Tai Kao-Sowa Ms. Zupancic Honors English 10 7 April 2014 Kung Fu and Chinese Culture If you search Amazon Movies & TV for kung fu, it returns over 5000 hits. Every kid in America knows that kung fu is a Chinese martial art. Even though kung fu is almost always associated with China, it’s historical significance in ancient and modern Chinese life is underappreciated and not given the analysis it deserves. If you ask someone to name the great inventions and accomplishments of ancient China, he or she will probably mention the Great Wall, the compass, fireworks, and paper. And yet kung fu is one the original great inventions of China, one that embodies fundamental elements of Chinese culture. In fact, it has probably, more than any other Chinese creation, influenced and even helped sustain the Chinese cultural identity. 1500 years ago, an Indian monk named Bodhidharma traveled to China to preach Buddhism. During his travels, he was confronted with the problem of physically weak monks. In order to meditate for longer periods of time, the monks needed to be more physically capable (History of the Shaolin Temple). According to legend, Bodhidharma meditated for nine years on this problem, cutting off his own eyelids to prevent himself from sleeping. His solution arrived in the form of two books: each contained a list of exercises that were designed to clean the blood marrow and develop the muscles and tendons (History of the Shaolin Temple). The monks quickly realized that these exercises could also be used as a form of self-defense. One hundred years later, kung fu appeared for the first time in recorded history when Shaolin monks used Bodhidharma's exercises as deadly techniques to defend their temple against bandits in 610 A.C.E. (Chi... ... middle of paper ... ...ic change that it brought, but the vessel that it provided to sustain ancient Chinese culture and preserve it during the times when it was close to extinction, like the Cultural Revolution. Because kung fu embodied the ideas of ancient China during its development, it Kung fu equally affected ancient Chinese culture and politics. In 621 A.C.E., the Shaolin temple gained the favor of the Chinese government when they aided Qin King in his battle against Zheng King Wang Shi-Chong. When Li Shi-Ming became the first emperor of the Tang dynasty, he rewarded the Shaolin with land and permission to continue training in the martial arts. From then on, the Shaolin served as either a threat or an asset to government officials, who consistently either tried to use them as elite assassins or tried to kill them off so they did not pose a threat to the government.
The film’s protagonist is Po, a panda that, from the beginning, does not appear to be capable of doing anything heroic. As in the hero myth outline stated by Leger, Po comes from a “mundane world, doing mundane things” (Seger 312). He works in his father’s noodle shop and although he admires those that practice Kung Fu, he does not have any martial arts training of his own. But Po is content with
The Cultural Revolution in China was led by Mao Zedong, due to this Liang and many others faced overwhelming obstacles in many aspects of their life such as work, family and everyday encounters, if affected everyone’s families life and education, Liang lets us experience his everyday struggles during this era, where the government determined almost every aspect of life.
The author travels to China as an English teacher for the Hunan Medical School. There he stayed for two years picking up many anecdotes along the way. The author already had spent a large amount of his life studying Chinese language and the martial arts. However, when he arrives in China he meets teachers who have dedicated their entire lives to perfecting a particular art or skill, whether it be martial arts or calligraphy.
Sharing Plays a big role in the Kung culture, and is essential for their survival. If the hunter of the family gets sick or injured and can't hunt, other hunters will share their food with them and their families. Sharing has it's rewards and, also provides a sort of insurance policy for them and their families.
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
There are many aspects of Japanese culture and society that make it one of the most well-liked countries in the world today, at least according to the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index. The technological innovations stemming from the country and the reputation of companies such as Honda, Toyota, Nintendo, and Sony make for an international focus on Japan’s industrial prowess. Added to that is the ever-rising popularity of manga and anime, and altogether, they form a strong nationalist feeling in Japan, yet entirely different from the nationalism of the wartime period. However, there is another facet of Japanese culture rooted in historical significance that evokes an alternate sense of pride within the population: martial arts. It is important not only to look at the physical aspects of these martial arts tradition, but the mental ones as well. Through the historical background of types of Japanese martial arts such as karate-do, jujutsu, aikido, and kenjutsu, the progression of the arts and a break from their origins, and eventually their place in Japanese sports and society today (karate, judo, kendo, and sumo), we will see how Japanese martial arts shifted back and forth between military and physical philosophy, and pacifist and Zen-like philosophy.
Andrew Lam. “Chinese Culture and the Politics of “Kung Fu” Panda’”. One Vietnam. Published June 17, 2011. Accessed November 10, 2013.
One of the most relaxing forms of martial arts, T'ai Chi, can help to overcome such problems as arthritis, rheumatism, back problems, lack of balance, high blood pressure, stress, post-traumatic stress, lack of energy, and more. T'ai Chi is a non violent form of the martial arts whose roots are derived from the Chinese and correlated with Traditional Chinese Medicinal techniques. There are many forms of T'ai Chi, including T'ai Chi Chuan and T'ai Chi Chih; all of which have been studied for thousands of years to improve the Chinese way of life. There have been many records of the origin of T'ai Chi reaching as far back as over 3500 years ago. In addition to a Chinese Martial Art, T'ai Chi has origins related to Taoism, which revolved around calmness, "tranquillity of mind," and the improvement of health and persona (wysiwg://25/http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/tai-chi.html). Monks employed T'ai Chi as means of be coming more in tune with their bodies and their environment. Therefore, this martial art helped them to "defend themselves against bandits and warlords through physical health and spiritual growth" (http://www.maui.net/~taichi4u/overview.html).
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like” (Lau Tzu). Born into a life of noodles and relaxation Po, a chubby panda, always wanted to be a Kung Fu master. Out of nowhere an opportunity arises to have his dream become reality. Po, like any normal panda snatches up this once in a lifetime opportunity and runs with it. But when the going gets tough, he doesn’t know if this is the life he was meant to live. While the film was meant for enjoyment, DreamWorks has incorporated clear examples of the three major Chinese Schools of Thought: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Traditional Chinese art is deeply rooted in its philosophy, encompassing Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian schools of thought. The goal of many traditional Chinese landscape artists, as described by Professor To Cho Yee of Michigan-Ann Arbor, is to “reveal the highest harmony between man and nature” through a balance of likeness and unlikeness (Ho). This metaphysical philosophy borrowed art as a vehicle to search for the truth or the “dao”, which is the path to enlightenment. As early as the 5th century, scholar artists such as Su Shi (1037-1101) of the Song dynasty realized that to create likeness, one must understand the object beyond its superficial state and instead capture the spirit of nature; only then can a point of harmony with nature
5. Zeng, Miss. The Book of Filial Piety for Women. Translated by Patricia B. Ebrey. n.d.
Throughout the film ancient China’s profound history and glorious culture has displayed through various cultural elements. The martial arts, writing system, architecture all together gives an image of the Chinese culture. The developments and advanced techniques have shaped the country and stabilized the society. China has accomplished some of the greatest achievements of mankind. It had also made significant contribution to the development of advanced systems around the world. Chinese culture is very unique. All the elements presented in the film have truly strengthened my understanding of the Chinese
...ina. However, the influence of Confucianism is still deep in Chinese soil even though it is not a dominant one. With the foundation of Neo-Confucianism, which “was the emergence of a new Confucian metaphysics that was influenced by Buddhism and that borrowed freely from Taoist terminology while rejecting both religions” (China), Confucius is still revered as China’s greatest teacher.
Philip J. Ivanhoe. Confucian moral self cultivation. New York : P. Lang, vol. 3, 1993.
Khantipalo, Bhikkhu. "The Buddhist Monk's Discipline: Some Points Explained for Laypeople." Access to Insight. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.