Chinese Martial Arts 武术

Chinese martial arts are also known as kung-fu or wushu. The origin of Chinese martial arts has been attributed to the need for self-defense, hunting techniques and military training in ancient China. According to legend, Chinese martial arts originated long before the establishment of the Xia Dynasty. It is said that the Yellow Emperor introduced the earliest fighting systems to China. Yellow Emperor is described as a famous general who, before becoming China’s leader, wrote long works on medicine, astrology (占星术) and martial arts. One of his main opponents was Chi You (蚩尤) who was credited as the creator of jiao di①, an early form of the modern art of Chinese wrestling.

 During the Qin and Han dynasties，dancing sports similar to routine exercise such as broadsword-play（刀术）, swordplay(剑术), and double-halberd play（双戟舞） appeared successively. Activities of bare-hand fighting, competitive wrestling and sword fighting were recorded in history. During the Tang and Song dynasties, many civil martial arts organizations came into existence. As bare-hand fighting and sumo (相扑) were popular, the kind of contest on Leitai (an open ring for the challenge) appeared. Ming and Qing dynasties were the flourishing eras for martial arts with various schools and different styles. During Qing Dynasty, with the development of pugilism (拳法) and weapon-play, various schools, such as Taijiquan, form and will pugilism (Xingyi quan②), eight trigram palm (Bagua zhang) formed gradually. Wrestling systems came into being and bare-hand fighting was also developed.

During the Republic of China period, many organizations appeared which played an important role in spreading and developing martial arts. In the transitional period between the fall of the Qing Dynasty as well as the turmoil of the Japanese invasion and the Chinese Civil War, Chinese martial arts became more accessible to the general public as many martial artists were encouraged to openly teach their art. At that time, some considered martial arts as a means to promote national pride and build a strong nation. As a result, many training manuals (拳谱) were published, a training academy was created, and numerous martial arts associations were formed throughout China and in various overseas Chinese communities. The Central Guoshu Academy (中央国术馆) established by the National Government in 1928 and the Jing Wu Athletic Association (精武体育会) founded by Huo Yuanjia in 1910 are examples of the organizations that promoted a systematic approach for training of Chinese martial arts.  A series of provincial and national competitions were organized by the Republican government starting in 1932 to promote Chinese martial arts. In 1936, at the 11th Olympic Games in Berlin, a group of Chinese martial artists demonstrated their art to an international audience for the first time.

Chinese martial arts experienced rapid international dissemination with the end of the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In 1958, the government established the All-China Wushu Association as an umbrella organization to regulate martial arts training. The Chinese State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports took the lead in creating standardized forms for most of the major arts. During this period, a national martial arts system that included standard forms, teaching curriculum, and instructor grading was established. Martial arts were introduced at both the high school and university levels. In 1986, the Chinese Wushu Research Institute was established as the central government authority for the research and administration of martial arts activities in China.

Chinese martial arts are an integral element of 20th-century Chinese popular culture. Martial arts fiction is a popular genre (文学体裁) that emerged in the early 20th century and peaked in popularity during the 1960s to 1980s. Martial arts films were produced from the 1920s. The Nationalist Government suppressed martial arts fiction, accusing it of promoting superstition and violent anarchy(混乱). Because of this, martial arts fiction flourished in Hong Kong, and the genre of kung-fu movies in Hong Kong became wildly popular, coming to international attention from the 1970s. The genre declined somewhat during the 1980s, and in the late 1980s, the Hong Kong film industry underwent a drastic decline. In the wake of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon③ (2000), there has been somewhat of a revival of Chinese-produced martial arts films aimed at an international audience, including Hero④ (2002) and House of Flying Daggers⑤ (2004).

Abridged and revised from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_martial_arts 

Notes:

① jiao di: 角抵，是上古时代的战争搏斗的一种手段，后来逐渐演变为一种带有一定表演成分的游戏活动，类似现代摔跤、拳斗一类的角力游戏。

② Xingyi quan：形意拳，又称行意拳、形意六合拳，中国传统武术，与太极拳、八卦掌齐名，同属内家拳之中。

③ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon：《卧虎藏龙》, 由李安执导，周润发、杨紫琼、章子怡主演。影片没有一般武侠片那种笑傲江湖的豪气，取而代之的是寻找江湖人文内涵的一种深沉思索与含蓄。该片是迄今唯一获奥斯卡最佳外语片的华语片。 

④ Hero: 《英雄》，是2002年张艺谋执导的第一部武侠巨制商业大片，由李连杰、张曼玉、梁朝伟、章子怡、陈道明、甄子丹等主演。

⑤ House of Flying Daggers：《十面埋伏》，2004年张艺谋另一部瞩目的武侠巨献，由金城武、刘德华、章子怡领衔主演。2005年美国《时代周刊》评选2004年全球十佳电影。