Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century

Description

Within the global world of the twenty-first century, martial arts are practiced for self-defense and sporting purposes only. Alternatively, for thousands of years, they were a central feature of military practice in China and crucial for the smooth functioning of society. People who were adept in the use of weapons were very talked-about, not simply as warriors but in addition as tacticians and performers. This book, which opens with an intriguing account of the first actual 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 upward push 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 Within the battlefield and techniques of engagement. This is an interesting and readable introduction to the authentic history of Chinese martial arts.