Chinese martial arts also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu or gung fu, are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified by common traits, identified as “families”, “sects” or “schools” of martial arts. Examples of such traits include physical exercises involving animal mimicry, or training methods inspired by Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. Styles which focus on qi manipulation are labeled as internal, while others concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness and are labeled external. Geographical association, as in northern and southern, is another popular method of categorization.
China has a long history of martial traditions that includes hundreds of different styles. Over the past two thousand years, many distinctive styles have been developed each with its own set of techniques and idea. There are also common themes to the different styles, which are often classified by “families”, “sects” or “schools”. There are styles that mimic movements from animals and others that gather inspiration from various Chinese philosophies, myths and legends. Some styles put most their focus into the harnessing of qi, while others concentrate on competition.
Chinese martial arts can be split into various categories to differentiate them: such as, external and internal. Chinese martial arts can also be categories by location, as in northern and southern as well, referring to what part of China the styles originated from, separated by the Yangtze River; Chinese martial arts may even be classified according to their province or city. The main perceived difference between northern and southern styles is that the northern styles tend to emphasize fast and powerful kicks, high jumps, generally fluid and rapid movement, while the southern styles focus more on strong arm and hand techniques, and xingyiquan. Examples of the southern styles include Bak Mei, Wuzuquan, Choy Li Fut and Wing Chun. Chinese martial arts can also be divided into religion, imitative-styles, and family styles such as Hung Gar. There are distinctive differences in the training between different groups of the Chinese martial arts regardless of the type of classification between internal and southern systems relying more heavily on upper-body techniques. Most styles contain both hard and soft elements, regardless of their internal nomenclature. Analyzing the difference in accordance with yin and yang principles, philosophers would assert that the absence of either one would render the practitioner`s skills unbalanced or deficient, as yin and yang alone are each only half of a whole. If such differences did once exist, they have since been blurred.
在中國古代，練習(xí)功夫除了注重健體，同時(shí)對品德提出了更高的要求，“習(xí)武先修德”就是其最好的詮釋。這種經(jīng)過無數(shù)人觀察自然、領(lǐng)悟自然后總結(jié)出來的健身之法，能讓忙碌的現(xiàn)代人在強(qiáng)身健體的同時(shí)，心靈也得到釋放。
中國武術(shù)的歷史與演變
The genesis of Chinese martial arts has been attributed to the need for self-defense, hunting techniques and military training in ancient China. Hand-to-hand combat and weapons practice were important ancient Chinese soldiers.
According to legend, Chinese martial arts originated during the semi-mythical Xia Dynasty more than 4,000 years ago. It is said the Yellow Emperor Huangdi (legendary date of ascension 2698 BCE), introduced the earliest fighting systems to China. The Yellow Emperor is described as a famous general who, before becoming China`s leader, wrote lengthy treatises on medicine, astrology and the martial arts. One of his main opponents was Chi You who was credited as the creator of jiao di, a forerunner to the modern art of Chinese Wrestling.
The earliest references to Chinese martial arts were found in the Spring and Autumn Annals (5th century BCE), where a hand to hand combat theory, including the integration of notions of “hard”and “soft” techniques, was mentioned. A combat wrestling system called jueli or jiao ol I is mentioned in the Classic of Rites. This combat system included techniques such as strikes, throws, joint manipulation, and pressure point attacks.
The Shaolin styles of wushu is regarded as amongst the first institutionalized Chinese martial arts. The oldest evidence of Shaolin participation in combat is a stele from 728 CE that attests to two occasions: a defense of the Shaolin Monastery from the bandits around 610 CE, and their subsequent role in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621 CE. From the 8th to the 15th centuries, there are no extant document that provide evidence of Shaolin participation in combat.
起源于原始社會的武術(shù)，經(jīng)過悠悠5000年的發(fā)展和錘煉，形成了了各式各樣的套路。正如《中國功夫》中所所唱的那樣“南拳和北腿，少林武當(dāng)功，太極八卦連環(huán)掌……”隨著中國文化在世界上不斷發(fā)揚(yáng)光大，中國功夫迅速引起了全球關(guān)注，促成了練習(xí)中國功夫健身的熱潮。
Something about Chinese martial arts 關(guān)于中國功夫
Chinese martial arts have a long history with a distinctive national style.
中國武術(shù)歷史久遠(yuǎn)，而且具有鮮明的民族風(fēng)格。
One of China`s most famous exports is the myriad forms of kung fu.
花樣繁多的中國功夫絕對是這個國家最為亮眼的民族名片之一。
Chinese martial arts have a long history and they form an indispensable part of Chinese culture.
中國的武術(shù)歷史悠久，是中國文化不可分割的一個組成部分。
Martial Art is a sport that created and gradually formed in the long history development of Chinese nation.
武術(shù)是中華民族在長期的歷史演進(jìn)過程中不斷創(chuàng)造、逐漸形成的一個運(yùn)動項(xiàng)目。
Chinese wushu involves so many forms and styles of fighting and has so many different schools.
中國武術(shù)包括多種形式和打斗風(fēng)格，也擁有眾多的培訓(xùn)學(xué)校。
Besides offence and defense, the most outstanding functions of martitial arts are moral cultivation, health improvement and artistic effect.
除了攻擊和防守，武術(shù)在道德培養(yǎng)、改善健康和藝術(shù)影響方面都有重要的作用。
The “crouching tiger and hidden dragon” directed by An Lee, a movie describing Chinese Kung Fu, has been the hottest movie in USA.
由李安導(dǎo)演的一部描述中國功夫的《臥虎藏龍》曾經(jīng)是美國最火爆的影片。
相關(guān)導(dǎo)讀： 英語培訓(xùn)學(xué)校 英語口語培訓(xùn) 新概念英語培訓(xùn) 香港大學(xué)面試培訓(xùn) 成人英語培訓(xùn)
