Ancient Chinese Martial Arts
In Chinese society the essence of order was that certain persons were of superior status and certain others were, by the nature of things, in an inferior status. The father and the emperor, as capstones of the family and the state, had dominant roles to play. Women, youths, and ordinary subjects had correspondingly subordinate roles. Whether this ideal, which Chinese moralists constructed to hobble and restrain the use of violence, was any more effective than any other Western system is a major question for study. But certainly it must be admitted that it established order, for peace was felt to benefit everyone, whereas violence benefited no one at all.
Since the ideal of proper conduct was built into the Chinese concept of the cosmos, a rupture ol this ideal threatened to break down the whole cosmic system. Consequently, the Chinese believed that the use of the military could not be asserted simply in the name of individual or corporate freedom against ruling-class tyranny. Military activity had to be justified in the name of the system, alleging that the ruler had forfeited the 'mandate of heaven' by not maintaining the social order adequately and correctly. The ruler's own impropriety thus sanctioned the rising against him. Rebels usually rose in the name of the social order, which was the great legitimizing myth of the state and the underlying moral sanction for any resort to warfare and the use of martial arts.
It was thus natural and proper to have expansion through civil means (wen), the arts of peace and sagehood of the ruler; whereas expansion by the military (wu), brute force, and the martial arts was never to be condoned. The triumph of civil over military was not a mere fiction implanted in the record by the civilian chroniclers who monopolized it. On the contrary, it was another real Chinese achievement in the ordering of society. How to keep the military under control within the social order - a problem newly revived by the growth of military technology in the United States as well as elsewhere in the world today, became an early focus of Chinese concern. They succeeded because civilians were in control of the selection and promotion of the army members, and because the status of the military men could never rise above a certain level, as we shall see.
After attaining the rank of 'wu shengyuan' (military licentiate), as a result of passing the qualifying local military examinations, the martial artist could either remain in that position or else proceed to the next step and take the provincial military examination. This was given in the provincial capital in the tenth month of the lunar calendar, once every three years. In charge was the governor-general, the governor himself, and since they were civilians, it was customary for the provincial commander-in-chief or brigade general to attend as an associate examiner. During the examination, in addition to tests of ability in archery while mounted and on foot, the candidates were examined in bending the bow, brandishing the halberd, and weightlifting. Furthermore, the candidates, while on horse-back, had to try to shoot down a round ball, suspended from a high place. Since the ball would not drop unless hit in the center, this was a good test of markmanship. Actually, no one ever failed on account of this test because his performance in the other parts of the examination were considered to be more important.
Since the ideal of proper conduct was built into the Chinese concept of the cosmos, a rupture ol this ideal threatened to break down the whole cosmic system. Consequently, the Chinese believed that the use of the military could not be asserted simply in the name of individual or corporate freedom against ruling-class tyranny. Military activity had to be justified in the name of the system, alleging that the ruler had forfeited the 'mandate of heaven' by not maintaining the social order adequately and correctly. The ruler's own impropriety thus sanctioned the rising against him. Rebels usually rose in the name of the social order, which was the great legitimizing myth of the state and the underlying moral sanction for any resort to warfare and the use of martial arts.
It was thus natural and proper to have expansion through civil means (wen), the arts of peace and sagehood of the ruler; whereas expansion by the military (wu), brute force, and the martial arts was never to be condoned. The triumph of civil over military was not a mere fiction implanted in the record by the civilian chroniclers who monopolized it. On the contrary, it was another real Chinese achievement in the ordering of society. How to keep the military under control within the social order - a problem newly revived by the growth of military technology in the United States as well as elsewhere in the world today, became an early focus of Chinese concern. They succeeded because civilians were in control of the selection and promotion of the army members, and because the status of the military men could never rise above a certain level, as we shall see.
After attaining the rank of 'wu shengyuan' (military licentiate), as a result of passing the qualifying local military examinations, the martial artist could either remain in that position or else proceed to the next step and take the provincial military examination. This was given in the provincial capital in the tenth month of the lunar calendar, once every three years. In charge was the governor-general, the governor himself, and since they were civilians, it was customary for the provincial commander-in-chief or brigade general to attend as an associate examiner. During the examination, in addition to tests of ability in archery while mounted and on foot, the candidates were examined in bending the bow, brandishing the halberd, and weightlifting. Furthermore, the candidates, while on horse-back, had to try to shoot down a round ball, suspended from a high place. Since the ball would not drop unless hit in the center, this was a good test of markmanship. Actually, no one ever failed on account of this test because his performance in the other parts of the examination were considered to be more important.
Finally, the candidates had to write out a passage from the military classics. This trial did not determine whether a man would pass, although it did influence his standing. Since the number of candidates to be passed was restricted by an established quota, it is difficult to generalize, but usually a passing score depended upon achieving five hits from horseback and more than five while standing in the archery tests. Further scoring would be based on bending the 12 catty bow, brandishing the 120-catty halberd and lifting the 300-catty stone. (A catty is a Chinese unit of weight equalling 1.102 pounds.) Those who qualified received the degree of military graduate, (wu chu-jen), and could become appointees as junior officers. Again the climb up the ladder of examinations could terminate here, or the individual could proceed to take the metropolitan military examination given in Peking. By law, it was held in the ninth month of the Chinese calendar after the provincial examination. The metropolitan examination, like the provincial, consisted of three consecutive sessions. The first session, lasting from the fifth to the the seventh day of the ninth lunar month, consisted of a test in mounted archery given to one man at a time. During the next three days, the eighth through the tenth, the tests in archery on foot and in military skills were administered. In general, these trials determined who would pass and on the 11th day the results were announced.
Generally, out of every 100 men who had earned the scores of excellent and good, 22 were selected to be passed and to participate in the second session. The second session was held on the 14th day in the Peking examination compound. The first event was a bow-bending test to verify past performance and then the candidates were required to write out a selection from the military classics. Once again, this written test weighed lightly in determining whether a candidate passed or not. His score was usually averaged out with his grades from the other tests to obtain an overall score. The number of men passing, although not preset, was generally limited to about 100 candidates. The recommendations of the examiners were presented to the emperor for his approval. The recommended candidates were then to compete in the palace military examinations, which took place on the last day of the ninth lunar month. The first candidates were assembled in the Tai-Ho palace to write out a selection from the military classics. Then on the third day of the tenth month, the second session was held in the Tzu-Kuang palace in the Hsi-Yuan or the beautiful West Park, which also served as a palace drill ground. In the Tzu-Kuang palace were also displayed various military weapons and booty from various military campaigns. It was also customary for the emperor himself to observe the military exercises in the Tzu-Kuang palace, in which tests of archery on horseback and on foot took place. Each man shot three arrows from horseback and two while on foot. Even if he missed the target, he was not failed. The remaining tests of martial skills were scheduled for the next day, when bow-bending, halberd brandishing and the all-important weight lifting were performed in the presence of the emperor.
Generally, out of every 100 men who had earned the scores of excellent and good, 22 were selected to be passed and to participate in the second session. The second session was held on the 14th day in the Peking examination compound. The first event was a bow-bending test to verify past performance and then the candidates were required to write out a selection from the military classics. Once again, this written test weighed lightly in determining whether a candidate passed or not. His score was usually averaged out with his grades from the other tests to obtain an overall score. The number of men passing, although not preset, was generally limited to about 100 candidates. The recommendations of the examiners were presented to the emperor for his approval. The recommended candidates were then to compete in the palace military examinations, which took place on the last day of the ninth lunar month. The first candidates were assembled in the Tai-Ho palace to write out a selection from the military classics. Then on the third day of the tenth month, the second session was held in the Tzu-Kuang palace in the Hsi-Yuan or the beautiful West Park, which also served as a palace drill ground. In the Tzu-Kuang palace were also displayed various military weapons and booty from various military campaigns. It was also customary for the emperor himself to observe the military exercises in the Tzu-Kuang palace, in which tests of archery on horseback and on foot took place. Each man shot three arrows from horseback and two while on foot. Even if he missed the target, he was not failed. The remaining tests of martial skills were scheduled for the next day, when bow-bending, halberd brandishing and the all-important weight lifting were performed in the presence of the emperor.
Later that same day, the examiners ranked the men according to their overall performances and submitted their recommendations to the emperor. After approving them, the emperor conducted a degree-granting ceremony on the following day. This ceremony was exactly like that held for the civilian 'chin-shih': again the men were arranged in three groups, and slightly different degrees - 'wu chin-shih chi ti', 'wu chin-shih chu sheng', and 'tung wu chin-shih chu sheng', were granted to the members of each group.
The new military 'chin-shih' received assignments according to the ranking they had won in this palace examination, but they were not held in as high regard as their civilian counterparts.
As a 'wu chin-shih', a man could become an officer in the army although he could rise no higher than the rank of unit commander, since the posts of minister of war (ping-pu shang shu) and chief-of-staff (shu-min shi) were filled only by civilians. Civil chin-shih were often assigned as front-line generals. The possibility that a military man could become a front-line commander and then go on to enter the central government as a minister of war or a chief-of-staff was most abhorrent to the Chinese, since it disrupted the entire concept of their political and social system.Consequently, they took precautions against such an event.
The policy of reserving those important positions for civilians, while restricting military men to posts no higher than that of unit commander did have its drawbacks and did sometimes lead to dissatisfaction and even tragedy. An example is provided by the fate of the Southern Sung patriot, Yueh Fei, 1104-1142 A.D. During the long years of war against the Chin (Jurchen), Yueh Fei was an outstanding front-line unit commander and rose to the rank of general almost before anyone was aware of it This rise of a military man made the court uneasy, so much so that, by various devices, Yueh Fei ended up as a victim of these fears and suffered a bitter death. Such an attitude damaged the efficacy of the military and all martial arts, since they concluded that it was foolish for a military man to try to distinguish himself. This policy of the government was not new at the time of Yueh Fei, but it was a tradition held in common from earlier times.
The rule that no matter how great his accomplishments a professional military man could not participate in setting government policy at the highest levels may seem callous at first glance, but it is actually the foundation of good government, for if military men participate in government in their capacity as military men, they will emphasize the army's needs and will want to dominate the government as well as foreign relations. It goes without saying that the military is necessary for the protection of the state, but for it to dominate the state is unbearable. In the classical work Ku-liang chuan, which are the commentaries to the Confucian work Chun-chiu, there is a recognition that, "since antiquity, aside from the civilian element in government, there is the support of the military." However, in another classical work the Shou-yuan, it states that, "The sage alone establishes peace in his rule by first extolling the civil virtue, and if he fails, resorts to military strength." Such concepts held by the Chinese could only hold the martial artists in low esteem, if not in contempt.
For the successful candidates of the military examinations, each took on a position as a second-class official and both took and followed the lead of his civilian counterpart. What had happened to those candidates who had failed these examinations? They were returned to society to fill in one of the remaining categories, a farmer, artisan or merchant or to become more commoners.
The military examinations were efforts of scholar-moralists to tame the men of violence, and so those who failed were cast aside as untamed men of violence. This rejection of the martial artists was a severe blow to their egos. The failure of the military to establish themselves as a class resulted in their remaining at the disposal of civilian generalists who might use them or not as they felt circumstances required.
Those men who had failed the military examinations formed a disgruntled group. However, lacking the unity of a class or a guild, they went in various directions and entered into various endeavors. Many chose to join the army and try to rise in the ranks. Even more martial artists returned to society as commoners to enter into one of the three remaining categories, farmers, artisans, or tradesmen and merchants. A few of the martial artists chose to use their skills in criminal or borderline criminal endeavors such as bullies, gamblers, highway men, robbers, strong-arm men and even rebels. However, there was also a group of men who chose to utilize their martial arts skills and engage in legitimate work and and become law-abiding citizens. These men fell into two main categories, the wanderers and the established martial artists.
Overall, the martial artists were represented and characterized in popular Chinese fiction as men of outspoken bluntness and volcanic temper. They were obtuse, guileless, childish, belligerent, irascible, tempestuous, devoid of manners and completely uninhibited. They boasted and quarreled as a pastime, and occasionally killed by mistake. All in all, this characterized a Confucian concept of men who utilized brute force and violence to settle matters, instead of thinking out and finding a peaceful settlement. An ever-present menace to the neighborhood, the martial artist indulges in a kind of behavior that is frowned upon among ordinary men who usually keep some distance between them.
Those martial artists engaging in legitimate work fell into four main categories which in martial arts circles are called 'si-kun', which means literally, 'the four staffs', referring to the quarter-staff or pole. They were 'pao-piao' or armed escorts; 'hu-yuan', guards or bodyguards; 'mai gaoyao', traveling medicine man or showman; and 'wushu laoshi', the martial arts teacher. A martial artist could become a guard or bodyguard, whereby he could use his physical strength and martial skills in the employ ot a rich individual. In martial arts circles, he would be called a 'la-kun', a person dragging his staff. This position was not looked upon with much dignity, as he was always told what to do, and he virtually became a slave to the employer.
If the martial artist was adventurous and not afraid to leave home and travel the country, he couid be a 'mai gaoyao', a traveling medicine man, or 'mai-wu', a traveling showman, whereby he displayed his skills in physical feats. Here, he was at the mercy of contributions from on-lookers so this way of life may seem like a form of begging. However, if he also sold some medicine, he did not really receive money for his art but really from selling a product. In martial arts circles he was called a 'liao-kun', a challenging staff, as he was open to challenges at all times.
With the expansion of commerce and a money economy along with the extending of the Chinese empire and influence, goods had to travel long distances. To protect valuable shipments, a system of insurance and armed escort of goods was developed. Under this system, an insurance company would undertake to guard goods in transit and reimburse the loss if anything was lost on the way. The armed escorts were called 'piao-ke' or armed travelers, who were usually men who excelled in the martial arts.
Merchants, money lenders, landlords, or any wealthy individual who had to have goods transported over some distance and were fearful of robbers and bandits resorted to the use of such an insurance agency to furnish the piao-ke to guard and accompany his goods. The agency was usually headed by a leader who was an accomplished martial artist of some note or fame. In martial arts circles he was called a 'tiao-kun', or a person who carries a staff over his shoulders. He would have a large triangular flag or pennant with red scalloped trim. In the center of this flag or pennant would be a large-size Chinese character with his surname and along the straight edge would be the name and location of his agency. This flag or pennant would be affixed onto the lead cart or wagon and the guard and his followers armed with traditional weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds would ride on horses alongside the carts and wagons. One of the special weapons used were long pyramidal-shaped darts called "piao" similar to the ever-popular shuriken which were thrown at retreating robbers. It is from the skill in using this weapon that the name 'piao-shih', or master of the darts, is derived.
Usually the armed guard's pennant or flag would suffice as his passport for an uninterrupted passage, as it also carried along with it the reputation of the skill and mastery in the martial arts of the man. However, if the flag or pennant was not recognized and the baggage train stopped, an exchange of questions and answers regarding who was accompanying the train and who was interferring with its passage along with the names of their masters were given before any action was taken. This etiquette followed the maxim 'hsien li hou-ping' or 'courtesies before action.' Oftentimes, there would be an understanding between the bandits and the piao-shih and in such cases, courtesies were exchanged and the train load was allowed to pass freely, without incident.
As time passed, each escort leader would map out territories whereby he would accompany goods through various areas without interference or problems. However, if there should be problems and the train was attacked and robbed and if the piao-shih and his followers were either injured or killed,word would be sent out to other armed escorts, usually those belonging to the same school or clique, and an expeditionary force would be formed to hunt down the culprits, recover the goods and avenge the wrongs. In this manner, the piao-shih led a very adventurous life and they became the heroes of many Chinese knight errant stories.
Why are these wandering martial artists so loved by their companies and by the devotees of popular fiction? First, because they are honest and straight-forward in a world in which persons officially vested with authority prefer the devious approach. With these men one knows where one stands. Their friendships, born in the street, in wineshops, or in humble places, are disinterested, spontaneous alliances of congenial souls. They do not fawn and flatter, and nothing can make them shift their loyalty. They are resolute men, always ready to lay down their lives for their friends, never willing to surrender or to let themselves be curbed or humiliated. Physical strength and muscle-play brings them a natural exhilaration, their strength and courage lead to a careless self-confidence, their crude jokes reveal a robust sense of humor, and their whole manner exudes 'joie de vivre.' They have all the companionable qualities that are subsumed in the phrase 'hao han,' 'good fellow', or even 'hsia', a bold knight. Most of the different martial arts positions, although utilizing the skills of the martial arts, were not thought of as greatly prestigious. These positions merely utilized physical skill and in no way perpetuated themselves handing down their skills and techniques. Furthermore, there was no provision to better oneself as a martial artist, and there was absence of any use of the slightest literary philosophical attainments. Moreover, they were wanderers and did not reside in any one place for any length of time. These men usually acted and represented themselves only and did not have to establish or provide themselves with any credentials.
The general non-acceptance of these groups by Chinese society followed these lines. None of these men had a permanent address. They were neither a guild nor distinct social class. Having no permanence they were irresponsible and had no obligations to society, and so they made no contribution to society, as they belonged to no stable element. These men had no principles and they could be bought by amounts of money. They were generally illiterate, potenttial bullies who may resort to violence. They were really uncontrollable semi-savages who were were calmed down by money and rewards. Having no other skills except the martial arts which were considered a destructive element, they were considered listless and lazy as they always waited for disturbance so they could capitalize on that situation. No wonder society did not value them highly or hold them in any great esteem. On the other hand, the last of the four categories, wushu laoshi, the martial arts teacher, demanded some respect.
C.C Hu
The new military 'chin-shih' received assignments according to the ranking they had won in this palace examination, but they were not held in as high regard as their civilian counterparts.
As a 'wu chin-shih', a man could become an officer in the army although he could rise no higher than the rank of unit commander, since the posts of minister of war (ping-pu shang shu) and chief-of-staff (shu-min shi) were filled only by civilians. Civil chin-shih were often assigned as front-line generals. The possibility that a military man could become a front-line commander and then go on to enter the central government as a minister of war or a chief-of-staff was most abhorrent to the Chinese, since it disrupted the entire concept of their political and social system.Consequently, they took precautions against such an event.
The policy of reserving those important positions for civilians, while restricting military men to posts no higher than that of unit commander did have its drawbacks and did sometimes lead to dissatisfaction and even tragedy. An example is provided by the fate of the Southern Sung patriot, Yueh Fei, 1104-1142 A.D. During the long years of war against the Chin (Jurchen), Yueh Fei was an outstanding front-line unit commander and rose to the rank of general almost before anyone was aware of it This rise of a military man made the court uneasy, so much so that, by various devices, Yueh Fei ended up as a victim of these fears and suffered a bitter death. Such an attitude damaged the efficacy of the military and all martial arts, since they concluded that it was foolish for a military man to try to distinguish himself. This policy of the government was not new at the time of Yueh Fei, but it was a tradition held in common from earlier times.
The rule that no matter how great his accomplishments a professional military man could not participate in setting government policy at the highest levels may seem callous at first glance, but it is actually the foundation of good government, for if military men participate in government in their capacity as military men, they will emphasize the army's needs and will want to dominate the government as well as foreign relations. It goes without saying that the military is necessary for the protection of the state, but for it to dominate the state is unbearable. In the classical work Ku-liang chuan, which are the commentaries to the Confucian work Chun-chiu, there is a recognition that, "since antiquity, aside from the civilian element in government, there is the support of the military." However, in another classical work the Shou-yuan, it states that, "The sage alone establishes peace in his rule by first extolling the civil virtue, and if he fails, resorts to military strength." Such concepts held by the Chinese could only hold the martial artists in low esteem, if not in contempt.
For the successful candidates of the military examinations, each took on a position as a second-class official and both took and followed the lead of his civilian counterpart. What had happened to those candidates who had failed these examinations? They were returned to society to fill in one of the remaining categories, a farmer, artisan or merchant or to become more commoners.
The military examinations were efforts of scholar-moralists to tame the men of violence, and so those who failed were cast aside as untamed men of violence. This rejection of the martial artists was a severe blow to their egos. The failure of the military to establish themselves as a class resulted in their remaining at the disposal of civilian generalists who might use them or not as they felt circumstances required.
Those men who had failed the military examinations formed a disgruntled group. However, lacking the unity of a class or a guild, they went in various directions and entered into various endeavors. Many chose to join the army and try to rise in the ranks. Even more martial artists returned to society as commoners to enter into one of the three remaining categories, farmers, artisans, or tradesmen and merchants. A few of the martial artists chose to use their skills in criminal or borderline criminal endeavors such as bullies, gamblers, highway men, robbers, strong-arm men and even rebels. However, there was also a group of men who chose to utilize their martial arts skills and engage in legitimate work and and become law-abiding citizens. These men fell into two main categories, the wanderers and the established martial artists.
Overall, the martial artists were represented and characterized in popular Chinese fiction as men of outspoken bluntness and volcanic temper. They were obtuse, guileless, childish, belligerent, irascible, tempestuous, devoid of manners and completely uninhibited. They boasted and quarreled as a pastime, and occasionally killed by mistake. All in all, this characterized a Confucian concept of men who utilized brute force and violence to settle matters, instead of thinking out and finding a peaceful settlement. An ever-present menace to the neighborhood, the martial artist indulges in a kind of behavior that is frowned upon among ordinary men who usually keep some distance between them.
Those martial artists engaging in legitimate work fell into four main categories which in martial arts circles are called 'si-kun', which means literally, 'the four staffs', referring to the quarter-staff or pole. They were 'pao-piao' or armed escorts; 'hu-yuan', guards or bodyguards; 'mai gaoyao', traveling medicine man or showman; and 'wushu laoshi', the martial arts teacher. A martial artist could become a guard or bodyguard, whereby he could use his physical strength and martial skills in the employ ot a rich individual. In martial arts circles, he would be called a 'la-kun', a person dragging his staff. This position was not looked upon with much dignity, as he was always told what to do, and he virtually became a slave to the employer.
If the martial artist was adventurous and not afraid to leave home and travel the country, he couid be a 'mai gaoyao', a traveling medicine man, or 'mai-wu', a traveling showman, whereby he displayed his skills in physical feats. Here, he was at the mercy of contributions from on-lookers so this way of life may seem like a form of begging. However, if he also sold some medicine, he did not really receive money for his art but really from selling a product. In martial arts circles he was called a 'liao-kun', a challenging staff, as he was open to challenges at all times.
With the expansion of commerce and a money economy along with the extending of the Chinese empire and influence, goods had to travel long distances. To protect valuable shipments, a system of insurance and armed escort of goods was developed. Under this system, an insurance company would undertake to guard goods in transit and reimburse the loss if anything was lost on the way. The armed escorts were called 'piao-ke' or armed travelers, who were usually men who excelled in the martial arts.
Merchants, money lenders, landlords, or any wealthy individual who had to have goods transported over some distance and were fearful of robbers and bandits resorted to the use of such an insurance agency to furnish the piao-ke to guard and accompany his goods. The agency was usually headed by a leader who was an accomplished martial artist of some note or fame. In martial arts circles he was called a 'tiao-kun', or a person who carries a staff over his shoulders. He would have a large triangular flag or pennant with red scalloped trim. In the center of this flag or pennant would be a large-size Chinese character with his surname and along the straight edge would be the name and location of his agency. This flag or pennant would be affixed onto the lead cart or wagon and the guard and his followers armed with traditional weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds would ride on horses alongside the carts and wagons. One of the special weapons used were long pyramidal-shaped darts called "piao" similar to the ever-popular shuriken which were thrown at retreating robbers. It is from the skill in using this weapon that the name 'piao-shih', or master of the darts, is derived.
Usually the armed guard's pennant or flag would suffice as his passport for an uninterrupted passage, as it also carried along with it the reputation of the skill and mastery in the martial arts of the man. However, if the flag or pennant was not recognized and the baggage train stopped, an exchange of questions and answers regarding who was accompanying the train and who was interferring with its passage along with the names of their masters were given before any action was taken. This etiquette followed the maxim 'hsien li hou-ping' or 'courtesies before action.' Oftentimes, there would be an understanding between the bandits and the piao-shih and in such cases, courtesies were exchanged and the train load was allowed to pass freely, without incident.
As time passed, each escort leader would map out territories whereby he would accompany goods through various areas without interference or problems. However, if there should be problems and the train was attacked and robbed and if the piao-shih and his followers were either injured or killed,word would be sent out to other armed escorts, usually those belonging to the same school or clique, and an expeditionary force would be formed to hunt down the culprits, recover the goods and avenge the wrongs. In this manner, the piao-shih led a very adventurous life and they became the heroes of many Chinese knight errant stories.
Why are these wandering martial artists so loved by their companies and by the devotees of popular fiction? First, because they are honest and straight-forward in a world in which persons officially vested with authority prefer the devious approach. With these men one knows where one stands. Their friendships, born in the street, in wineshops, or in humble places, are disinterested, spontaneous alliances of congenial souls. They do not fawn and flatter, and nothing can make them shift their loyalty. They are resolute men, always ready to lay down their lives for their friends, never willing to surrender or to let themselves be curbed or humiliated. Physical strength and muscle-play brings them a natural exhilaration, their strength and courage lead to a careless self-confidence, their crude jokes reveal a robust sense of humor, and their whole manner exudes 'joie de vivre.' They have all the companionable qualities that are subsumed in the phrase 'hao han,' 'good fellow', or even 'hsia', a bold knight. Most of the different martial arts positions, although utilizing the skills of the martial arts, were not thought of as greatly prestigious. These positions merely utilized physical skill and in no way perpetuated themselves handing down their skills and techniques. Furthermore, there was no provision to better oneself as a martial artist, and there was absence of any use of the slightest literary philosophical attainments. Moreover, they were wanderers and did not reside in any one place for any length of time. These men usually acted and represented themselves only and did not have to establish or provide themselves with any credentials.
The general non-acceptance of these groups by Chinese society followed these lines. None of these men had a permanent address. They were neither a guild nor distinct social class. Having no permanence they were irresponsible and had no obligations to society, and so they made no contribution to society, as they belonged to no stable element. These men had no principles and they could be bought by amounts of money. They were generally illiterate, potenttial bullies who may resort to violence. They were really uncontrollable semi-savages who were were calmed down by money and rewards. Having no other skills except the martial arts which were considered a destructive element, they were considered listless and lazy as they always waited for disturbance so they could capitalize on that situation. No wonder society did not value them highly or hold them in any great esteem. On the other hand, the last of the four categories, wushu laoshi, the martial arts teacher, demanded some respect.
C.C Hu