Song Taizong used martial arts performances to intimidate his opponents–
in this case, the Kitan and their clients the Northern Han–and to cloak
himself in an aura of martial arts prowess. The long sword troop of several
hundred soldiers also acted as a personal guard, something he felt he
needed. It is noteworthy that they did their performance with long swords
rather than swords, and that they were intentionally acrobatic and showy.
The long sword was the weapon of martial arts performance and the
specialized martial artist. It was distinct from the regular military close
combat weapon of the ordinary soldier.
The distinction of the long sword as a specialized weapon not used on the
battlefield appears to carry over into the regular martial arts performances
of the Song army. The Office of Military Commanders (軍頭司)heldbouts
every ten days of wrestlers (xiangpushou)aswellaslongswordandstaff
fighters.^18 This was clearly understood to be a performance of martial arts
rather than a demonstration of battlefield combat techniques. These regular
events were designed to improve the participants’skills so that they would
be in good form when they were called upon to perform at imperial ban-
quets.^19 Martial arts demonstrations were part of the basic entertainment
appropriate to formal government events. Wrestling had a very, very long
history as a Chinese court entertainment, of course, as a generally nonlethal
martial art. It is interesting that in the Song, long sword and staff were added
to this category. Given Lady Gongsun’s long sword dances in the Tang
Dynasty and the second Song emperor’s use of long sword dances, it is
perhaps not surprising that long swords held this position at the Song court.
While the army maintained a specialized martial arts performance
troupe, it also held demonstrations of unit formation and mock combat,
at least in the northern capital, Kaifeng. Some mock combat took place
with wooden swords,fighting with spears against shields, and even long
swords against shields. Sword dances were also done during these demon-
strations, as well as exhibitions showing a wide variety of other weapon
skills. Lin Boyuan believes that military martial arts were directly influ-
enced by the civilian practice of martial arts on a scale greater than in
previous dynasties.^20 This is hard to prove, but it seems to be a reasonable
assumption. The regularity with which the Song army apparently demon-
strated its martial arts was new, possibly influenced by the presence in the
capital of half the imperial army at any given time. Song soldiers were
supposed to practice unit tactics daily, or every other day, depending upon
their position and pay grade.^21
Outside of the army, a new martial arts performance development in the
Song capital was the creation of the“entertainment quarters瓦肆,”a
Martial Arts Performances 131