Chinese “Martial Arts” and the Problem of Presentism

Ben Judkins, chinesemartialstudies.com

Image from article, with caption: A young sword dancer that Handforth produced many studies of. Photo by Handforth. Source: http://www.waking-green-dragon.com/2014/02/mei-li-real-story.html

Excerpt:

In a perverse way, it is actually easier to read highly modern and inappropriate models of the martial arts onto Chinese history as we go farther back in time as there is just less surviving evidence to remind us of how wrong headed this exercise is. That certain elements of the Chinese government’s “public diplomacy” machine actively promote self-orientalizing narratives for both political and economic reasons further complicates the situation.

Good martial arts history does not necessarily start with the excavation of the fighting systems themselves. Rather, it takes seriously the understanding that we are engaged in the process of social history. One begins by reconstructing the social, cultural, political and economic environment. Only then can you really begin to make valid determinations as to how the remaining pieces of the puzzle fit together. ...