchanges in martial studies;

to present information and research results to students

and enthusiasts of Chinese martial studies; to disseminate

knowledge of historical martial arts techniques and health

methods; to explore with scholars and fel low martial artists

the heritage of global martial arts cultures as well as their

contemporary forms; to discuss the problems related to

understanding these cultures; and to introduce the most

noteworthy, reliable, and representative texts and figures in

Chinese martial studies. In a word, we hope to make this a

platform for exchange, a repository of knowledge and ideas

in martial studies, and an authoritative academic journal

that focuses on Chinas martial heritage. This is indeed

the editors statement and the common goal of everyone

involved in this endeavor.

At the launch of our journal we realize many aspects of

this publication still need improvement. We welcome your

criticisms, generous contributions, or the provision of

information relating to activities in martial studies around

the world.

We would like to dedicate the present launch issue to the

memory of Mr. Ma Fengtu, who had made outstanding

contributions to martial studies. Indeed, to a certain extent,

the establishment of this journal was in fulfillment of his

wish.

Thank you


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Reconstructing Chinas IndigenousPhysical Culture

By Ma Mingda

Abstract: China has been a multi-ethnic country

from ancient times, and the joint creative efforts

of diverse ethnic groups have created the Chinese

civilization, in the process giving rise to an indig-

enous physical culture. Chinese physical culture is a native

tradition distinct from Western sports and physical tradi-

tions of other countries. It is a rich, multi-layered cultural

sys tem that has evo lved through Chinas long his tory and

fully reflects its complex social history and multiculturalism.

However, from the end of the 19th century as China went

through the throes of modernization, its indigenous physi-

cal tradition has also been set on a difficult path. The tran-

sit ion from dynast ic imperi ali sm t o modern nati ona lism was

riddled with obstacles, and in the process China endured

a prolonged period of foreign political intervention and

internal turmoil. As a result, many problems encountered

in the modernization of Chinese physical culture have not

been satisfactory dealt with, with misguidance and mis-

handling of important issues often becoming the norm in

applied situations, and a prevalent trend of superficiality

continued to seriously undermine the indigenous physicaltradition. Even today the reconstruction of Chinas physical

culture into a new system according to modern, scientific princi-

ples has not been succes sful. Consequent ly, a substantial amount

Chinese physical culture is a native tradition distinctfrom Western sports and physical traditions of othercountries. It is a rich, multi-layered cultural system thathas evolved through Chinas long history and fully re-

flects its complex social history and multiculturalism.

of theoretical research and reflection is required, great adjust-

ments need to be made, and a resolute spirit of reform is needed,

to render the theoretical and technical structures of Chinas physi-

cal culture into a mature and complete system. The author be-

lieves this is the most significant task facing contemporary Chinese

spo rts. At the same time, it presents an important oppor tun ity to

exhibit Chinas indigenous physical culture to the global audience,

which, if successfully undertaken, will be integral to Chinas cul-

tural renaissance. In conclusion, China needs to have its own in-

digenous sporting event, and it further needs to organize its native

physical tradi tions into a viable sys tem. Such an attempt wil l have

profound imp licati ons , for not only wil l it ass ist in prese rv ing and

rescuing Chinas indigenous physical culture, but will also consti-

tute a significant step in promoting multiculturalism and breaking

the Olympics hegemonic grip on global physical culture.

A 1950s or 60s magazine drawing of a traditonal Chinese archer

A late Qing Dynasty newspaper drawing showing Chinese wrestlers practicing

Dragon boat pictures courtesy of Boston Dragon Boat Racing Club


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Summer 2009 9

Introduction

China has been a multi-ethnic

country since antiquity, and the

joint creative efforts of diverse

ethnic groups helped create the Chinese

civilization, giving rise to an indigenous

physical culture. The indigenous physical

tradition in China is a rich, multi-layered

cultural system that has evolved through

its long history, and is a veritable mine

containing a wealth of cultural treasures.

In ancient times, as a result of repeated

conflicts and cultural intercourse amongdiverse ethnic groups, Chinas indigenous

physical culture was subjected to a

concatenation of reconstruction and

re-creation. In the process, several

distinct developmental stages may be

discerned. In respect of specific events

in physical culture, some have retained

a fairly consistent form and displayed

a discernible developmental pattern

through the millennia, whose fundamental

structure was unaffected by the changes

that had occurred; others were subject

to fluctuations and trends to a much

greater degree, and went through cycles

of development and decline, with major

changes in contents and formal expressions

over diverse periods. Still others vanished

altogether after enjoying a short period of

popularity, so that we could only conjecture

about their historical forms through textual

records and archaeological data.

Chinas most important educator,

Confucius, advocated both literary and

martial cultivations, and was himselfproficient in the arts of charioting and

archery, which he incorporated as two of

the six arts in his curriculum.i Further,

the ritualized activities he promoted

contained important aspects of physical

education, including ritualized competitions

which were in reality ancient prototypes

of sports events. However, after the Han

and Wei Dynasties physical activities were

increasingly frowned upon by Confucian

scholars, who regarded them as lowly

and unfitting for gentlemanly conduct.

Subsequent dynasties saw an intensification

of this attitude, and after the Song and

Yuan periods the majority of Confucian

scholar-bureaucrats opposed all forms of

physical competitions philosophers of

the Li school in particular espoused the

notion that action should be replaced

by stillness (yi dong bu ru yi jing

), and regarded young men

engaging in physical activities as a sign

of deviancy. Social prejudices, combinedwith official intervention and prohibition,

led to proscription of all kinds of physical

competitions including dragon-boat racing,

which was at one stage patronized by

the Song court, and extended to all types

of contact sports such as wrestling and

grappling (zhengjiao ), bare-handed

martial arts (shoubo ), staff-fighting

(dabang), and football (tiqiu ).

In time, espousal for civility and literary

cultivation became dislocated and evolved

into a cultural prejudice against all martial

and physical activities. Lacking support from

official authorities and local magnates,

popular physical culture was relegated to

a subsistence zone and appeared in public

only as festive entertainment.

By comparison, physical culture was valued

to a much greater degree in non-Han

societies, where aspects of physical culture

had evolved out of productive activities in

herding, hunting, and fishing, and steadily

developed as their skills and traditions were

passed down the generations. In thesesocieties, individuals were not restricted in

their behavior with such severity by feudal

conventions and ritual etiquette, while

riding, archery, wrestling, and trials of

strength were part and parcel of everyday

life in production and war, and provided

their chief mains of entertainment. In this

way, the minority ethnic groups played a

vital role in the development of Chinas

indigenous physical culture, particularly in

periodic episodes when China was overrun

A dragon boat race in the Pearl River, photographtaken in the 1940s

Etched figures of Chinese wrestlers in the Qing

period, original copy in the National Palace Museum


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and conquered by alien hosts. In each

instance, dynamic clash of cultures and

values gradually gave way to a fusion

between Chinese and the barbarians (hua

yi hun yi ), which injected vitality

and diversity into Chinas physical tradition,

and in time became one of its defining

characteristics. On the other hand, Han

populations continued to hold an absolute

numerical advantage over other ethnic

groups in the social order, and anti-martial

sentiments as represented by the popular

phrase applauding literary cultivation

while belittling martial attainment (zhongwen qing wu ) continued to

affect the denouement of indigenous

physical culture and hindered its technical

and theoretical developments. Therefore,

in spite of ancient Chinas extraordinarily

diverse physical culture, in the vast ocean

of historical texts and literature there is a

dearth of writings that deal meaningfully

with the subject, with perhaps the

exceptions of martial arts and archery. As

a historian and a Chinese philologist, this

phenomenon has deeply impressed upon

my mind and is a constant cause of regret

in moments of reflection.

Fortunately, after several millennia of

uneven development and in the aftermath

of Western sports forceful introduction

into China, a number of ancient exercises

manage to survive and occupy important

positions in popular culture. Some of

them are practiced for health reasons and

entertainment value, while others have

transcended local origins to become national

pastimes. In particular, in remote areas

where modern sports facilities are absent,

traditional exercises provide a welcome

means for body training and relaxation,

and allow unnamed multitudes to enjoy thebenefits of physical and mental exercise.

In many ways, Chinas indigenous physical

culture is an important medium through

which its cultural values and humanist spirit

are channeled, as for instance the spirit of

humility (xierang jinsheng ), ii the

stress on maintaining balance and harmony,

and the dual goals of cultivating physical

and mental wellbeing through exercise.

Indeed, such traditional values continue

to have significant, pragmatic relevance

for todays rapidly changing Chinese

Reconstructing the Indigenous Physical Culture in China

Illustrations of Chinese body exercises from the text, Health Practices of the Thirteen Taibao


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Summer 2009 11

and a prevalent trend of superficiality

continued to seriously undermine the

development of indigenous sports. An

example of this was the creation of

competition wushu, which was supported

and monopolized by the official governing

body. In significant ways, however, China

took a positive approach in meeting the

society, and significantly contribute to the

undiminished vitality of Chinas indigenous

physical culture.

Over the last century China has undergone

a painful process of modernization, and

its indigenous physical culture has likewise

been set on a twisted road laden with

obstacles.

From the late Qing onwards, against the

onset of Western imperialism and modern

sports, a generation of Chinese pioneers

endeavored to construct a nationalphysical regime. It is true there were

many setbacks along the way, but in the

end, through untiring experimentations

and after overcoming many failures, they

managed to achieve concrete results.

However, as the country was beleaguered

by external invasion and internal turmoil,

and experienced political upheaval over

a protracted period, many problems

encountered in Chinese physical cultures

modernizing process were not satisfactory

dealt with. Misguidance and mishandling

of important issues often became the norm

Chinas mostimportant educator,Confucius, advocatedboth literary and

martial cultivations,and was himselfproficient in the artsof charioting andarchery, which heincorporated as twoof the six arts in hiscurriculum.

Figure from a martial arts manual published during

the Qing Dynasty


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an inadequate theoretical framework.

Furthermore, longterm planning and

a consistent policy were absent in the

organization of events. In this way, several

decades have passed without any significant

reforms, and Chinas indigenous physical

culture has largely remained stagnant, a

non-descript jumbled heap which is neither

ancient nor modern, neither indigenous nor

Western, which continues to play second

fiddle to mainstream sports, and has failed

to develop into a cohesive system.

All in all, even though China has achieved

outstanding results on the stage of

international sports under the current

centralized system, its indigenous physical

culture remains in a very unsatisfactorycondition with a worrying prospect for the

future. Even today we cannot present a

complete image of Chinas native physical

culture to the world. On the other hand,

that such an ancient civilization has nothing

to show for our physical heritage, which

remains obscure, seems to have largely

eluded researchers attention. In this

regard we lag behind Japan, and even

Korea. Hitherto, none of the signature

competitive events in Chinas physical

traditions, such as wrestling, archery,

dragon-boat racing, martial arts, etc., has

been included in the Olympics. In fact,

some of them are not even included in the

National Games. Indeed, given how little

we value our indigenous physical tradition,

it is unsurprising that others have given it

such scant attention. There is not a single

Chinese event in the Olympics to this day.

Although this need not be our goal it

necessarily remains a regret, particularly as

our Eastern neighbors, Japan and Korea,

have succeeded where we have failed.

We can affect equanimity and continue

to ignore the facts while our press keeps

silent on the subject, but I personally feel

this is far more distressing than the fact our

national soccer team has failed to make an

impact beyond Asia.

The fact the reconstruction of Chinas

indigenous physical culture remains

incomplete to this day, and continues to

subsist in a state of fragmentation and

confusion, signifies it has not truly made

the transition into modernity. Substantial


challenge and actively copied the model

of Western competitive sports. Moreover,

tremendous efforts were exerted to

guide physical education in China toward

international standards, incorporating many

new elements that did not previously exist

in China. But at the same time we have

to admit that we never successfully found

a middle ground between indigenous

and Western physical cultures, giving

insufficient thought to the proper relation

between the two, and failed to find a way

to fuse disparate cultural elements into an

organic whole. Instead, a general trend

of Westernization prevailed in society,

and indigenous culture was often hastily

brushed aside to make way for new

foreign elements, with irreparable culturallosses. Serious research was lacking for

the evaluation, dissemination, and creative

development of indigenous physical

culture, and the academic discipline

specifically created for its study suffered

many weaknesses, including superficiality,

lack of interdisciplinary perspective, and

Tang Dynasty xiangpu wrestlers, from a mural painting in one of the scripture-ghrottos in Dunhuang


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Summer 2009 13

theoretical research and reflection is

required, great adjustments need to be

made, and a resolute spirit of reform

is needed, to mould its theoretical and

technical structures into a mature and

complete system. I believe this is the most

urgent task facing contemporary Chinese

sports, whose fulfillment will go some

way to answering the call for diversity in

global physical culture, and will represent a

significant step forward in reviving Chinas

national heritage.

One Traditional Structure of Chinas

Indigenous Physical Culture

The so-called indigenous physical culture

of China refers to the native physical andsports tradition in China which are clearly

distinct from Western sports and the physical

traditions of other countries. iii In the first half

of the twentieth century (1911-1949) when

Western sports were being introduced into

China, some people referred to the original

physical culture that existed in China as

indigenous physical education (tu tiyu

).

Chinas indigenous physical culture is often

referred to as a dense cultural system

with a complex structure because it is

the crystallized product of a long process

of exchange between different societies

and cultures. Of all these activities, the

most significant were inter-ethnic cultural

exchanges, but also included regional

cultural exchanges within China as well

as intercourse between China and foreign

states. These exchanges took many forms

and often occurred through military conflict.

Over the course of several millennia, the

fusion of cultures may be compared to

diverse rivers and streams converging into

a single confluence that finally enters the

sea. In such a way, a multitude of cultural

streams poured into the ocean that is the

Chinese civilization. Therefore, even though

Chinese culture and in particular its

physical tradition may appear prima facie

to be the product of a single society, upon

closer examination it reveals its complex and

multiple cultural origins, whose marks can

readily be found in such classical physical

events as polo, archery, and wrestling.

In many ways, inter-ethnic cultural exchangeis a familiar notion whereas the idea ofCompetitions at the 8th National Minority Games, held in Guangzhou in 2007

Top; Jianzi (shuttlecock)


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intercourse between China and foreign

states is rather less so, as the latter is seldom

mentioned by Chinese scholars. In fact,

long before Western sports propagated into

China, Chinas indigenous physical culture

already contained foreign elements, and

bore evidence to an on-going process of

cultural exchange and cross-fertilization.

Despite the closed-door policy pursued over

extended periods, the flow of information

and material goods between China and

the outside world was never completely

cut off and persisted through diverse

channels. Taking for example the native

martial arts heritage, which is commonly

regarded asguocui (the national arts

of China)1, its development was shaped

by diverse cultural influences from theIndian sub-continent, Asia Minor, as well as

Central Asia more specifically, Chinese

martial arts were influenced by Buddhist

and Islamic cultures. The Ming Dynasty

witnessed large-scale popularization of the

martial arts and a concomitant blossoming

of different schools and styles. Indeed, it

was during this period that martial arts

made an incipient transition into a sport.

During this period, both military and popular

martial arts absorbed elements of Japanese

swordsmanship, as well as sword techniques

imported from Egypt.iv Later, Western sports

transmission into China brought about a

wave of exchanges between China and the

West in physical culture, which appeared

on the surface to be a one way commerce.

In reality, however, incremental numbers of

Chinese migrants brought their indigenous

physical traditions to foreign countries,

and in the process of setting up overseas

Chinese communities they created a global

platform to showcase Chinas physical

heritage. In time, martial arts, dragon-dance,

lion-dance, dragon-boat racing, walking

on stilts (caigaoqiao ), etc., came

to symbolize Chinese culture. Gradually,

foreigners started to take part in these

events and appreciated Chinese culture

through direct participation. Conversely,

Western sports were also transformed in

the process of indigenization and spawned

hybrid events that combined indigenous and

Western elements. To give an example, my

native province of Gansu is relatively remote

and obscure, but old photographs show

that around the year 1906, towards the end

1 Guo-cui literally means the quintessence of Chinese culture, however, in this context, it has the same meaning as the National Arts (guo-shu).


Over the last century China has undergonea painful process of modernization, andits indigenous physical culture haslikewise been set on a twisted road ladenwith obstacles.

A Chinese archer of the Republic period, photograph taken in October 1935 at the Jiangwan Stadium


15/108

Summer 2009 15

can basically be divided into two main

categories: to the first category belong

those which were jointly created by

different ethnic and cultural groups in

China, whereas the second category

includes the remaining events which have

a more localized identity. The former

are national in nature and belong to the

Chinese nation as a whole, while the latter

are local and often limited in dissemination.

Over the millennia, in the process of

exchange, conflict, and amalgamation

among diverse ethnic groups, a number

of major competitive events in physical

culture gradually took shape in China, v

which were created by the joint efforts of

Chinas multifarious societies and cultures,containing their wisdom and exhibiting

their cultural features. In ancient China,

political ties and diplomacy between

different social and ethnic groups were

often enforced and conducted through

physical competition, particularly between

Lion dance

of the Qing Dynasty, the city of Liangzhou

(todays Wuwei city) in western Gansu

already had a soccer team. Of course, this

in itself does not signify that soccer was

widespread. However, until the 1940s

and 1950s I know that a type of small,

compact soccer ball made of sheep-wool

called maodan (literally furry egg)

was played in local primary schools, and

competitions in maodan were often held

between different classes. Although the ball

was a lot smaller than a standard soccer ball

and the field was also smaller than a soccer

pitch, the rules were basically the same

as the English game, and the judge even

used English terms. In the interior of China,

sports events similar to maodan can still be

found in many places. It is very difficult toascertain how they came into being, but

what is certain is that they were adapted

from Western sports and indigenized

according to local conditions.

There are many extant events in Chinas

indigenous physical traditions, but they


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the polities of agrarian Chinese and the

nomads, which in the long run served to

gravitate disparate cultures and societies

closer together. In this connection,

examples abound which illustrate the

historical import of physical culture in

mediating political diplomacy, particularly

through the medium of archery rituals and

contests.

Many ethnic and cultural groups that

had participated in the creation of these

competitive events had long ago vanished

from history, lost in the crucible of Chinese

civilization, while others continue to be

represented in Chinas multi-ethnic state to

the present day, proudly preserving their

cultural distinctiveness and an independentidentity. Indeed, at different temporal

junctures in the course of history, many of

these events have disappeared. This is a

very regrettable loss. However, those that

have survived tend to be deeply rooted

in Chinas history and possess condensed

cultural substance. It is not difficult to see

from such events as wrestling, archery,

and dragon-boat racing whether in

respect of the selection of athletes, the

training methods they used, the rules and

regulations formulated for competitions,

and their educational and entertainment

values that long before Western

sports were introduced into China,

indigenous physical (sporting) activities had

independently attained a very high level of

development comparable and could easily

be accepted in the world of international

sports.

Of the surviving competitive events in

Chinas physical heritage, which ones

belong to the category of being jointly

created by its different ethnic and cultural

groups? I believe there are four main

activities as well as a number of smaller

ones. By the four main activities I mean

martial arts, archery, wrestling, and dragon-

boat racing.

It needs to be pointed out here that China

historically had a rich and varied tradition

of ball games, which included cuju 2, polo , chuiwan3, etc. Taking

cuju as an example, it was a popular game

with a solid social foundation in the SongJianzi (shuttlecock)

A nobleman on horseback holding a bow for shooting pellets, hand-scroll painting by Qian Xuan



17/108

Summer 2009 17

period, and attained a relatively mature level

of development. We could even glimpse

aspects of how it was played from related

literature. Unfortunately, it was banned in

the early Ming Dynasty, and even though it

was revived subsequently, it had by that time

transformed into a minor pastime played

only in the courtyard, until it disappeared

from history altogether. If cuju that is to

say, Chinese-style soccer still existed, it

would represent the fifth main activity in

the schema of Chinas indigenous physical

culture. Additionally, the insignificant jianz i

(shuttlecock) is also played by people of

all ages across the expanse of China, with a

trend of growing popularity in recent years.

Jianzi has a long history and a popular basis,

it can be played solo or in a group, and hasan innate competitiveness built into the

game. It is therefore a pity that jianz ilacks

proper social organization and continues

to exist as an isolated event in the popular

tradition.

There are other activities and events in

indigenous physical culture which have a

smaller radius of dissemination and a more

limited audience-base. Even so, it should be

pointed out that the majority of these events

and activities are still owned in common by

Chinas diverse cultures and ethnic groups,

and evolved out of a long history of cultural

change. They include the equestrian sports,

tug of war, weightlifting, pellet shooting

,gangzi(Chinese-style weightlifting)

, ice-skating (binxi), swing (qiuqian)

, and skipping. In 1982, the National

Minority Games (shaoshu minzu yundonghui

) was inaugurated, where

a number of erstwhile little known

competitive events made their appearance,

which included extensions and recreations

of traditional events, such as crossbow

archery, qiuqian,jianz i, etc., as well as

events culled from the traditions of other

ethnic groups, such as qianghuapao4

,zhenzhuqiu5, muqiu6, etc.

After developments over two decades and

six meets of the National Minority Games,

some of these competitive events gradually

approach maturity and are in the process of

developing into national competitive events.

In addition, under the National Physical

Exercise Movement (

quanmin

2 Cu-ju was a style of football game popular mainly during the Song dynasty.

3 Chui-wan was a popular ball game in ancient China during the Song, Jin, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties, Many scholars in China believe the modern golf game is derived from chui-wan..4 Qiang-hua-pao is a type of ball-game originating in the physical traditions of the Dong and Zhuang nationalities, and is one of the most representative competitive events in the Minority Games. It is also

known as Chinese-style rugby and its rules are based on the modern English game.

5 Zheng-zhu-qiu, literally pearl-game, originated as a Manchu game and is also a representative event in the Minority Games.6 A type of ball game popular in Islamic communities in northwest China which has been incorporated into the Minority Games.

7 A type of ball game inspired by Taiji-quan.

jianshen huodong), new methods of body

training are continually being created

throughout the country, as for example

the rapidly developing Mulanquan,

Taiji ruoqiu 7, etc., which are fast

becoming nationwide phenomena and are

even beginning to spread overseas.

At this point, it is necessary to give further

explanations on the four main competitive

events I mentioned earlier.

I will begin with archery. China has one of

the oldest archery traditions in the world.

Around 28,000 years BCE early inhabitants

of China already knew how to manufacture

and use bows and arrows, and through this

acquisition had made the first momentoustechnological leap in remote prehistory.vi In historical times, archery became an

activity of even greater socio-cultural

import, whose significance far extended

beyond a purely military role. Archery

served multiple functions in ancient China,

and beside its utility for war and hunting,

archery was very early on incorporated as

part of the official education and given a

pedagogic function. Indeed, archery was

the earliest form of exercise to partake of

the nature of sport in China. Different

types and practices of archery rites and

touhu (tossing arrows into a vase) in

the Western Zhou period, various methods

of archery contest such as boshe and

dushe popular from the Han and Wei

Dynasties onwards, diverse competitive

archery activities such as willow shooting

(sheliu ) in the Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan,

and Ming Dynasties, and various styles of

archery competitions such as yuanshe

, pingshe , tongshe , zhunshe

, etc, all exhibited typical sports

characteristics. In the Three Kingdomsperiod, the emperor of Wei, Cao Pei, was

It needs to be pointed out here thatChina historically had a rich and variedtradition of ball games


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fond of archery and riding in his youth,

whose passion remained undiminished [to

the end of his life], chasing wild beasts

over tens of li, and frequently practiced

at shooting targets from over a hundred

paces, in order to maintain his health and

keep up his spirits.vii It is worth remarking

that the reference here to maintain his

health and keep up his spirits (ri duo

ti jian, xin mei bu yan

) makes a claim about the value of

archery for bodily and mental health,

and shows in the clearest possible way

that the ancient Chinese understood and

recognized the value of physical exercise.

Eventually, the health (sport) element in

archery practice extended to other forms

of physical exercise. On this basis, I believearchery is the leading competitive event in

the realm of Chinas traditional sports,

which for several thousand years walked

at the forefront of Chinas indigenous

physical culture, and continued to extend

the scope of its activity and influence until

it finally formed an independent discipline

archery studies (shexue ).

In the history of Chinese archery, a

division occurred early on between

barbarian methods (hushe ) and

Chinese methods (hanshe ); and after

the appearance of the crossbow, a further

distinction may be drawn between northern

and southern styles (in respect of both

equipment and techniques), which reflect

inter-ethnic and inter-regional cultural

differences. On the other hand, not only

was a clear boundary impossible to draw

between barbarian and Chinese techniques,

the two maintained constant interaction

and continued to influence each other

throughout Chinese history, absorbing the

best features from each others tradition

until they finally merged into one. Beginning

with King Zhao Wulins reform to wearbarbarian clothes and practice riding and

archery in the Warring States Period,viii to

developments after the Tang Dynasty when

standards for horseback and foot-archery

became increasingly refined in official martial

examinations, activities in archery exchange

between China and its barbarian neighbors

never ceased, until an ultimate model of

Chinese-style archery finally took shape

in the Qing Dynasty, as represented by

horseback and foot-archery practices in

martial examinations of the Qing period.

Therefore, Chinese-style archery has not

only been a major component in Chinas

physical tradition since ancient times,

it embodies the very process of cultural

intercourse and fusion among Chinas

diverse ethnic groups, and that its practices

in particular, the notion of she bu zhu

pi (archery practice whose aim

is not to hit the target) and the tradition

to she y i guan de (observe

virtue through archery practice)ix made

manifest the archetypal humanist spirit in

the Eastern physical (sporting) traditions.

It is regrettable that from 1959, after

China accepted the international standards

of archery practice and competition,

competitive events in Chinese-style

archery came to a complete halt. After

several decades of desuetude Chinas

ancient tradition of archery studies has

basically discontinued, archery rituals

have disappeared, and the craft of making


Illustrations of jiaodi, a form of ancient

wrestling in a tomb painting from theWeijin period


19/108

Summer 2009 19

traditional bow and arrows and other

supplementary equipment is all but lost.

Today, it would be no mean task to recover

this ancient system of physical culture and

re-discover its traditional ritual formulas.x

Next, let us discuss Chinese-style wrestling.

Wrestling and barehanded combat is

humans most primitive and universal urge

to exercise, and represents our ancestorsearliest and most important means to

express vitality and fullness of life. Ancient

exercises in wrestling and grappling existed

in every society throughout the world

and came in a variety of forms. In China,

wrestling developed through a long and

complex process, beginning withjiaol i

in the pre-Qin period, tojiaodi during

the Qin and Han Dynasties, and gradually

took shape asxiangpu between

Wei-Jin and Tang-Song Dynasties, whose

form is preserved in the sumo tradition

of Japan today. Then, after a new wave

of cultural and demographic influx in the

Song and Yuan Dynasties, a distinctive new

style of wrestling known as zhengjiao

appeared. Finally, under Manchu rulers

patronage and promotion in the Qing

Dynasty, a team of professional wrestlers

in the imperial service the shanpu ying

camp created a complete system

of wrestling which became the basis for

Chinese-style wrestling.xi As most historical

records about wrestling techniques tend tobe crude and unclear, and because ancient

writers were wont to employ fancy phrases

of obscure meaning and often used different

names for the same techniques, it is difficult

to make sense of the primary sources, which

often leaves the reader with the feeling

he is gazing at a flower through the mist.

However, in reality one needs only carefully

examine the documents and compare textual

records with surviving iconography and

archaeological data, to gain a clearer view

of the developmental pattern of Chinese

wrestling. In my opinion, of all the different

Montreal mixed team at the 2008 Boston Dragon Boat Festival, picture provided by the Dragon Boat Committee

types of wrestling in the world, Chinese-

style wrestling has the longest history and

attained the most mature development.

It is a product of cultural intercourse over

an extended period, which manifests

distinctive characteristics of the Chinese

civilization, and is stylistically representative

of East Asias physical culture.

Xiangpu of ancient China transmitted to

Japan in the east and is preserved theretoday as a living national monument.

Wrestling techniques of the Qing court

also had a profound influence on Chinas

neighbours: it is a well-known fact that

Japans judo , which has become an

Olympics sport, owes its development to

Chinese-style wrestling.

Third, let us turn our attention to dragon-

boat racing.

In ancient times dragon-boat racing was

calledjingdu (literally, competition


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Chinese martial artists performing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

in crossing) and was known under a host

of different names. Various hypotheses

have also been put forward for its genesis

but these speculations need not concern

us here. Dragon-boat racing is the longest

living water sport with the widest scope of

dissemination in China. Nowadays, dragon-

boat racing has spread to different corners

of the world, including Germany, and

participation is no longer limited to Chinese

competitors but include athletes from

many countries. From the point of view of

dragon-boat racings international influence

and recognition, it is undoubtedly the most

successful sport in all of Chinas indigenous

sports. And the esprit de corps expressed

in a dragon-boat race, as well as the joy

and festive atmosphere of the occasion,

powerfully conveys Chinas distinctive

sporting spirit. For these reasons, dragon-

boat racing has been embraced globally

and is now one of the most visible symbols

for Chinese national sports. Indeed, I

believe China would have had a betterchance of success if it had chosen to apply

dragon-boat racing as an official Olympics

event in place of competition wushu (jingj i

wushu ), and in certain ways the

representative value of dragon-boat racing

is greater. Unfortunately, this idea obviously

did not occur to those in charge.

Finally we should consider the martial arts.

As the most popular and widely practiced

form of exercise in China, the reason I have

chosen to talk about it last is because its

present condition is disappointing in many

ways.

Wushu has a huge support-base in China.

For a long time it received the greatest

attention from the government and has

been a regular event in both the National

Games and the Asian Games. Over the

last few years, Chinese from all over the

world had hoped with great anxiety and

anticipation that wushu would be accepted

into the holy Olympics sanctuary, to

remedy Chinese sports regrettable absencefrom the biggest international stage of


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Summer 2009 21

sports all these years. Unfortunately, the

applications to enter wushu as a formal

event and as an exhibition in the 2008

Beijing Olympics were both turned down by

the International Olympics Committee, and

thus the international wushu competition

organized by the Chinese governing body

during the summer games had no relation

whatsoever with the actual Olympic Games.

This represents a major setback for the

international development of Chinese

martial arts, for the last time they were

exhibited on the greatest global stage was

back in 1936 at the 11th Berlin Olympics.

As I have always maintained, martial arts

are priceless gems in Chinas physical

cultural heritage, which were createdthrough the sustained efforts of diverse

ethnic groups over many centuries.xii However, with a little care we would

discover that the current competition

wushu only came into being in the 1950s,

when traditional forms of martial arts

competition were rejected in a social

environment dominated by extreme left

winged politics. At the time, the historical

name of changquan was borrowed for its

use, although in reality this new type of

martial arts performance bears no relation

whatever with the historical changquan,

and is in fact a standardized form which

integrated popular martial arts styles

(principally huaquan). As for the so called

competition, the outcome is determined

through an adjudication process of set-

performance, in lieu of traditional agonistic

competition. This type of competition

is modeled on gymnastics, but without

the same stringent guidelines for point-

scoring based on rigorous scientific criteria.

As a result, many problems exist in the

adjudication process, which has elicited

strong criticisms from an early stage in

it should be pointed out that the majority of theseevents and activities are still owned in common byChinas diverse cultures and ethnic groups, andevolved out of a long history of cultural change

modern wushus development. Since

antiquity Chinese martial arts have placed

an equal demand on set-performance

and combat training and emphasized the

integral relationship between the two,

stressing that one shouldxian zi wu, hou

bi shi (first dance on his

own, then engage in competitive matches),

which included matches in both empty-

handed and armed martial arts. Generally

speaking, the competitor would first

perform a routine set, and would progress

to an agonistic match if he passed here

too, different grades were given to set

performance, but that was point scoring

and not a competitive match, for the latter

could only be resolved by victory or defeat.

Throughout the course of Chinese historycompetitive martial arts matches never took

the form of set-performance, for it was

deemed too abstract and could not truly

determine the difference in skills between

practitioners. Competition wushus

monopoly over an extended period has

inadvertently led to Chinese martial arts

being bifurcated into two disjointed parts

competition wushu and traditional

martial arts and later spawned a third

component of sanda (which should not

be confused withsanshou), which is an

extension of competition wushu, but is

utterly unrelated to the purely performance-

based wushu. In the end, competition

wushu andsanda went separate ways and

engendered a second partition in Chinese

martial arts. The contemporary situation of

Chinese martial arts is extremely confusing,

which is facing a shrinking market and an

encroaching threat posed by mysticism.

No ready solution is available to solve this

quandary, and we can only put our faith in

time, hoping that the governing body will

introduce reforms that will address these

issues at root levels.

In any case, archery, wrestling, dragon-

boat racing, and martial arts are the

four pillars of Chinas indigenous

physical culture, which have stood the

test of time and retained a strong vitality.

One of the most salient characteristics of

these four activities is that they have long

ago developed into complete systems,

which combine performance aspects with

competitive elements, exhibit rich and

varied modes of expression, with mature

theoretical and technical frameworks, and

possess a rich literary tradition that has

formed the basis for present-day research.

Some of these activities are popular in China

and overseas communities, and are receiving

increasing attention from international

scholars in sports science and other relateddisciplines. However, some of these events

have been neglected or marginalized, while

others have been set on the wrong path in

the process of development and promotion.

Nonetheless, looking at it in a long-term

perspective, these physical activities have

deep-rooted foundations and I believe in

time they will again shine with true colors,

and contribute to enriching the international

sports scene.

Two Reviewing the Guoshu

Experiment

The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal

Dynasty in China, and it was under Manchu

rule that Chinas indigenous physical culture

reached its ultimate form. Most of the

surviving native physical traditions in China,

as well as the framework of traditional

Chinese physical culture, were completed

during the Qing period. In significant ways,

therefore, the Qing Dynasty represents a

key stage in the development of Chinas

indigenous physical culture when many of its


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aspects reached maturation and completion.

Let us consider a few examples.

As mentioned above, Chinese-style wrestling

has a long history with many guises and

forms in diverse dynastic periods, which

finally developed into a homogeneous

system in the Qing Dynasty. The shanpu

ying () camp was established in the

Qing period as early as the emperor Kangxis

reign, together with the boke system and

a series of important tournaments, which

often took place under the emperors direct

supervision . This system integrated the

techniques and traditions of different ethnic

and regional wrestling styles, including

Mongolian-style wrestling, Manchu-style

wrestling, as well as various wrestling styles

such as the Mongols who had a strong

tradition in wrestling. Theshanpu ying

camp was composed of the best athletes

from different cultural and ethnic groups,

and likewise techniques in Chinese-style

wrestling were multicultural in origin,

as manifest in the synonymous name of

jiaoban ( ). Towards the end of Qing,

shanpu ying camp was disbanded, and over

a hundred boke wrestlers were scattered

into society, which had a significant impact

on popularizing wrestling. From that point

on, wrestling descended from the imperial

court to the popular domain, transmitting to

southern parts of China during the Republic,

and subsequently diffused to overseas

communities. xiii


zi,shi dun zi8 () became

popular forms of physical exercise in urban

centers in Qing-period China. For a while

shepu (archery ground ),gongjianfang

(archery chamber ), bashifang

(trainers chamber ) and other arenas

for martial practice were set up throughout

the empire and many professional martial

artists made their living from teaching these

skills. All in all, Chinese-style archery has a

long and complex history and, like Chinese-

style wrestling, took a definitive form and

acquired the characteristics of sport in the

Qing Dynasty.

Beside wrestling and archery, the same

also holds true for martial arts and

dragon-boat racing, as well as a host

We should also consider the example

of archery. Historically, archery has

taken many different forms and styles

from ritual, costume, personal

adornments, related gifts, training

methods, examination, competition, and

performance, its contents have changed

significantly over time. However, only

in the Qing Dynasty did a united form

of Chinese-style archery with distinctive

competitive features finally emerge, which

became an important part of court culture

and a popular form of exercise among

the upper social classes. This undoubtedly

has to do with the fact the Manchus

were ethnic minorities who originated

from the northern hinterland, and that

archery played a decisive role in their

conquest of the Middle Kingdom. But

an even more significant factor was the

strict implementation of official martial

examinations in the Qing period. As a

result of the martial examinations, archery

and weightlifting including the wieldingof a heavy sword (dadao ),shi zhi

of other physical activities such as the

equestrian sports, ice skating, swimming,

and weightlifting, which underwent a

fundamental transformation during the

Qing period into sports. In Qing Dynasty,

the most important representatives of

Chinas indigenous sports were the martial

arts, archery, wrestling, and dragon-boat

racing, which embodied the spirit of Chinas

physical culture. These events promoted

traditional values through competition,

espoused the precept toyangshen jiant i

( improve mental and bodily

health), promoted the idea of relaxation

and pleasure through exercise, and extolled

the ideal of harmony and humility, by

stressing the importance of spirit rather

than focusing on the results. In particular,

the creation of Taijiquan led to a new

model of martial arts competition that

emphasizes aspects of leisure and health .

This indeed represents a leap in martial arts

development and a physical extension of

Eastern Daoist philosophy.

practiced by the Han Chinese, to create an

ultimate form of Chinese-style wrestling.

Many different terms were used during the

Qing period, such as liaojiao (), liaojiao

(),guanjiao (),shuaijiao (),

and shuaijiao (), but the fundamental

skills and competition rules were the same.

More important, a distinctive wrestling

culture developed under court patronage

which embraced different aspects of

wrestling, including costume, rituals,

selection of athletes, techniques, teaching

methods, equipment, and competition

regulations. Wrestling matches and

performance made up an integral part of

important court celebrations, and served

vital political functions in Qing rulers

diplomatic relationship with various ethnic

groups, particularly the northern peoples

8 They are both types of stone-weight used for body conditioning.

As I have always maintained, martial artsare priceless gems in Chinas physicalcultural heritage, which were createdthrough the sustained efforts of diverseethnic groups over many centuries.


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Summer 2009 23

Ritual archery in the Ming court from Yangzheng tujie (Ming Dynasty)


24/108

When Western sports started to filter

into China from the end of the

Qing Dynasty, they first established

a foothold in the coastal cities and later

spread to the interior. Around the year 1900,

competitive Western sports such as track

and field, gymnastics, and ball games, were

played in missionary schools throughout

the country. Under their influence, many

public and private schools gradually adopted

Western sports in their curriculum. In

this process, the Young Mens Christian

Association (YMCA), whose first branch in

China was established in 1876 in Shanghai,

played a particularly significant part in

subsequent promotion and dissemination of

Western sports. Its contributions included

building the first modern stadium in China,and organizing some of the earliest sports

tournaments in the country, such as in

Tianjin and Shanghai in 1902; and even

more noteworthy, YMCA was responsible for

creating Chinas first National Games, which

was held under the old regime in Shanghai

in 1910. Further, in a series of public

promulgations on education policies in

1902 and 1903, namely, Imperial Decreed

Charter for Schools (popularly known as the

1902 School Regime) and Regulations

Governing Higher Education, the Qing

government laid down clear guidelines for

the development of physical education at

different levels, which signified physical

education had already officially been

incorporated into the domain of education.

On the eve of the 1911 Revolution, many

competitive events in Western sports had

already entered China, and theories and

ideas about Western physical culture and

competition, particularly in respect of

physical education and physical education

based on militarism were well known and

widely disseminated in China.xiv

In the 1920s and 1930s when Western

sports had come to successfully dominate

mainstream physical culture in China, a

number of pioneers, led by martial artists,

attempted to counteract this trend by

constructing their own system of physical

education. This led to the so-called battle

between indigenous and Western sports.xv Representatives of the indigenous

physical tradition undoubtedly included

conservative elements who voiced narrow

jingoist ic v iews, but we should also

acknowledge their dedicated commitment to

espousing the cause of indigenous physical

culture. Under Western sports dominance,

indigenous traditions fell into increasing

neglect and marginalization, and faced

a very real threat of discontinuation. At

this time, a number of farsighted pioneers

proposed to reform indigenous sports

based on the Western model, taking lessons

from Japans experience in protecting and

developing native sports, in order to select

representative competitive events in Chinasindigenous tradition and re-organize them

into a complete system, which could be put

on the same track as international modern

sports. However, restricted by contemporary

circumstances and the reformers own

limitations, particularly their lack of

theoretical training and knowledge, major


Hanging scroll painting Four items of Performance at the Royal Dinner preserved at the Palace Museum, Beijing


25/108

Summer 2009 25

obstacles stood in the way of development,

leading to a series of miscalculations and

mistakes, and the reform in indigenous

physical culture stagnated for a time in

the quagmire of nationalism. However,

overall these explorations were meaningful

exercises that remain valuable as case

studies and points of reference. Personally,

I believe that among the many different

experimental models adopted in private

and official initiatives, the national arts

(guoshu) project directed by Mr. Zhang

Zhijiang achieved the most outstanding

results and had the most far-reaching

influence.xvi Today, we should review this

historical precedent with due respect and

try to learn from its experience.

The construction of Zhang Zhijiangs guoshu

system revolved around a central precept,

that practice and agonistic competitions

should exist side by side, and technical

knowledge should be acquired at the same

time as rational understanding (lianda

bingzhong, shuxue jianbei

). This provided a concrete guideline

to developing a new system of indigenous

sports and martial arts competition the

so-called guoshu system with martial

arts at its core and surrounded by other

sports competitions. Although constrained

by contemporary circumstances, Zhang was

wholeheartedly devoted to the project,

and no effort was spared in constructing

the guoshu system. In the end he failed

to attain the lofty goals set forth at the

beginning, but we must admit that some

measures of success were achieved the

term guoshu has been etched in peoples

hearts, and his efforts left in indelible broad

strokes an important chapter in the history

of Chinas indigenous physical culture.

However, his most significant contribution

was the creation of a preliminary system

of indigenous sports with national

examinations (guokao ) in its center.

The Central Guoshu Institute founded

by Zhang Zhijiang was the first official

organization in China to regulate and

control indigenous sports. He brought in

talents from around the nation and formed

a team of experts in indigenous physical

culture. With their support and based on

the models of Western sports and reformed

Japanese martial arts, he restructured the

chaotic popular martial arts competitions

into a framework ofyipin sanbi

(one performance and three matches),

which included one set-performance

(and point-scoring) and a series of three

competitive matches insanshou

(barehanded combat), duanbing

(short weapon), and changbing (long

weapon). Under this new system, athletes

could enter a single or multiple events . It

is true that many flaws were still present

in this system of martial arts competition

known as the guoshu examination

(guoshu kaoshi ) as experience

was lacking, and considerable problems

existed in respect of regulation, safety

facilities, and the standard of training.However, I am inclined to think that it was

heading in the right general direction, as

it was anchored in the ancient tradition to

first [engage in] solo dance [practice] and

afterwards a competitive match (xian zi

wu, hou bi shi), and drew

ideas from the successful experience of

Western sports. If it had been supported by

adequate funds, and was given sufficient

time to develop and evolve, I strongly

believe that theguoshu system would have

been a success.

The guoshu proposed by Zhang Zhijiang

belongs to the same category as national

painting (guohua ), national

medicine (guoyi), and national

music (guoyue ), which emphasize

their indigenousness and are conceptually

distinct from martial arts (wushu )

or new martial arts (xin wushu ).

As stated above, the principal distinction

between the national arts (guoshu )

and martial arts (wushu) lies in the fact the

former is not a single sport, but a system

of sports with agonistic competitions in

bare-handed and weapon- fighting in

its core. From technical classification to

management principles, from theoretical

structure to competition rules, it forms

a preliminary, self-containing system.

Even though certain flaws may be found

within this system, and certain problems

had appeared during implementation,

we must acknowledge that under the

conditions of the time, it was a structure

that best represented Chinese sports and

The Qing Dynasty

represents akey stage in thedevelopment ofChinas indigenousphysical culturewhen many of itsaspects reached

maturation andcompletion.


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their principal expression in the Republican

period.

It is a well known fact that the guoshu

examination was one of the main activities

organized by the Central Guoshu Institute,and represented the most important form

of competition in guoshu. Regulations for

National Arts Examinations (guoshu kaoshi

tiaoli ) and Detailed Rules

(xize ) specified that examinations at

the national, provincial, and county levels

be divided into separate academic and

technical examinations, and thereby upheld

the Confucian tradition of placing equal

emphasis on literary and martial cultivation.

For our purpose, it is unnecessary to

dilate further on the academic aspect. The

technical examination, on the other hand,

was in reality an open guoshu competition

and was divided into the preliminary and

official stages. The official examination

was further separated into preliminary,

second, and final rounds. There were five

weight categories in the preliminary test,

and participants were matched up by draw

to engage in examinations in four different

subjects, comprising empty-handed combat,

wrestling, and bayonet competition, and

progressed by elimination into the second

and final rounds, with three competitorsremaining in the last phase of competition.

For various reasons, the development of the

guoshu examination was very uneven across

the country and national level examinations

(guokao) only occurred twice. Nevertheless,

it cannot be denied that the guoshu

examination made significant contributions

to promoting indigenous physical culture.

The first national examinations

(guokao ) held in Nanjing in

October in the seventeenth year

of the Republic (1928) was experimental

in many ways. Participants had to

first go through a preliminary round

of competition, which consisted of

performance in routine sets in dao

(single-edged sword), qiang (spear),jian

(double-edged sword),gun (staff)

and quan (boxing), and were allowed to

engage in agonistic matches only after they

had passed the first round. Agonistic events

included sanshou, duanbing, changbing,

and wrestling, etc. By the second national

examinations in Nanjing in the twenty-

second year of the Republic (1933), the

competitive procedure followed closely the

guidelines set forth in the Regulations and

Detailed Rules. Beside the two national

examinations, many provincial cities also

held local competitions, with adjustments

in competitive events across regions, but

fundamentally following the regulations of

the Central Guoshu Institute.

The structural composition of guoshu was

varied and included many independent

events in traditional martial arts that had


survived in the popular domain. There

were performances in a variety of empty

handed and weapon styles, agonistic

matches in unarmed and weapon combat,

wrestling events which had enjoyed acomplementary relation with the martial

arts since antiquity as well as other

competitive activities that are intimately

related to traditional martial arts such as

archery, pellet-shooting (dangong),jianz i,

and weight-lifting. These events were

integral parts of the Central Institutes

training and dissemination at different

levels, and were incorporated into the

national arts activities at schools. At

the sixth National Games in Shanghai in

the twenty-fourth year of the Republic

(1935),guoshu was included in the official

competitions, and was represented by six

individual events includingsanshou,

weapons, wrestling, archery, pellet-

shooting, and tijian which were selected

on the basis of practical considerations.

Limited by the standard of the guoshu

at the time, the majority of athletes only

entered a single or two competitive events,

though a few athletes did enter multiple

events, such as Yang Weibu from Qingdao

who competed in wrestling, weightlifting,

archery, and boxing, and Wang Zhi, amember of the Zhejiang team, who took

part in boxing, weapons, wrestling, and

archery competitions. It is also worth

mentioning that a number of well known

The construction of Zhang Zhijiangs guoshu system revolvedaround a central precept, that practice and agonisticcompetitions should exist side by side.


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Summer 2009 27

contemporary martial artists such as Tong

Zhongyi, Wang Ziping, Jiang Rongjiao,

and Wu Junshan were both martial arts

and wrestling judges at the sixth National

Games, as many accomplished martialartists at the time were also skilled in

wrestling. The following year a team

of Chinese martial artists attended the

eleventh Olympics at Berlin in Germany,

where they performedjianz iand feicha

beside martial arts demonstrations.

About seven or eight years ago, I put

forward the proposal to reviewguoshu,xvii

which I hoped would persuade the

governing body in China to discard old

prejudices and convince them of the need

to broaden their horizon, carefully consider

the successes and failures that had occurred

in the development of contemporary martial

arts, and seriously consider whether there

is anything worthy of study and emulation

in the guoshu experiment. Regretfully,

I did not receive any response, neither

affirmation nor refutation, as if nothing

had happened. A few years later, those

who had been in charge at the governing

body silently departed from the scene and

were taken over by new officials. For a time

w

Documents

Journal of Chinese Martial Studies