with which to establish an enduring Chinese hegemony over territory that
includes part of the steppe. Mongol rule thus becomes“Chinese”rule, or at
least foreign control over an institutionally Chinese government adminis-
tering an eternal, natural Chinese territory. The Jurchen were the progeni-
tors of the Manchus, who would conquer and rule China under the Qing
Dynasty ( 1644 – 1911 ). Certainly with respect to martial arts one might
reasonably argue that many northern Chinese fought in ways similar to
the Mongols or other steppe people.
The Yuan separation of Chinese into two groups principally reflected
administrative concerns rather than ethnicity.^21 Northern Chinese had
lived under steppe rule for longer and would have been easier to govern
than southerners. The Yuan government was sensitive to the differences
between many groups and tried to deal appropriately with its subjects.
This was not an enlightened position but a pragmatic one. The Yuan
state needed to be efficient in governing an extremely diverse population.
Different groups had different military capabilities and could serve or oppose
the Mongols in diverse ways. Northern Chinese might serve in the military
when needed, but southern Chinese (and sometimes northern Chinese too)
should be prohibited from practicing martial arts or owning weapons. The
Yuan government was very interested in establishing who legitimately could
maintain the means of violence. These attempts at control had only limited
success.
Mongol martial arts were mostly unaffected by Yuan control of China.
Most Mongols fought, and continued tofight, in the same manner, as
horse-archers. The Yuan government expected this would always be the
case, and because the dynasty was so short-lived, it did not have the chance
tofind out whether Mongols living in China would continue to practice
those martial arts after long stretches of peace. The Yuan Dynasty fell
relatively quickly, crumbling entirely by 1368. Its remnants fell back to the
steppe, where its basic martial arts continued uninterrupted.
The Chinese practice of martial arts continued on much the same
trajectory as it had under the Song Dynasty. Song Dynasty sources are
thefirst to record family styles of martial arts and lineages of martial arts in
the entertainment quarters. The Song military also employed martial arts
instructors in its military. The only thing that changed under Mongol rule
was that martial arts instruction in the military was much more limited.
For the Mongols, particular martial arts skills were associated with a
particular group. Mongols fought in a certain manner, Chinese fought in
a different manner. Northern Chinese fought in many ways like Mongols,
but, as in the case of a warlord like Li Quan, they also had skills peculiar
Conclusion 155