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Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century
In the global world of the twenty-first century, martial arts are practiced for self-defense and sporting purposes only. However, for thousands of years, they were a central feature of military practice in China and essential for the smooth functioning of society. Individuals who were adept in using weapons were highly regarded, not simply as warriors but also as tacticians and performers. This book, which opens with an intriguing account of the very first female martial artist, charts the history of combat and fighting techniques in China from the Bronze Age to the present. This broad panorama affords fascinating glimpses into the transformation of martial skills, techniques, and weaponry against the background of Chinese history, the rise and fall of empires, their governments, and their armies. Quotations from literature and poetry, and the stories of individual warriors, infuse the narrative, offering personal reflections on prowess in the battlefield and techniques of engagement. This is an engaging and readable introduction to the authentic history of Chinese martial arts.
282 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2011
10 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Peter A. Lorge
8 books10 followersPeter Lorge is a historian of 10th and 11th century Chinese, with particular interest in Chinese military, political and social history. He is author of Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge University Press, 2012), The Asian Military Revolution: From Gunpowder to the Bomb (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and War, Politics and Society in Early Modern China (Routledge, 2005), which described the development of the Chinese empire in response to the demands of war and internal control. Lorge is editor of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (The Chinese University Press, 2011). He also edited Warfare in China to 1600 (Ashgate, 2005) in The International Library of Essays on Military History series. In 2007, he established a new book series with Routledge, Asian States and Empires, five of these books have been published. He is currently editing a collected work called Debating War in Chinese History for Brill.
Peter Lorge is one of the founders, and former executive board members, of the Chinese Military History Society. He won the Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004, and has appeared on CNN to discuss Chinese military affairs. In 2007, he attended The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies workshop on teaching National Security at Basin Harbor.
Peter Lorge is one of the founders, and former executive board members, of the Chinese Military History Society. He won the Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004, and has appeared on CNN to discuss Chinese military affairs. In 2007, he attended The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies workshop on teaching National Security at Basin Harbor.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 8, 2024
Lorge, who is a historian specializing in early Chinese history traces the history of Chinese martial arts through both armed and unarmed combat from the early beginnings of Chinese dynasties to its iteration in modern popular culture where through the likes of such film martial artists as Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet li we have witnessed an explosion of interest in the subject.
Where the book shines is through its discussion of the underlying culture as well as rich historical tapestries of Chinese history where we learn that much of early martial arts began as a form of exhibition at aristocratic settings such as palaces and imperial settings. One example of this may be seen already in the early Zhao dynasty where among others archery and exhibitions with chariots were on full display. Later on we see a practice arising and being spread amongst China's vast peoples and as history we get more formalization's of the art as seen developed both in the Tang and Ming dynasty respectfully.
As a critique of the book I should warn the potential reader that much time is spent on the underlying history and cultural impact of Chinese martial arts where if one wishes to witness a a more detailed discussion on the various specific styles and practices of the art, than perhaps one should look at a different book. It is not however totally devoid of this type of discussion as we see various forms of both wrestling and boxing (including monkey boxing!) discussed. The author also takes Chinese martial arts in its broadest sense where the practice of weapons as well as archery are discussed in conjunction with unarmed combat. There is also very little time spent on the image of Chinese martial arts post 1970's but this was not a problem for me as I was more interested in the ancient practice.
Thus, where the book shines is in its excellent research authorship as well as touching upon many important features of cultural history as well as motivations for the practice of Chinese martial arts. The impact and development of the Shaolin temple are especially fascinating to read about as well as China's own critique at times of 'too flowery' martial arts styles arising which were seen as not particularly effective.
Note: I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating system of thumbs up/down. This later rating system increases in my humble opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to engage with a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars of a given book.)
Where the book shines is through its discussion of the underlying culture as well as rich historical tapestries of Chinese history where we learn that much of early martial arts began as a form of exhibition at aristocratic settings such as palaces and imperial settings. One example of this may be seen already in the early Zhao dynasty where among others archery and exhibitions with chariots were on full display. Later on we see a practice arising and being spread amongst China's vast peoples and as history we get more formalization's of the art as seen developed both in the Tang and Ming dynasty respectfully.
As a critique of the book I should warn the potential reader that much time is spent on the underlying history and cultural impact of Chinese martial arts where if one wishes to witness a a more detailed discussion on the various specific styles and practices of the art, than perhaps one should look at a different book. It is not however totally devoid of this type of discussion as we see various forms of both wrestling and boxing (including monkey boxing!) discussed. The author also takes Chinese martial arts in its broadest sense where the practice of weapons as well as archery are discussed in conjunction with unarmed combat. There is also very little time spent on the image of Chinese martial arts post 1970's but this was not a problem for me as I was more interested in the ancient practice.
Thus, where the book shines is in its excellent research authorship as well as touching upon many important features of cultural history as well as motivations for the practice of Chinese martial arts. The impact and development of the Shaolin temple are especially fascinating to read about as well as China's own critique at times of 'too flowery' martial arts styles arising which were seen as not particularly effective.
Note: I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating system of thumbs up/down. This later rating system increases in my humble opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to engage with a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars of a given book.)
January 27, 2019
Mythbusting of a bunch of the popular martial arts legends. Lorge traces their evolution from battlefield arts (with a focus on weapons and archery) to self-development/value of unarmed combat beyond physical conditioning. Fairly quick read, and some great stories (like the one of the failed assassin who was allowed to strike at a dummy of the emperor out of respect for his courage).
October 24, 2019
683 - 2019
July 18, 2014
This is an interesting and informative historical work that attempts to trace the historical facts, rather than the fiction, of Chinese martial arts in history. It is well researched and well written, and it does a fair job of encapsulating a thousand-plus year history of fighting and weaponry into a couple of hundred pages. Lorge has a solid narrative style and makes it fairly easy to follow. Given the Herculean task he set out to undertake, he did quite well.
However, I found the book disappointing because, for a work about the history of Chinese martial arts, Lorge spends too many words discussing the social and cultural history of China rather than its martial arts forms. I recognize that he had to discuss the non-martial history in some detail, as the events happened contemporaneously can cannot be wholly separated... but too often he focused on what the national government was like or the culture of the time, rather than the martial arts.
Additionally, his discussion of the arts themselves is vague and lacks detail. If one expects, for example, to learn where the "tiger" style of Wu Shu first developed, one can forget it in this book -- Lorge makes no attempt to define the styles or trace their lineages. I suspect he did this both due to considerations of space, and because many of the styles have little written or verifiable history before the twentieth century. But even so, to fail to mention the specific styles of Chinese martial arts that have become so famous in modern times, is a rather large omission in this book.
Lorge primarily focuses here on the military use of martial arts. Although he mentions that bandits used it or citizens did for self defense, he mainly focuses on war. Archery dominates the discussion for many chapters for this reason -- horse archery in particular was a major facet of Chinese warfare for centuries. But although this is undeniably true, archery would rarely have been used outside of a military (or sporting) context. To focus on it nearly exclusively for so many pages leaves out all the other types of arts, including the unarmed fighting techniques. Indeed, Lorge mentions unarmed fighting almost as a footnote, only to discuss that it cannot be used to any real effect in war. This is undoubtedly true, but most martial arts these days are learned as a means of self-defense, not combat fighting... and surely this was true in ancient China as well.
On the other hand, Lorge does a good job of debunking many of the myths surrounding Chinese martial arts. He explains, for example, that there is no real historical justification for connecting the Shaolin temple to martial arts in any special way -- this has mostly arisen as a product of 20th century fiction and martial arts movies. But even before the 20th century, during the last few hundred years, many myths have been told about the "ancient lineages" of various martial arts styles that are, as Lorge points out, entirely fabricated, and presumably designed to give the style "gravitas."
Overall, this is an interesting and well-written, thoroughly researched book. However, if you are looking for insight into unarmed fighting styles, this book will be of little interest. Until the very last chapter (on post-Imperial China), unarmed fighting is hardly mentioned.
However, I found the book disappointing because, for a work about the history of Chinese martial arts, Lorge spends too many words discussing the social and cultural history of China rather than its martial arts forms. I recognize that he had to discuss the non-martial history in some detail, as the events happened contemporaneously can cannot be wholly separated... but too often he focused on what the national government was like or the culture of the time, rather than the martial arts.
Additionally, his discussion of the arts themselves is vague and lacks detail. If one expects, for example, to learn where the "tiger" style of Wu Shu first developed, one can forget it in this book -- Lorge makes no attempt to define the styles or trace their lineages. I suspect he did this both due to considerations of space, and because many of the styles have little written or verifiable history before the twentieth century. But even so, to fail to mention the specific styles of Chinese martial arts that have become so famous in modern times, is a rather large omission in this book.
Lorge primarily focuses here on the military use of martial arts. Although he mentions that bandits used it or citizens did for self defense, he mainly focuses on war. Archery dominates the discussion for many chapters for this reason -- horse archery in particular was a major facet of Chinese warfare for centuries. But although this is undeniably true, archery would rarely have been used outside of a military (or sporting) context. To focus on it nearly exclusively for so many pages leaves out all the other types of arts, including the unarmed fighting techniques. Indeed, Lorge mentions unarmed fighting almost as a footnote, only to discuss that it cannot be used to any real effect in war. This is undoubtedly true, but most martial arts these days are learned as a means of self-defense, not combat fighting... and surely this was true in ancient China as well.
On the other hand, Lorge does a good job of debunking many of the myths surrounding Chinese martial arts. He explains, for example, that there is no real historical justification for connecting the Shaolin temple to martial arts in any special way -- this has mostly arisen as a product of 20th century fiction and martial arts movies. But even before the 20th century, during the last few hundred years, many myths have been told about the "ancient lineages" of various martial arts styles that are, as Lorge points out, entirely fabricated, and presumably designed to give the style "gravitas."
Overall, this is an interesting and well-written, thoroughly researched book. However, if you are looking for insight into unarmed fighting styles, this book will be of little interest. Until the very last chapter (on post-Imperial China), unarmed fighting is hardly mentioned.
June 9, 2014
If you're looking for an exciting account of the legends and origins of traditional Chinese martial arts, full of tracing of lineages and details of their spread, this is NOT the book for you. This is an academic review of the available sources on martial arts, with equal emphasis placed on ancient dynasties as modern times, and scrupulously based on extant sources, not on legends or interviews.
In many ways, it's not so much a history of martial arts, but more of a history of soldiers and martial skills. It looks at the way martial skills were viewed in cultural sources, who practiced, and how reliable modern accounts are.
It serves to debunk a lot of the mythology that has grown up about Chinese martial arts, such as the famed distinction between "internal" martial arts/Wutai Mountain and "external" martial arts/Shaolin. Spoiler alert, the distinction is a relatively recent invention, and martial arts later shoehorned into the categories to fit.
For practitioners of Chinese martial arts, this book will feel dry, uninspiring, and will challenge many of the things that you've learned about the art you practice. To my mind, however, that's not really a bad thing. Learning the truth, instead of the hyperbole, is always better.
In many ways, it's not so much a history of martial arts, but more of a history of soldiers and martial skills. It looks at the way martial skills were viewed in cultural sources, who practiced, and how reliable modern accounts are.
It serves to debunk a lot of the mythology that has grown up about Chinese martial arts, such as the famed distinction between "internal" martial arts/Wutai Mountain and "external" martial arts/Shaolin. Spoiler alert, the distinction is a relatively recent invention, and martial arts later shoehorned into the categories to fit.
For practitioners of Chinese martial arts, this book will feel dry, uninspiring, and will challenge many of the things that you've learned about the art you practice. To my mind, however, that's not really a bad thing. Learning the truth, instead of the hyperbole, is always better.
December 29, 2012
The author has done a great job going through the historical records (and it turns out that there are plenty of those) to investigate the origin and development of the Chinese Martial Arts (CMA) over several thousand years of that country's history. A lot of effort was dedicated to establishing the truth and separating facts from myths (there are plenty of those as well). Some of the topics that I found especially interesting were the discussion of the origin of the martial arts, their connection (or rather the lack thereof) with Buddhism and Daoism, the role of Shaolin, the role of the warrior-monks, and the evolution of weapons. I think that anyone who is interested in the CMA would find the book helpful and informative. However, if you are looking to read some flowery legends that surround the CMA, prepare to face the facts. They are not pretty!
March 28, 2014
Another one that will mess with the mystical creation myth of your martial art. But in a good way.
Focus of the book is on actual martial arts, as in combat skills. So you learn a bunch about various soldier skills, weapons, tactics and their development.
Bonus: I finally am starting to get a grasp on the various dynasties and what/how they operated.
Focus of the book is on actual martial arts, as in combat skills. So you learn a bunch about various soldier skills, weapons, tactics and their development.
Bonus: I finally am starting to get a grasp on the various dynasties and what/how they operated.
December 19, 2014
This is actually a nice historical overview. It's surprisingly balanced for such a short volume. It gives excellent starting point for the reader to delve further in topics and times that may be of interest.
October 21, 2012
Based on the books available concerning the history of martial arts, this is one of the best. A must read if you want to get an overview on the current research.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews