of texts (Lüshi Chunqiu,Liezi,Huainanzi,Lunheng) as able in his youth
to single-handedly raise the door bar on a city’sgate.
The main test of strength in the Warring States period was tripod lifting.
The tripods used were the massive bronze vessels used for food and
symbolic purposes, some weighing hundreds of pounds (the largest
found thus far, the Simuwu tripod from the late Shang, is 800 kg). Two
methods for tripod lifting were the two-man lift and the one-man lift. In
either case, the lifters involved had to be tremendously strong and skilled.
Mistakes made during lifting could be fatal, as when the Qin King Wu
engaged the strong man Meng Shuo in a tripod-lifting contest when they
arrived at the Zhou court in307 bce. The Qin King dropped a tripod and
broke his leg, leading to massive blood loss and death. Meng Shou was
executed for his involvement.
The Qin kingdom was particularly known for its strongmen, and apart
from the unfortunate Meng Shuo, we also know of a Niao Huo, who was
made a general, and a Ren Bi, who also obtained a position because of his
strength. This was no mere fetish of the Qin court, however, as the military
writer Wuzi declared that the strongmen in the army were absolutely
critical to its success. Strength was a critical component of martial capa-
bility and was recognized as such.
Wrestling is a very ancient art, which also must have long predated the
written record. TheRecord of Ritualincludes wrestling, with archery and
chariot driving, as part of the activities performed for the ruler:“[In the
first month of winter] the Son of Heaven orders the generals and
commanders to instruct on martial [matters], practice archery, chariot
driving and wrestling.”^17 Wrestling may have included striking, but prac-
ticed as a military skill for soldiers, unarmed strikes would have been of
limited use. We must keep in mind that soldiers expected tofight armored
opponents, against which hand or foot blows would have been ineffective.
An armored opponent could, however, be wrestled to the ground. The
other attraction for wrestling as a demonstration of martial arts was that it
highlighted physical strength and was possibly less harmful to the partic-
ipants in a time without padded gloves.
The distinction between wrestling and unarmed striking was far from
clear in early China. This is another example of how our modern categories
of martial arts do not adequately describe past practice. Thefirst evidence
for unarmed striking or boxingshoubo手搏comes from theGongyang
Commentaryon theSpring and Autumn Annals, which records an incident
in 682 in which Zichang Wan, an official of Duke Min of Song, became
angry and“struck Duke Min, breaking his neck.”^18 Another text, the
46 The Warring States Period