MARTIAL ARTS
IN ANCIENT CHINA
In Chinese society the essence of order was that certain persons were
of superior status and certain others were, by the nature of things, in
an inferior status. The father and the emperor, as capstones of the
family and the state, had dominant roles to play. Women, youths, and
ordinary subjects had correspondingly subordinate roles. Whether this ideal, which Chinese moralists constructed to hobble and
restrain the use of violence, was any more effective than any other
Western system is a major question for study. But certainly it must be
admitted that it established order, for peace was felt to benefit
everyone, whereas violence benefited no one at all.
Since the ideal of
proper conduct was built into the Chinese concept of the cosmos, a
rupture ol this ideal threatened to break down the whole cosmic system.
Consequently, the Chinese believed that the use of the military could
not be asserted simply in the name of individual or corporate freedom
against ruling-class tyranny. Military activity had to be justified in
the name of the system, alleging that the ruler had forfeited the
'mandate of heaven' by not maintaining the social order adequately and
correctly. The ruler's own impropriety t
hus sanctioned the rising
against him. Rebels usually rose in the name of the social order, which
was the great legitimizing myth of the state and the underlying moral
sanction for any resort to warfare and the use of martial arts.
It was thus natural and proper to have expansion through civil
means (wen), the arts of peace and sagehood of the ruler; whereas
expansion by the military (wu), brute force, and the martial arts was
never to be condoned. The triumph of civil over military was not a mere
fiction implanted in the record by the civilian chroniclers who
monopolized it. On the contrary, it was another real Chinese
achievement in the ordering of society. How to keep the military under
control within the social order - a problem newly revived by
the growth of military technology in the United States as well as
elsewhere in the world today, became an early focus of Chinese
concern. They succeeded because civilians were in control of the
selection and promotion of the army members, and because the status of
the military men could never rise above a certain level, as we shall
see.
After attaining the rank of 'wu shengyuan' (military licentiate),
as a result of passing the qualifying local military examinations, the
martial artist could either remain in that position or else proceed to
the next step and take the provincial military examination. This was
given in the provincial capital in the tenth month of the lunar
calendar,
once every three years. In charge was the governor-general, the
governor
himself, and since they were civilians, it was customary for the
provincial
commander-in-chief or brigade general to attend as an associate
examiner.
During the examination, in addition to tests of ability in archery
while
mounted and on foot, the candidates were examined in bending the bow,
brandishing the halberd, and weightlifting. Furthermore, the
candidates,
while on horse-back, had to try to shoot down a round ball, suspended
from
a high place. Since the ball would not drop unless hit in the center,
this
was a good test of markmanship. Actually, no one ever failed on account
of this test because his performance in the other parts of the
examination
were considered to be more important.
Finally, the candidates had to write out a passage from the military
classics. This trial did not determine whether a man would
pass, although it did influence his standing. Since the number of
candidates to be passed was restricted by an established quota, it is
difficult to generalize, but usually a passing score depended upon
achieving five hits from horseback and more than five while standing in
the archery tests. Further scoring would be based on bending the 12
catty
bow, brandishing the 120-catty halberd and lifting the 300-catty stone.
(A catty is a Chinese unit of weight equalling 1.102 pounds.) Those who
qualified received the degree of military graduate, (wu chu-jen), and
could become appointees as junior officers. Again the climb up the ladder of examinations could terminate here, or
the individual could proceed to take the metropolitan military
examination
given in Peking. By law, it was held in the ninth month of the Chinese
calendar after the provincial examination. The metropolitan examination, like the provincial, consisted of three
consecutive sessions. The first session, lasting from the fifth to the
the s
eventh day of the ninth lunar month, consisted of a test in
mounted archery given to one man at a time. During the next
three
days, the eighth through the tenth, the tests in archery on foot and in
military skills were administered. In general, these trials determined
who would pass and on the 11th day the results were announced.
Generally, out of every 100 men who had earned the scores of excellent
and good, 22 were selected to be passed and to participate in the
second session. The second session was held on the 14th day in the
Peking examination compound. The first event was a bow-bending test to
verify past performance and then the candidates were required to write
out a selection from the military classics. Once again, this written
test weighed lightly in determining whether a candidate passed or not.
His score was usually averaged out with his grades from the other tests
to obtain an overall score. The number of men passing, although not
preset, was generally limited to about 100 candidates. The
recommendations of the examiners were presented to the emperor for his
approval. The recommended candidates were then to compete in the palace
military examinations, which took place on the last day of the ninth
lunar month. The first candidates were assembled in the Tai-Ho palace
to write out a selection from the military classics. Then on the third
day of the tenth month, the second session was held in the Tzu-Kuang
palace in the Hsi-Yuan or the beautiful West Park, which also served as
a palace drill ground. In the Tzu-Kuang palace were also displayed
various military weapons and booty from various military campaigns. It
was also customary for the emperor himself to observe the military
exercises in the Tzu-Kuang palace, in which tests of archery on
horseback and on foot took place. Each man shot three arrows from
horseback and two while on foot. Even if he missed the target, he was
not failed. The remaining tests of martial skills were scheduled for
the next day, when bow-bending, halberd brandishing and the
all-important weight lifting were performed in the presence of the
emperor.
Later that same day, the examiners ranked the men according to their
overall performances and submitted their recommendations to the
emperor. After approving them, the emperor conducted a
degree-granting ceremony on the following day. This ceremony was
exactly like that held
for the civilian 'chin-shih': again the men were arranged in three
groups, and slightly different degrees - 'wu chin-shih chi ti',
'wu chin-shih chu sheng', and 'tung wu chin-shih chu sheng', were
granted
to the members of each group.
The new military 'chin-shih' received assignments according to the
ranking they had won in this palace examination, but they were not held
in as high regard as their civilian counterparts.
As a 'wu chin-shih', a man could become an officer in the army although
he could rise no higher than the rank of unit commander, since the
posts of minister of war (ping-pu shang shu) and chief-of-staff
(shu-min
shi) were filled only by civilians. Civil chin-shih were
often assigned as front-line generals. The possibility that a military
man
could become a front-line commander and then go on to enter the central
government as a minister of war or a chief-of-staff was most abhorrent
to the Chinese, since it disrupted the entire concept of their
political and social system. 
Consequently, they took precautions
against such an event.
The policy of reserving those important positions for civilians, while
restricting military men to posts no higher than that of unit commander
did have its drawbacks and did sometimes lead to dissatisfaction and
even tragedy. An example is provided by the fate of the Southern Sung
patriot, Yueh Fei, 1104-1142 A.D. During the long years of war against
the Chin (Jurchen), Yueh Fei was an outstanding front-line unit
commander and rose to the rank of general almost before anyone was
aware of it This rise of a military man made the court uneasy, so much
so that, by various devices, Yueh Fei ended up as a victim of these
fears and suffered a bitter death. Such an attitude damaged the
efficacy of the military and all martial arts, since they concluded
that it was foolish for a military man to try to distinguish himself.
This policy of the government was not new at the time of Yueh
Fei, but it was a tradition held in common from earlier
times.
The rule that no matter how great his accomplishments a professional
military man could not participate in setting government policy at the
highest levels may seem callous at first glance, but it is actually the
foundation of good government, for if military men participate in
government in their capacity as military men, they will emphasize the
army's needs and will want to dominate the government as well as
foreign relations. It goes without saying that the military is
necessary for the protection of the state, but for it to dominate the
state is unbearable. In the classical work Ku-liang chuan, which are
the
commentaries to the Confucian work Chun-chiu, there is a recognition
that, "since antiquity, aside from the civilian element in government,
there is the support of the military." However, in another classical
work the Shou-yuan, it states that, "The sage alone establishes peace
in
his rule by first extolling the civil virtue, and if he fails, resorts
to military strength." Such concepts held by the Chinese could only
hold the martial artists in low esteem, if not in contempt.
For the successful candidates of the military examinations, each took
on a position as a second-class official and both took and
followed the lead of his civilian counterpart. What had happened to
those candidates who had failed these examinations? They were returned
to society to fill in one of the remaining categories, a farmer,
artisan or merchant or to become more commoners.
The military examinations were efforts of scholar-moralists to tame the
men of violence, and so those who failed were cast aside as untamed men
of violence. This rejection of the martial artists was a severe blow to
their egos. The failure of the military to establish themselves as a
class resulted
in their remaining at the disposal of civilian generalists who might
use them or not as they felt circumstances required.
Those men who had failed the military examinations formed a disgruntled
group. However, lacking the unity of a class or a guild, they went in
various directions and entered into various endeavors. Many chose to
join the army and try to rise in the ranks. Even more martial artists
returned to society as commoners to enter into one of the three
remaining categories, farmers, artisans, or tradesmen and merchants. A
few of the martial artists chose to use their skills in criminal or
borderline criminal endeavors such as bullies, gamblers, highway men,
robbers, strong-arm men and even rebels. However, there was also a
group of men who chose to utilize their martial arts skills and engage
in legitimate work and and become law-abiding citizens. These men fell
into two main categories, the wanderers and the established martial
artists.
Overall, the martial artists were represented and characterized in
popular Chinese fiction as men of outspoken bluntness
and volcanic
temper. They were obtuse, guileless, childish, belligerent, irascible,
tempestuous, devoid of manners and completely uninhibited. They boasted
and quarreled as a pastime, and occasionally killed by mistake. All in
all, this characterized a Confucian concept of men who utilized brute
force and violence to settle matters, instead of thinking out and
finding a peaceful settlement. An ever-present menace to the
neighborhood, the martial artist indulges
in a kind of behavior that is frowned upon among ordinary men who
usually keep some distance between them.
Those martial artists engaging in legitimate work fell into four main
categories which in martial arts circles are called 'si-kun', which
means literally, 'the four staffs', referring to the quarter-staff or
pole. They were 'pao-piao' or armed escorts; 'hu-yuan', guards or
bodyguards; 'mai gaoyao', traveling medicine man or showman; and 'wushu
laoshi', the martial arts teacher. A martial artist could become a
guard or bodyguard, whereby he could
use his physical strength and martial skills in the employ ot a rich
individual. In martial arts circles, he would be called a 'la-kun', a
person dragging his staff. This position was not looked upon with much
dignity, as he was always told what to do, and he virtually became a
slave to the employer.
If the martial artist was adventurous and not afraid to leave home
and travel the country, he couid be a 'mai gaoyao', a traveling
medicine
man, or 'mai-wu', a traveling showman, whereby he displayed his skills
in
physical feats. Here, he was at the mercy of contributions from
on-lookers so this way of life may seem like a form of begging.
However, if he also sold some medicine, he did not really receive
money for his art but really from selling a product. In martial arts
circles he was called a 'liao-kun', a challenging staff, as he was open
to challenges at all times.
With the expansion of commerce and a money economy along with the
extending of the Chinese empire and influence, goods had to travel long
distances. To protect valuable shipments, a system of insurance and
armed escort of goods was developed. Under this system, an insurance
company would undertake to guard goods in transit and reimburse the
loss if anything was lost on the way. The armed escorts were called
'piao-ke' or armed travelers, who were usually men who excelled in the
martial arts.
Merchants, money lenders, landlords, or any wealthy individual who had
to have goods transported over some distance and were fearful of
robbers and bandits resorted to the use of such an insurance agency to
furnish the piao-ke to guard and accompany his goods. The agency was
usually headed by a leader who was an accomplished
martial artist of some note or fame. In martial arts circles he was
called a 'tiao-kun', or a person who carries a staff over his
shoulders.
He would have a large triangular flag or pennant with red scalloped
trim. In the center of this flag or pennant would be a large-size
Chinese character with his surname and along the straight edge would be
the name and location of his agency. This flag or pennant would be
affixed onto the lead cart or wagon and the guard and his followers
armed with traditional weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds
would ride on horses alongside the carts and wagons. One of
the
special weapons used were long pyramidal-shaped darts called "piao"
similar to the ever-popular shuriken which were thrown at retreating
robbers. It is from the skill in using this weapon that the name
'piao-shih', or master of the darts, is derived.
Usually the armed guard's pennant or flag would suffice as his passport
for an uninterrupted passage, as it also carried along with it the
reputation of the skill and mastery in the martial arts of the man.
However, if the flag or pennant was not recognized and the baggage
train stopped, an exchange of questions and answers
regarding who was accompanying the train and who was interferring with
its passage along with the names of their masters were given before any
action was taken. This etiquette followed the maxim 'hsien li hou-ping'
or 'courtesies before action.' Oftentimes, there would be an
understanding between the bandits and the piao-shih and in such cases,
courtesies were exchanged and the train load was allowed to pass
freely, without incident.
As time passed, each escort leader would map out territories whereby he
would accompany goods through various areas without interference or
problems. However, if there should be problems and the train was
attacked and robbed and if the piao-shih and his followers were either
injured or killed,word would be sent out to other armed escorts,
usually those belonging to the same school or clique, and an
expeditionary force would be formed to hunt down the culprits,
recover
the goods and avenge the wrongs. In this manner, the piao-shih led a
very adventurous life and they became the heroes of many Chinese knight
errant stories.
Why are these wandering martial artists so loved by their companies and
by the devotees of popular fiction? First, because they are honest and
straight-forward in a world in which persons officially vested with
authority prefer the devious approach. With these men one knows where
one stands. Their friendships, born in the street, in wineshops, or in
humble places, are disinterested, spontaneous alliances of congenial
souls. They do not fawn and flatter, and nothing can make them shift
their loyalty. They are resolute men, always ready to lay down their
lives for their friends, never willing to
surrender or to let themselves be curbed or humiliated. Physical
strength and muscle-play brings them a natural exhilaration, their
strength and courage lead to a careless self-confidence, their crude
jokes reveal a robust sense of humor, and their whole manner exudes
'joie de vivre.' They have all the companionable qualities that are
subsumed in the phrase 'hao han,' 'good fellow', or even 'hsia', a bold
knight. Most of the different martial arts positions,
although utilizing
the skills of the martial arts, were not thought of as greatly
prestigious.
These positions merely utilized physical skill and in no way
perpetuated
themselves handing down their skills and techniques. Furthermore, there
was no provision to better oneself as a martial artist, and there was
absence of any use of the slightest literary philosophical attainments.
Moreover, they were wanderers and did not reside in any one place for
any
length of time. These men usually acted and represented themselves only
and
did not have to establish or provide themselves with any credentials.
The general non-acceptance of these groups by Chinese society followed
these lines. None of these men had a permanent address. They were
neither
a guild nor distinct social class. Having no permanence they were
irresponsible and had no obligations to society, and so they
made
no contribution to society, as they belonged to no stable element.
These men had no principles and they could be bought by amounts of
money. They were generally illiterate, potenttial bullies who
may resort to violence. They were really uncontrollable semi-savages
who were
were calmed down by money and rewards. Having no other skills except
the
martial arts which were considered a destructive element, they were
considered listless and lazy as they always waited for disturbance so
they could capitalize on that situation. No wonder society did not
value
them highly or hold them in any great esteem. On the other hand, the
last of the four categories, wushu laoshi, the martial arts teacher,
demanded some respect.