If you study a martial art from a country influenced by the Chinese
World View, this text undoubtably addresses concepts that comprise the
intellectual and philosophical foundations of your art. Having a greater
appreciation for the etiquette, traditions, and philosophy of a given
martial art requires having a greater understanding of the modes of thought
prevalent in its parent culture. This book is an objective overview of
these Chinese philosophies. One doesn’t have to be labeled a practicing
Taoist or Confucian to appreciate how these traditions have influenced
their societies (and thus, the martial arts of those societies). Indeed,
the book treats these “intellectual foundations” as philosophies rather
than religions, void of any evangelical tone and focusing on their impact
on society and government. Of particular interest to GMA students is the
discussion of the Confucian concept of Chun-tzu ("Kunja" in
Korean), or superior man, the associated issues of loyalty, proper etiquette,
ethics, social responsibility, etc, and these men's relation and impact
on society. These are the ethics, ideals, and principles that are included
in a black belt report and in which our gentry tradition is grounded..
The book starts with a very brief section on the pertinent Chinese history
and another chapter on the Chinese World View, discussing the framework
from which the foundations sprung and/or reinforced. The real value of
the book lies in the next two chapters: Confucianism (including Mencius
and Hsun Tzu) and Taoism as they are the most pertinent to martial arts
study. The book finishes with other philosophical ideas and legalism during
the beginnings of the Chinese Empires. The author does a decent job of
comparing the various schools of thought, how the traditions interrelate,
and how they interact with society and politics at large. It is clearly
designed to be an overview and springboard from which more detailed study
can be launched.
The academic nature of the material requires attentive reading, but
the author covers the subject matter at an undergraduate level, making
the book laborious but not exhausting to read. All things relative, however,
the book does a good job balancing length and detailed explanation. In
other words, you get a lot out of it for only having to read 114 pages
(although the shortage of pages makes one wonder why the book is still
over 20 dollars). Of course, the subject matter is not catered to the
martial arts perspective, but the themes of social responsibility, self-development,
and morality that are prevalent in the book when discussing these philosophies
are consistent with the lessons taught in the martial arts. It allows
us to better understand the framework that allowed the martial arts to
become a vehicle for self-cultivation. Still, the lack of martial artist
specificity makes it somewhat a tangential reading (but a good one for
Asian studies in general). This and the price per page keeps the book
from being a must read, but it will certainly provide a strong foundation
for a better understanding the culture of many martial arts.
|
