What traditional cultures of China have not been absorbed by China Wushu? ( )

Brief Introduction of Wushu Culture in China

At first glance, this topic seems irrelevant and empty. Let me explain it from four aspects. ?

First, from the role of Wushu, practicing Wushu can improve people's basic quality. What the ancients paid most attention to was "being both civil and military", so there is a saying: being armed without words is brute, being literate without arms is weak. In fact, we modern people are equally particular. Who doesn't want to be both civil and military? ! As for getting all but not all, that's another matter. Practicing Wushu can not only improve people's physique, but also improve people's mental outlook and shape people's brave and strong character. Usually when we talk about martial arts, we will naturally talk about the martial arts of Shaolin Temple. But I have always opposed the idea of "Shaolin Wushu", which should be called "Shaolin Kung Fu". I advocate "Wu Chan" just to emphasize this point. The word "Kung Fu" is a special term in our Buddhism. The result of our meditation is called "Kung Fu". For example, talking in meditation, we call it "doing kung fu". The purpose of doing "Kung Fu" is to realize enlightenment, become a Buddha, be extraordinary and become a saint, and completely change people's quality. Shaolin Temple is the ancestral home of Zen Buddhism, and Shaolin monks practice martial arts, which is a kind of practice, so it is also called "Zen martial arts" and "integration of Zen and martial arts". Of course, not all people who learn Shaolin Kung Fu are practicing and doing Kung Fu. Even if Shaolin monks practice martial arts, they are not necessarily practicing kung fu. The key is whether they have meditation. We can't ask, and we can't ask all martial arts practitioners to practice martial arts with a Zen attitude. But it is very important that the motivation of Wushu has a great influence on the consequences of Wushu, that is, Wushu morality. In particular, there are no martial arts experts who don't pay attention to martial arts. They always earnestly emphasize martial arts over and over again, because good martial arts opportunities cultivate good character; Bad motivation for martial arts will only produce villains in the end. In this regard, martial arts practitioners and teachers should not be careless.

At present, there are many misunderstandings about the role of Wushu, all of which overemphasize the relationship between Wushu and war and fighting. Now people begin to understand and accept that Wushu is not suitable for war, because war is a group confrontation, not a one-on-one fight. Of course, a warrior with a martial arts foundation is certainly conducive to fighting, but martial arts is not an important factor in determining the outcome of a war. Wushu is an offensive and defensive technique, which can't be wrong. The development of Wushu has a lot to do with fighting, but it is not inevitable. Fight if you know martial arts, and fight if you don't. I object to directly linking martial arts with fighting. Wushu has many functions, such as knives, which can be used to kill people and cut vegetables. But the problem can't stop there. The most fundamental thing is to put aside whether the knife is used to kill people or to cut vegetables. What we pursue is that the knife must be sharp and of high quality. Therefore, the essence of Wushu is related to people's quality, strong physique and brave personality, not to fighting, but to war. ?

Secondly, judging from the content of Wushu, Wushu originated from China traditional culture and developed and perfected in the environment of China traditional culture. Therefore, Wushu must also fully contain the connotation of China traditional culture and reflect the characteristics of China traditional culture. This is the same as the emergence and formation of Chinese medicine, which also owns and embodies the traditional culture of China. In fact, martial arts and Chinese medicine are closely related and mutually infiltrated, and the traumatology in martial arts is an important part of Chinese medicine. The ideas of Yin and Yang, Five Elements, Meridian and Meridian of TCM also run through the Wushu system. Therefore, no matter from the boxing theory, specific movements, or even the name, we can easily and strongly feel the breath of China traditional culture. For example, the boxing theories of Tai Ji Chuan and Bagua Boxing are directly derived from the thoughts of Yin and Yang. In fact, all martial arts in China pay attention to the change of Yin and Yang. Therefore, boxing often says: energy is static and boxing is sacred. The so-called "static energy" is about the change of yin and yang. For example, the basic characteristics of Shaolin Kung Fu, as we all know, are: advancing and retreating in a line, punching and kicking on the cow ground, and combining rigidity with softness. Pay attention to the changes of yin and yang, and even seek changes in "a line" and "a land where cows lie". Now when it comes to the change of Yin and Yang, everyone thinks it is a Taoist patent, which is a misunderstanding. The change of yin and yang is the most basic idea of China's traditional culture, which is not only talked about by Taoists, but also by Confucianism. Even we Buddhists say so. Cao Dongzong, our Zen master, once said, "Take the partiality as a whole, each belongs to its place" and "Five is the most important", which not only absorbed the thoughts of Yin and Yang, but also combined with five lines of gossip. Of course, as a Buddhist, Shaolin Kung Fu is more unique and contains rich and profound Buddhist thoughts. The highest realm pursued by other martial arts is superb, unpredictable and arbitrary; Shaolin kungfu is based on Zen and physical and mental cultivation, pursuing enlightenment and liberation, and achieving "no desire, no desire". After liberation, you are not afraid of anything, even death, and martial arts is not a problem. Therefore, "Shaolin Boxing Spectrum" said: "The practice of covering external skills is a matter of physical bones and muscles; The cultivation of internal strength is transformed by the spirit of life. Leaving is the last skill in the Jianghu, and combining is the ultimate feat. "From the above simple list, we can easily see the rich cultural connotation contained in Wushu. China Wushu is called extensive and profound because China Wushu contains extensive and profound ancient China thoughts.

Thirdly, from the perspective of Wushu history, the emergence and development of Wushu is integrated with the history of the Chinese nation. Compared with foreign martial arts, the development and uniqueness of China's martial arts are actually related to the special history of frequent wars and disasters in China. Wushu reflects the history of the Chinese nation from one side, is the epitome of the history of the Chinese nation, and has become an important part of the traditional Chinese culture. Take Shaolin Kungfu as an example. Shaolin Kungfu is closely related to the history of Shaolin Temple. For example, at the end of Sui Dynasty, Shaolin Temple was occupied by bandits and rejected by monks. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Shaolin Temple monks arrested Wang Ren, who made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty and added fiefs to the title. At the end of the northern song dynasty, he joined the "sacred team" to actively resist gold; At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Red Scarf Army attacked Shaolin and was stopped by monks, which is the reason for the legend of King Jinnaluo. As for the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Shaolin monks should be brave and good at fighting, which is well known to women and children. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, mountain bandits rose in Songshan area, and Shaolin Temple monks established peace preservation corps to eliminate mountain bandits and Jing' an side; All the above are historical facts. As for the legendary stories about Shaolin promoted by notes, novels, movies, etc., we won't say it. Nowadays, Shaolin Kung Fu is influential both at home and abroad. As long as you come to Shaolin Temple to see the enthusiasm of young people around the world to practice martial arts, the large and small pilgrimages erected by world martial arts groups and Shaolin disciples in the Shaolin Temple forest, the popularity of Shaolin Kung Fu touring around the world, the biennial Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival, and so on, you will be deeply impressed. Now it is just an example of Shaolin Kung Fu, and there are countless China Wushu, which is unique in the world Wushu history. According to statistics, there are more than 300 kinds of boxing in China. Together, they form a colorful and vibrant martial arts culture in China. China Wushu embodies the indomitable heroic spirit of the Chinese nation, expresses the psychology and ideals of the Chinese nation very intuitively, and has a strong national psychological identity function. When we think about it, we will understand how many people in this world are watching Jin Yong's martial arts novels and how many people are watching martial arts movies. China Wushu has become a cross-border, cross-ethnic and even cross-faith cultural phenomenon, and has formed a China Wushu cultural circle around the world, which is very obvious in overseas Chinese communities. In fact, China Wushu has already broken away from the simple state of adding fists and feet, developed into a unique folk culture, and played a unique cultural function.

Fourthly, from the meaning of Wushu, the word Wushu is occasionally seen in ancient books, but it is definitely not what modern people call Wushu. Wushu in ancient books means "the art of Wushu", which includes the meanings of skill, technique, reason, meaning and Taoism, that is, kung fu in a broad sense. "Wushu" was widely used as a special word after 1949, and it was called the national art in the Republic of China. In terms of content and meaning, the word Wushu can't replace Kung Fu. It should be said that martial arts is a part of kung fu. That is, Kung Fu includes two parts or levels: martial arts and martial arts. In terms of cultivation, martial arts cultivates people, while martial arts cultivates monasticism. Wushu can strengthen the body, strengthen people's will, make people brave, strong and full of vitality; But that's all. Wushu can sublimate martial arts to the realm of Taoism, that is, the avenue of life in heaven and earth, while in Shaolin Kung Fu, it is a Zen way that embraces the wisdom of life in the universe. Practically speaking, martial arts can govern people, and martial arts can govern the country and the army, that is, from the confrontation between two people to the battle between two armies. Different scales, the same reason. No matter how good your kung fu is, you can beat one enemy by ten; What if you meet a hundred people? You can fight one against a hundred, but what if you meet a thousand or ten thousand people? If you can master martial arts and martial arts, you can strategize and win more with less. "Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish." When modern people mention martial arts, they think of national martial arts routines, that is, "model martial arts." In Shaolin Kung Fu, besides martial arts and Zen, there are four parts, namely basic skills, routines, martial arts and Kung Fu. Model Wushu adds a few more flying movements to its basic skills and routines, that's all. As for martial arts, kung fu, martial arts, martial arts, it goes without saying. This is why traditional kungfu is a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation.

Above, I discussed the cultural essence of Chinese Wushu from four aspects, so as to remind everyone that Chinese Wushu is a rich gift left by the old man of history, the condensation of the painstaking efforts of several generations of ancestors, which can not be achieved by short-term commercial speculation behavior, so we should cherish it more! Sports competition is only the "path" of Wushu; Paying attention to cultural function is the "avenue" of Wushu! ?

Looking back on our attitudes and policies towards Wushu culture, I think that on the whole, our understanding and attention to Wushu culture is insufficient, even biased. What needs to be pointed out in particular is that the government's system of managing the national Wushu is not commensurate with the current development of Wushu. The government's management system was founded in the early days of the People's Republic of China and formed during the Cultural Revolution, which may be suitable for the whole national system and the development level of Wushu at that time. However, in the past 20 years of reform and opening up, the national Wushu has made rapid progress and a hundred flowers have blossomed. However, the government martial arts management system is still the same as that of the Cultural Revolution, still holding a single "model martial arts" and still implementing a rigid and quantitative sports competition system and its standards. Reminiscent of the "model opera" during the Cultural Revolution. "Model opera" will kill colorful local martial arts, just as "model opera" will kill local opera. The measure of martial arts is not how high you kick, nor how many times you turn. Wushu is not a single sport, but a comprehensive sport. In fact, it is against the most basic principles of Wushu to pursue high kicks and many turns in Wushu competitions. If compared unilaterally, martial arts are worthless, and the strength of martial arts practitioners is not as great as that of lifting; No matter how good you jump, you can't compare with high jump and long jump; No matter how steady the pile step is, it can't compare with floor exercise; Balance is like acrobatics. But the martial arts put these together and pay attention to it with the life of kung fu, which is amazing. This is a traditional martial art in China. The most basic principle of Wushu is whether physical strength is used properly and whether the best effect is achieved. The beauty of external movements is secondary. On the other hand, if the physical strength is used properly to achieve the maximum effect, its external movements must also be beautiful. To measure Wushu, we must take the eyes of insiders as the standard, not those of outsiders. There is a rule in Shaolin Kung Fu that "you can't kick your knees". If measured by current national standards, Shaolin Kung Fu will become a "defective product". Nowadays, people who learn Shaolin Kung Fu are influenced by the outside world, playing high and turning a lot. Of course, it's not bad to kick high and turn around more. It is necessary and worth promoting to absorb the advantages of the outside world, but we can't just throw away the old rules. Our predecessors must have set them up for a reason. It is blind to throw away the old rules if you don't understand them. Nowadays, in order to meet the existing rules of systematic competition, teenagers no longer attach importance to and cherish traditional Wushu, but specialize in "model Wushu". On the surface, the whole society seems to have more people practicing martial arts and is very lively, but the overall level of martial arts is obviously declining. Shaolin monks abide by the precepts and do not participate in various competitions in society, making special contributions to the preservation of traditional Shaolin Kung Fu. However, the invasion of the world wind has also caused great damage. Of course, this happened not only today, but also in ancient times. According to historical records, a similar situation happened in Shaolin Temple in the Ming Dynasty. After visiting Shaolin Temple and watching Shaolin monks perform martial arts, a generation of famous teachers said that "all the tricks were lost". I tell this story in the hope that everyone can learn from it and promote the healthy development and prosperity of Wushu in China from the perspective of grand culture. 1999 May 24th Shaolin Temple