Quanjing is the first document that gives a comprehensive survey of Chinese civilian martial arts. It presumably affected greatly the establishment of martial arts of following generations, especially Taichi, and is an epoch-making material in the history of Chinese martial arts.

No past studies, however, discussed why martial arts, which are less effective than armed martial arts in actual fighting, were adopted as military martial arts in wartime and what part of Quanjing connected civilian martial arts and Taichi. This research aims to clarify the concept of Quanjing and its role. The following is the writer's analysis.

As to the concept, Quanjing indicates that martial arts have two concepts. One is the “toward others" concept that includes self-defense, basics of armed martial arts, and developing a robust body to overpower an enemy. The other is the “toward oneself" concept that emphasizes the physical aspect of turning a weak body into a robust one. Unlike Japanese martial arts that emphasize the spiritual aspect, Chinese martial arts tend to focus more on training the body than on disciplining the mind. This characterizes the difference between Japanese martial arts and Chinese martial arts.

As to the role, martial arts are intended to help people train their hands, feet, and limbs to build the base of a robust body for martial arts, and are evaluated highly as the base to support actual fighting, though they are not of direct help in a war.

The establishment of Quanjing changed civilian martial arts that had the limited concept of killing and wounding others and consolidated them into martial arts that share the “toward oneself" concept focusing on the body. This is an important point that connected the ancient civilian martial arts and Taichi, and was an epoch-making event in establishing martial arts with the concept of health promotion in the modern Chinese martial arts.

抄録全体を表示

This study examines the development and social significance of Wudang martial arts in contemporary China. While modern forms emphasize their competitive aspect, traditional Wudang martial arts have been valued not only as combat techniques but also as methods of spiritual cultivation and health enhancement, rooted in Taoist teachings. This study examines the transformation of Wudang martial arts following China’s economic reform and opening-up policy initiated in the 1980s, incorporating the personal accounts of private practitioners. The findings reveal that traditional Wudang martial arts primarily centered on “nurturing life” (yangsheng or regimen), emphasizing the Taoist theory of Qi rather than martial prowess. Despite the competitive and tourism-driven transformation promoted by national policies, private practitioners oppose the reconstitution and commercialization of Wudang martial arts, stressing the importance of preserving traditional spiritual practices. As a result, this study highlights the divide between the state and the civil society, showing how Wudang martial arts serve as a mediating space between the two. The struggle for control over the practice reflects broader dynamics in the preservation and development of traditional Chinese culture.

抄録全体を表示

Following its reform and opening-up, the local government of Wudang Mountains in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, has nurtured the local economy with tourism centered around Taoism’s sacred sites and natural landscapes. Entering the 2000s, Wudang martial arts began to receive attention as a competitive sport, and since 2010, the local government has positioned it as a key tourism resource, promoting the branding of the Wudang region. The purpose of this study is to explore how Wudang martial arts have been branded as a tourist attraction, comparable to the globally recognized Shaolin martial arts, particularly after 2010, and to elucidate the factors behind this development. The specific points of focus in this study are as follows:

1. The Wudang region is known as the birthplace of Quanzhen Taoism and is a sacred site for Taoism, but religious superstitious elements have limited state support. However, Wudang martial arts are widely recognized as “Taoist martial arts” and classified as one of the 129 recognized martial arts and positioned as a sport. This backdrop explores the potential to expand the region’s brand value and influence in the sports martial arts world through Wudang martial arts.

2. After focusing on martial arts in 2012, the shift was influenced by the lack of sufficient development in Wudang martial arts in the region by 2012 and the reinforcement of political propaganda following a reassessment of cultural policies after the Tiananmen Square incident in 1990. Patriotic propaganda through religious tourism was limited due to differences between Communist Party policies and religious philosophies, but the shift to martial arts strengthened the political propaganda function. The change in the tourism theme did not affect the goal of local economic development.

3. The local government of the Wudang region has intentionally constructed a scenario through the tourism industry with no academic basis: “Shaolin in the north, Wudang in the south,” This aims to challenge the “Wudang No Fist Theory” and improve the stance on the “Tai Chi origin theory.”

Such efforts by the local government may represent an example of the “invented tradition” concept suggested by Hobsbawm, potentially transforming a martial art that might not have substantially existed into a national martial art in modern China. This phenomenon, termed “invented martial arts,” indicates that the local government has reconstructed cultural values through local tourism and formed a new identity, as intended.

抄録全体を表示

This study aims to clarify the transition process from Chenshi Quanfa to Yangshi Taichi. In examining the transition process, we considered the following four questions.
1. Why did the change from actual fighting to the concept of improving health and fitness occur in the minds of these two martial arts leaders?
2. Did Yang try to establish Taichi with the purpose of improving health in mind from the very beginning?
3. Why did Yang, who was an excellent fighter himself, make his Quanfa known as a health management method?
4. What specific changes occurred over the three Yangshi generations?
The answer to the first question is thought to lie in differences in social conditions, geographical factors, and the purpose of instruction. The same is true of the third question.
As to the answer to the second question, we found that Yang Luchan initially tried to publicize his Taichi as an actual fighting martial art rather than designating it as a method of improving health and fitness.
Based on the above analysis, we can summarize the transition process from Chenshi Quanfa to Yangshi Taichi as follows. Chenshi Quanfa, which was characterized both as an actual fighting technique and for improving health, was exported to the world outside Chen Jia Gou through the efforts of Yang Luchan. Yang Luchan and Yang Banhou lived in turbulent times, and they initially contributed much to the character of the actual fighting that featured Chenshi Quanfa. As they developed Chenshi Quanfa, however, they increasingly emphasized its usefulness for improving health to cope with social conditions, geographical factors, and differences in instruction methods. Yang Chengfu, who was Yang Luchan's grandson, established the current Yangshi Taichi, which focuses on the concept of improving health and fitness. It is the writer's belief that this process is the answer to the fourth question.

抄録全体を表示

In Qing Dynasty with the development of Taoism in the lower strata of the society, the qigong ways of Taoism became popular in the lower strata. This made the turning point that wushu combined with qigong together to practise. Qigong not only can build up a powerful physique but also can cure illness. Under proper conditions qigong can make human physiological function change so that the men practising qigong can produce superer ability than ordinary persons. So, not only some folk wushu experts put qigong in wushu practice but also the tendency of putting qigong in wushu practice widely appeared in the nongovernment religious groups which were against Qing Dynasty. In the dynasty there were two ways to practise both together wushu and qigong: one was combining practice, that is practising qigong while practising wushu; the other one was practising wushu and practising qigong not at the same time. When practising wushu and qigong separately there were also two methods: one was meditating qigong, the other was movement method meaning while practising the doer must pay special attention to his breath, consciousness and exercise in order to coordinate qigong. In Qing Dynasty forming the practice of combining wushu with qigong made wushu have greater vitality and promoted the development of wushu in modern times.

抄録全体を表示