Wushu or Martial Arts
Wushu, Chinese martial arts, known in the West as kongfu,
is a traditional folk sport characterized by various
barehand and armed combat techniques.
Wushu has a long history. Far back in primitive society
about four thousand years ago, hard living conditions
compelled the ancient people to use their stone and
wooden tools as weapons to hunt and to defend themseles.
Their fighting skills with bare hands and in using weapons
formed the basis of primitive wushu. During the Shang
(c. 16th-11th century BC) and Zhou (c. 11th century-221
BC) dynasties, with the development of productive forces,
especially that of the techniques in bronze casting,
the variety of weapons increased and their quality improved.
In the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), wushu became quite
popular. A wushu competition, held in the spring of
108 BC, attracted thousands of spectators. Through competitions
wushu further developed. There appeared various forms
of martial arts such as sword-play, broadsword-play
and halberd-play. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907)
both military men and scholars were required to practise
wushu. Sword-play was often performed at parties and
other social gatherings. The boxing style of Shaolin
Temple became very popular because in the early period
of the dynasy the Shaolin monks had helped Li Shimin
(Emperor Tai Zong) conquer Wang Shichong (King of the
Zheng Kingdom); the emperor gave the temple special
permission to train monks in wushu. (TOP)
The Ming Dynast (1368-1644) saw the all-round development
of Chinese martial arts. Various boxing schools appeared,
each named after its master. In addition, scores of
routines of weapon-play movements evolved. Many high-ranking
officers and wushu masters such as Tang Shunzhi, Yu
Dayou, Zheng Ruozeng and Qi Jiguang wrote treatises
and books on wushu. Among those works two books by Qi
Jiguang are better-known; they are New Martial Arts
and Military Training Record.
In order to keep its ruling position, the government
of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) once restricted wushu
practice, but that could not prevent wushu from spreading
among the people. Many popular schools of boxing styles
including taijiquan, nanquan and
xingyiquan were formed and each had its own guiding
theories.
In spite of its rich variety, wushu has four main types:
barehanded boxing, the wielding of weapons, combat,
and collective performances. There are over one hundred
schools of boxing in the Yellow River valley area and
about eight in the Yangtze River basin. Each school
has its own characteristics. Changquan demands quickness
and valour, and it is liked by young people. Taijiquan,
characterized by its slow rhythm and gentle movements,
is suitable for people of all ages, especially elderly
people. Xingyiquan, vigorous in its balanced motions
and poised steps, is popular with young and middle-aged
people. Nanquan is wide-spread in China's southern areas.
Its practitioners utter shouts and cries now and then
to make their movements more forceful. Shaolinquan,
popular in the north, is known for its short routines
of movements and swiftness and vigour. In certain styles
such as tanglangquan (the Mantis Boxing) and zuiquan
(the Drunkard Boxing), the practitioner imitates animals
and birds as well as drunken humans.
The weapons used in wushu fall into three categories:
long weapons including spears and broadswords; short
weapons such as short swords, daggers and hooks; and
flexible weapons which include nine-section cudgels
and three-section cudgels.
All the basic movements of wushu such as dodging, turning,
tumbling, jumping, and leaping require the coordination
of the hands, the eyes, the body, and the feet. When
"combat" is practised the practitioners have
to perform with dexterity and accuracy and in such a
way as if they were in a real fight. Swift movements
should be as quick as sound, poised postures as firm
as mountains, and continuous movements as smooth and
natural as floating clouds and flowing water. (TOP)
The Hero of the Martial Arts-Huo Yuanjia
Huo Yuanjia, a name not familiar to many people, suddenly
became known to every household after a Hong Kong television
series about his life and martial arts was shown a few
years ago.
Huo Yuanjia was born into a wushu master's family in
Dongguang County south of Tianjin. His father made a
living by working as a bodyguard for wealthy people.
As little Huo Yuanjia was very weak and often ill, his
father decided not to teach him martial arts. Huo, however,
was not discouraged. He determined to take martial arts
as his career. Every day he watched his father and brothers
practise wushu and imitated them secretly in the depths
of the forest of date trees. Moved by his determination
and hard-working spirit, his father started to teach
him. In ten years, Huo learned the family's exclusive
boxing and the essentials of other schools of boxing
as well.
One day in 1890, a wushu master by the name of Du came
from Henan Province to visit Huo's father. His manner
provoked a trial of strength with the boxers of the
family. Huo's brothers competed with him but were defeated.
Then Huo fought with him. With one swift kick, Huo knocked
his opponent to the ground. Thus Huo Yuanjia became
famous in his village and the neighbouring areas.
During a performance in 1901, a Russian boxer said
something which insulted the Chinese people. When Huo
heard this, he mounted the platform and reprimanded
him severely. Scared by Huo's bravery, the Russian boxer
admitted his mistake and apologized. In the spring of
1909, an arrogant British boxer named O'Brien came to
Shanghai and announced that he was willing to have a
match with any Chinese. On learning this, Huo and his
disciple Liu Zhensheng went to Shanghai to accept the
challenge. He also advertised that he was ready to fight
any foreign boxers. Startled by Huo's fearlessness,
O'Brien left Shanghai quietly before the date of the
match. This greatly enhanced the self-confidence and
self-esteem of the Chinese people. Subsequently, Huo
thought that if the Chinese people wanted to make their
nation strong, they had to build up their bodies. For
this purpose he set up a martial arts school where he
served as the main coach. In 1910, with the school as
the basis, the Chin Woo Athletic Association was established.
Many Japanese judo wrestlers in Shanghai grudged Huo
Yuanjia his fame and success. They arranged competitions
between Huo and some of the best judo athletes from
Japan. However, all of them were defeated by his Chinese
wushu master. After attending a peace-making dinner
given by the Japanese judo wrestlers, Huo Yuanjia died
on September 14, 1910. He is believed to have been poisoned
at the banquet.
Today, in his home town, Huo's tomb has been rebuilt.
A museum and an arena for martial arts contests memorialize
Huo's heritage. (TOP)
Qigong
To followers of the yin-yang wuxing theory, everything
in the world is either yin, the nagative and feminine
force, or yang, the positive and masculine force. The
two forces complement and oppose each other. It is not
difficult to understand yin and yang, if we think of
"the complementary opposites" such as heaven
and earth, positive and negative, male and female, life
and death.
Wuxing which arises from yin-yang refers to the five
elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) and their
different characteristics. It is said that wood arises
from water and prevails over earth; fire arises from
wood and prevails over metal; earth arises from fire
and prevails over water; metal arises from earth and
prevails over wood; water arises from metal and prevails
over fire.
The five organs of the human body are compared to the
five elements and are said to behave likewise:
Liver (wood) complements the heart (fire) and opposes
the spleen (earth); the heart complements the spleen
and opposes the lungs (metal); the spleen complements
the lungs and opposes the kidneys (water); the lungs
complement the kidneys and oppose the liver, the kidneys
complement the liver and oppose the heart.
Yin-yang wuxing formulates the theory of the jing-luo
-- that the human body contains vertical trunks (jing)
and branches (luo) made up of 20 invisible passages,
12 meridians (zhengjing) and eight pulses (qijing).
They are different from the nervous system known to
modern medical students. These passages are divided
into two groups: yin and yang. In each group there are
six meridians which extend into four limbs and four
pulses which are distributed in the body. The internal
ones are called yinyang, and the external ones the yang-jing.
These meridians and pulses carry a "life force"
through the whole body. If the "life force"
cannot flow easily in the passages, the body becomes
ill. The balance of yin-yang wuxing is essential for
peace, harmony and health. Diseases and ailments of
the body occur when the balance of yin-yang wuxing is
upset. For instance, if the fire element in the heart
is too strong for the metal element in the lungs, the
physiological balance cannot be maintained. The dominance
of heart over lungs can cause the loss of weight, general
lassitude, and a pain in the chest. Qigong breathing
exercises can help restore the balance.
Since these passages are anatomically invisible, their
existence remains a matter of dispute. Although the
theory seems to "unscientific", its principles
are precise and based on a belief that man has a spiritual
as well as a physical existence.
Breathing exercise
Qigong is the Chinese terminology for the system of
breathing-control exercises. Literally, qi means "air",
which implies a "life force". Gong means an
art. Qigong is the art which benefits health and prolongs
life.
Qigong is not a religion, it is based on the philosophical
principles derived from the theory of yin-yang wuxing
in the Book of Changes. In traditional Chinese medicine,
yin refers to the tangible body and its blood circulation;
yang, the invisible qi and the spirit.
There are three stages in practising qigong:
1) Deep breathing-control
Qi moves in jing-luo, the passages of meridians and
pulses, just as blood flows through blood vessels.
The qigong state of deep breathing is similar to fetal
breathing in the womb. The fetus cannot breathe externally,
it breathes internally and there is a movement of
qi.
Breathe gently through the nostrils with mouth shut,
so as to put the qi into motion. The aim is to achieve
proper control of and the ability to trace qi in your
body. To imagine this, think of the movement of qi
as follows: First, the qi rises from the baihui (see
diagram) point and moves downward past both ears.
Next, the divisions of qi meet at the throat and separate
again at the naral and go down to the huiyin point.
After this, they separate to travel along the collar
bones to the chest. They then meet again once more
to flow along the inner legs to the feet. Finally,
they rush into the ground through the yongquan points.
2) Sitting in meditation
Sit on a stool upright with the baihui and huiyin
points on a line and your eyes downwards, imagining
they are closed. Imagine there is something over your
head at the baihui point, but don't put any force
on it. Let it go gently. Hold your legs comfortably,
stretch your arms downwards and curve your thumbs
and forefingers a little imagining that they are touching
one another. Separate the middle, ring and little
fingers gently.
There are two steps leading to meditation:
One is to remain calm and collected. This does not
mean to stop thinking, but implies making your mind
concentrate on only one thing without random thoughts.
The other is to achieve total emptiness and calmness.
This refers to a higher state of serenity, in which
one thinks of nothing.
3) Dantian gong
Apothecaries of antiquity believed that longevity
could be enjoyed if pills were prepared in a special
way, but others held that the so-called pills of longevity
were in reality in the human body. In Chinese, the
pill is known as dan. Dantian means the pill region,
a region three fingers breadth below the navel in
the lower part of the abdomen, located between the
bladder and rectum. This area is known as qihai, the
sea of air, because all the passages meet there just
as all the rivers flow into the sea.
Dantian opens when there is qi and closes when there
is none. The qi may descend into it during exhalation.
If you are able to deliver qi into dantian through
the achievement of breathing-control art, you will
be as pure as a piece of white jade and as serene
as a lake without a ripple. You will feel as light
as a feather and that the qi inside the body is linked
with the universe and is limitless as the sea and
sky. You will be imbued with a spirit as the rainbow
spanning the sky. (TOP)
Taijiquan
According to physical fitness experts, the best exercises
consist of slow, continuous and rhythmic movements.
Examples of these are walking and swimming. They also
emphasize what they call forced breathing, which exercises
the diaphrahm and increases blood flow.
With its flowing and rhythmic movements and its emphasis
on breathing, taijiquan fills the bill perfectly. Taijiquan
also calls for complete mental concentration. In fact,
at the ideal level, all Taijiquan movements originate
in teh mind. It is believed that mental concentration
can mobilize an internal energy current called, which
in turn guides the physical movements. In other words,
the movements-for instance, the lifting of an arm or
the bending of a knee-are no longer the results of conscious
physical effort but the effect of mental concentration.
It is both mental and physical exercise.
To a Westerner seeing taijiquan for the first time,
it looks like a ballet in slow motion. It consists of
a sequence of forms involving practically every part
of the body and executed in a highly stylized yet natural
manner. You stand straight but not stiff. You are relaxed.
Your body is supple but not limp. Your movements are
slow but steady, poised and powerful. The aim is to
train yourself to be physically as soft as an infant,
as resilient as a twig in the wind, sensitive to the
slightest pressure on and part of your body, and mentally
alert.
It is believer in Taijiquan that one's physical energy
originates in the feet and spread into the arms from
the waist. Thus the waist plays the role of commander-in-chief
sending energy where it is needed. Every movement of
the arms calls for close co-ordination with the waist.
This is one of the basic principle of Taijiquan, which
can be applied in everyday life-for instance, in picking
up heavy objects.
A second basic principle is synchronization of movement.
Practically all movements involve every part of the
body, though each emphasizes some specific part. The
whole Taijiquan sequence unfolds itself in a uninterrupted
continuity. There is an imperceptible pause at the end
of every form, which occurs when the various parts of
the body should come to a simultaneous stop.
While taijiquan is basically an exercise for health,
its various forms are designed for self-defense. The
foremost principle is never to attack first and, when
attacked, never to counter force with force but instead
to make use of the attacking force to defeat the attacker.
Suppose a man throws a punch at you, instead of countering
it, you dodge and grab his fist, throwing him in the
direction of his momentum. If he tries to retreat, throw
him in the opposite direction he is headed.
Taijiquan, both as exercise and as an art of self-defense,
reflects a way of life, a philosophy. The standing posture
and the movements symbolize a personality of straightforwardness
and integrity, serenity and dignity. They indicate a
man of mental balance and emotional stability as well
as physical well-being. The emphasis on suppleness and
resilience points to a friendly disposition and absence
of aggressiveness. The coordination and synchronization
of movements illustrate a basic attitude toward one's
work and responsibility, thoroughness, whole heartedness
and diligence.
In summary, taijiquan aims at developing a wholesome
man (within himself), a friendly man (toward others).
A conscientious man (about his work and his responsibility)
- a man at peace with himself and with the world.
Taijiquan is a form of shadow boxing. It was created
by a martial arts master of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Wangting.
Chen was a general and a government official of the
Ming Dynasty and originally came from the town of Chenjiagou
in Henan Province. Chen had studied wushu and after
the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the Qing, he returned
to his hometown and immersed himself in studying boxing.
From his studies, he created taijiquan.
Chenjiagou-Birthplace of Taijiquan
Chenjiagou, a village in Wenxian County, Henan Province,
is well-known not only for its wushu masters but also
for being the birthplace of taijiquan. Chen Wangting,
a Ming Dynasty general and a ninth-generation descendant
of the Chen family of boxers, returned to his home in
Chenjiagou after he retired. Drawing on the principles
of traditional medicine and dialectics of ancient Chinese
philosophy as well as other disciplines in boxing, he
created a system of movements which became the earliest
form of taijiquan of the Chen school. It branched into
other types of taijiquan after Chen Changxing, a fourteenth
generation descendant of the Chen family, taught taijiquan
to Yang Luchan, and the Yang Luchan, Wu Jianquan, Wu
Yuxiang, and Sun Lutang schools started to appear.
According to some wushu masters of Chenjiagou, the
Chen school is characterized by firmness in gentleness,
the combination of fastness and slowness, and continuity
of movements. Besides these principles, which have also
been adopted by other schools, the Chen school has its
own special features like jumping, leaping, stamping
and the use of weapons such as the sword, doublesword,
broadsword, double broadsword, and mace.
Taijiquan is very popular in Chenjiagou, where half
of the two thousand villagers practise boxing. Those
who are unable to box are fans of taijiquan and fond
of commenting on the performances. The village has a
taijiquan sports school which accepts students from
the local area and beyond. Even the students of the
village's primary and junior middle schools practise
taijiquan both at school, especially in their physical
culture classes, and at home.
The village has produced many famous boxers. At present,
Chen Xiaowang, Zhu Tiancai, Wang Xi'an, and Chen Zhenlai
are known as the four eminent taiji masters of Chenjiagou.
The thirty-six-year old Chen Xiaowang learned his skills
from his father Chen Zhaoxu, one of the best boxers
in the village. But it was at the Chenjiagou Sports
School that he received systematic training. He has
won three awards at national wushu performance contests.
Now he is a coach in the provincial wushu centre in
Zhengzhou. The other three taiji masters are also boxing
coaches, working at the village or in other places.
The villagers expect the four masters to surpass their
ancestors in taiji and make new contributions to its
further development.
Looking back at the history of the development of taijiquan
in the village of Chenjiagou, one could draw the conclusion
that whenever the country was prosperous and the society
stable, taijiquan developed vigorously and taiji masters
were produced. Today, with great support from the government
and society, taijiquan of the Chen school is certain
to reach a new peak.
(TOP) |
