The history of using swords in China can be traced back to Shang Dynasty . Chinese swords are not just a weapon, but is also a symbol and a character .
With the development of the times, the shape of swords has become more and more abundant and more popular, and has been given more connotations. But now I rarely see swords in real life, which is a cultural regret.
In contrast, the development momentum of Japanese Kendo Hall is getting better and better, and their Kendo Hall has also appeared in our country. Even Japanese Kendo has become the first window for many Chinese people to understand swordsmanship. It is not appropriate to throw our Chinese swords away.
Chinese swordsmanship
Whether it is system, literature, art, etc., it must adapt to the trend of the development of the times in order to not be submerged in the torrent of history and have been passed down to this day.
Chinese swordsmanship made its mark in the late stage of Spring and Autumn , Yue Wang Goujian sword is a household name. And the ancient books at that time had certain records of swordsmanship, as well as records of 's techniques and tactics for fighting with swordsmanship in .
Han Dynasty , due to the needs of cavalry combat, the sword was not suitable for soldiers to fight, so the main weapon on the battlefield changed from a sword to a knife.
Although the sword's status on the battlefield has declined, a different trend has been formed among the people. The people regard wearing swords as a kind of beautiful talk, and it has become a symbol of gentleman . Even women will wear it and regard it as beauty.
Eastern Han , swordsmanship developed very quickly. At this time, many masters of swords appeared. They punished evil and promoted good, wandered around the world, and taught their martial arts to their disciples. In fact, this was also because of the social instability at this time and wars were frequent.
When Tang Dynasty was , the identity of the sword changed again. It is not only a weapon, but also a treasure that can be used to suppress evil and avoid evil . Moreover, using swords is not just for combat.
Because the light, shadow, lines, and sounds made when waving have a unique beauty, dancing swords has become a special art.
However, because sword dance focuses on ornamentality and enjoyment, it cannot be generalized with the methods, techniques and routines of using swords on the battlefield.
is gradually declining
in the Song Dynasty, emphasizing culture over military affairs became the national policy, and using swords as part of military affairs naturally gradually became depressed.
in the Ming Dynasty, society was relatively turbulent, and practical swordsmanship developed again. In order to survive in troubled times, most of the people practice martial arts, which not only strengthened their bodies, but also saved their lives at critical moments, so the sword was revived.
During the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty also emphasized culture over military affairs. The status of swordsmanship became lower and became a means of physical exercise. Although some rulers have the idea of inheriting sword culture, they have not achieved any results. Qianlong praised swords and swords, but this did not play a major role in the revival of sword culture.
The main reason why swords are rarely seen in modern times may be that swords, as a weapon, have lethality in itself. For novices, is very dangerous for , and it is also difficult to get started, so few people will choose and persist in practicing swords.
and practicing sword requires enough patience and perseverance, and a lot of time to practice. The fast pace of modern society makes many young people not have enough time to learn swordsmanship.
Change the angle, that is to say, practicing swordsmanship is no longer able to adapt to the current society. People can choose Tai Chi, martial arts, Taekwondo and other activities that require weapons when exercising. So the most common thing to see swords now is that the swordsmen fight each other on the screen.
Japanese Kendo
The origin of Japanese Kendo is untestable, and most of them are rumors. However, they once passed on the traditional Chinese two-hand knife method in a very creative way during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
and gradually became localized, using our swordsmanship on the battlefield, constantly improving, gradually adapting to the needs of society, and slowly evolved into their own swordsmanship.
In their Edo period , their ancient kendo had become to mature and gradually adapted to modern social transformation. At that time, their martial policy allowed the development and progress of swordsmanship to be greatly retained and developed. In addition, the related competitions held at that time also laid the foundation for their modern kendo.
In modern times, their government and official are very supportive of the promotion and promotion of kendo, and have also formulated a series of rules and regulations for swordsmanship competitions, and also added unique cultural connotations to kendo.
Japanese martial artists taught swordsmanship to ordinary people, and some of the kendo schools were promoted as a result.
Their ordinary people can choose to practice kendo as their hobbies, because there are specialized gyms to study and discuss, and they can also learn their thoughts and spirits of ancient samurai, and spread history and culture to the people widely.
This has a good effect on the cultural heritage of their country, the cultural education of the people, and strengthening the body.
They will also promote the kendo samurai spirit and some stories through the cultural media , so that audiences around the world can understand Japanese culture through some entertainment products, so their kendo culture has a high impact in the world.
The difference between modern swords
In modern times, Chinese swords are no longer mainly used as weapons as in ancient times. We often see swords in film and television and opera performances.
Some sword lovers will often gather together to communicate and compete. However, Japan has regular venues and rules, which has become an official sport, , and also holds competitions.
In a sense, swordsmanship and kendo are a kind of technology, a kind of martial arts technology. Although we rarely use real swords now, the martial arts techniques and principles behind some traditional kung fu are similar to swordsmanship, because in ancient times they merged and learned from each other.
The sword used in Japan's kendo competition is actually bamboo sword , and the shape, size and material of the swords of our two countries are very different.
my country has long swords, daggers , flying swords, round swords, etc., as well as bronze, iron, copper and other materials. As the name suggests, a bamboo knife is bamboo. It can also be made of fibers and is cylindrical. For competitions, a special bamboo knife must be used.
In fact, for swordsmanship, there are many schools of swordsmanship in our country, , and countless swordsmanship moves. It is difficult to determine a set of strict rules and systems like Japan to make the people participate. And it is accompanied by certain dangers, which is not conducive to its popularity.
Chinese culture is rich and colorful, and the inheritance and dissemination of some cultures is destined to be improved and improved by . Just like the Tai Chi, Mahjong and other activities now, they are now loved by the public because they can strengthen their bodies and improve their brains. They have also walked a long way to adapt to production and life in modern society.
Chinese Sword Culture has always been our characteristic culture. If we want to inherit and carry forward it, we need the efforts of the official and the people.
