of fighting was believed to be the Buddhist Shaolin Temple. Although these
traditional assumptions have been questioned recently, the power of this
tradition and the related tradition of a dichotomy between internal (Daoist)
and external (Buddhist) arts is demonstrated by the adoption of a variation
of the traditional categories of Wudang(internal, taijiquan, baguazhang,
and xingyiquan) and Shaolin(external, all other styles) for the two major
branches of their Chinese boxing schools by the Nationalist govern-
ment–sponsored Central Martial Arts Institute in 1927. In the 1950s, fol-
lowing the Nationalists’ lead, the Communists’ Physical Culture and Sports
Commission integrated traditional martial arts into their physical educa-
tion programs and developed standardized practice and competitive rou-
tines for boxing labeled as changquan(“long boxing”), nanquan(“south-
ern boxing”), and taijiquan (the only one of the internal systems so
enfranchised). The distinction of northern (legs) versus southern (hands)
that is used as a traditional designation between the “external” (or Shaolin)
arts is actually derived from a very ancient aphorism that alludes to what
have been regarded as the main practices of each specific method. These
differences are attributed to geographic conditions that were believed to
play a role in the development of both northern fist arts, or beiquan shu,
and southern fist arts, or nanquan shu.
According to this traditional theory, the people who lived in the north
occupied an environment that was physically and socially different from
southern China. The area in which they lived was characterized by wide-
open expanses. Land transportation required skilled horsemanship. More-
over, since the cultural centers of China from approximately 2200 B.C. were
located in the north, the population had greater access to education than did
inhabitants of southern China. To a degree at least, the quality of a man’s ed-
ucation was to be seen in the quality of his calligraphy. These facts provide
the raw material for the traditional theory of the north-south distinction.
The martial arts popularized in the north were called by many names,
among them changquan (long fist) and Northern Shaolin. “Long fist” is a
double entendre: The forms themselves were quite long, but more than
that, the movements were elongated, with many acrobatic movements, par-
ticularly kicks, in them. These characteristics are believed to be due in part
to the geographic area in which practitioners lived. The living conditions
made their legs quite strong, and they capitalized on that through the de-
velopment and use of all manner of punishing kicks. Combat on an open,
stable surface encouraged the development of wide stances and high leaps
and kicks. The desire to protect the hands also influenced the fighting
styles. An injured hand impairs the ability to write well.
In contrast, the people south of the Chang River were relegated to
very cramped living conditions. In this area of rice paddies, coastal shal-
Boxing, Chinese Shaolin Styles 33