China Overview
- Population: 1.3 billion
- Currency: yuan
- Guinness World Records: most people painting each other's faces simultaneously in one location (13,413), largest bottle of cooking oil (containing 3212 litres), most couples hugging (3009 couples).
- Internet users: 135 million
- Milk beer: from Inner Mongolia, an alternative to the traditional mare's-milk wine.
- Squirrel fish: whole mandarin fish deep-fried and manipulated to resemble a squirrel.
- Number of chinese characters: over 56,000
Brief Introduction to Chinese Martial Arts (Wushu)
Chinese martial arts, or Wushu as it is also known, and kung fu are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. Wushu places emphasis on the external practice for Jing (genuine energy), Qi (vital energy) and Shen (spirit) and internal practice for muscle, bone and skin. The traits of Chinese martial arts include physical exercises involving animal mimicry, or training methods inspired by Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. |
How to interpret the term ‘Wushu’ in Chinese? |
What is the origin of Chinese Martial Arts (Wushu)? Martial Arts are traditional Chinese sports which have developed over a long historical period. The genesis of Chinese martial arts has been attributed to the need for self-defense, hunting techniques and military training in extremely hostile environments within ancient China. Hand-to-hand combat and weapons practice were important in training ancient Chinese soldiers. Chinese ancestors learned some primary means of attack and defense such as leaping, tumbling and kicking. Moreover, they generally knew how to fight with weapons made from stones and wood or bare-hand fighting. |
Ancient monks practiced the art of self-defense, and according to legend, Chinese martial arts originated during the semi-mythical Xia Dynasty more than 4,000 years ago. It is said that the Yellow Emperor Huangdi introduced the earliest fighting systems to China. He is described as a famous general who, before becoming China’s leader, wrote lengthy treatises on medicine, astrology and the martial arts. He allegedly developed the practice of jiao di and utilized it in war. |
What are the historical philosophical bases of Chinese Martial Arts (Wushu)? The ideas associated with Chinese martial arts changed with the evolution of Chinese society and over time acquired some philosophical bases: Passages in the Zhuangzi (莊子), a Daoist text in the 4th century BCE, contains psychology and practice of martial arts. The Tao Te Ching, often credited to Lao Zi, is another Daoist text that contains principles applicable to martial arts. According to Zhou Li, one of the classic texts of Confucianism, Archery was a part of the "six arts" of the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BCE). It is the book —The Art of War, written during the 6th century BCE by Sun Tzu, | |
that deals directly with military warfare and contains ideas that are used in the Chinese martial arts. "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting", were included in the Han Shu (history of the Former Han Dynasty) in 39–92 CE, and the prestigious physician, Hua Tuo, composed the "Five Animals Play"—tiger, deer, monkey, bear, and bird, around 220 BCE. Daoist philosophy and their approach to health and exercise have influenced the Chinese martial arts to a certain extent. |
What are the Martial Moralities of Wushu? Morality of deed concerns social relations and consists of the character of Humility, Sincerity, Politeness, Loyalty and Trust. Morality of mind is meant to cultivate the inner harmony between the emotional mind and the wisdom mind. It includes the concepts of Courage, Patience, Endurance, Perseverance and Will. The ultimate goal is reaching no extremity where both wisdom and emotions are in harmony with each other. |
How do Modern Chinese Martial Arts or Wushu stand in modern society? Wushu has over time become a formal branch of study in the performing arts by the Chinese. It is the most popular national sport in the country of China, and is practiced by people of all ages. Modern wushu has shifted its emphasis from combat to performance, and it is practiced for its method of achieving heath, self-defense skills, mental discipline, recreational pursuit and | |
competition. Wushu is characterized by its dynamic and fluid motions along with its arial kicks, rolling techniques and weapons. |
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