Zhongguo wushu shi 中国武术史 (Chinese martial arts history) (review)

Abstract

Reviews 417 the discussion ofelite-level politics. This is the second source ofdisappointment, particularly as in the revised preface the authors have gone out oftheir way to stress their interest in the transformation ofsocieties from "a rural, agrarian base to urban, industrial structures ofliving via the application ofscience, technology and rational modes ofthought" (p. viii). China's economic development and social transformations during the last twenty years provide excellent opportunities to raise questions about the role of the state, the importance of community and regionalism, and die significance ofequity, yet surprisingly these issues are largely left unexplored or are downplayed. For example, a comment on the impact ofthe economic reforms on the (in)equality ofredistribution, which was addressed in the original version (p. 242), has simply been omitted. This relative absence of comment on social development is doubly disappointing because China's transformations in the reform era raise fundamental questions about capitalist development and its relation to the state, politics, community, and identity. David S. G. Goodman University ofTechnology, Sydney DavidS. G. Goodman is Director ofthe Institutefor International Studies, University ofTechnology, Sydney, and a researcher ofsocial change in China. Guojia Tiwei Wushu Yanjiu Yuan, bianzuan Hf^fs^AliiW^l^lfiiff (National Physical Culture and Sports Commission Martial Arts Research Institute, editors and compilers). Zhongguo wushu shi F??^?^ (Chinese martial arts history). Beijing: Renmin Tiyu Chubanshe ASM Ff ttì HSfi (Beijing: People's Physical Culture Publishers), 1997. 10, 462 pp. Hardcover RMB Y28.00, isbn 7-5009-1341-9, G 1245. Chinese Martial Arts History is the first official historical survey ofthe martial arts ever published for general distribution in China. Thus, by its very existence, it represents a new era in study and interpretation in the field. In scholarship it goes beyond Xi Yuntai's HIfA pioneering work ofthe same title (issued in 1985 by© 1998 by University the same publisher—a valuable source to complement the book under review) ofHawai'i Presswith added academic rigor, and the notes listing the sources are a major contribution toward further serious scholarship. Although the latter are, more often than not, lacking specificity (especiallypage numbers), they alone make this a worth- 4i8 China Review International: Vol. 5, No. 2, Fall 1998 while reference. As the subject has rarely been discussed in the past outside a small circle even in the Chinese physical culture and sports community, not to mention outside China, this review will attempt to bring out points that help place not only the book but the subject itselfin clearer perspective. Therefore, the review will emphasize not only some points of contention related to the book's content but also issues not covered in the book that may be important to gaining a better understanding of the subject—things to consider beyond the basic foundation that this book provides so well. Particularly noteworthy is Kuang Wennan's Wi~$C$ft coverage ofthe relationship between the martial arts and the early schools of thought in China, in chapter 1 (pp. 39-49), and Kang Gewu's Jfc5cS£ coverage ofmartial arts practice among secret societies and heterodox religious sects, in chapter 8 (pp. 300-310). Some attempt at interpretation is another improvement; however, this book is still far from comprehensive, considering the material available on the subject—it is essentially an outline history, apparently designed to raise the level ofknowledge of educators involved in physical education programs as well as to provide an officially sanctioned standard source on martial arts history to satisfy public interest in the subject. It accomplishes these tasks quite successfully, but at the same time leaves some long-standing questions unanswered. Chinese Martial Arts History includes considerable detail, but it avoids raising difficult and potentially controversial issues such as the circumstances surrounding the origins of taijiquan i;ë?, the Internal School ofboxing l^lsiclpfe and certain questionable popular conceptions such as the view reflected in the saying "southern fists, northern legs" i^iPMbSu, used to describe the perceived difference between southern and northern styles ofboxing. Also, its arrangement into ten chapters by historical periods, with different authors responsible for one or more periods, tends to fragment or restrict the presentation of some subjects that might best be treated separately, such as...