Which, “Force or Recreation,” Led the Wushu Development?

Background/Purpose: It is commonly believed that military and combat in the cold-weapon age are the key driving forces of the development of Wushu, the Chinese martial arts. Others argued that Wushu was the product of intermixing of multi-culture in the Chinese society. The purpose of this study was, through an extensive literature review, to examine the key driving forces of the development of Wushu.

Method: A comprehensive literature search with the key words “Wushu culture”, “Wushu history” and “Wushu military” was first completed in two major Chinese databases China Academic Journal Network Publishing Database (CAJD) and China Doctoral Dissertations Full-text Database (CDFD). The collected information was examined and the key driving factors were derived.

Analysis/Results:

A total of 2300 papers between 1979 and 2012 were found and among them 110 were relevant. It was found that recreation was indeed the dominant power driving Wushu development, while military and combat only played supplementary roles:

1. Wushu-dance in sorcery was used to display emotion in primitive society. It was a way of recreation blending faith and outlet.

2. The myths and legends of Wushu themes formed in ancient society constructed Wushu recreation spiritually.

3. With its transition from battlefields to humanities in Zhou Dynasty (1046 B.C.-256 B.C.), Wushu integrated into the Chinese way of thinking.

4. Early Wushu theories were described with imagery, which highlighted culture whereas downplayed combat.

5. Wushu recreation gained high recognition officially because ancient emperors liked Wu Xi, an entertainment displayed via Wushu.

Conclusions: Historical literature shows clearly that recreation-centered humanism is the dominant power driving Wushu development. This conclusion provides a new perspective on reviewing Wushu development as well as a recreation-centered approach for Wushu dissemination.