sell medicine and could not use the spear or sword.^23 Martial arts perform-
ances were thus a common and popular entertainment in marketplaces
throughout China.
An indication of the variety of martial arts performed is contained in an
account that lists the numbers and kinds of performers at one time: forty-
four wrestlers (jiaodi角抵), nine“grand”wrestlers喬相撲, seven“female
wind”女颭(the exact meaning of this term is unclear, but it appears to
refer to female combatants of some kind), two staff men, two hard strikers
打碥, six weight lifters, and a number of other martial arts performers
including those in bow and crossbow archery. It is hard to tell what some
of these martial arts performances looked like or consisted of, but clearly
variety was important. Not surprisingly, some of the categories closely
followed the Hundred Events of earlier times, and current military prac-
tice. The inclusion of crossbow archery is a marker of the changing cultural
environment of the Song, as opposed to the preceding Tang, Dynasty. The
presence of the crossbow was not purely a matter of cultural identification,
however; it was a reflection of changing battlefield weapon use.
Performance martial arts were abstractions or representations of actual
combat skills. Even in modified form, these martial arts drew from what
the audience knew and expected. Expertise could be fully appreciated only
if the viewer understood what he or she was seeing.
The performances were presented in a series of bouts within some sort
of a ring套子, probably with a roof or tent over it. One description says:
“First there were several bouts of female winds causing people to watch.
Afterward strongmen wrestled.”^24 These contests and performances
within a ring spread out of the capital to other parts of the empire, though
it is impossible to determine what form they took. The circulation of
martial artists was promoted by these performances, as the artists could
now travel and perform as a regular entertainment, just like other services.
This actually emphasized regional variation since different ways offighting
was an attraction. Whereas the martial arts in the army were constantly
regularized and made uniform throughout all the units to the greatest
extent possible (except in some special units), performance martial arts
required differences to be maintained and promoted.
Female martial artists performed regularly in these venues, though it is
unclear exactly what they did. We know from one memorial by the states-
man and official Sima Guang that the emperor watched female wrestlers in
the palace at least once. Sima actually wrote to chastise the emperor for
watching this performance because the female wrestlers were naked.^25 It
seems likely from one representation of female wrestlers on a wall painting
Martial Arts Performances 133