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Barbells, dumbbells, kung fu, title honors mark cultural history
By Chen Zhaoxiong and Wang Jie |
July 26, 2010, Monday
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ONE of the most enduring elements of Jiading's historic and cultural legacy is its reputation for Confucian education. This district abounds with legends about its cultural enlightenment and achievements in art. But that is just part of the story. In traditional Chinese culture, Confucian education encompasses of cultural enlightenment and martial training. The ancient sage Confucius himself taught his students all six classical arts: rites, music, writing, arithmetic, riding and archery.
As for Jiading's martial legacies, kung fu training was quite popular among the public in its early years, when it was applied with great success to military defense. Jiading's Nanxiang area is a popular spot for people practicing the martial arts of stone barbells and stone dumbbells. A stone barbell looks like its equivalent in modern weightlifting and weighs about 100 to 150 kilograms. The traditional feat is very challenging: After lifting the stone barbell, a practitioner also needs to perform various martial tricks with it. Stone dumbbells, on the other hand, enjoy an even greater popularity. A stone dumbbell is made of granite in the shape of a traditional Chinese lock, and usually weighs no more than 20 kilograms. Its practitioners can perform various tricks by waving it around, throwing it into the air and then catching it. Some of the feats are meant to represent a carp flipping or a tiger toying with its tail. They are regular performances with stone dumbbells at local sports events. Over five decades ago, Tang Wengao, a farmer from Jiading, won the second prize in the stone dumbbell competition at a folk sports meet of southern Jiangsu Province. Apart from their recreational purposes, stone barbells and stone dumbbells can also be used to improve torso flexibility and body coordination - the basic skills of martial arts.
The popularity of martial arts has been evidenced by the achievements of Jiading residents in imperial martial examinations. Beginning in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), royal houses would organize tests patterned after literary examinations. Candidates were tested in weightlifting, riding, archery, weapon mastery, the art of war and a feat with a huge iron blade. Those who passed the examinations would be honored with such titles as wuxiucai, wujuren and wujinshi. According to Jiading's chronicles, 118 of its residents became wuxiucai, while 19 were honored as wujinshi since the Song Dynasty (960-1297). Once a person held either of these titles, he would be recruited as an officer in the royal army.
As for Jiading's martial legacies, kung fu training was quite popular among the public in its early years, when it was applied with great success to military defense. Jiading's Nanxiang area is a popular spot for people practicing the martial arts of stone barbells and stone dumbbells. A stone barbell looks like its equivalent in modern weightlifting and weighs about 100 to 150 kilograms. The traditional feat is very challenging: After lifting the stone barbell, a practitioner also needs to perform various martial tricks with it. Stone dumbbells, on the other hand, enjoy an even greater popularity. A stone dumbbell is made of granite in the shape of a traditional Chinese lock, and usually weighs no more than 20 kilograms. Its practitioners can perform various tricks by waving it around, throwing it into the air and then catching it. Some of the feats are meant to represent a carp flipping or a tiger toying with its tail. They are regular performances with stone dumbbells at local sports events. Over five decades ago, Tang Wengao, a farmer from Jiading, won the second prize in the stone dumbbell competition at a folk sports meet of southern Jiangsu Province. Apart from their recreational purposes, stone barbells and stone dumbbells can also be used to improve torso flexibility and body coordination - the basic skills of martial arts.
The popularity of martial arts has been evidenced by the achievements of Jiading residents in imperial martial examinations. Beginning in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), royal houses would organize tests patterned after literary examinations. Candidates were tested in weightlifting, riding, archery, weapon mastery, the art of war and a feat with a huge iron blade. Those who passed the examinations would be honored with such titles as wuxiucai, wujuren and wujinshi. According to Jiading's chronicles, 118 of its residents became wuxiucai, while 19 were honored as wujinshi since the Song Dynasty (960-1297). Once a person held either of these titles, he would be recruited as an officer in the royal army.
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