Wushu

Wushu ({{zh-stp|s=?? |t=?? |p=w?shù}} {{Audio2|Zh-wu3shu4.ogg}}) literally means "martial art". It is the correct term for the more commonly known but misused term kung fu, which roughly translates to "skill" and refers specifically to the energy, feeling and effort expended in doing or making something. A craftsman or artisan could be said to have good "kung fu" in the way in which they carry out their craft. In the same way, a wushu practitioner can also be said to have good "kung fu" with their Wushu practice. All categories of Chinese martial arts, traditional, contemporary, hard and soft, can be called Wushu. Today, the terms "modern wushu" or "contemporary wushu" refer to forms that are practiced for health, exhibition and competition. Common "hard" or external styles of contemporary Wushu are southern fist, Nanquan and long fist, Changquan. Common "soft" or internal styles are Taijiquan, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan.

History

The oldest evidence of Wu Shu, or Chinese martial arts, goes back to the Zhou dynasty (1111-255 BC). There are passages in the Zhuang Zi (AKA Chuang Tzu) that clearly pertain to the psychology and practice of martial arts. The Dao De Jing by Lao Zi contains many principles that are applicable to martial arts, and is similar in point of view to the Sun Zi Bing Fa (Sun Zi's Art of War) which deals directly with martial arts. History says that Zhuang Zi lived during the reign of King Hui of Liang and King Xuan of Qi, which means that he must have lived within the span from 370 B.C. to 301 B.C. The dates of the author of the Dao De Jing are less clear. Tradition assigns him to a time earlier than Zhuang Zi, but the evidence indicates that the book itself was written down later than the time of Zhuang Zi.

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In legend, Wu Shu traces its origins thousands of years into antiquity. The Wushu that is practiced today developed over the centuries and many of the later additions of Wushu, such as the Shaolin Wushu style, later animal forms, and the drunken style were incorporated from various other martial arts forms that came into existence later.

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In regards to the Shaolin style of Wushu that is currently popular, a legend extant since 1624 CE originally attributed Bodhidharma (Pu Tai Ta Mo in Chinese or Daruma Daishi in Japanese), a Central Asia or South Asian monk, as the progenitor. However, the texts that first attributed him to Shaolin Kung Fu have been shown to be unlikely forgeries. Historical evidence has shown that the Shaolin monks during and before this time harbored retired soldiers who taught the monks self defense techniques that they had learned during military training. Around 500 AD the Shaolin monks, in order to protect themselves from bandits and criminals, began to codify what they had learned into a "Shaolin" Kung-Fu style; however, the development of Wushu (or general martial arts in China) goes back centuries before this.

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