|
ETIQUETTE AMONG MARTIAL ARTISTS
Lan He
From Martial Arts of China Vol. 1, No. 6 , Page
268
Courtesy of Shaolin Brand
CHINA began its history several thousand years
ago, and has since been a state of ceremonies in the world. As
early as in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius (551-479 B.C.),
one of the greatest thinkers and educators in ancient times, realized
how important it was to practice etiquette and spent practically
all his time publicizing and promoting it. Under his everlasting
influence, people in China lay considerable emphasis on the treatment
of one another with respect. This is also true of wushu practitioners
who think that etiquette is one of moral characters to be developed
by all martial artists. Those who want to practice martial arts
should learn something about etiquette and other moral characters
beforehand.
First of all, they should have a clear object
and their motive be good. This means that they must be open- minded,
seeking no personal gains, defying brute force, never oppressing
the weak, upholding justice, standing on ceremony and keeping their
promise. If they practice without cultivating their moral characters,
they will never get the real essence of wushu. Every school of
Chinese wushu has set its own standard in moral characters. Take
neijiaquan (internal boxing) prevalent in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
for instance. It is stipulated that neijiaquan will not be taught
to men who are evil-minded, bellicose, inebrious, loose-mouthed,
stupid and cowardly.
The Ten Disciplines of Shaolin, which
appeared during the Ming Dynasty, tells Shaolin masters to be prudent
in choosing their disciples, and only those who have proved to
be really honest, tolerant and right-minded can be taught Shaolin
wushu. It says, "The main purpose of practicing martial arts
is to strengthen the body. Therefore training should be conducted
regularly in the morning and at night and cannot be discontinued
at will. Practitioners should bear in mind that when they master
skills, they can only resort to them for defence. Whoever practices
wushu should never commit outrages when he has mastered remarkable
skills. Those who violate this discipline will be punished in the
same way as those who are against the Buddhist rules. Disciples
should treat their masters courteously in every way, showing no
trace of insolence and disobedience towards them."
On Martial Arts, a book which came out in the
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), says, "A man who is determined to
be martial artist should cultivate good moral characters before
starting to practice wushu. In other words, he should learn first
of all to be modest and courteous, never struggling for worldly
gains. Only in this way can he become a real gentleman."
All this shows that the cultivation of moral characters
is a time honored tradition that Chinese martial artists have cherished
for ages. It is for this reason that various forms of etiquette
have come into being, which are compulsory for those who are ready
to devote themselves to martial arts in China.
The most commonly seen etiquette is the so-called baoquan which
is usually used to say hello, bid farewell or express gratitude
in the wushu communities. The name comes from such a gesture that
a fist formed by the right hand is held by the left palm with thumb
bent and other fingers drawing together, and in the meantime, both
arms are bent to form a circle. There are quite different interpretations
of the meaning of this etiquette. A widely accepted explanation
is that to extend four fingers indicates all martial arts in the
world are of the same line, to bend thumb means that you are modest,
to put a fist in a cupped palm expresses the hope that you are
willing to make friends through martial practice and to form a
circle with arms shows that all martial artists on earth are of
one family.
Of course, there are some other explanations for
this etiquette. The following is among them. To straighten four
fingers of the left hand is a Buddhist rite meaning willingness
to practice charity and accumulate virtue. To cover the right fist
with the left palm expresses the desire of oppressing the evil
with the good and getting rid of brutal force with etiquette. When
you salute in this way, you should stand with legs straightened
and feet drawn together. But when expressing gratitude and admiration,
martial artists usually take a big step forward with one foot and
then kneel down on the other. You may also find that a man extends
his thumb and forefinger to form a ring with the other fingers
as well as arms remaining in the usual way This form of baoquan was
generally practiced by itinerant entertainers and chivalrous men
who said they were only third (san in Chinese) in comparison with
other martial artists and made a ring with their fingers whenever
they spoke out. This does not mean they were third oldest children
in their families or third oldest disciples under the tutelage
of the same masters. We can find so many chivalrous men named so
in the history of martial arts. Prominent among them were Shen
San, a famous wrestler living in Beijing towards the end of the
Qing Dynasty, Bao San, a martial performer who gave demonstrations
at Tianqiao in Beijing between the '30s and '60s of the century,
Zhou San, who was famous for his cudgelplay in Shandong Province,
Wei San, who was well-known for his liuhe tanglangquan (liuhe mantis
boxing) in Hubei Province and Gao San, who was expert at yaoziquan
(sparrow hawk boxing) in Shaanxi Province.
Martial artists also lay much stress on appellation.
For example, you can call your instructor shifu and his
wife shimu; if your instructor is female, you can
call her husband shidie. When you meet his or her brother,
sister, father and mother, you will call them shishu, shishen,
shiye and shinai respectively. Shixiong (elder brother),
shidi (younger brother), shijie (elder sister) and shimei (younger
sister) are used only to address your fellow disciples. On the
other hand, if you are taken on at an official ceremony, you will
be called tudi (disciple) by your instructor; otherwise, you will
be called xuesheng (student). Your first and second- generation
disciple will be addressed tuzi (son) and tusun (grandson). Other
appellations should not be neglected. Among other things, rumen
dizi, which refers to a disciple who takes the fancy of his
master, makes appearances anywhere his master appears and is regarded
as a man who has mastered the real skills of his master. Guanmen
dizi is the last disciple that a master has accepted in his
lifetime.
The application of the above mentioned appellations
has nothing to do with the age of the addressed. It is usually
determined by the generation you belong to in the wushu circles
and the date when you start martial training under a master. Therefore
it is not strange that when an older practitioner calls a younger
one shixiong, shishu and shiye.
There are different ceremonies for a wushu enthusiast
to take a master as his own instructor. The procedure is that you
should go to a master's under the recommendation of a third person.
But, you may find that some people are so eager to learn wushu
and have a deep admiration for a master that they go to them directly.
Then, you will write an application, expressing how much you admire
him both as a most respectable man and a martial artist and giving
a brief account of yourself. The would-be master, after receiving
the application, will make a series of tests and investigations
of your personal conduct, physical conditions and the level that
you have reached in martial skills. If he is satisfied with what
he has found about you, he will send you a letter, saying that
he has accepted you and fixed the date for a special ceremony That
day, a banquet will be given in honor of well-known figures from
the wushu circles who have come for the ceremony
When exchanging a few words of greeting, all at
present sit down and the ceremony will start. First, with the ignition
of three joss sticks, you pay respect to the memorial tablet in
honor of the founder of your school or a tablet or a utensil symbolic
of your school. Then, you will kneel down three times and kowtow
nine times to pay your respect to your master. the so- called three-kneeling
and nine kowtow ceremony When all this is over, your master helps
you up and introduce you to all those who attend the ceremony and
the banquet will start.
As there are many schools of martial arts in China,
you may find procedures for accepting disciples quite different.
Since the founding of New China, many forms of etiquette including
those for accepting disciples have been reformed and simplified,
but emphasis has never failed to be laid on the respect for masters
and the love for disciples as well as the cultivation of moral
characters.
From Martial Arts of China Vol. 1, No. 6 , Page
268
Courtesy of Shaolin Brand
|
