actual historical records, however laconic and uneven in reliability. With
respect to military matters, most citations simply mention that state A
attacked state B, or that person C led an attack on city D. All we can learn
from these reports is that the constant raiding and warfare of the aristocracy
was considered worth recording. Our knowledge is also enhanced by the
existence of large bronze vessels, castwith self-commemorating inscriptions
on them extolling the exploits of some individual. Martial accomplishments
thus formed an essential part of the aristocratic identity. War was important,
and given that war in this period required the personal participation of
commanders in battle, martial arts prowess was also important.
The extensive recording of military feats performed by the aristocracy,
along with the regular inclusion of chariots and weapons in elite tombs,
makes it clear that martial arts were a fundamental part of the function and
identity of the ruling class. Bronze weapons were manufactured in large
numbers with consistent forms, demonstrating knowledge of a common set
of martial skills. Martial arts would have been ordinary skills for Shang and
Zhou aristocrats. As we turn now to the consideration of those individual
weapon skills, we must keep in mind that their association with nobility
would directly affect the subsequent generations’attitudes toward the mar-
tial arts. This also includes the related ritual aspect of martial dances, a
critical spiritual and disciplinary part of the martial arts in China.
Archery
The earliest archaeological evidence for archery in China, aflint arrow-
head found at Shiyucun in Shanxi province, is some 28 , 000 years old.^3
Arrow shafts and bows have crumbled over the centuries, leaving only
the arrowheads made of stone, bone, and later, bronze. While bows and
arrows may have been most frequently used for hunting, there is also
ample evidence that they were used to kill other people. Neolithic skel-
etons, for example, have been excavated with bone arrowheads still
embedded in them. Other remains have been found with multiple arrow-
heads closely grouped in the torso. These groupings of arrowheads indi-
cate that the arrows were lodged in the body when it was buried, since
they were not stuck in the bones, and that the victim had been ritually
killed by archery. One female victim may have had her hands tied in front
of her when she was killed.^4 It was not simply a matter of killing a victim; it
had to be done in a particular way to be meaningful.
Archery seems from the earliest times to have developed a particular
spiritual or symbolic value quite beyond its pragmatic use as a means to kill
16 Stone Age through the Spring and Autumn Period