Abstract
Modern Wushu is a “sportized” form of the traditional Wushu(Kung Fu, Chinese martial arts). Until the 1980s, it mainly developed in universities and in national teams. Wushu schools are private technical schools that have taught courses in modern Wushu since the 1980s.
By conducting fieldwork in these schools, this study investigates the social and historical background behind the popularization of modern Wushu and the meaning of Wushu for students, from the perspectives of reproduction strategies and identity construction. The study makes the following points:
First, parents decide to enroll their child in Wushu elementary schools to solve problems related to education in their home village and of residing in the city where they work, rather than in their home villages. Parents decide on their reproduction strategies based on this decision.
Second, only students who recognize Wushu as a means to acquire academic credentials and future employment and accept their parents' strategies as their own strategies go on to middle and high school.
Third, most graduates find employment as Wushu instructors in Wushu schools or as security guards in the city. Those students who develop great physical prowess may become state amateurs, while other students who develop abundant cultural capital become students in Wushu departments of universities of sports or education.
Fourth, after graduation, Wushu becomes economic capital for personal advancement and family migration to the city. In addition, through hard training, Wushu becomes “embodied cultural capital,” which leads to the betterment of national and individual identity.
Finally, I note the social and historical background behind the popularization of modern Wushu, the possibilities and hazards of the cultural identity produced as a result of the Wushu culture, and problems concerning the localization of Wushu.
