Fuji is a method of "planchette writing; spirit writing; automatic writing" using either a sieve or a stick to write Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes.
Beginning around the Ming Dynasty , the ''fuji'' method and written characters changed from 扶箕 "support the sieve" to 扶乩 "support the planchette" . Sieve divination or coscinomancy is culturally widespread, and Chao compares practices in ancient Greece and Rome, medieval Europe, and India.
Chinese ''fuji'' spirit-writing involves some specialized vocabulary. ''Luan'' 鸞 "a mythical phoenix-like bird" is used in synonyms such as ''fuluan'' 扶鸞 "support the phoenix," ''feiluan'' 飛鸞 "flying phoenix," and ''jiangluan'' 降鸞 "descending phoenix". The ''fuji'' process involves specialized participants. The two people who hold the sieve or stylus are called ''jishou'' 乩手 "planchette hands", only one of whom is ostensibly possessed by a 神 "spirit; god" or 仙 "immortal; transcendent". Their assistants include a ''pingsha'' 平沙 "level sand" who smoothes out the ''shapan'' 沙盤 "sand table", a ''dujizhe'' 讀乩者 "planchette reader" who interprets the characters, and a ''chaojizhe'' 抄乩者 "planchette copyist" who records them. ''Jiwen'' 乩文 "planchette writing" is a general reference to texts produced through Chinese ''fuji'' spirit-writing.
Spirit-writing has a long history in Chinese folk religion, and is first recorded during the Liu Song Dynasty . ''Fuji'' planchette-writing became popular during the Song Dynasty , when authors like Shen Kuo and Su Shi associated its origins with summoning Zigu 紫姑 "Purple Maiden", the Spirit of the Latrine. ''Fuji'' divination flourished during the Ming Dynasty, and the Jiajing Emperor built a special ''jitan'' 乩壇 "planchette altar" in the Forbidden City . Although the practice of ''fuji'' planchette-writing was prohibited by the Qing Dynasty , it has continued and is currently practiced at Daoist temples in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia as well as folk shrines in China.
''Fuji'' is particularly associated with the Quanzhen School of Daoism. The ''Daozang'' "Daoist Canon" contains several scriptures supposedly written through spirit-writing. Two examples are the ''Zitong dijun huashu'' 梓潼帝君化書 "Book of Transformations of the Divine Lord of Zitong" and the ''Taiyi jinhua zongzhi'' 太一金華宗旨 "Great One’s Secret of the Golden Flower" .
Friday, September 19, 2008
Feng shui
Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice believed to utilize the Laws of both heaven and earth to help one improve life by receiving positive Qi.
The original designation for the discipline is ''Kan Yu'' .
The words 'feng shui' literally translate as ''"wind-water"''in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the ''Zhangshu'' by Guo Pu of the :
Many modern enthusiasts claim that feng shui is the practice of arranging objects to help people achieve their goals. More traditionally, feng shui is important in choosing a place to live and finding a burial site, along with agricultural planning.
Proponents claim that feng shui has an effect on health, wealth and personal relationships. Critics consider it a pseudoscience, even .
Currently and cultures provide the earliest evidence for Feng Shui. Until the invention of the magnetic compass, apparently Feng Shui relied on to find correlations between humans and the universe.
In 4000 BCE the doors of Banpo dwellings were aligned to the asterism ''Yingshi'' just after the winter solstice -- this sited the homes for solar gain. During the Zhou era, ''Yingshi'' was known as ''Ding'' and used to indicate the appropriate time to build a capital city, according to the ''Shijing''. The late Yangshao site at Dadiwan includes a palace-like building at the center. The building faces south and borders a large plaza. It is on a north-south axis with another building that apparently housed communal activities. The complex may have been used by regional communities.
A grave at Puyang that contains mosaics of the Dragon and Tiger asterisms and Beidou is oriented along a north-south axis. The presence of both round and square shapes in the Puyang tomb, at Hongshan culture ceremonial centers and the late Longshan settlement at Lutaigang, suggests that ''gaitian'' cosmography was present in Chinese society long before it appeared in the ''Zhou Bi Suan Jing''.
Cosmography that bears a striking resemblance to modern Feng Shui devices and formulas was found on a jade unearthed at Hanshan and dated around 3000 BCE. The design is linked by archaeologist Li Xueqin to the ''liuren'' astrolabe, ''zhinan zhen'', and .
Beginning with palatial structures at Erlitou, all capital cities of China followed rules of Feng Shui for their design and layout. These rules were codified during the Zhou era in the ''Kaogong ji'' . Rules for builders were codified in the carpenter's manual ''Lu ban jing'' . Graves and tombs also followed rules of Feng Shui, from Puyang to Mawangdui and beyond. From the earliest records, it seems that the rules for the structures of the graves and dwellings were the same.
The history of feng shui covers 3,500+ years before the invention of the magnetic compass. Its origins are in astronomy. Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China, while others were added later .
The astronomical history of Feng Shui is evident in the development of instruments and techniques. According to the ''Zhouli'' the original Feng Shui instrument may have been a gnomon. Chinese used circumpolar stars to determine the north-south axis of settlements. This technique explains why Shang palaces at lie 10° east of due north. In some cases, as Paul Wheatley observed, they bisected the angle between the directions of the rising and setting sun to find north. This technique provided the more precise alignments of the Shang walls at Yanshi and Zhengzhou.
The oldest examples of instruments used for feng shui are ''liuren'' . These consist of a lacquered, two-sided board with astronomical sightlines. Liuren astrolabes have been unearthed from tombs that date between 278 BCE and 209 BCE. They show the cord-hook diagram and some models include the of three. They were commonly used to chart the motion of Taiyi through the nine palaces. The markings are virtually unchanged from the astrolabe to the first magnetic compasses.
The magnetic compass was invented for Feng Shui and has been in use since its invention. Traditional Feng Shui instrumentation consists of the or the earlier south-pointing spoon '''' -- though a conventional compass could suffice if one understood the differences. A Feng Shui ruler may also be employed.
The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time. Some areas are not suitable for human settlement and should be left in their natural state.
Qi is a difficult word to translate and is usually left untranslated. Literally the word means "air". In martial arts ''qi'' refers to internal or physical energy.
In New Age interpretations of Feng Shui, "qi" typically is synonymous with "energy" . A more traditional explanation of qi as it relates to Feng Shui would consider a holistic understanding of local microclimates, the orientation of the structure, its age, and its interaction with the surrounding environment from the slope of the land to the vegetation and soil quality.
One use for a is to detect the flow of qi. It could be said that feng shui assesses the quality of the local environment and the effects of space weather -- that is, feng shui is ''qimancy'', or qi divination.
Professor Max Knoll suggested in a 1951 lecture that qi is a form of solar radiation. Compasses reflect local geomagnetism which includes geomagnetically induced currents caused by space weather.
Beliefs from the Axial Age, feng shui among them, hold that the heavens influence life on Earth. This seems preposterous to many people, yet space weather exists and can have profound effects on technology , and the internal orienting faculties of birds and other creatures. There is some evidence that suicide rates in Kirovsk, Russia, fluctuate along with the geomagnetic field. Atmospheric scientists have suggested that space weather creates fluctuations in market prices.
Polarity is expressed in feng shui as Yin and Yang Theory. Polarity expressed through yin and yang is similar to a bipolar magnetic field. That is, it is of two parts: one creating an exertion and one receiving the exertion. Yang acting and yin receiving could be considered an early understanding of chirality. The development of Yin Yang Theory and its corollary, Five Phase Theory , have also been linked with astronomical observations of sunspots.
The so-called "elements" of feng shui are made of yin and yang in precise amounts . Earth is a buffer, or an equilibrium achieved when the polarities cancel each other. This explains why feng shui is said to be about balance.
Two diagrams known as loom large in feng shui, and both predate their mentions in the Yijing or I Ching. The Lo Chart and the River Chart are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BCE, and with the Turtle Calendar from the time of Yao. The Turtle Calendar of Yao dates to 2300 BCE, plus or minus 250 years.
It seems clear from many sources that time, in the form of astronomy and calendars, is at the heart of feng shui.
In ''Yaodian'', the cardinal directions are determined by the marker-stars of the mega-constellations known as the Four Celestial Animals.
East: the Bluegreen Dragon --- ''Niao'' ,
South: the Red Bird --- ''Huo'' ,
West: the White Tiger --- ''Xu'' , ,
North: the Dark Turtle --- ''Mao'' , η Tauri
The bagua diagrams are also linked with the ''sifang'' method of divination used during the Shang dynasty. The ''sifang'' is much older, however. It was used at Niuheliang, and figured large in Hongshan culture's astronomy. And it is this area of China that is linked to Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, who allegedly invented the south-pointing spoon.
A ''school'' or ''stream'' is a set of techniques or methods. The term should not be confused with an actual school -- there are many masters who run schools.
Some claim that authentic masters impart their genuine knowledge only to selected students, such as relatives.
Classical feng shui is typically associated with the following techniques. This is not a complete list; it is merely a list of the most common techniques.
*
*
* Xuan Kong
* Xuan Kong Fei Xing
* Xuan Kong Da Gua
* Xuan Kong Shui Fa
* Zi Bai
* Ba Zhai
* San Yuan Dragon Gate Eight Formation
* Major & Minor Wandering Stars
* San He Luan Dou
* San He Shui Fa
* Qimen Dunjia
* Zi wei dou shu
One of the grievances mentioned when the anti-Western Boxer Rebellion erupted was that Westerners were violating the basic principles of Feng Shui in their construction of railroads and other conspicuous public structures throughout China. At the time, Westerners had little idea of, or interest in, such Chinese traditions. Since Richard Nixon journeyed to The People's Republic of China in 1972, feng shui has become somewhat of an industry.
It has been reinvented by New Age entrepreneurs for Western consumption. Feng shui speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery, and order in American life. The following list does not exhaust the modern varieties.
Black Sect -- also called , or BTB Feng Shui) -- incorporated as a US in 1984, with temples in California and New York. It was invented in the early 1980s by Thomas Lin Yun Rinpoche, who came to the US from Taiwan.
The history of feng shui used by the church doesn't match documentary or archaeological evidence, or what is known of the history of Tantrism in China. It relies on "transcendental" methods, the concept of clutter as metaphor for life circumstances, and the use of affirmations or ''intentions'' to achieve results. The BTB bagua was developed by Lin Yun. Each of the eight sectors that were once aligned to compass points now represent a particular area of one's life.
Shen Dao -- invented in the late 1970s by Harrison G. Kyng -- found a home in the UK. Kyng's invention uses Five Element Theory for medical purposes along with building assessment, and is supposed to help someone achieve greater physical and environmental benefits. The compass that Kyng developed incorporates many New Age concepts, including the idea of harmonics.
An overview of claims is offered below.
Claim: The stability of Magnetic North is critical for the accuracy of divining your fortune with a compass. In physics the convention is that the end of a dipole magnet where the magnetic field flows out is the "north" pole of the magnet, and the "south" pole of the magnet is where the field flows in. The geomagnetic field flows out of the geographic South Pole, and runs back into the geographic North Pole -- so ''geomagnetic'' north is actually at the ''geographic'' South Pole. The convention is to call the pole in Canada the North Magnetic Pole. "The Chinese always place south at the top of the compass but North is still magnetic North." The fact that all geomagnetic poles wander has not prevented compasses from being useful. For example, compasses are installed in cars, ships, and oil rigs.
All Chinese compasses point to geographic south . A is used to determine the orientation of structures or the angle of something in relation to a structure.
Claim: Magnetic North and True North are not the same. A Luopan compensates for this. On a Luopan the Human Plate Central Needle was added during the Tang dynasty to measure declination and this has been updated as necessary. During the southern Song dynasty the Heaven Plate Seam Needle was added for magnetic deviation and also updated as necessary. The Earth Plate Correct Needle indicates current geomagnetic conditions.
As Joseph Needham remarked in a lecture, "When speaking of magnetism and of the magnetic compass … in China people were worrying about the nature of the declination before Europeans had even heard about the polarity." Declination was discovered, says Needham, because "geomancers had been attending most carefully to the positions of their needles.”
Claim: The solar wind vibrates the magnetic pole, moving magnetic north. If you use magnetic north to determine where to put your furniture, the degrees are not critical, the overall direction is. However, if you use magnetic north to find a site location the reading will not be accurate. The convention is to call the pole in Canada the North Magnetic Pole.
The solar wind fluctuates during the Sun's rotation, with high-and low-speed streams creating high-pressure and low-pressure fronts that contribute to space weather, which sometimes hits the Earth's magnetic field to produce storms in the Earth's magnetosphere. Space weather fronts are like weather fronts on Earth. Space weather fronts generate interplanetary 'weather' such as aurora and magnetic storms, which can interrupt radio and satellite communications. Space weather has led to better early warning mechanisms, not to abandonment of affected technologies.
The Geological Survey of Canada has now determined that the location of the North magnetic pole is now moving more than 40 km per year. The Geological Survey of Canada has also determined that the North magnetic pole is in constant motion on any give day and may be displaced by as much as 80km or more. are responsible for these constantly occurring fluctuations in the location of the North Magnetic Pole.
A magnetic compass is comprised of a magnetized needle balanced on a pivot point. No matter where you are the magnetic needle will point to the current location of the North Magnetic Pole. This answers the question asked by so many students, “Why do I get different compass readings from the same location?
Victorian-era commentators on feng shui were generally ethnocentric, and as such skeptical and derogatory of what they knew of feng shui.
In 1896 at a meeting of the Educational Association of China, Rev. P.W. Pitcher railed at the "rottenness of the whole scheme of Chinese architecture," and urged fellow missionaries "to erect unabashedly Western edifices of several stories and with towering spires in order to destroy nonsense about ''fung-shuy''."
Some modern Christians have a similar opinion of feng shui.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, feng shui has been officially deemed as a "feudalistic superstitious practice" and a "social evil" according to the state's atheistic Communist ideology and discouraged or even outright banned at times .
Persecution was the most severe during the Cultural Revolution, when feng shui was classified as a custom under the so-called Four Olds to be wiped out. Feng shui practitioners were beaten and abused by Red Guards and their works burned. After the death of Mao Zedong and the end of the Cultural Revolution, the official attitude became more tolerant but restrictions on feng shui practice are still in place in today's China. It is illegal in the PRC today to register feng shui consultation as a business and similarly advertising feng shui practice is banned, and there have been frequent crackdowns on feng shui practitioners on the grounds of "promoting feudalistic superstitions" such as one in Qingdao in early 2006 when the city's business and industrial administration office shut down an art gallery converted into a feng shui practice . Communist officials who had consulted feng shui were sacked and expelled from the Communist Party .
Partly because of the Cultural Revolution, in today's PRC less than one-third of the population believe in feng shui, and the proportion of believers among young urban PRC Chinese is said to be much less than 5% . Among all the ethnic Chinese communities the PRC has the least number of feng shui believers in proportion to the general population. Learning feng shui is considered taboo in today's China. Nevertheless, it is reported that feng shui has gained adherents among Communist Party officials according to a BBC Chinese news commentary in 2006. , and since the beginning of Chinese economic reforms the number of feng shui practitioners are increasing. A number of Chinese academics permitted to research on the subject of feng shui are anthropologists or architects by trade, studying the history of feng shui or historical feng shui theories behind the design of heritage buildings, such as Cao Dafeng, the Vice-President of Fudan University, and Liu Shenghuan of Tongji University.
Feng Shui practitioners have been skeptical of claims and methods in the "cultural supermarket." Mark Johnson made a telling point:
A travelogue-type article from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry explained feng shui initially as "a commonsense alignment of structures to conform to the shape of the land, an idea shared by any sensible architect in a land fraught with typhoons and torrential rains." However, after reading two books , the writer's conclusion was that feng shui "is more of a mystical belief in cosmic harmony."
Penn & Teller did an episode of their television show ''Bullshit!'' that featured several Feng Shui practitioners in the US, and was highly critical of the inconsistent advice. In the show, the entertainers argue that if Feng Shui is a science , it should feature a consistent method.
A growing body of research exists on the traditional forms of feng shui used and taught in Asia.
Landscape ecologists find traditional feng shui an interesting study. In many cases, the only remaining patches of old forest in Asia are "feng shui woods," which strongly suggests the "healthy homes," sustainability and environmental components of ''ancient'' feng shui techniques should not be easily dismissed.
Environmental scientists and landscape architects have researched traditional feng shui and its methodologies.
Architectural schools study the principles as they applied to ancient vernacular architecture..
Geographers have analyzed the techniques and methods to help locate historical sites in Victoria, Canada, and archaeological sites in the American Southwest, concluding that ancient Native Americans considered astronomy and landscape features.
Whether it is data on comparisons to scientific models, or the design and siting of buildings, graduate and undergraduate students have been accumulating solid evidence on what researchers call the "exclusive Chinese cultural achievement and experience in architecture" that is feng shui.
*Ole Bruun. “Fengshui and the Chinese Perception of Nature,” in ''Asian Perceptions of Nature: A Critical Approach,'' eds. Ole Bruun and Arne Kalland 173–88
*Ole Bruun. ''Fengshui in China: Geomantic Divination between State Orthodoxy and Popular Religion.'' Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2003.
*Ole Bruun. ''An Introduction to Feng Shui.'' Cambridge University Press, 2008.
*Yoon, Hong-key. ''Culture of Fengshui in Korea: An Exploration of East Asian Geomancy'', Lexington Books, 2006.
*Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published ahead of print August 25, 2008, doi:10.1073/pnas.0803650105
*Wu, Baolin, ''Lighting the Eye of the Dragon: Inner Secrets of Taoist Feng Shui'', St. Martin's Press, 2000.
*Bender, Tom, "Building with the Breath of Life: Working with Chi Energy in Our Homes and Communities" Fire River Press, 2000.
*Drews, Norbert, "Feng Shui Essentials" , 2000.
*Bender, Tom, "The Physics of Qi". DVD. Fire River Press, 2007.
The original designation for the discipline is ''Kan Yu'' .
The words 'feng shui' literally translate as ''"wind-water"''in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the ''Zhangshu'' by Guo Pu of the :
Many modern enthusiasts claim that feng shui is the practice of arranging objects to help people achieve their goals. More traditionally, feng shui is important in choosing a place to live and finding a burial site, along with agricultural planning.
Proponents claim that feng shui has an effect on health, wealth and personal relationships. Critics consider it a pseudoscience, even .
Archaeology
Currently and cultures provide the earliest evidence for Feng Shui. Until the invention of the magnetic compass, apparently Feng Shui relied on to find correlations between humans and the universe.
In 4000 BCE the doors of Banpo dwellings were aligned to the asterism ''Yingshi'' just after the winter solstice -- this sited the homes for solar gain. During the Zhou era, ''Yingshi'' was known as ''Ding'' and used to indicate the appropriate time to build a capital city, according to the ''Shijing''. The late Yangshao site at Dadiwan includes a palace-like building at the center. The building faces south and borders a large plaza. It is on a north-south axis with another building that apparently housed communal activities. The complex may have been used by regional communities.
A grave at Puyang that contains mosaics of the Dragon and Tiger asterisms and Beidou is oriented along a north-south axis. The presence of both round and square shapes in the Puyang tomb, at Hongshan culture ceremonial centers and the late Longshan settlement at Lutaigang, suggests that ''gaitian'' cosmography was present in Chinese society long before it appeared in the ''Zhou Bi Suan Jing''.
Cosmography that bears a striking resemblance to modern Feng Shui devices and formulas was found on a jade unearthed at Hanshan and dated around 3000 BCE. The design is linked by archaeologist Li Xueqin to the ''liuren'' astrolabe, ''zhinan zhen'', and .
Beginning with palatial structures at Erlitou, all capital cities of China followed rules of Feng Shui for their design and layout. These rules were codified during the Zhou era in the ''Kaogong ji'' . Rules for builders were codified in the carpenter's manual ''Lu ban jing'' . Graves and tombs also followed rules of Feng Shui, from Puyang to Mawangdui and beyond. From the earliest records, it seems that the rules for the structures of the graves and dwellings were the same.
Early Instruments and Techniques
The history of feng shui covers 3,500+ years before the invention of the magnetic compass. Its origins are in astronomy. Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China, while others were added later .
The astronomical history of Feng Shui is evident in the development of instruments and techniques. According to the ''Zhouli'' the original Feng Shui instrument may have been a gnomon. Chinese used circumpolar stars to determine the north-south axis of settlements. This technique explains why Shang palaces at lie 10° east of due north. In some cases, as Paul Wheatley observed, they bisected the angle between the directions of the rising and setting sun to find north. This technique provided the more precise alignments of the Shang walls at Yanshi and Zhengzhou.
The oldest examples of instruments used for feng shui are ''liuren'' . These consist of a lacquered, two-sided board with astronomical sightlines. Liuren astrolabes have been unearthed from tombs that date between 278 BCE and 209 BCE. They show the cord-hook diagram and some models include the of three. They were commonly used to chart the motion of Taiyi through the nine palaces. The markings are virtually unchanged from the astrolabe to the first magnetic compasses.
The magnetic compass was invented for Feng Shui and has been in use since its invention. Traditional Feng Shui instrumentation consists of the or the earlier south-pointing spoon '''' -- though a conventional compass could suffice if one understood the differences. A Feng Shui ruler may also be employed.
Foundation theories
The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time. Some areas are not suitable for human settlement and should be left in their natural state.
Qi
Qi is a difficult word to translate and is usually left untranslated. Literally the word means "air". In martial arts ''qi'' refers to internal or physical energy.
In New Age interpretations of Feng Shui, "qi" typically is synonymous with "energy" . A more traditional explanation of qi as it relates to Feng Shui would consider a holistic understanding of local microclimates, the orientation of the structure, its age, and its interaction with the surrounding environment from the slope of the land to the vegetation and soil quality.
One use for a is to detect the flow of qi. It could be said that feng shui assesses the quality of the local environment and the effects of space weather -- that is, feng shui is ''qimancy'', or qi divination.
Professor Max Knoll suggested in a 1951 lecture that qi is a form of solar radiation. Compasses reflect local geomagnetism which includes geomagnetically induced currents caused by space weather.
Beliefs from the Axial Age, feng shui among them, hold that the heavens influence life on Earth. This seems preposterous to many people, yet space weather exists and can have profound effects on technology , and the internal orienting faculties of birds and other creatures. There is some evidence that suicide rates in Kirovsk, Russia, fluctuate along with the geomagnetic field. Atmospheric scientists have suggested that space weather creates fluctuations in market prices.
Polarity
Polarity is expressed in feng shui as Yin and Yang Theory. Polarity expressed through yin and yang is similar to a bipolar magnetic field. That is, it is of two parts: one creating an exertion and one receiving the exertion. Yang acting and yin receiving could be considered an early understanding of chirality. The development of Yin Yang Theory and its corollary, Five Phase Theory , have also been linked with astronomical observations of sunspots.
The so-called "elements" of feng shui are made of yin and yang in precise amounts . Earth is a buffer, or an equilibrium achieved when the polarities cancel each other. This explains why feng shui is said to be about balance.
Bagua
Two diagrams known as loom large in feng shui, and both predate their mentions in the Yijing or I Ching. The Lo Chart and the River Chart are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BCE, and with the Turtle Calendar from the time of Yao. The Turtle Calendar of Yao dates to 2300 BCE, plus or minus 250 years.
It seems clear from many sources that time, in the form of astronomy and calendars, is at the heart of feng shui.
In ''Yaodian'', the cardinal directions are determined by the marker-stars of the mega-constellations known as the Four Celestial Animals.
East: the Bluegreen Dragon --- ''Niao'' ,
South: the Red Bird --- ''Huo'' ,
West: the White Tiger --- ''Xu'' , ,
North: the Dark Turtle --- ''Mao'' , η Tauri
The bagua diagrams are also linked with the ''sifang'' method of divination used during the Shang dynasty. The ''sifang'' is much older, however. It was used at Niuheliang, and figured large in Hongshan culture's astronomy. And it is this area of China that is linked to Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, who allegedly invented the south-pointing spoon.
School
A ''school'' or ''stream'' is a set of techniques or methods. The term should not be confused with an actual school -- there are many masters who run schools.
Some claim that authentic masters impart their genuine knowledge only to selected students, such as relatives.
Modern techniques
Classical feng shui is typically associated with the following techniques. This is not a complete list; it is merely a list of the most common techniques.
*
*
* Xuan Kong
* Xuan Kong Fei Xing
* Xuan Kong Da Gua
* Xuan Kong Shui Fa
* Zi Bai
* Ba Zhai
* San Yuan Dragon Gate Eight Formation
* Major & Minor Wandering Stars
* San He Luan Dou
* San He Shui Fa
* Qimen Dunjia
* Zi wei dou shu
Modern developments
One of the grievances mentioned when the anti-Western Boxer Rebellion erupted was that Westerners were violating the basic principles of Feng Shui in their construction of railroads and other conspicuous public structures throughout China. At the time, Westerners had little idea of, or interest in, such Chinese traditions. Since Richard Nixon journeyed to The People's Republic of China in 1972, feng shui has become somewhat of an industry.
It has been reinvented by New Age entrepreneurs for Western consumption. Feng shui speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery, and order in American life. The following list does not exhaust the modern varieties.
Black Sect -- also called , or BTB Feng Shui) -- incorporated as a US in 1984, with temples in California and New York. It was invented in the early 1980s by Thomas Lin Yun Rinpoche, who came to the US from Taiwan.
The history of feng shui used by the church doesn't match documentary or archaeological evidence, or what is known of the history of Tantrism in China. It relies on "transcendental" methods, the concept of clutter as metaphor for life circumstances, and the use of affirmations or ''intentions'' to achieve results. The BTB bagua was developed by Lin Yun. Each of the eight sectors that were once aligned to compass points now represent a particular area of one's life.
Shen Dao -- invented in the late 1970s by Harrison G. Kyng -- found a home in the UK. Kyng's invention uses Five Element Theory for medical purposes along with building assessment, and is supposed to help someone achieve greater physical and environmental benefits. The compass that Kyng developed incorporates many New Age concepts, including the idea of harmonics.
Feng Shui compasses and geomagnetism
An overview of claims is offered below.
Claim: The stability of Magnetic North is critical for the accuracy of divining your fortune with a compass. In physics the convention is that the end of a dipole magnet where the magnetic field flows out is the "north" pole of the magnet, and the "south" pole of the magnet is where the field flows in. The geomagnetic field flows out of the geographic South Pole, and runs back into the geographic North Pole -- so ''geomagnetic'' north is actually at the ''geographic'' South Pole. The convention is to call the pole in Canada the North Magnetic Pole. "The Chinese always place south at the top of the compass but North is still magnetic North." The fact that all geomagnetic poles wander has not prevented compasses from being useful. For example, compasses are installed in cars, ships, and oil rigs.
All Chinese compasses point to geographic south . A is used to determine the orientation of structures or the angle of something in relation to a structure.
Claim: Magnetic North and True North are not the same. A Luopan compensates for this. On a Luopan the Human Plate Central Needle was added during the Tang dynasty to measure declination and this has been updated as necessary. During the southern Song dynasty the Heaven Plate Seam Needle was added for magnetic deviation and also updated as necessary. The Earth Plate Correct Needle indicates current geomagnetic conditions.
As Joseph Needham remarked in a lecture, "When speaking of magnetism and of the magnetic compass … in China people were worrying about the nature of the declination before Europeans had even heard about the polarity." Declination was discovered, says Needham, because "geomancers had been attending most carefully to the positions of their needles.”
Claim: The solar wind vibrates the magnetic pole, moving magnetic north. If you use magnetic north to determine where to put your furniture, the degrees are not critical, the overall direction is. However, if you use magnetic north to find a site location the reading will not be accurate. The convention is to call the pole in Canada the North Magnetic Pole.
The solar wind fluctuates during the Sun's rotation, with high-and low-speed streams creating high-pressure and low-pressure fronts that contribute to space weather, which sometimes hits the Earth's magnetic field to produce storms in the Earth's magnetosphere. Space weather fronts are like weather fronts on Earth. Space weather fronts generate interplanetary 'weather' such as aurora and magnetic storms, which can interrupt radio and satellite communications. Space weather has led to better early warning mechanisms, not to abandonment of affected technologies.
The Geological Survey of Canada has now determined that the location of the North magnetic pole is now moving more than 40 km per year. The Geological Survey of Canada has also determined that the North magnetic pole is in constant motion on any give day and may be displaced by as much as 80km or more. are responsible for these constantly occurring fluctuations in the location of the North Magnetic Pole.
A magnetic compass is comprised of a magnetized needle balanced on a pivot point. No matter where you are the magnetic needle will point to the current location of the North Magnetic Pole. This answers the question asked by so many students, “Why do I get different compass readings from the same location?
Criticism
Victorian-era commentators on feng shui were generally ethnocentric, and as such skeptical and derogatory of what they knew of feng shui.
In 1896 at a meeting of the Educational Association of China, Rev. P.W. Pitcher railed at the "rottenness of the whole scheme of Chinese architecture," and urged fellow missionaries "to erect unabashedly Western edifices of several stories and with towering spires in order to destroy nonsense about ''fung-shuy''."
Some modern Christians have a similar opinion of feng shui.
It is entirely inconsistent with Christianity to believe that harmony and balance result from the manipulation and channeling of nonphysical forces or energies, or that such can be done by means of the proper placement of physical objects. Such techniques, in fact, belong to the world of sorcery.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, feng shui has been officially deemed as a "feudalistic superstitious practice" and a "social evil" according to the state's atheistic Communist ideology and discouraged or even outright banned at times .
Persecution was the most severe during the Cultural Revolution, when feng shui was classified as a custom under the so-called Four Olds to be wiped out. Feng shui practitioners were beaten and abused by Red Guards and their works burned. After the death of Mao Zedong and the end of the Cultural Revolution, the official attitude became more tolerant but restrictions on feng shui practice are still in place in today's China. It is illegal in the PRC today to register feng shui consultation as a business and similarly advertising feng shui practice is banned, and there have been frequent crackdowns on feng shui practitioners on the grounds of "promoting feudalistic superstitions" such as one in Qingdao in early 2006 when the city's business and industrial administration office shut down an art gallery converted into a feng shui practice . Communist officials who had consulted feng shui were sacked and expelled from the Communist Party .
Partly because of the Cultural Revolution, in today's PRC less than one-third of the population believe in feng shui, and the proportion of believers among young urban PRC Chinese is said to be much less than 5% . Among all the ethnic Chinese communities the PRC has the least number of feng shui believers in proportion to the general population. Learning feng shui is considered taboo in today's China. Nevertheless, it is reported that feng shui has gained adherents among Communist Party officials according to a BBC Chinese news commentary in 2006. , and since the beginning of Chinese economic reforms the number of feng shui practitioners are increasing. A number of Chinese academics permitted to research on the subject of feng shui are anthropologists or architects by trade, studying the history of feng shui or historical feng shui theories behind the design of heritage buildings, such as Cao Dafeng, the Vice-President of Fudan University, and Liu Shenghuan of Tongji University.
Feng Shui practitioners have been skeptical of claims and methods in the "cultural supermarket." Mark Johnson made a telling point:
This present state of affairs is ludicrous and confusing. Do we really believe that mirrors and flutes are going to change people's tendencies in any lasting and meaningful way? ... There is a lot of investigation that needs to be done or we will all go down the tubes because of our inability to match our exaggerated claims with lasting changes.
A travelogue-type article from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry explained feng shui initially as "a commonsense alignment of structures to conform to the shape of the land, an idea shared by any sensible architect in a land fraught with typhoons and torrential rains." However, after reading two books , the writer's conclusion was that feng shui "is more of a mystical belief in cosmic harmony."
Penn & Teller did an episode of their television show ''Bullshit!'' that featured several Feng Shui practitioners in the US, and was highly critical of the inconsistent advice. In the show, the entertainers argue that if Feng Shui is a science , it should feature a consistent method.
Current research
A growing body of research exists on the traditional forms of feng shui used and taught in Asia.
Landscape ecologists find traditional feng shui an interesting study. In many cases, the only remaining patches of old forest in Asia are "feng shui woods," which strongly suggests the "healthy homes," sustainability and environmental components of ''ancient'' feng shui techniques should not be easily dismissed.
Environmental scientists and landscape architects have researched traditional feng shui and its methodologies.
Architectural schools study the principles as they applied to ancient vernacular architecture..
Geographers have analyzed the techniques and methods to help locate historical sites in Victoria, Canada, and archaeological sites in the American Southwest, concluding that ancient Native Americans considered astronomy and landscape features.
Whether it is data on comparisons to scientific models, or the design and siting of buildings, graduate and undergraduate students have been accumulating solid evidence on what researchers call the "exclusive Chinese cultural achievement and experience in architecture" that is feng shui.
Further reading
Academic Works
*Ole Bruun. “Fengshui and the Chinese Perception of Nature,” in ''Asian Perceptions of Nature: A Critical Approach,'' eds. Ole Bruun and Arne Kalland 173–88
*Ole Bruun. ''Fengshui in China: Geomantic Divination between State Orthodoxy and Popular Religion.'' Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2003.
*Ole Bruun. ''An Introduction to Feng Shui.'' Cambridge University Press, 2008.
*Yoon, Hong-key. ''Culture of Fengshui in Korea: An Exploration of East Asian Geomancy'', Lexington Books, 2006.
*Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published ahead of print August 25, 2008, doi:10.1073/pnas.0803650105
New Age Variants
*Wu, Baolin, ''Lighting the Eye of the Dragon: Inner Secrets of Taoist Feng Shui'', St. Martin's Press, 2000.
*Bender, Tom, "Building with the Breath of Life: Working with Chi Energy in Our Homes and Communities" Fire River Press, 2000.
*Drews, Norbert, "Feng Shui Essentials" , 2000.
*Bender, Tom, "The Physics of Qi". DVD. Fire River Press, 2007.
Faux pas derived from Chinese pronunciation
The following faux pas are derived from homonyms in and . While originating in and Taiwan, they may also apply to people around the world.
Certain customs regarding good and bad luck are important to many Chinese people. Although these might be regarded as superstitions by people from other cultures, these customs are often tied to and are an important part of many people's , even among well-educated people and affluent sectors of society.
*It is undesirable to give someone a clock or other timepiece as a gift. Traditional superstitions regard this as counting the seconds to the recipient's death. Another common interpretation of this is that the phrase "to give a clock" in Chinese is pronounced "sòng zhōng" in , which is a homophone of a phrase for "terminating" or "attending a funeral" . Cantonese people consider such a gift as a curse.
However, should such a gift be given, the "unluckiness" of the gift can be countered by exacting a small monetary payment so the recipient is buying the clock and thereby counteracting the '送' expression of the phrase.
*It is undesirable to give someone a or an umbrella as a gift. The words fan "shàn" and umbrella "sǎn" sound like the word "sàn" , meaning scatter or to lose. "sàn kāi" means to split up.
*As a book is a Mandarin homophone of "loss" , carrying or looking at a book where people are taking a risk, such as gambling or investing in stocks, may be considered to invite bad luck and loss . This bad luck does not apply to carrying or reading newspapers as newspapers are not books. For Cantonese speakers, this connotation extends to hats in general.
Certain customs regarding good and bad luck are important to many Chinese people. Although these might be regarded as superstitions by people from other cultures, these customs are often tied to and are an important part of many people's , even among well-educated people and affluent sectors of society.
Clocks
*It is undesirable to give someone a clock or other timepiece as a gift. Traditional superstitions regard this as counting the seconds to the recipient's death. Another common interpretation of this is that the phrase "to give a clock" in Chinese is pronounced "sòng zhōng" in , which is a homophone of a phrase for "terminating" or "attending a funeral" . Cantonese people consider such a gift as a curse.
However, should such a gift be given, the "unluckiness" of the gift can be countered by exacting a small monetary payment so the recipient is buying the clock and thereby counteracting the '送' expression of the phrase.
Fans & Umbrellas
*It is undesirable to give someone a or an umbrella as a gift. The words fan "shàn" and umbrella "sǎn" sound like the word "sàn" , meaning scatter or to lose. "sàn kāi" means to split up.
Books
*As a book is a Mandarin homophone of "loss" , carrying or looking at a book where people are taking a risk, such as gambling or investing in stocks, may be considered to invite bad luck and loss . This bad luck does not apply to carrying or reading newspapers as newspapers are not books. For Cantonese speakers, this connotation extends to hats in general.
Disha 72 ways
Disha 72 ways were the seventy-two ways to manipulate the Earth and the surroundings, extraordinary skills decreed by heaven onto chosen mortal documented in a Taoist guidance book called ''Tiantang Yiuchi''. These gifts were once practised by authorized agents or Taoist daoshi who would come to aid those in need or in oppression and in general to help spread the teachings of Taoism. Feats similar to Disha 36 was called Tiangang 36 methods which had also been fictionalized in the Fengshen Yanyi.
The Disha 72 skills are listed as follow:
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse;text-align:left;"
|+
|- style="background-color:#f8f8f8"
! Nr. !! characters !! meaning
|-
| 1. || 通幽 || To communicate with the deceased
|-
| 2. || 驅神 || To summon/direct deities
|-
| 3. ||擔山 || To lift mountains
|-
| 4. || 禁水 || To bar/stop water
|-
| 5. || 借風 || To summon the wind
|-
| 6. || 佈霧 || To spread mist
|-
| 7. || 祈晴 || To clear the clouds
|-
| 8. || 禱雨 || To request for rain
|-
| 9. || 坐火 || To sit on fire
|-
| 10. || 入水 || To dive underwater
|-
| 11. || 掩日 || To call for an eclipse
|-
| 12. || 御風 || To ride the wind
|-
| 13. || 煮石 || To boil stone
|-
| 14. || 吐焰 || To swallow flame
|-
| 15. || 吞刀 || To swallow a blade
|-
| 16. || ||
|-
| 17. || ||
|-
| 18. || 履水 || To walk on water
|-
| 19. || ||
|-
| 20. || 分身 || To split the body
|-
| 21. || 隱形 || To become transparent
|-
| 22. || 續頭 || To re-connect the head
|-
| 23. || ||
|-
| 24. || 斬妖 || To slay a demon
|-
| 25. || 請仙 || To summon an
|-
| 26. || 追魂 || To chase the spirit
|-
| 27. || 攝魂 || To capture a human’s spirit
|-
| 28. || 招雲 || To summon the clouds
|-
| 29. || 取月 || To obtain the moon
|-
| 30. || ||
|-
| 31. || 嫁夢 || To cast a dream
|-
| 32. || 支離 || To amputate
|-
| 33. || ||
|-
| 34. || ||
|-
| 35. ||禳災 || To create a famine
|-
| 36. || 解厄 || To release suffering
|-
| 37. || ||
|-
| 38. || 劍術 || Mastery of the sword
|-
| 39. || ||
|-
| 40. || 土行 || To travel within the earth
|-
| 41. || ||
|-
| 42. || ||
|-
| 43. || 假形 || To assume different countenance
|-
| || ||
|-
| 50. || 聚獸 || To summon animals
|-
| 51. ||�br /> Unclear skills #16- 壺天; #17- 神行; #19- 杖解; #23- 定身; #30- 搬運; #33- 寄杖; #34- 斷流; #37- 黃; #39- 射覆; #41- 星術; #42- 布陳; #44- 噴化; #45- 指化; #46- 屍解 ; #47- 移景; #48- 招來; #49; #52; #56- 障服; #58- 服食; #59- 開避; #60- 躍喦; #61- 萌頭; #62- 登抄; #63- 喝水; #65- 暴日; #66- 弄丸; #71- 辟穀 and #72- 魘禱
The Disha 72 skills are listed as follow:
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse;text-align:left;"
|+
|- style="background-color:#f8f8f8"
! Nr. !! characters !! meaning
|-
| 1. || 通幽 || To communicate with the deceased
|-
| 2. || 驅神 || To summon/direct deities
|-
| 3. ||擔山 || To lift mountains
|-
| 4. || 禁水 || To bar/stop water
|-
| 5. || 借風 || To summon the wind
|-
| 6. || 佈霧 || To spread mist
|-
| 7. || 祈晴 || To clear the clouds
|-
| 8. || 禱雨 || To request for rain
|-
| 9. || 坐火 || To sit on fire
|-
| 10. || 入水 || To dive underwater
|-
| 11. || 掩日 || To call for an eclipse
|-
| 12. || 御風 || To ride the wind
|-
| 13. || 煮石 || To boil stone
|-
| 14. || 吐焰 || To swallow flame
|-
| 15. || 吞刀 || To swallow a blade
|-
| 16. || ||
|-
| 17. || ||
|-
| 18. || 履水 || To walk on water
|-
| 19. || ||
|-
| 20. || 分身 || To split the body
|-
| 21. || 隱形 || To become transparent
|-
| 22. || 續頭 || To re-connect the head
|-
| 23. || ||
|-
| 24. || 斬妖 || To slay a demon
|-
| 25. || 請仙 || To summon an
|-
| 26. || 追魂 || To chase the spirit
|-
| 27. || 攝魂 || To capture a human’s spirit
|-
| 28. || 招雲 || To summon the clouds
|-
| 29. || 取月 || To obtain the moon
|-
| 30. || ||
|-
| 31. || 嫁夢 || To cast a dream
|-
| 32. || 支離 || To amputate
|-
| 33. || ||
|-
| 34. || ||
|-
| 35. ||禳災 || To create a famine
|-
| 36. || 解厄 || To release suffering
|-
| 37. || ||
|-
| 38. || 劍術 || Mastery of the sword
|-
| 39. || ||
|-
| 40. || 土行 || To travel within the earth
|-
| 41. || ||
|-
| 42. || ||
|-
| 43. || 假形 || To assume different countenance
|-
| || ||
|-
| 50. || 聚獸 || To summon animals
|-
| 51. ||�br /> Unclear skills #16- 壺天; #17- 神行; #19- 杖解; #23- 定身; #30- 搬運; #33- 寄杖; #34- 斷流; #37- 黃; #39- 射覆; #41- 星術; #42- 布陳; #44- 噴化; #45- 指化; #46- 屍解 ; #47- 移景; #48- 招來; #49; #52; #56- 障服; #58- 服食; #59- 開避; #60- 躍喦; #61- 萌頭; #62- 登抄; #63- 喝水; #65- 暴日; #66- 弄丸; #71- 辟穀 and #72- 魘禱
College of Chinese Physical Culture
The College of Chinese Physical Culture is a UK registered charity formed in 2002, which promotes physical and mental health stimulation and wellbeing through non-competitive Chinese movement and dance, specifically through the Art of .
The CCPC was the subject of the 2006 film , in which a film crew followed leader Desmond Murray on a landmark journey to China in which he sought to validate and re-teach the ancient origins of the arts to the country's natives.
It was also central to a conducted by Leeds Metropolitan University, while the charity have performed at a number of nationwide venues in the United Kingdom, including Royal Albert Hall.
The CCPC runs classes in twenty towns and cities across England and Scotland. As well as running classes in Germany, France, Holland, Denmark and California,USA.
Lishi, and specifically, involves a combination of both simple and complex movement and dance dating back over 3,000 years, designed to stimulate and invigorate body and mind, with a core focus on inner strength, breathing and energy .
The College of Chinese Physical Culture is a nationwide organisation that seeks to stimulate, invigorate and energise mind and body by offering a range of classes.
Supported by and the V-project, the College has recently embarked on charitable campaigns to spread the popularity of Wushu to newer, wider audiences as part of their initiative.
This targeted the involvement of underprivileged people in inner-city areas, offering a wide range of volunteering opportunities with an end aim of gaining a national , developing a portfolio of work for future jobs, plus a national vocation in non-competitive Chinese movement and dance. Opportunities still exist in these areas.
The charity's Mission Statement endeavours to fulfil the following aims:
Personal Development
The College programme benefits people in the areas of confidence and self-esteem, self-reflection and motivation, and stimulates process learning by raising awareness of how to process and understand information: to interpret, analyse and use it. It fosters new skills, in becoming more relaxed, confident and tolerant, in managing change and stress, in looking at situations from different perspectives, and in being more open-minded and respectful of themselves and others.
Health
The programme focuses on improved health and fitness by involving people in fun and health-related exercises and activities. Participants learn about physical strength and the power of the mind through gentle but focused exercise, encouraging a relaxed rather than tense approach to their environment. Adaptable to all ages and levels of skill, the programme encourages a better understanding of the challenges to body health. It works with breath, posture, balance, responsiveness, energy and flexibility, and is an excellent way of reducing stress and increasing a sense of well-being.
Interpersonal skills
The College programme aims to develop effective interpersonal skills by encouraging assertiveness, sensitivity and constructive criticism and addressing and changing any barriers to learning such as a negative attitude. Partner work in exercises and peer observation encourages communication and negotiation, trust, co-operation and team building; and individuals develop greater participation and reliability in groups, as well as respect for diversity.
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History
The CCPC was the subject of the 2006 film , in which a film crew followed leader Desmond Murray on a landmark journey to China in which he sought to validate and re-teach the ancient origins of the arts to the country's natives.
It was also central to a conducted by Leeds Metropolitan University, while the charity have performed at a number of nationwide venues in the United Kingdom, including Royal Albert Hall.
The CCPC runs classes in twenty towns and cities across England and Scotland. As well as running classes in Germany, France, Holland, Denmark and California,USA.
CCPC style of Lishi
Lishi, and specifically, involves a combination of both simple and complex movement and dance dating back over 3,000 years, designed to stimulate and invigorate body and mind, with a core focus on inner strength, breathing and energy .
Charitable Aims
The College of Chinese Physical Culture is a nationwide organisation that seeks to stimulate, invigorate and energise mind and body by offering a range of classes.
Supported by and the V-project, the College has recently embarked on charitable campaigns to spread the popularity of Wushu to newer, wider audiences as part of their initiative.
This targeted the involvement of underprivileged people in inner-city areas, offering a wide range of volunteering opportunities with an end aim of gaining a national , developing a portfolio of work for future jobs, plus a national vocation in non-competitive Chinese movement and dance. Opportunities still exist in these areas.
Specific aims of the College of Chinese Physical Culture
The charity's Mission Statement endeavours to fulfil the following aims:
Personal Development
The College programme benefits people in the areas of confidence and self-esteem, self-reflection and motivation, and stimulates process learning by raising awareness of how to process and understand information: to interpret, analyse and use it. It fosters new skills, in becoming more relaxed, confident and tolerant, in managing change and stress, in looking at situations from different perspectives, and in being more open-minded and respectful of themselves and others.
Health
The programme focuses on improved health and fitness by involving people in fun and health-related exercises and activities. Participants learn about physical strength and the power of the mind through gentle but focused exercise, encouraging a relaxed rather than tense approach to their environment. Adaptable to all ages and levels of skill, the programme encourages a better understanding of the challenges to body health. It works with breath, posture, balance, responsiveness, energy and flexibility, and is an excellent way of reducing stress and increasing a sense of well-being.
Interpersonal skills
The College programme aims to develop effective interpersonal skills by encouraging assertiveness, sensitivity and constructive criticism and addressing and changing any barriers to learning such as a negative attitude. Partner work in exercises and peer observation encourages communication and negotiation, trust, co-operation and team building; and individuals develop greater participation and reliability in groups, as well as respect for diversity.
Press Coverage
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Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy is philosophy written in the of thought. Chinese philosophy has a history of several thousand years; its origins are often traced back to the , an ancient compendium of divination, which uses a system of 64 hexagrams to guide action. This system is attributed to King Wen around 1000 years BCE and the work reflects the characteristic concepts and approaches of Chinese philosophy. The ''Book of Changes'' evolved in stages over the next eight centuries, but the first recorded reference is in 672 BCE.
The ''Tao Te Ching'' of and the ''Analects'' of Confucius both appeared around the 6th century BCE, slightly ahead of early Buddhist philosophy and pre-Socratic philosophy.
Confucianism represents the collected teachings of the Chinese sage Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BC. His philosophy concerns the fields of ethics and politics, emphasizing personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, traditionalism, and sincerity. The Analects stress the importance of ritual, but also the importance of 'ren', which loosely translates as 'human-heartedness, Confucianism, along with , is responsible for creating the world’s first meritocracy, which holds that one's status should be determined by ability instead of ancestry, wealth, or friendship. . The government of the People's Republic of China encourage Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Although, officially, it does not encourage some of the philosophical practices of Imperial China, the influences of past are still deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture. As in Japan, philosophy in China has become a melting pot of ideas. It accepts new concepts, while attempting also to accord old beliefs their due.
''Chinese philosophy'' has spread around the world in forms such as the ''New Confucianism'' and New Age ideas . Many in the academic community of the West remain skeptical, and only a few assimilate Chinese philosophy into their own research, whether scientific or philosophical. However, it still carries profound influence amongst the people of East Asia, and even Southeast Asia.
Early Shang Dynasty thought was based upon cyclicity. This notion stems from what the people of the Shang Dynasty could observe around them: day and night cycled, the seasons progressed again and again, and even the moon waxed and waned until it waxed again. Thus, this notion, which remained relevant throughout Chinese history, reflects the order of nature. In juxtaposition, it also marks a fundamental distinction from western philosophy, in which the dominant view of time is a linear progression. During the Shang, could be manipulated by great deities , commonly translated as Gods. Ancestor worship was present and universally recognized. There was also human and animal sacrifice.
When the Shang were overthrown by the , a new political, religious and philosophical concept was introduced called the "Mandate of Heaven". This mandate was said to be taken when rulers became unworthy of their position and provided a shrewd justification for Zhou rule. During this period, archaeological evidence points to an increase in literacy and a partial shift away from the faith placed in Shangdi , with ancestor worship becoming commonplace and a more worldly orientation coming to the fore.
In around 500 BCE, after the Zhou state weakened and China moved in to the Spring and Autumn Period, the classic period of Chinese philosophy began . This is known as the Hundred Schools of Thought . Of the many schools founded at this time and during the subsequent Warring States Period, the four most influential ones were Confucianism, , Mohism and .
The short founder Qin Dynasty, where Legalism was the official philosophy, . Legalism remained influential until the emperors of the Han Dynasty adopted Daoism and later Confucianism as official doctrine. These latter two became the determining forces of Chinese thought until the 20th century, with the introduction Buddhist philosophy negotiated largely through perceived similarities with Daoism.
Neo-Confucianism was a revived version of old Confucian principles that appeared around the Song Dynasty, with Buddhist, Taoist, and Legalist features. It was later popularized during the reign of the Ming Dynasty.
The respective influences of Daoism and Confucianism are often described this way: "Chinese are Confucianist during the day, while they are Daoists at night". Moreover, many Chinese were government officials in the daily life ''and'' poets in their spare time.
During the Industrial and Modern Ages, Chinese philosophy had also began to integrate concepts of Western philosophy, as steps toward modernization. By the time of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, there were many calls, such as the May Fourth Movement, to completely abolish the old imperial institutions and practices of China. There have been attempts to incorporate democracy, republicanism, and industrialism into Chinese philosophy, notably by Sun Yat-Sen at the beginning of the 20th century. Mao Zedong added Marxism, Stalinism, and other thought.
When the Communist Party of China power, previous schools of thought, excepting notably , were denounced as backward, and later even purged during the Cultural Revolution. Their influence on Chinese thought, however, remains. The current government of the People's Republic of China is trying to encourage a form of .
Since the radical movement of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government has become much more tolerant with the practice of traditional beliefs. The 1978 Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees "freedom of religion" with a number of restrictions. Spiritual and philosophical institutions have been allowed to be established or re-established, as long they are not perceived to be a threat to the power of the . The influences of the past are still deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture. As in Japan, philosophy in China has become a melting pot of ideas. It accepts new concepts, while attempting also to accord old beliefs their due.
''See also: Chinese nationalism, Maoism, Culture of the People's Republic of China''
Confucianism is a philosophical school developed from the teachings of the sage Confucius , collected in the ''Analects of Confucius''. It is a system of , , , and thought that has had tremendous influence on Chinese history, thought, and culture down to the 21st century. Some Westerners have considered it to have been the "state religion" of imperial China. Its influence also spread to Korea and Japan.
The major Confucian concepts include ''rén'' , ''zhèngmíng'' , ''zhōng'' , ''xiào'' , and ''lǐ'' . Confucius taught both positive and negative versions of the . The concepts Yin and Yang represent two opposing forces that are permanently in conflict with each other, leading to perpetual contradiction and change. The Confucian idea of "Rid of the two ends, take the middle" is a Chinese equivalent of Hegel's idea of "thesis, antithesis, and synthesis", which is a way of reconciling opposites, arriving at some middle ground combining the best of both.
Despite Confucianism losing popularity to Taoism and Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism combined those ideas into a more framework. Its concepts include ''li'' , ''qi'' , ''taiji'' , and ''xin'' .
see also Xuanxue
Taoism is a philosophy and later also developed into a religion based on the texts the ''Tao Te Ching'' and the ''Zhuangzi'' . The character ''Tao'' 道 literally means "path" or "way". However in Daoism it refers more often to a meta-physical term that describes a force that encompasses the entire universe but which cannot be described nor felt. All major Chinese philosophical schools have investigated the correct ''Way'' to go about a moral life, but in Taoism it takes on the most abstract meanings, leading this school to be named after it. It advocated nonaction , the strength of softness, spontaneity, and relativism. Although it serves as a rival to Confucianism, a school of active morality, this rivalry is compromised and given perspective by the idiom "practise Confucianism on the outside, Taoism on the inside."
But its main motto is: "If one must rule, rule young"
Most of Taoism's focus is on the undeniable fact that human attempts to make the world better, actually make the world worse. Therefore it is better to strife to harmony.
Legalism is a pragmatic political philosophy synthesized by Han Fei. With an essential principle like "when the epoch changed, the ways changed", it upholds the rule of law and is thus a theory of jurisprudence.
A ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity:
#Fa : law or principle.
#Shu : method, tactic, art, or statecraft.
#Shi : legitimacy, power, or charisma.
Legalism was the chosen philosophy of the Qin Dynasty. It was blamed for creating a totalitarian society and thereby experienced decline. Its main motto is: "Set clear strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment"
Buddhism is a religion, a practical philosophy, and arguably a psychology, focusing on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, who lived on the Indian subcontinent most likely from the mid- to the early 5th century BCE. When used in a generic sense, a is generally considered to be someone who discovers the true .
Although Buddhism originated in , it has had a lasting effect on China. Since Chinese tradition focuses on ethics rather than metaphysics, it has developed several schools distinct from the originating Indian schools. The most prominent examples with philosophical merit are Sanlun, Tiantai, , and Chán . They investigate , levels of truth, whether reality is ultimately empty, and how is to be achieved. Buddhism has a spiritual aspect that compliments the action of Neo-Confucianism, with prominent Neo-Confucians advocating certain forms of meditation.
Mohism , founded by Mozi, promotes universal love with the aim of mutual benefit. Everyone must love each other equally and impartially to avoid conflict and war. Mozi was strongly against Confucian ritual, instead emphasizing survival through farming, fortification, and . Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general benefit. As motivation for his theory, Mozi brought in the ''Will of Heaven'', but rather than being religious his philosophy parallels utilitarianism.
The logicians were concerned with logic, paradoxes, names and actuality . The logician Hui Shi was a friendly rival to Zhuangzi, arguing against Taoism in a light-hearted and humorous manner. Another logician, Gongsun Long, told the famous When a White Horse is Not a Horse dialogue. This school did not thrive because the Chinese regarded sophistry and dialectic as impractical.
* Confucius, seen as the Great Master but sometimes ridiculed by Taoists.
** Mencius, Confucius' follower having idealist inspiration.
** Xun Zi, another Confucius' follower, closer to realism.
** Zhu Xi, founder of Neo-Confucianism
** Wang Yangming, most influential proponent of ''xinxue'' or "state of mind."
* Lao Zi, the chief of Taoist school.
** Zhuangzi, said to be the author of the ''Zhuangzi''.
** , said to be the author of the ''Liezi''.
* Mozi, the founder of Mohist school.
* Han Fei, one of the theoreticians of Legalism
* Lin-chi, a great Buddhist Ch'an thinker and teacher, essentially shaped what would become one of the largest schools of Buddhism
Although the individual philosophical schools differ considerably, they nevertheless share a common vocabulary and set of concerns.
Among the terms commonly found in Chinese philosophy are:
*Tao
*
*
*Qi
*The ''Taiji'' forms a unity, from which two antagonistic concepts, ''Yin'' and ''Yang'' originate. The word ''Yin'' originally referred to a hillside facing away from the sun. Philosophically, it stands the gloomy, passive, female concept, whereas ''Yang'' stands for the bright, active, male concept. Both concepts, though antagonistic, are also complementary and the present domination of one implies the future rise of the other, as moon's phases .
Among the great controversies of Chinese philosophies are:
* The relation between matter and principle
* The method of discovering truth
* Human nature
Among the commonalties of Chinese philosophies are:
* Epistemological optimism. The belief that the big questions can be answered even if the answers are not currently known.
* The tendency not to view man as separate from nature.
* The tendency not to invoke a unified and personified supernatural power. Questions about the nature and existence of God which have profoundly influenced Western philosophy have not been important in Chinese philosophies.
* The belief that the purpose of philosophy is primarily to serve as an ethical and practical guide.
* The political focus: most scholars of the Hundred Schools were trying to convince the ruler to behave in the way they defended.
The focuses of and Chinese philosophy are radically different, thus they have a considerable effect on mentalities of both societies. Western philosophy emphasizes ambition, individualism, rationality, , and liberty, while Chinese philosophy emphasizes benevolence, harmony, wisdom, family, and honoring one's ancestors. Chinese philosophy primarily focuses more internally, while the focus of Western philosophy is more external.
While calls for liberty and democracy, demands unquestioned loyalty to imperial authority. While competition is essential in the ideology of Capitalism, cooperation is seen as the key for harmony in the philosophy of the East. Western philosophers primarily value reason and rationality, while the Far Eastern philosophers generally emphasize meditation and wisdom. This is not to say that Chinese philosophy is irrational, nor to say that Western philosophy is unwise.
Despite their many differences, it would be far from the truth that and Chinese philosophy differ completely differently. The two philosophies explored deep into the realms of inquiry and covered similar grounds. Thus, naturally, they would have an ample number of schools that thought similarly. For example, there were philosophers in China, such as the Logicians, that made scientific rationality their chief focus, while there were philosophers in the West, such as Marcus Aurelius, that saw meditation as the path to knowledge. It is just the mainstream philosophical schools that make Western and Chinese philosophy different.
* ''A History of Chinese Philosophy'' , Feng Youlan, tr. Derk Bodde, 1983.
* ''Disputers of the Tao; Philosophical Argument in Ancient China'', A. C. Graham, 1989.
* ''Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China'', Arthur Waley, 1983.
* ''Chinese Thought, from Confucius to Mao Zedong'', Herrlee Glessner Creel, 1971.
* ''The Importance of Living'', Lin Yutang, 1996.
* ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy'', , Routledge, 2003.
* Fung Yu-lan, ''A Short History of Chinese Philosophy'' .
The ''Tao Te Ching'' of and the ''Analects'' of Confucius both appeared around the 6th century BCE, slightly ahead of early Buddhist philosophy and pre-Socratic philosophy.
Confucianism represents the collected teachings of the Chinese sage Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BC. His philosophy concerns the fields of ethics and politics, emphasizing personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, traditionalism, and sincerity. The Analects stress the importance of ritual, but also the importance of 'ren', which loosely translates as 'human-heartedness, Confucianism, along with , is responsible for creating the world’s first meritocracy, which holds that one's status should be determined by ability instead of ancestry, wealth, or friendship. . The government of the People's Republic of China encourage Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Although, officially, it does not encourage some of the philosophical practices of Imperial China, the influences of past are still deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture. As in Japan, philosophy in China has become a melting pot of ideas. It accepts new concepts, while attempting also to accord old beliefs their due.
''Chinese philosophy'' has spread around the world in forms such as the ''New Confucianism'' and New Age ideas . Many in the academic community of the West remain skeptical, and only a few assimilate Chinese philosophy into their own research, whether scientific or philosophical. However, it still carries profound influence amongst the people of East Asia, and even Southeast Asia.
Brief history
Early beliefs
Early Shang Dynasty thought was based upon cyclicity. This notion stems from what the people of the Shang Dynasty could observe around them: day and night cycled, the seasons progressed again and again, and even the moon waxed and waned until it waxed again. Thus, this notion, which remained relevant throughout Chinese history, reflects the order of nature. In juxtaposition, it also marks a fundamental distinction from western philosophy, in which the dominant view of time is a linear progression. During the Shang, could be manipulated by great deities , commonly translated as Gods. Ancestor worship was present and universally recognized. There was also human and animal sacrifice.
When the Shang were overthrown by the , a new political, religious and philosophical concept was introduced called the "Mandate of Heaven". This mandate was said to be taken when rulers became unworthy of their position and provided a shrewd justification for Zhou rule. During this period, archaeological evidence points to an increase in literacy and a partial shift away from the faith placed in Shangdi , with ancestor worship becoming commonplace and a more worldly orientation coming to the fore.
Hundred Schools of Thought
In around 500 BCE, after the Zhou state weakened and China moved in to the Spring and Autumn Period, the classic period of Chinese philosophy began . This is known as the Hundred Schools of Thought . Of the many schools founded at this time and during the subsequent Warring States Period, the four most influential ones were Confucianism, , Mohism and .
Imperial era
The short founder Qin Dynasty, where Legalism was the official philosophy, . Legalism remained influential until the emperors of the Han Dynasty adopted Daoism and later Confucianism as official doctrine. These latter two became the determining forces of Chinese thought until the 20th century, with the introduction Buddhist philosophy negotiated largely through perceived similarities with Daoism.
Neo-Confucianism was a revived version of old Confucian principles that appeared around the Song Dynasty, with Buddhist, Taoist, and Legalist features. It was later popularized during the reign of the Ming Dynasty.
The respective influences of Daoism and Confucianism are often described this way: "Chinese are Confucianist during the day, while they are Daoists at night". Moreover, many Chinese were government officials in the daily life ''and'' poets in their spare time.
Modern era
During the Industrial and Modern Ages, Chinese philosophy had also began to integrate concepts of Western philosophy, as steps toward modernization. By the time of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, there were many calls, such as the May Fourth Movement, to completely abolish the old imperial institutions and practices of China. There have been attempts to incorporate democracy, republicanism, and industrialism into Chinese philosophy, notably by Sun Yat-Sen at the beginning of the 20th century. Mao Zedong added Marxism, Stalinism, and other thought.
When the Communist Party of China power, previous schools of thought, excepting notably , were denounced as backward, and later even purged during the Cultural Revolution. Their influence on Chinese thought, however, remains. The current government of the People's Republic of China is trying to encourage a form of .
Since the radical movement of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government has become much more tolerant with the practice of traditional beliefs. The 1978 Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees "freedom of religion" with a number of restrictions. Spiritual and philosophical institutions have been allowed to be established or re-established, as long they are not perceived to be a threat to the power of the . The influences of the past are still deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture. As in Japan, philosophy in China has become a melting pot of ideas. It accepts new concepts, while attempting also to accord old beliefs their due.
''See also: Chinese nationalism, Maoism, Culture of the People's Republic of China''
Main Schools of Thought
Confucianism
Confucianism is a philosophical school developed from the teachings of the sage Confucius , collected in the ''Analects of Confucius''. It is a system of , , , and thought that has had tremendous influence on Chinese history, thought, and culture down to the 21st century. Some Westerners have considered it to have been the "state religion" of imperial China. Its influence also spread to Korea and Japan.
The major Confucian concepts include ''rén'' , ''zhèngmíng'' , ''zhōng'' , ''xiào'' , and ''lǐ'' . Confucius taught both positive and negative versions of the . The concepts Yin and Yang represent two opposing forces that are permanently in conflict with each other, leading to perpetual contradiction and change. The Confucian idea of "Rid of the two ends, take the middle" is a Chinese equivalent of Hegel's idea of "thesis, antithesis, and synthesis", which is a way of reconciling opposites, arriving at some middle ground combining the best of both.
Neo-Confucianism
Despite Confucianism losing popularity to Taoism and Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism combined those ideas into a more framework. Its concepts include ''li'' , ''qi'' , ''taiji'' , and ''xin'' .
Taoism
see also Xuanxue
Taoism is a philosophy and later also developed into a religion based on the texts the ''Tao Te Ching'' and the ''Zhuangzi'' . The character ''Tao'' 道 literally means "path" or "way". However in Daoism it refers more often to a meta-physical term that describes a force that encompasses the entire universe but which cannot be described nor felt. All major Chinese philosophical schools have investigated the correct ''Way'' to go about a moral life, but in Taoism it takes on the most abstract meanings, leading this school to be named after it. It advocated nonaction , the strength of softness, spontaneity, and relativism. Although it serves as a rival to Confucianism, a school of active morality, this rivalry is compromised and given perspective by the idiom "practise Confucianism on the outside, Taoism on the inside."
But its main motto is: "If one must rule, rule young"
Most of Taoism's focus is on the undeniable fact that human attempts to make the world better, actually make the world worse. Therefore it is better to strife to harmony.
Legalism
Legalism is a pragmatic political philosophy synthesized by Han Fei. With an essential principle like "when the epoch changed, the ways changed", it upholds the rule of law and is thus a theory of jurisprudence.
A ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity:
#Fa : law or principle.
#Shu : method, tactic, art, or statecraft.
#Shi : legitimacy, power, or charisma.
Legalism was the chosen philosophy of the Qin Dynasty. It was blamed for creating a totalitarian society and thereby experienced decline. Its main motto is: "Set clear strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment"
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion, a practical philosophy, and arguably a psychology, focusing on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, who lived on the Indian subcontinent most likely from the mid- to the early 5th century BCE. When used in a generic sense, a is generally considered to be someone who discovers the true .
Although Buddhism originated in , it has had a lasting effect on China. Since Chinese tradition focuses on ethics rather than metaphysics, it has developed several schools distinct from the originating Indian schools. The most prominent examples with philosophical merit are Sanlun, Tiantai, , and Chán . They investigate , levels of truth, whether reality is ultimately empty, and how is to be achieved. Buddhism has a spiritual aspect that compliments the action of Neo-Confucianism, with prominent Neo-Confucians advocating certain forms of meditation.
Mohism
Mohism , founded by Mozi, promotes universal love with the aim of mutual benefit. Everyone must love each other equally and impartially to avoid conflict and war. Mozi was strongly against Confucian ritual, instead emphasizing survival through farming, fortification, and . Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general benefit. As motivation for his theory, Mozi brought in the ''Will of Heaven'', but rather than being religious his philosophy parallels utilitarianism.
Logicians
The logicians were concerned with logic, paradoxes, names and actuality . The logician Hui Shi was a friendly rival to Zhuangzi, arguing against Taoism in a light-hearted and humorous manner. Another logician, Gongsun Long, told the famous When a White Horse is Not a Horse dialogue. This school did not thrive because the Chinese regarded sophistry and dialectic as impractical.
Great philosophical figures
* Confucius, seen as the Great Master but sometimes ridiculed by Taoists.
** Mencius, Confucius' follower having idealist inspiration.
** Xun Zi, another Confucius' follower, closer to realism.
** Zhu Xi, founder of Neo-Confucianism
** Wang Yangming, most influential proponent of ''xinxue'' or "state of mind."
* Lao Zi, the chief of Taoist school.
** Zhuangzi, said to be the author of the ''Zhuangzi''.
** , said to be the author of the ''Liezi''.
* Mozi, the founder of Mohist school.
* Han Fei, one of the theoreticians of Legalism
* Lin-chi, a great Buddhist Ch'an thinker and teacher, essentially shaped what would become one of the largest schools of Buddhism
Concepts within Chinese philosophy
Although the individual philosophical schools differ considerably, they nevertheless share a common vocabulary and set of concerns.
Among the terms commonly found in Chinese philosophy are:
*Tao
*
*
*Qi
*The ''Taiji'' forms a unity, from which two antagonistic concepts, ''Yin'' and ''Yang'' originate. The word ''Yin'' originally referred to a hillside facing away from the sun. Philosophically, it stands the gloomy, passive, female concept, whereas ''Yang'' stands for the bright, active, male concept. Both concepts, though antagonistic, are also complementary and the present domination of one implies the future rise of the other, as moon's phases .
Among the great controversies of Chinese philosophies are:
* The relation between matter and principle
* The method of discovering truth
* Human nature
Among the commonalties of Chinese philosophies are:
* Epistemological optimism. The belief that the big questions can be answered even if the answers are not currently known.
* The tendency not to view man as separate from nature.
* The tendency not to invoke a unified and personified supernatural power. Questions about the nature and existence of God which have profoundly influenced Western philosophy have not been important in Chinese philosophies.
* The belief that the purpose of philosophy is primarily to serve as an ethical and practical guide.
* The political focus: most scholars of the Hundred Schools were trying to convince the ruler to behave in the way they defended.
Comparison between Chinese and Western philosophy
The focuses of and Chinese philosophy are radically different, thus they have a considerable effect on mentalities of both societies. Western philosophy emphasizes ambition, individualism, rationality, , and liberty, while Chinese philosophy emphasizes benevolence, harmony, wisdom, family, and honoring one's ancestors. Chinese philosophy primarily focuses more internally, while the focus of Western philosophy is more external.
While calls for liberty and democracy, demands unquestioned loyalty to imperial authority. While competition is essential in the ideology of Capitalism, cooperation is seen as the key for harmony in the philosophy of the East. Western philosophers primarily value reason and rationality, while the Far Eastern philosophers generally emphasize meditation and wisdom. This is not to say that Chinese philosophy is irrational, nor to say that Western philosophy is unwise.
Despite their many differences, it would be far from the truth that and Chinese philosophy differ completely differently. The two philosophies explored deep into the realms of inquiry and covered similar grounds. Thus, naturally, they would have an ample number of schools that thought similarly. For example, there were philosophers in China, such as the Logicians, that made scientific rationality their chief focus, while there were philosophers in the West, such as Marcus Aurelius, that saw meditation as the path to knowledge. It is just the mainstream philosophical schools that make Western and Chinese philosophy different.
Further reading
* ''A History of Chinese Philosophy'' , Feng Youlan, tr. Derk Bodde, 1983.
* ''Disputers of the Tao; Philosophical Argument in Ancient China'', A. C. Graham, 1989.
* ''Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China'', Arthur Waley, 1983.
* ''Chinese Thought, from Confucius to Mao Zedong'', Herrlee Glessner Creel, 1971.
* ''The Importance of Living'', Lin Yutang, 1996.
* ''Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy'', , Routledge, 2003.
* Fung Yu-lan, ''A Short History of Chinese Philosophy'' .
Chinese martial arts
Kung fu and wushu are popular terms that have become synonymous with martial arts. However the terms and have very different meanings. Wushu can describe greatly varying martial arts traditions. Kung fu can be used in a context without any martial arts whatsoever. Colloquially, kung fu alludes to any individual accomplishment or cultivated skill obtained by long and hard work. In contrast, wushu is a more precise term that refers to general martial activities. The term wushu has also become the name for a similar to gymnastics involving the performance of adapted Chinese bare-handed and weapons forms judged to a set of contemporary aesthetic criteria for points.
The origins of Chinese martial arts are traced over 5,000 years ago to self-defense needs, hunting activities and military training in ancient China. Hand to hand combat and weapons practice were important components in the training of Chinese soldiers. From this beginning, Chinese martial arts proceeded to incorporate different philosophies and ideas into its practice—expanding its purpose from self-defense to health maintenance and finally as method of self cultivation. In return, influence of martial arts ideals can be found in poetry, fiction, and film. Chinese martial arts are now an integral element of Chinese culture.
According to legend, the reign of the Yellow Emperor introduced the earliest forms of martial arts to China. The Yellow Emperor 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 or horn-butting and utilized it in war.
''Shǒubó'' kung fu, practiced during the Shang dynasty , and Xiang Bo from the 600s BCE, are just two examples of ancient Chinese kung fu. In 509 BCE, Confucius suggested to Duke Ding of Lu that people practice the literary arts as well as the martial arts This combat system included techniques such as , , , and pressure point attacks. Jiao li became a sport during the Qin Dynasty . The '' Bibliographies'' record that, by the Former Han , there was a distinction between no-holds-barred weaponless fighting, which it calls ''shǒubó'' , for which "how-to" manuals had already been written, and sportive wrestling, then known as juélì or jiǎolì . Wrestling is also documented in the Shǐ Jì, ''Records of the Grand Historian'', written by Sima Qian .
A hand-to-hand combat theory, including the integration of notions of techniques, is expounded in the story of the ''Maiden of Yue'' in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue .
In the Tang Dynasty, descriptions of sword dances were immortalized in poems by Li Bai. In the Song and Yuan dynasties, xiangpu contests were sponsored by the imperial courts. The modern concepts of wushu were fully developed by the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Martial arts are also mentioned in Chinese philosophy. Passages in the ''Zhuangzi'' , a Daoist text, pertain to the psychology and practice of martial arts. Zhuangzi, its eponymous author, is believed to have lived in the 4th century BCE. The Tao Te Ching, often credited to Lao Zi, is another Daoist text that contains principles applicable to martial arts. According to one of the classic texts of Confucianism, '''' , Archery and charioteering were part of the "six arts" of the Zhou Dynasty . ''The Art of War'' , written during the 6th century BCE by Sun Tzu , deals directly with military warfare but contains ideas that are used in the Chinese martial arts. Those examples shows the ideas associated with Chinese martial arts changed with the evolving Chinese society and over time acquired a philosophical basis.
practitioners have been practicing Tao Yin, physical exercises similar to Qigong that was one of the progenitors to Tai Chi Chuan, at least as early as 500 BCE. In 39–92 CE, "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting", were included in the ''Han Shu'' written by . Also, the noted physician, Hua Tuo, composed the "Five Animals Play"—tiger, deer, monkey, bear, and bird, around 220 BCE. Taoist philosophy and their approach to health and exercise might have influenced to certain extent the Chinese martial arts.
With regards to the style of martial arts, the oldest evidence of Shaolin participation in combat is a style from 728 CE that attests to two occasions: a defense of the Shaolin Monastery from bandits around 610 CE, and their subsequent role in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621 CE From the 8th to the 15th centuries, there are no extant documents that provide evidence of Shaolin participation in combat. However, between the 16th and 17th centuries there are at least forty extant sources which provided evidence that, not only did monks of Shaolin practice martial arts, but martial practice had become such an integral element of Shaolin monastic life that the monks felt the need to justify it by creating new Buddhist lore. References of martial arts practice in Shaolin appear in various literary genres of the late Ming: the epitaphs of Shaolin warrior monks, martial-arts manuals, military encyclopedias, historical writings, travelogues, fiction, and even poetry. However these sources do not point out to any specific style originated in Shaolin. These sources, in contrast to those from the Tang period, refer to Shaolin methods of armed combat. This include the forte of Shaolin monks and for which they had become famous — the .The Ming General Qi Jiguang included description of Shaolin Quan fa and staff techniques in his book, Ji Xiao Xin Shu that title can be translated as "New Book Recording Effective Techniques". When this book spread to East Asia, it had a great influence on the development of martial arts in regions such as Okinawa and Korea.
The fighting styles that are practiced today were developed over the centuries, after having incorporated forms that came into existence later. Some of these include , , , , Hsing I, Hung Gar, Lau Gar, , , , , Fujian White Crane, Wing Chun and Tai Chi Chuan.
The present view of Chinese martial arts are strongly influenced by the events of the . In the transition period between the fall of the Qing Dynasty as well as the turmoils 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 martial arts training manuals were published, a training academy was created, 2 National examinations were organized as well as demonstration teams travelled overseas and numerous martial arts associations were formed throughout China and in various oversea Chinese communities. The Central Guoshu Academy established by the National Government in 1928 and the Jing Wu Athletic Association founded by Huo Yuanjia in 1910 are examples of organizations that promoted a systematic approach for training in 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.
Eventually, those events lead to the popular view of martial arts as a sport.
Chinese martial arts started to spread internationally with the end of the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Many well known martial art practitioners chose to escape from the PRC's rule and migrate to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other parts of the world. Those started to teach within the overseas Chinese communities but eventually they expanded their teachings to include people from other cultures.
Within China, the practice of traditional martial arts was discouraged during the turbulent years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution . Like many other aspects of traditional Chinese life, martial arts was subjected to a radical transformation by the People's Republic of China in order to align it with Maoist revolutionary doctrine. In 1979, the State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports created a special task force to reevaluate the teaching and practice of Wushu. In 1986, the Chinese National Research Institute of Wushu was established as the central authority for the research and administration of Wushu activities in the People's Republic of China. Changing government policies and attitudes towards sports in general lead to the closing of the State Sports Commission in 1998. This closure is viewed as an attempt to partially de-politicize organized sports and move Chinese sport policies towards a more market-driven approach. As a result of these changing sociological factors within China, both traditional styles and modern Wushu approaches are being promoted by the Chinese government.
China has one of the longest of continuously recorded martial arts tradition of any society in the world, and with hundreds of styles probably the most varied. Over the past two to four thousand years, many distinctive styles have been developed, each with its own set of techniques and ideas. There are also common themes to the different styles, which are often classified by "families" , "sects" or "schools" of martial art styles. There are styles that mimic movements from animals and others that gather inspiration from various Chinese philosophies, myths and legends. Some styles put most of their focus into the harnessing of qi energy, while others concentrate solely on competition and exhibition. Each style offers a different approach to the common problems of self-defense, health and self-cultivation.
Chinese martial arts can be split into various categories to differentiate them: For example, ''external'' and '''' . Chinese martial arts can also be categorized by location, as in ''northern'' and ''southern'' as well, referring to what part of China the styles originated from, separated by the Yangtze River ; Chinese martial arts may even be classified according to their province or city. The main perceived difference about northern and southern styles is that the northern styles tend to emphasize fast and powerful kicks, high jumps and generally fluid and rapid movement, while the southern styles focus more on strong arm and hand techniques, and stable, immovable stances and fast footwork. Examples of the northern styles include Changquan and Xingyiquan. Examples of the southern styles include Nanquan and Wing Chun. Chinese martial arts can also be divided according to religion, imitative-styles , and more. There are distinctive differences in the training between different groups of Chinese martial arts regardless of the type of classification.
Chinese martial arts training consists of the following components: basics, forms, applications and weapons. Each style has its own unique training system with varying emphasis on each of those components. In addition, philosophy, ethics and even medical practise are highly regarded by most Chinese martial arts. A complete training system should also provide insight into Chinese attitudes and culture.
''Basics'' are a vital part of the training, as a student cannot progress to the more advanced stages without them; without strong and flexible muscles including the management of the concept of "Chi" and proper body mechanics, many movements of Chinese martial arts are simply impossible to perform correctly. Basics training may involve a series of simple movements that are performed repeatedly over a short interval; examples of basics training include stretching, stance work, rudimentary conditioning, meditation and basic kicking and punching techniques.
A common saying concerning basic training in Chinese martial arts is as follows:
Which can be translated as
Stances are structural postures employed in Chinese martial arts training. They represent the foundation and exaggerated form of a fighter's base. Each style has different names and variations for each stance. Stances may be differentiated by foot position, weight distribution, body alignment, etc. Stance training can be practiced statically, the goal of which is to maintain the structure of the stance through a set time period, or dynamically, in which case a series of movements is performed repeatedly. The horse riding stance and the bow stance are examples of a stances found in many styles of Chinese martial arts.
In many Chinese Martial Art systems, meditation is considered to be an important component of basic training. Meditation can be used to develop focus, mental clarity and can act as a basis for qigong training.
''Forms'' or ''taolu'' in Chinese are series of predetermined movements combined so they can be practiced as one linear set of movements. Forms were originally intended to preserve the lineage of a particular style branch, and were often taught to advanced students who were selected to preserve the art's lineage. Forms were designed to contain both literal, representative and exercise-oriented forms of applicable techniques which would be extracted, tested and trained by students through sparring sessions.
Many believe that a Kung Fu form needs to be both practical, usable, and applicable as well as promoting flow, meditation, flexibility, balance and coordination. Often kung fu teachers are heard to say "train your form as if you were sparring and spar as if it were a form."
There are two general types of forms in Chinese Martial Arts. Most common are "solo forms" which are performed by a single student. There are also "sparring" forms, which are choreographed fighting sets performed by two or more people. Sparring forms were designed both to acquaint beginning fighters with basic measures and concepts of combat, and to serve as performance pieces for the school. Sparring forms which utilize weapons are especially useful for teaching students the extension, range and technique required to manage a weapon.
Today many styles of Kung Fu, as well as styles of Wushu, consider forms to be one of the most important practices in Chinese Martial Arts. Traditionally, forms played a smaller role in training combat application, and were eclipsed by sparring, drilling and conditioning. Forms gradually build up a practitioner's flexibility, internal and external strength, speed and stamina, and teach balance and coordination. Many styles contain forms using a wide range of weapons of various length and type, utilizing one or two hands. There are also styles which focus on a certain type of weapon.
As forms have grown in complexity and quantity over the years, and many forms alone could be practiced for a lifetime, styles of modern Chinese martial arts have developed that concentrate solely on forms, and do not practice application at all. These styles are primarily aimed at exhibition and competition, and often include more acrobatic jumps and movements added for enhanced visual effect compared to the traditional styles. Those who generally prefer to practice traditional styles, focused less on exhibition, are often referred to as traditionalists. Many traditionalists consider the evolution of today's Chinese martial arts as undesirable, saying that much of its original value is lost.
Even though forms in Chinese martial arts are intended to depict realistic martial techniques, the movements are not always identical to how techniques would be applied in combat. Many forms have been elaborated upon, on the one hand to provide better combat preparedness, and on the other hand to look more aesthetically pleasing. One manifestation of this tendency toward elaboration which goes beyond combat application is the use of lower stances and higher, stretching kicks. These two maneuvers are unrealistic in combat and are utilized in forms for exercise purposes. Many modern schools have replaced practical defense or offense movements with acrobatic feats that are more spectacular to watch, thereby gaining favor during exhibitions and competitions. This has led to criticisms by traditionalists for endorsing the more acrobatic, show-oriented Wushu competition. Even though appearance has always been important in many traditional forms as well. Historically forms were often performed for entertainment purposes long before the advent of modern Wushu as practitioners have looked for supplementary income by performing on the streets or in theaters.
Many traditional Chinese Martial Artists, as well as practitioners of modern sport combat, have become critical of the perception that forms work is more relevant to the art than sparring and drill application, while most continue to see traditional forms practice within the traditional context--as vital to both proper combat execution, the Shaolin aesthetic as art form, as well as upholding the meditative function of the physical artform.
Another reason why the martial techniques often appear different in forms when contrasted with sparring application is thought by some to come from the concealment of the actual functions of the techniques from outsiders.
''Application training'' refers to the training of putting the martial techniques to use. Chinese martial arts usually contain a large arsenal of techniques and make use of the whole body; efficiency and effectiveness is what the techniques are based on. When and how applications are taught varies from style to style; in the early stages of a student's training, most styles focus on drills in which each student knows what range of combat is being practiced and what attack to expect. Gradually, fewer and fewer rules are applied, and the students learn how to react and utilize technique. 'Sparring' refers to the major aspect of application training, which simulates a combat situation but usually includes rules and regulations to reduce the chance of serious injury to the students.
The subject of application training is a controversial one, and is the subject of a raging debate between the Neo-Traditional Martial Artists and Sports and traditional martial artists. In the neo-traditionalist view, martial arts training should eventually lead to and be proven by actual combat as well as being governed by a moral philosophy; neo-traditionalists often believe sparring to test techniques is either irrelevant because of their disbelief in the validity of a regulated test setting, or because the system's techniques are supposedly too dangerous to use outside of a real combat situation. In contrast, the sport-competition and traditionalist view suggests that all of the techniques in Chinese Martial Arts should be repeatedly time-tested through sparring to insure their effectiveness.
An example of this approach in the Chinese Martial Arts is the tradition of Lei tai and or sǎnshǒu . Lèitái represents public challenge matches that first appeared in the Song Dynasty. The objective for those contests was to knock the opponent from a raised platform by any means necessary.
San Shou and Sanda represents the modern development of Lei Tai contests, but with rules in place to reduce the chance of serious injury. Many Chinese martial arts schools teach or work within the rulesets of San Shou and Sanda, working to incorporate the movements, characteristics, and theory of their style.
Most Chinese styles also make use of training the broad arsenal of for conditioning the body as well as coordination and strategy drills. Weapons training are generally carried out after the student is proficient in the basics, forms and applications training. The basic theory for weapons training is to consider the weapon as an extension of your body. The same requirements for footwork and body coordination is required The process of weapon training proceed with forms, forms with partners and then applications. Most systems have training methods for each of the Eighteen Arms of Wushu in addition to specialized instruments specific to the system.
Traditional Chinese schools of martial arts, such as the famed Shaolin monks, often dealt with the study of martial arts not just as a means of self-defense or mental training, but as a system of ethics. Wude can be translated as "martial morality" and is constructed from two Chinese characters, "wu" which means martial and "de" which means morality. Wude deals with two aspects; "morality of deed" and "morality of mind". Morality of deed concerns social relations; morality of mind is meant to cultivate the inner harmony between the emotional mind and the wisdom mind . The ultimate goal is reaching no extremity , where both wisdom & emotions are in harmony with each other.
The concept of ''qì'' or ''ch'i'' , the inner energy or "life force" that is said to animate living beings, is encountered in almost all styles of Chinese martial art. Internal styles are reputed to cultivate its use differently than external styles.
One's qi can be improved and strengthened through the regular practice of various physical and mental exercises known as qigong. Though qigong is not a martial art itself, it is often incorporated in Chinese martial arts and, thus, practiced as an integral part to strengthen one's internal abilities.
There are many ideas regarding controlling one's qi energy to such an extent that it can be used for healing oneself or others: the goal of medical qigong. Some styles believe in focusing qi into a single point when attacking and aim at specific areas of the human body. Such techniques are known as Dim Mak and have principles that are similar to acupressure.
:''See also: and ''
Examples of well-known practitioners throughout history:
* Yue Fei was a famous Chinese general and patriot of the Song Dynasty. Martial arts styles such as Eagle Claw and Xingyi attribute their creation to Yue. However, there is no historical evidence to support the claim he created these styles.
* Ng Mui was the legendary female founder of many Southern martial arts such as Wing Chun Kuen, Dragon style and Fujian White Crane. She is often considered one of the legendary Five Elders who survived the destruction of the Shaolin Temple during the Qing Dynasty.
* Yang Luchan was an important teacher of the martial art known as tai chi chuan in Beijing during the second half of the 19th century. Yang is known as the founder of Yang style tai chi chuan, as well as transmitting the art to the , and tai chi families.
* Ten Tigers of Canton was a group of ten of the top Chinese martial arts masters in Guangdong towards the end of the Qing Dynasty . Wong Kei-Ying, Wong Fei Hung's father, was a member of this group.
* Wong Fei Hung was considered a Chinese folk hero during the Republican period. More than one hundred Hong Kong movies were made about his life. Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li have all portrayed his character in pictures.
* Huo Yuanjia was the founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association who was known for his highly publicized matches with foreigners. His biography was recently portrayed in the movie Fearless .
* Yip Man was a master of the Southern martial art of Wing Chun and the first to teach this style openly. Yip Man was the teacher of Bruce Lee. Most major branches of Wing Chun that exist today were developed and promoted by students of Yip Man.
* Bruce Lee was a Chinese American martial artist and actor who was considered an important icon in the 20th century. He practiced the Southern martial art of Wing Chun and made it famous. Using Wing Chun as his base and learning from the influences of other martial arts his experience has exposed him to, he later developed his own martial arts philosophy which evolved into what is now known as Jeet Kune Do.
* Jackie Chan is a Hong Kong martial artist and actor widely known for injecting physical comedy into his martial arts performances, and for performing complex stunts in many of his films.
* Jet Li is the five-time sport wushu champion of China, later demonstrating his skills in cinema.
References to the concepts and use of Chinese martial arts can be found in popular culture. Historically, the influence of Chinese martial arts can be found in books and in the performance arts specific to Asia. Recently, those influences have extended to the movies and television that targets a much wider audience. As a result, Chinese martial arts have spread beyond its ethnic roots and have a global appeal.
Martial arts plays a prominent role in the literature genre known as wuxia . This type of fiction is based on a Chinese concepts of chivalry, a separate martial arts society and a central theme involving martial arts. Wuxia stories can be traced as far back as 2nd and 3rd century BC, becoming popular by the Tang Dynasty and evolving into novel form by the Ming Dynasty. This genre is still extremely popular throughout East Asia and provides a major influence for the public perception of the martial arts.
Martial arts influences can also be found in Chinese opera of which Beijing opera is one of the best-known examples. This popular form of drama dates back to the Tang Dynasty and continues to be an example of Chinese culture. Some martial arts movements can be found in Chinese opera and some martial artists can be found as performers in Chinese operas.
In modern times, Chinese martial arts have spawned the genre of cinema known as the martial arts film. The films of Bruce Lee were instrumental in the initial burst of Chinese martial arts' popularity in the West in the 1970s. A network TV western of the early 1970s called '''' also served to popularize the Chinese martial arts on television. With 60 episodes over a three-year span, it was one of the first North American TV shows that tried to convey the philosophy and practice of Chinese martial arts.
Martial artists and actors such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan have continued the appeal of movies of this genre. Martial arts films from China are often referred to as "''Kung Fu movies''" , or "Wire Fu" if extensive wire work is performed for special effects, and are still best known as part of the tradition of Kung Fu Theater .
The use of Chinese martial arts techniques can now be found in most TV action series, although the philosophy of Chinese martial arts is seldom portrayed in depth.
History
The origins of Chinese martial arts are traced over 5,000 years ago to self-defense needs, hunting activities and military training in ancient China. Hand to hand combat and weapons practice were important components in the training of Chinese soldiers. From this beginning, Chinese martial arts proceeded to incorporate different philosophies and ideas into its practice—expanding its purpose from self-defense to health maintenance and finally as method of self cultivation. In return, influence of martial arts ideals can be found in poetry, fiction, and film. Chinese martial arts are now an integral element of Chinese culture.
According to legend, the reign of the Yellow Emperor introduced the earliest forms of martial arts to China. The Yellow Emperor 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 or horn-butting and utilized it in war.
''Shǒubó'' kung fu, practiced during the Shang dynasty , and Xiang Bo from the 600s BCE, are just two examples of ancient Chinese kung fu. In 509 BCE, Confucius suggested to Duke Ding of Lu that people practice the literary arts as well as the martial arts This combat system included techniques such as , , , and pressure point attacks. Jiao li became a sport during the Qin Dynasty . The '' Bibliographies'' record that, by the Former Han , there was a distinction between no-holds-barred weaponless fighting, which it calls ''shǒubó'' , for which "how-to" manuals had already been written, and sportive wrestling, then known as juélì or jiǎolì . Wrestling is also documented in the Shǐ Jì, ''Records of the Grand Historian'', written by Sima Qian .
A hand-to-hand combat theory, including the integration of notions of techniques, is expounded in the story of the ''Maiden of Yue'' in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue .
In the Tang Dynasty, descriptions of sword dances were immortalized in poems by Li Bai. In the Song and Yuan dynasties, xiangpu contests were sponsored by the imperial courts. The modern concepts of wushu were fully developed by the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Martial arts are also mentioned in Chinese philosophy. Passages in the ''Zhuangzi'' , a Daoist text, pertain to the psychology and practice of martial arts. Zhuangzi, its eponymous author, is believed to have lived in the 4th century BCE. The Tao Te Ching, often credited to Lao Zi, is another Daoist text that contains principles applicable to martial arts. According to one of the classic texts of Confucianism, '''' , Archery and charioteering were part of the "six arts" of the Zhou Dynasty . ''The Art of War'' , written during the 6th century BCE by Sun Tzu , deals directly with military warfare but contains ideas that are used in the Chinese martial arts. Those examples shows the ideas associated with Chinese martial arts changed with the evolving Chinese society and over time acquired a philosophical basis.
practitioners have been practicing Tao Yin, physical exercises similar to Qigong that was one of the progenitors to Tai Chi Chuan, at least as early as 500 BCE. In 39–92 CE, "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting", were included in the ''Han Shu'' written by . Also, the noted physician, Hua Tuo, composed the "Five Animals Play"—tiger, deer, monkey, bear, and bird, around 220 BCE. Taoist philosophy and their approach to health and exercise might have influenced to certain extent the Chinese martial arts.
With regards to the style of martial arts, the oldest evidence of Shaolin participation in combat is a style from 728 CE that attests to two occasions: a defense of the Shaolin Monastery from bandits around 610 CE, and their subsequent role in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621 CE From the 8th to the 15th centuries, there are no extant documents that provide evidence of Shaolin participation in combat. However, between the 16th and 17th centuries there are at least forty extant sources which provided evidence that, not only did monks of Shaolin practice martial arts, but martial practice had become such an integral element of Shaolin monastic life that the monks felt the need to justify it by creating new Buddhist lore. References of martial arts practice in Shaolin appear in various literary genres of the late Ming: the epitaphs of Shaolin warrior monks, martial-arts manuals, military encyclopedias, historical writings, travelogues, fiction, and even poetry. However these sources do not point out to any specific style originated in Shaolin. These sources, in contrast to those from the Tang period, refer to Shaolin methods of armed combat. This include the forte of Shaolin monks and for which they had become famous — the .The Ming General Qi Jiguang included description of Shaolin Quan fa and staff techniques in his book, Ji Xiao Xin Shu that title can be translated as "New Book Recording Effective Techniques". When this book spread to East Asia, it had a great influence on the development of martial arts in regions such as Okinawa and Korea.
The fighting styles that are practiced today were developed over the centuries, after having incorporated forms that came into existence later. Some of these include , , , , Hsing I, Hung Gar, Lau Gar, , , , , Fujian White Crane, Wing Chun and Tai Chi Chuan.
The present view of Chinese martial arts are strongly influenced by the events of the . In the transition period between the fall of the Qing Dynasty as well as the turmoils 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 martial arts training manuals were published, a training academy was created, 2 National examinations were organized as well as demonstration teams travelled overseas and numerous martial arts associations were formed throughout China and in various oversea Chinese communities. The Central Guoshu Academy established by the National Government in 1928 and the Jing Wu Athletic Association founded by Huo Yuanjia in 1910 are examples of organizations that promoted a systematic approach for training in 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.
Eventually, those events lead to the popular view of martial arts as a sport.
Chinese martial arts started to spread internationally with the end of the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Many well known martial art practitioners chose to escape from the PRC's rule and migrate to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other parts of the world. Those started to teach within the overseas Chinese communities but eventually they expanded their teachings to include people from other cultures.
Within China, the practice of traditional martial arts was discouraged during the turbulent years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution . Like many other aspects of traditional Chinese life, martial arts was subjected to a radical transformation by the People's Republic of China in order to align it with Maoist revolutionary doctrine. In 1979, the State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports created a special task force to reevaluate the teaching and practice of Wushu. In 1986, the Chinese National Research Institute of Wushu was established as the central authority for the research and administration of Wushu activities in the People's Republic of China. Changing government policies and attitudes towards sports in general lead to the closing of the State Sports Commission in 1998. This closure is viewed as an attempt to partially de-politicize organized sports and move Chinese sport policies towards a more market-driven approach. As a result of these changing sociological factors within China, both traditional styles and modern Wushu approaches are being promoted by the Chinese government.
Styles
China has one of the longest of continuously recorded martial arts tradition of any society in the world, and with hundreds of styles probably the most varied. Over the past two to four thousand years, many distinctive styles have been developed, each with its own set of techniques and ideas. There are also common themes to the different styles, which are often classified by "families" , "sects" or "schools" of martial art styles. There are styles that mimic movements from animals and others that gather inspiration from various Chinese philosophies, myths and legends. Some styles put most of their focus into the harnessing of qi energy, while others concentrate solely on competition and exhibition. Each style offers a different approach to the common problems of self-defense, health and self-cultivation.
Chinese martial arts can be split into various categories to differentiate them: For example, ''external'' and '''' . Chinese martial arts can also be categorized by location, as in ''northern'' and ''southern'' as well, referring to what part of China the styles originated from, separated by the Yangtze River ; Chinese martial arts may even be classified according to their province or city. The main perceived difference about northern and southern styles is that the northern styles tend to emphasize fast and powerful kicks, high jumps and generally fluid and rapid movement, while the southern styles focus more on strong arm and hand techniques, and stable, immovable stances and fast footwork. Examples of the northern styles include Changquan and Xingyiquan. Examples of the southern styles include Nanquan and Wing Chun. Chinese martial arts can also be divided according to religion, imitative-styles , and more. There are distinctive differences in the training between different groups of Chinese martial arts regardless of the type of classification.
Training
Chinese martial arts training consists of the following components: basics, forms, applications and weapons. Each style has its own unique training system with varying emphasis on each of those components. In addition, philosophy, ethics and even medical practise are highly regarded by most Chinese martial arts. A complete training system should also provide insight into Chinese attitudes and culture.
Basics
''Basics'' are a vital part of the training, as a student cannot progress to the more advanced stages without them; without strong and flexible muscles including the management of the concept of "Chi" and proper body mechanics, many movements of Chinese martial arts are simply impossible to perform correctly. Basics training may involve a series of simple movements that are performed repeatedly over a short interval; examples of basics training include stretching, stance work, rudimentary conditioning, meditation and basic kicking and punching techniques.
A common saying concerning basic training in Chinese martial arts is as follows:
Which can be translated as
Stances
Stances are structural postures employed in Chinese martial arts training. They represent the foundation and exaggerated form of a fighter's base. Each style has different names and variations for each stance. Stances may be differentiated by foot position, weight distribution, body alignment, etc. Stance training can be practiced statically, the goal of which is to maintain the structure of the stance through a set time period, or dynamically, in which case a series of movements is performed repeatedly. The horse riding stance and the bow stance are examples of a stances found in many styles of Chinese martial arts.
Meditation
In many Chinese Martial Art systems, meditation is considered to be an important component of basic training. Meditation can be used to develop focus, mental clarity and can act as a basis for qigong training.
Forms
''Forms'' or ''taolu'' in Chinese are series of predetermined movements combined so they can be practiced as one linear set of movements. Forms were originally intended to preserve the lineage of a particular style branch, and were often taught to advanced students who were selected to preserve the art's lineage. Forms were designed to contain both literal, representative and exercise-oriented forms of applicable techniques which would be extracted, tested and trained by students through sparring sessions.
Many believe that a Kung Fu form needs to be both practical, usable, and applicable as well as promoting flow, meditation, flexibility, balance and coordination. Often kung fu teachers are heard to say "train your form as if you were sparring and spar as if it were a form."
Types
There are two general types of forms in Chinese Martial Arts. Most common are "solo forms" which are performed by a single student. There are also "sparring" forms, which are choreographed fighting sets performed by two or more people. Sparring forms were designed both to acquaint beginning fighters with basic measures and concepts of combat, and to serve as performance pieces for the school. Sparring forms which utilize weapons are especially useful for teaching students the extension, range and technique required to manage a weapon.
Today many styles of Kung Fu, as well as styles of Wushu, consider forms to be one of the most important practices in Chinese Martial Arts. Traditionally, forms played a smaller role in training combat application, and were eclipsed by sparring, drilling and conditioning. Forms gradually build up a practitioner's flexibility, internal and external strength, speed and stamina, and teach balance and coordination. Many styles contain forms using a wide range of weapons of various length and type, utilizing one or two hands. There are also styles which focus on a certain type of weapon.
Modern forms
Wushu
As forms have grown in complexity and quantity over the years, and many forms alone could be practiced for a lifetime, styles of modern Chinese martial arts have developed that concentrate solely on forms, and do not practice application at all. These styles are primarily aimed at exhibition and competition, and often include more acrobatic jumps and movements added for enhanced visual effect compared to the traditional styles. Those who generally prefer to practice traditional styles, focused less on exhibition, are often referred to as traditionalists. Many traditionalists consider the evolution of today's Chinese martial arts as undesirable, saying that much of its original value is lost.
Controversy of modern form work
Even though forms in Chinese martial arts are intended to depict realistic martial techniques, the movements are not always identical to how techniques would be applied in combat. Many forms have been elaborated upon, on the one hand to provide better combat preparedness, and on the other hand to look more aesthetically pleasing. One manifestation of this tendency toward elaboration which goes beyond combat application is the use of lower stances and higher, stretching kicks. These two maneuvers are unrealistic in combat and are utilized in forms for exercise purposes. Many modern schools have replaced practical defense or offense movements with acrobatic feats that are more spectacular to watch, thereby gaining favor during exhibitions and competitions. This has led to criticisms by traditionalists for endorsing the more acrobatic, show-oriented Wushu competition. Even though appearance has always been important in many traditional forms as well. Historically forms were often performed for entertainment purposes long before the advent of modern Wushu as practitioners have looked for supplementary income by performing on the streets or in theaters.
Many traditional Chinese Martial Artists, as well as practitioners of modern sport combat, have become critical of the perception that forms work is more relevant to the art than sparring and drill application, while most continue to see traditional forms practice within the traditional context--as vital to both proper combat execution, the Shaolin aesthetic as art form, as well as upholding the meditative function of the physical artform.
Another reason why the martial techniques often appear different in forms when contrasted with sparring application is thought by some to come from the concealment of the actual functions of the techniques from outsiders.
Application
''Application training'' refers to the training of putting the martial techniques to use. Chinese martial arts usually contain a large arsenal of techniques and make use of the whole body; efficiency and effectiveness is what the techniques are based on. When and how applications are taught varies from style to style; in the early stages of a student's training, most styles focus on drills in which each student knows what range of combat is being practiced and what attack to expect. Gradually, fewer and fewer rules are applied, and the students learn how to react and utilize technique. 'Sparring' refers to the major aspect of application training, which simulates a combat situation but usually includes rules and regulations to reduce the chance of serious injury to the students.
The subject of application training is a controversial one, and is the subject of a raging debate between the Neo-Traditional Martial Artists and Sports and traditional martial artists. In the neo-traditionalist view, martial arts training should eventually lead to and be proven by actual combat as well as being governed by a moral philosophy; neo-traditionalists often believe sparring to test techniques is either irrelevant because of their disbelief in the validity of a regulated test setting, or because the system's techniques are supposedly too dangerous to use outside of a real combat situation. In contrast, the sport-competition and traditionalist view suggests that all of the techniques in Chinese Martial Arts should be repeatedly time-tested through sparring to insure their effectiveness.
An example of this approach in the Chinese Martial Arts is the tradition of Lei tai and or sǎnshǒu . Lèitái represents public challenge matches that first appeared in the Song Dynasty. The objective for those contests was to knock the opponent from a raised platform by any means necessary.
San Shou and Sanda represents the modern development of Lei Tai contests, but with rules in place to reduce the chance of serious injury. Many Chinese martial arts schools teach or work within the rulesets of San Shou and Sanda, working to incorporate the movements, characteristics, and theory of their style.
Weapons training
Most Chinese styles also make use of training the broad arsenal of for conditioning the body as well as coordination and strategy drills. Weapons training are generally carried out after the student is proficient in the basics, forms and applications training. The basic theory for weapons training is to consider the weapon as an extension of your body. The same requirements for footwork and body coordination is required The process of weapon training proceed with forms, forms with partners and then applications. Most systems have training methods for each of the Eighteen Arms of Wushu in addition to specialized instruments specific to the system.
Martial arts and morality
Traditional Chinese schools of martial arts, such as the famed Shaolin monks, often dealt with the study of martial arts not just as a means of self-defense or mental training, but as a system of ethics. Wude can be translated as "martial morality" and is constructed from two Chinese characters, "wu" which means martial and "de" which means morality. Wude deals with two aspects; "morality of deed" and "morality of mind". Morality of deed concerns social relations; morality of mind is meant to cultivate the inner harmony between the emotional mind and the wisdom mind . The ultimate goal is reaching no extremity , where both wisdom & emotions are in harmony with each other.
Morality
Use of qi
The concept of ''qì'' or ''ch'i'' , the inner energy or "life force" that is said to animate living beings, is encountered in almost all styles of Chinese martial art. Internal styles are reputed to cultivate its use differently than external styles.
One's qi can be improved and strengthened through the regular practice of various physical and mental exercises known as qigong. Though qigong is not a martial art itself, it is often incorporated in Chinese martial arts and, thus, practiced as an integral part to strengthen one's internal abilities.
There are many ideas regarding controlling one's qi energy to such an extent that it can be used for healing oneself or others: the goal of medical qigong. Some styles believe in focusing qi into a single point when attacking and aim at specific areas of the human body. Such techniques are known as Dim Mak and have principles that are similar to acupressure.
Notable practitioners
:''See also: and ''
Examples of well-known practitioners throughout history:
* Yue Fei was a famous Chinese general and patriot of the Song Dynasty. Martial arts styles such as Eagle Claw and Xingyi attribute their creation to Yue. However, there is no historical evidence to support the claim he created these styles.
* Ng Mui was the legendary female founder of many Southern martial arts such as Wing Chun Kuen, Dragon style and Fujian White Crane. She is often considered one of the legendary Five Elders who survived the destruction of the Shaolin Temple during the Qing Dynasty.
* Yang Luchan was an important teacher of the martial art known as tai chi chuan in Beijing during the second half of the 19th century. Yang is known as the founder of Yang style tai chi chuan, as well as transmitting the art to the , and tai chi families.
* Ten Tigers of Canton was a group of ten of the top Chinese martial arts masters in Guangdong towards the end of the Qing Dynasty . Wong Kei-Ying, Wong Fei Hung's father, was a member of this group.
* Wong Fei Hung was considered a Chinese folk hero during the Republican period. More than one hundred Hong Kong movies were made about his life. Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li have all portrayed his character in pictures.
* Huo Yuanjia was the founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association who was known for his highly publicized matches with foreigners. His biography was recently portrayed in the movie Fearless .
* Yip Man was a master of the Southern martial art of Wing Chun and the first to teach this style openly. Yip Man was the teacher of Bruce Lee. Most major branches of Wing Chun that exist today were developed and promoted by students of Yip Man.
* Bruce Lee was a Chinese American martial artist and actor who was considered an important icon in the 20th century. He practiced the Southern martial art of Wing Chun and made it famous. Using Wing Chun as his base and learning from the influences of other martial arts his experience has exposed him to, he later developed his own martial arts philosophy which evolved into what is now known as Jeet Kune Do.
* Jackie Chan is a Hong Kong martial artist and actor widely known for injecting physical comedy into his martial arts performances, and for performing complex stunts in many of his films.
* Jet Li is the five-time sport wushu champion of China, later demonstrating his skills in cinema.
Popular culture
References to the concepts and use of Chinese martial arts can be found in popular culture. Historically, the influence of Chinese martial arts can be found in books and in the performance arts specific to Asia. Recently, those influences have extended to the movies and television that targets a much wider audience. As a result, Chinese martial arts have spread beyond its ethnic roots and have a global appeal.
Martial arts plays a prominent role in the literature genre known as wuxia . This type of fiction is based on a Chinese concepts of chivalry, a separate martial arts society and a central theme involving martial arts. Wuxia stories can be traced as far back as 2nd and 3rd century BC, becoming popular by the Tang Dynasty and evolving into novel form by the Ming Dynasty. This genre is still extremely popular throughout East Asia and provides a major influence for the public perception of the martial arts.
Martial arts influences can also be found in Chinese opera of which Beijing opera is one of the best-known examples. This popular form of drama dates back to the Tang Dynasty and continues to be an example of Chinese culture. Some martial arts movements can be found in Chinese opera and some martial artists can be found as performers in Chinese operas.
In modern times, Chinese martial arts have spawned the genre of cinema known as the martial arts film. The films of Bruce Lee were instrumental in the initial burst of Chinese martial arts' popularity in the West in the 1970s. A network TV western of the early 1970s called '''' also served to popularize the Chinese martial arts on television. With 60 episodes over a three-year span, it was one of the first North American TV shows that tried to convey the philosophy and practice of Chinese martial arts.
Martial artists and actors such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan have continued the appeal of movies of this genre. Martial arts films from China are often referred to as "''Kung Fu movies''" , or "Wire Fu" if extensive wire work is performed for special effects, and are still best known as part of the tradition of Kung Fu Theater .
The use of Chinese martial arts techniques can now be found in most TV action series, although the philosophy of Chinese martial arts is seldom portrayed in depth.
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