The written history of China dates back to the Shāng 商 dynasty, which ruled approximately between 1600 and 1046 BC. During these more than three thousand years of history, the Middle Kingdom (中國 Zhōng Guó) has varied in extension over and over again by encompassing or leaving out different groups and territories to form what is now the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó).
Although in this section we will normally focus on the history of Chinese Martial Arts, we do not want to exclude other historical events even if they are not related to this field.
Chinese martial arts have not been classified into styles except for a relatively small part of their history. This stylistic diversification seems to have its origin in the entertainment arts during the Sòng 宋 dynasty.
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Although currently no Chinese martial arts system boasts of making use of muscle strength, in ancient times, physical strength was more valued as an attribute of any man of arms. As a way to show this strength, competitions such as “cauldron lifting” (扛鼎 kāngdǐng) were organized, which we will talk about on this occasion.
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The jiàn 劍 or double-edged straight sword appeared in China two thousand seven hundred years ago. However, over time its use would be abandoned on the battlefield and became a symbolic and ritual weapon, which would end up being associated with scholarship and the upper class.
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Today, Chinese martial arts are often divided between external styles (外家 wàijiā) and internal styles (內家 nèijiā). However, this division is not accepted by all practitioners and, if we contemplate how these concepts originated, we can realize that the classification has little practical basis.
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Yáng Lùchán 楊露禪 was a master of Tàijíquán 太極拳 and one of the greatest martial artists of his time. He is considered the founder of the Yáng style of Tàijíquán 楊氏太極拳 and was an essential figure in the popularization of this martial art.
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The biànzi 辮子 was a traditional way of wearing hair, imposed by manchu rulers on the local population after the conquest of China and the establishment of the Qīng 清 dynasty in 1636.
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By the time Buddhism began to spread in China, some indigenous currents had already developed their meditation practices. These currents are sometimes referred to as proto-Taoists because, on the one hand, they precede the formation of Taoism as a religion and, on the other hand, influenced their subsequent development.
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The Three Sage Kings are semi-legendary characters who are credited with creating Chinese civilization. They are regarded as exemplary sovereigns, who held high moral values and under whose mandate people lived in harmony. These three emperors are Yáo 堯, Shùn 舜 and Yǔ 禹.
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The “Tigers of War” were an infantry contingent that existed during the Qīng 清 dynasty. It was a téngpáiyíng 藤牌營 battalion, this is, soldiers trained in the use of the rattan shield (téng pái 藤牌) and sabre (dāo 刀), who wore furs or uniforms that mimicked the appearance of the tiger.
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Lóulán 樓蘭 was an ancient kingdom that flourished in the 2nd century BC on the margins of the Silk Road. It was an independent city-state until the Hàn dynasty 漢朝 took control of the region, and proliferated for some more centuries until it was mysteriously abandoned in the 3rd century of our era, leaving only ruins that remained buried in the desert sands for nearly two millennia.
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