What is the reason for the prosperity of Wushu in Ming Dynasty? Can you get up without policy support?

Today, Bian Xiao brings us the reasons why Wushu was popular in Ming Dynasty. I hope I can help you.

The prosperity of Wushu in Ming Dynasty has profound social and economic reasons. Undeniably, the ruling class has made great efforts to promote Wushu. However, even without such policy support, laissez-faire Wushu will still flourish in the Ming Dynasty. Why is this?

First of all, since the Ming Dynasty, this independent country has been at war for a long time. Advocating martial arts is actually a correct decision based on reality.

The ruling class in Ming Dynasty strongly supported folk Wushu, which can be proved by many historical materials, including folk unofficial history. This support includes not only verbal propaganda, but also practical efforts.

As early as the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned elite soldiers in the army to guide the training. In order to improve the efficiency of martial arts communication, martial arts books such as the Law on Instructors and Soldiers have been specially compiled and published and widely distributed, and efforts have been made to let the lower class know, which has set off a martial arts craze.

In addition, the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty itself was very interested in martial arts. When Ming Yingzong was young, he asked court officials to send his children to special schools to learn martial arts. We can't continue to study other disciplines, such as Confucianism, until we have made some achievements.

As far as the system is concerned, the martial arts system in Ming Dynasty is more perfect than that in Tang and Song Dynasties. In addition to the capital, other places, especially the important frontline military regions, have opened a large number of martial arts colleges and martial arts selection projects. This also led to more and more martial arts practitioners in the Ming Dynasty, and martial arts became a common practice.

Martial arts examination in Ming dynasty

The reason why the rulers of the Ming Dynasty strongly advocated Wushu was actually related to the international situation and social background at that time. In the early Ming Dynasty, its opponents changed from many uprising warlords in the south to the Yuan court in the north. Although Beiyuan does not resist hitting people, people run very fast.

As soon as he saw that he couldn't beat him, he ran away. But after running, I was still unconvinced. Often harassed the border of Ming dynasty, while blowing autumn wind, I wondered if I could fight back. This is not enough, but also drag down Korea, the son-in-law of Liaodong Peninsula.

Zhu Yuanzhang can't stand it. Zhu Yuanzhang visited Wu Hong eight times and directly destroyed Beiyuan. However, as the saying goes, "It's a long way to go." Although the Northern Yuan Dynasty perished, the Mongols who founded it did not.

Mongolia is a nomadic people on horseback and pursues the strategy of "hit and run". Therefore, although Zhu Yuanzhang intended to "clear the desert forever", he could not eradicate this problem. Even the later Yongle emperor could only fight, but not pull.

Except Mongols and other ethnic minorities in the north. Annan in the south, Korea and Japan in the east all threatened the Ming Dynasty with more or less force. During the Ming Dynasty, they also fought many wars with these countries.

Peasant War in the Late Ming Dynasty

In addition, besides foreign wars, the peasant uprising in the Ming Dynasty continued. From the Kameyama Rebellion in the early Ming Dynasty to the Li Zicheng Uprising in the late Ming Dynasty, there were nearly 100 recorded peasant uprisings in the 300 years of the Ming Dynasty, many of which had great influence.

The war continued in the late Ming Dynasty, and the demand for military talents never stopped. It is precisely because of this harsh historical environment that the rulers of the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the promotion of martial arts.

Second, both the army and the uprising require soldiers to have high personal qualities. In this case, the prevalence of folk martial arts is normal.

In addition to the promotion and support of the rulers, another reason for the prosperity of martial arts in Ming Dynasty is the need of reality. The Ming Dynasty was one of the most serious feudal dynasties in China.

Because of the imperial clan system in the Ming Dynasty, the children of the royal family took the lead in annexing land, and land annexation has not been effectively curbed in the Ming Dynasty. Farmers at the bottom always struggle below the subsistence level. In this bad situation, the bottom farmers even have to sell their land to evade taxes.

Peasant uprising triggered by land annexation

People who own land can sell it.

But if one of these refugees or bandits can become a leader and develop into a peasant uprising army, it is possible to live longer. In this case, in order to cope with the imperial crusade, they will also strengthen martial arts training.

Because there is no land, they don't want to be robbers. They either join the army or venture out to sea.

This is an adventurous road to the sea, because the maritime ban in the Ming Dynasty was very strict and smuggling at sea was very profitable. However, going out to sea is more than just doing business. On the high seas, pirates are rampant, businessmen and thieves are at a loss, and people don't want you. Most people at the bottom are hired as thugs. In this case, it is necessary to learn martial arts.

As for joining the army, it is even more necessary to practice martial arts. The defense system was implemented in the early Ming Dynasty. There are special military families who farm in their spare time and join the army in wartime. Usually, martial arts training is very demanding, which is unbearable for non-professional military families.

The Ming Dynasty suffered serious foreign aggression.

However, the folk fortress built in the Ming Dynasty has undergone changes, and the medical system has long existed in name only. The replaced conscription system lifted the restrictions on military families, which led the poor at the bottom to join the army and gave the people at the bottom a chance to survive.

However, in the early days of the conscription system, because all generals were very keen on the combat effectiveness of the army, although the poor were recruited under the conscription system, they also had high requirements for the martial arts literacy of the poor. It is impossible to join the army without a certain martial arts foundation.

However, in the later period of the conscription system, the "household registration system" was widely implemented by generals in all parts of the Ming Dynasty to ensure the combat effectiveness of the army. So at this time, the martial arts literacy of the poor was relaxed, mainly to recruit people to ask the central government for a "poll tax."

However, even in the late Ming Dynasty, the conscription system had collapsed. Due to years of war, the Ming court and the rebel army attached great importance to the soldiers' martial arts. During this period, Wushu began to flourish again.

Third, whether in the Ming Dynasty or other dynasties, the powerful forces of landlords were the biggest driving force for the development of folk Wushu, but the grassroots people passively accepted it.

In fact, if you are familiar with history, you will find that the martial arts of various feudal dynasties in ancient China were quite powerful. Since the pre-Qin period, the ancients have admired chivalrous culture, and most of the so-called chivalrous people are based on excellent martial arts. This made Wushu very popular in the pre-Qin period.

Chivalrous culture prevails.

Since then, the Qin Dynasty has unified the six countries. Although chivalry was temporarily banned, with the rapid collapse of the Qin Dynasty, the early post-Han Dynasty was ruled by Huang Lao and later Confucian classics. The extreme tolerance of chivalrous culture has made chivalrous spirit thoroughly penetrate into the hearts of Han people.

Although "female body" appeared in the Han cultural circle in the Southern Dynasties after Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the increasing frequency of foreign wars, the "chivalrous" culture was revived in China.

Since then, all dynasties except Yuan Dynasty have more or less supported the spread of folk Wushu. However, although folk Wushu is very popular, it is landlords and powerful people who really promote the development of Wushu.

First of all, we should understand that in most parts of ancient China, the people at the bottom were struggling under the living standard. However, Wushu is a very nutritious activity. There is not enough staple food and meat to support the consumption of martial arts. Therefore, people at the bottom have absolutely no conditions to practice martial arts.

So, what is the so-called "prosperity of folk Wushu"? In fact, it is not the bottom people who promote the prosperity of Wushu, but the landlords and gentry.

In ancient times, no matter which dynasty, land was more or less annexed. However, ordinary people will not be squeezed by mud. In addition, land is the only way for ancient people to settle down and live. Of course, they won't wait to die. Therefore, in the process of land annexation, in order to suppress the resistance of the bottom people, landlords and gentry will privately raise a large number of family members or nursing homes as thugs.

Land annexation is very serious.

Because these thugs are used to suppress ordinary people, the value of force is absolutely necessary. When recruiting, they will carefully select big men with good physique. Even if they are selected, most host families will not keep them idle. In addition to suppressing ordinary people, it usually requires a lot of training to ensure combat effectiveness.

During the economic recession, landlords and powerful gentlemen will also accept a large number of refugees or people who have lost their land. They were organized into a motorcade to resist the attacks of bandits and robbers.

In this process, in order to enhance the combat effectiveness of the army, landlords and nobles usually ask the guards to practice martial arts.

It is precisely because these landlords and gentry provide sufficient conditions that the people at the bottom are qualified to practice martial arts. The reason why the past dynasties gave people the impression of "the prosperity of folk Wushu culture" is largely because of this. After all, compared with government officials, landlords and gentry are also human beings.

This is why it was said from the beginning that even without the support of the rulers, the martial arts of the Ming Dynasty would still prevail. Because the Ming Dynasty was one of the most serious dynasties of land annexation in ancient China.

However, whether the rulers of the Ming Dynasty supported the study of martial arts or not, the prosperity of martial arts in the Ming Dynasty implied their oppression of the people at the bottom. Now we can naturally talk about the benefits of martial arts, but for the bottom people in ancient times, they absolutely don't want to see a group of thugs with "martial arts" robbing their land.

Generally speaking, the prosperity of martial arts in Ming Dynasty was largely based on military needs. It exists almost entirely for war and killing. For people in the Ming dynasty, martial arts was not their choice at all, but they were forced to accept it reluctantly.