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Wushu: As a Performing Art

2003-11-27 16:36 COC

    Wushu has come down to the Chinese people not only as a means to keep fit, but also as a form of art that has been enriched with new contents through centuries of development. There are hundreds of schools of quanshu (Chinese boxing), each with its own characteristics - unrestrained ease in huaquan, elegance in taijiquan, lissomness in zhaquan, vigour in baguazhang and life-likeness in xingyiquan that mimies the movements of birds and animals. Coordinating the movements of hands, feet, body and eyes, wushu provides the dancers and actors with a thousand and one highly expressive motions.

    According to historical records, wushu movements were fund in dances performed at rituals and ceremonies as early as in the Shang Dynasty (c. 17th century to c. 11th century B.C.), and were extensively used in folk dance-dramas in the Tang and Song Dynasties (618-1279). In modern local operas and dance dramas, wushu is also widely used in battle scenes and to portray different moods and characters through exaggerated movements and gestures. In the Beijing opera King Ba Bids Farewell to His Concubine, for instance, the famous actor Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) introduced a swordplay that greatly enhances the dramatic effect. In the dance-drama Small Dagger Society, there is a scene called "Dance with Bows" in which a variety of wushu movements are used to give vivid expressions to the Chinese people's fighting spirit in face of imperialist aggression, thereby adding a strong national flavour to the choreographic art.

    Wushu has become an integral part of the programmes of Chinese acrobatic troupes. Many Chinese gymnasts have successfully incorporated wushu elements into their free exercises. The basic wushu training methods are employed in training dancers, actors, acrobats and gymnasts.

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