Wushu lovers, do you really get Wushu?

News provided by

China.org.cn

Aug 11, 2023, 09:00 ET

BEIJING, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on Chinese Wushu:

The Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games has come to a successful closure. In retrospect, we could see that the event depicting the most vivid Chinese characteristics is the Wushu (martial arts) event. Wushu masters from all over the world stepped into the arena against Chinese-style background music, donning splendid traditional Chinese attires, and bringing their best game like high-spirited heroes. Nanquan (Southern fist), Taijiquan (Taichi Chuan), Wushu Sanda (martial arts free fighting) … The electrifying routines of these athletes seem to have brought audiences into a wuxia world appropriated by popular Chinese fiction and film, presenting the charm of Chinese Wushu.

In fact, just like combat sports from other countries, the art of Wushu could be traced to prehistoric times when it was practiced as a form of combat. However, the features of Chinese culture endowed Wushu with unique "charisma" and traits.

Traditional Chinese culture was deeply rooted in agrarian civilization. Several millennia ago, Chinese ancestors observed celestial movements and the sundry geographies on this vast land, and perceived that the universe and everything in it formed a dialectical relationship, a philosophy that makes humanity and nature at one. On such philosophical soil sprouted Chinese Wushu.

The elements of Taijiquan, including motion and stillness, emptiness and fullness, opening and closing, capture the interplay of the universe's yin and yang binary. In China, when martial arts practitioners compete with each other, they abide by the notions of "skilled competition over power tussle" and "refrain from causing actual harm." During a fight-off, one would answer high moves with lower moves, respond to speed with slower motions, and repay strength with softness, which are, in a nutshell, the embodiment of the Confucian philosophy of "harmony in diversity," one that tends to convert any discordancy to harmony. Therefore, the essence of Chinese Wushu lies in oppressing violence and aiding the weak, instead of fueling the belligerent or bullying the powerless. "Truly great martial arts are against violence, and genuine combats are not about fighting," the idiom expresses the gist of Chinese Wushu.

Wushu has developed over millennia, deriving many genres. Weapons like dao (broadsword), jian (sword), gun (cudgel) and qiang (spear) are used, and there are also barehanded Wushu genres like Taijiquan, Xingyiquan and Yongchunquan (Wing Chun), all of which embody the philosophy of harmony and togetherness.

China Mosaic hasn't introduced any specific Chinese culture for you in a long time. Today we're talking about Chinese Wushu because it is a beloved topic of many international friends, among whom many wonder if it's true that every Chinese knows Kungfu? Here's the thing: Not every one of us has learned Wushu or knows Kungfu. But, Wushu is indeed an epitome of the overarching Chinese mindset. The traditional cultural elements that find themselves in Wushu shape the Chinese people in many ways, while influencing the ideas and values that China adheres to when interacting with other parts of the world.

When youngsters from all around the globe learn and perform Wushu, they are actually in a process of understanding Chinese culture and approaching the Chinese people. Nurturing one's soul and cultivating one's character, making more friends, while pursuing the shared beauty of harmony through Wushu, is a culture that originates from China but belongs to the world.

China Mosaic
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Wushu lovers, do you really get Wushu?
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2023-08/11/content_101253784.htm

SOURCE China.org.cn