China Review International

This is the first book to approach the Chinese martial arts from the perspective of so-called training manuals that have either been formally published or handwritten over the ages. It contains a wealth of information, especially concerning materials published during the Republican era in China (1911-1949).

While the content is clearly labeled in the various sections and chapters, the organization of the book can still be a bit frustrating as there are many important facts scattered throughout the book. One example is Kang Ge Wu's 康戈武 "Top Twelve Chinese Martial Arts Classics" (part 1, chapter 9), which needs to be considered with part 2, "The Books." Actually, a couple of the twelve "Martial Arts Classics" listed have little or nothing to do with the martial arts as such. For instance, Seven Books of Martial Classics 武經七書 were used in preparation for the written portions of military examinations, but contain no significant martial arts material. On the other hand, while the Important Content of the Military Classics (Wujing Zongyao 武經宗要), published around 1044, contains no martial arts material as such either, it at least contains numerous illustrations of weapons of the period; however, it is not mentioned. And listing the Muscle Change Classic (Yijin Jing 易勁經) merely confuses the issue by dragging in the long-discredited Bodhidharma connection to the martial arts. Here, the authors could have done better by developing their own list and separating the older manuals from the material of the Republican era.

The chapter on Taiwanese martial arts history contains some interesting information, but, as the authors note, not all directly related to the main theme. They mention martial arts historian Chou Chi Chun (Zhou Jichun 周繼春) in chapter 4 (pp. 62-63), "Chinese Martial Arts Historians," and note his role in founding the Chinese Martial Arts Publishing House (Zhonghua Wushu Chuban She), which republished, with valuable annotations, old Republican era manuals much to the benefit of a younger generation of martial artists. Chou was among the group of older mainland martial artists who settled in Taiwan after 1949. Their contributions included getting the Ministry of Education on Taiwan to publish several short volumes of articles on the history of martial arts during the information gap experienced when mainland China was convulsed by the depredations of the so-called Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1965-1975). Song Jinren 宋今人, editor of Zhenshanmei Press and a student of the martial arts historian Xu Zhen 徐震 (pp. 60-61, pp. 212-213), was also among the mainland émigrés. In addition to assisting the Chinese Martial Arts Publishing House's efforts, Song [End Page 247] personally republished Xu Zhen's valuable 1930s research on early Taijiquan manuals. The emigrés also maintained contact with Lee Ying-arng (Li Ying'ang 李英 昂), a martial artist himself and a doctor of chiropractics and acupuncture living in Hong Kong. Lee helped distribute the emigrés' publications through his own Unicorn Press and republished pioneer Chinese martial arts historian Tang Hao's 唐豪 (pp. 38-60) important 1930s works. And, as noted elsewhere in the book, individuals from outside China, including Robert W. Smith, gained their knowledge of Chinese martial arts while resident in Taiwan. So, for a time, Taiwan, along with Hong Kong, served as a bridge for maintaining martial arts contacts with the outside world while mainland China was in the throes of political uncertainty and relative isolation.

While it is difficult to be all things for all readers, the authors might have highlighted some key insights revealed in the most important manuals they introduce. Realizing that some of this information may already be covered in other works, they might have pointed to these works and provided a bibliography of key sources at the end rather than just scatter this information throughout the text. An example is Chang Naizhou's 萇乃周 (1728-1783) The Book of Chang Style Martial Techniques 長氏武技書 (pp. 212-213). Douglas Wile's book on the subject (T'ai Chi's Ancestors: The...