likelihood of killing their opponent. Killing, even in self-defense, would be
a serious crime.
Matters were quite different in the military, of course. There the ques-
tion for the government was how to recruit or train effective soldiers and
officers. Soldiers were less of a serious concern, since they were mostly
required to perform a limited set of physical tasks under heavy discipline.
The biggest concerns with respect to the common soldiers was developing
effective tactics, keeping them obedient, and keeping costs down. Officers,
on the other hand, were a serious problem. The men who commanded
troops had to have strong martial arts skills, the ability to lead men, and
tactical and strategic acumen. It was the mental skills that proved most
elusive, and a number of ineffective measures were tried to address the
problem. Our concern here, however, is the physical skills of combat. At a
minimum, an officer needed to demonstrate strong combat skills, and this
demonstration formed the bulk of the Song military exams.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the ubiquity of swords as a common
close combat weapon, fencing was not emphasized in military exams. It
was again archery, on foot and on horseback, using a bow and using a
crossbow, which was testedfirst. The strength of bow a man was able to
draw, or in the case of a crossbow, span, was also tested. Only after a man
demonstrated a minimum strength and capability with archery could he go
on to the oral part of the exam, which was just for placement. Officers were
not expected to be expert martial artists, but facility with archery, partic-
ularly horse archery, was probably a good litmus test for overall martial
arts training. The Song military exam system did not produce any generals
or officers of note. Most officers achieved their initial positions either
through family connections (they were born into an officer family) or
through working their way up by success on the battlefield. Given the
requirements of horse archery, it was highly unlikely that a man without
access to military equipment and formal training could develop these skills.
Of course, most men who already had access to this equipment and train-
ing did not need an exam to join the ranks of the officer class.
Conclusion
Martial arts permeated much of Song Chinese society, fully developing
over the course of the dynasty into a regular, mainstream entertainment.
The martial arts never left north China, maintaining a steady presence
among a population that was under regular threat of steppe raiding. Local
elites trained in the martial arts and required that their dependents also
136 The Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms, and Song Dynasty