a classicist like Wang Anshi, the possibility of bringing back the farmer-
soldier of antiquity was compelling in and of itself; as the prime minister, of
course, even more attractive was gaining the services of enormous numbers
of cheap soldiers.
Thebaojiasystem did not, however, return literati to their dual role of
official in peacetime and military officer in wartime. Leadership would
have fallen to the locally prominent, or at least wealthier, farmers and
landlords. For most involved in this system, practicing martial arts was
now a burden imposed by the state that reinforced the local power struc-
ture. In terms of martial arts practice, however, it may have changed things
very little. Under thebaojiasystem, archery was still the primary skill
tested and practiced. State intervention strengthened state power over
these martial artists without improving the military situation. Local self-
defense forces remained extremely limited in their ability to serve on the
battlefield. Moreover, they tended not to have, or at least to the same
extent as regular units, the armor and small and large unit training to
function as tactical units on a battlefield.
Archery Societies were of similarly limited use on battlefields in south-
ern China. There were other, better established and trained local militia
forces in southern China that had developed to combat local banditry
rather than northern cavalry raiders. These militia forces were often very
effective against bandits, who were endemic in Fujian and other parts of
south China. After the loss of north China, however, the reconstituted
Song state drafted many of these militia forces intofighting against the
Jurchen Jin. The militias could not trulyfill the same role the decimated
regular imperial army had performed; they did not have the training,
equipment, or leadership to do so. Removing those units from their local
area allowed banditry toflourish again. Local archers and militia forces
were critical for local security but limited in function.
Martial Arts Performances
Displays of martial arts were widespread in China during the Song
Dynasty, as they had been in earlier times. These exhibitions were done
in the court and in more public venues as before, and also as more regular
urban entertainments. Court performances were used for political and
entertainment purposes, just as the Han Hundred Events and wrestling
exhibitions were in the past. Archery was not a regular pastime of the Song
court, as it was in the steppe courts, and with the possible exception of
some attending generals, most of the viewers of these exhibitions were not
Martial Arts Performances 129