The Development Process of Wushu Under the Influence of Wuju Selection System

Abstract

Wuju, historically known as Wuke, was began in Tang Dynasty, the second year when Wu Zetian became empress. It was developed in successive dynasties. However, with the invasions of Western colonists in 19<sup>th</sup> century, the traditional martial arts were clearly no longer suitable for the needs of modern warfare, finally, it was abolished in the 27th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty. The abolition of Wuju system caused a fierce debate in the imperial court. Although there is still little research on the influence of Wuju to the development of martial arts in various dynasties, as the earliest main way to select martial arts talents, it has existed for more than 1,200 years in Chinese history and has improved the selection criteria for talents that are adept with both the pen and the sword. Wuju in Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, military martial arts and folk martial arts are the earliest martial arts system in China. The rise and fall, as well as combination of Wuju and martial arts have a profound impact on the history of martial arts. Therefore, the paper tries to explore to the development process of martial arts by explaining the five stages of Wuju: rise, development, imprisonment, prosperity and defeat, then provides a theoretical basis for future scientific research on martial arts.