of the iron spear, a metal-hafted spear of considerable weight. Yet the
social and cultural changes that took place during this period were signifi-
cant. In thefirst half of the tenth century, Türkic power in north China was
destroyed and any other significant steppe elites were killed, driven off, or
otherwise removed. For thefirst time since the late Han Dynasty, non-
Chinese people and their leaders either served the military on the borders
without significant political power, or were outside of China.
A main reason that these steppe groups lost power was simple attrition.
Right after the Tang ended, Türkic strongmen were still extremely power-
ful in the military and wielded commensurate political authority. The
second and fourth of the Five Dynasties were Türkic, and the third, a client
of the Kitan. But Kitan and Chinese power was rising and Türkic power
was falling; the constant campaigning killed so many Türkic leaders that
the old families, whose feuds had begun before the Tang ended, simply
succumbed. The long tenure of these steppe people, however, left a lasting
impression on the martial culture of the Chinese. The founding emperor of
the Song, Zhao Kuangyin ( 927 – 76 ), posthumously known as Song Taizu,
was born in a military camp near Luoyang. He and his comrades began
their careers serving in the bodyguard troops of leaders and emperors.
They were all accomplished martial artists.
The power of these various states during the Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms period was built on the control of armies. With so many states
contending, much of China was highly militarized. At the same time,
however, the particular modes of warfare of the different parts of China
were more pronounced. Whereas the Song military had to be capable of
fighting across a wide range of environments, from the plains of north
China to the rivers of south China, the more regional powers of thefirst
half of the tenth century mostly fought in one area alone. Local power also
developed in this period, with local strongmen and powerful lineages
organizing for self-defense. These self-defense forces were essentially sub-
military units useful only for localfighting, but their formation required
the broad teaching of at least rudimentary martial arts skills throughout
the countryside. North China remained militarized throughout the Song
Dynasty, with the manorial lords maintaining well-developed local forces.
A related group of martial artists existed alongside these self-defense
forces. These were the trainers and thugs brought in by the locally powerful
to bolster their own authority and to teach their tenants, retainers, and clan
members how tofight. Many of these martial artists were local men with
family traditions offighting who were hired by individuals or families
interested in using force to maintain or advance their local authority, be it
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and the Song Dynasty 115