directly with thefubingsystem, since thefubingunits could not stay in the
field year-round and simultaneously farm their own lands. Consequently,
a new class of professional soldiers arose to man these border defenses and
thefubingsystem crumbled. By the late seventh century thefubingsystem
was in full decline. This diminished the practice of martial arts among the
general population in the interior of the empire, particularly among the
wealthy and upper classes. While some poor farmers might have seen
opportunities in the professional military, elites had no interest in giving
up their local influence and comforts to travel to the border. Under the
fubingsystem those elites had often held positions of command. Another
draw for those local elites was the possibility of entering imperial govern-
ment service by passing the civil service exams. Recruitment of lower elites
through the exam system became increasingly possible during the seventh
century, providing a less risky and more refined way of advancement.
These civil elites did not, for the most part, practice martial arts, creating
the foundation for a distinction between refined, upper-class men who
earned their positions through education, and rough, vulgar, illiterate men
who earned their positions throughfighting. The full development of this
division was still some way off, but there were certainly signs of its devel-
opment during the Tang.
The professionalization of the military in the middle and late Tang not
only made the martial arts a more specialized skill set but it also attached a
social and ethnic component to their practice. Border defense was origi-
nally in the hands of Chinese officials, but in the eighth century it was
argued that non-Chinese generals were better suited to such highly milita-
rized positions. A number of non-Chinese generals were given increasing
amounts of power, with large professional armies on the borders, while
the capital and interior parts of the empire lacked armies or significant
numbers of trained men.
Martial Arts Training
At least in the early part of the Tang dynasty, a great deal of stress was
put on maintaining martial arts practice. This was a sign of the increased
presence of conscripted Chinese soldiers who had to be trained in martial
arts (as opposed to the steppe cavalrymen who learned their martial skills
as part of their lifestyle), and the continued problems maintaining the skills
of steppe people living in the Chinese environment. Archery remained
central to military practice and a key martial art. It was also an expected
skill for court officials, as it had been in the Sui, when, for example, the Sui
Martial Arts Training 99