working for the Chinese regime as a bulwark against steppe aggression and
for internal security. In 311 , however, the Xiongnu sacked the capital city
of Luoyang. Conditions had been deteriorating for some time in north
China, with one official reporting in 307 that“the people had to wear
armor to till thefields.”^6 Across much of north China local elites fortified
their estates and trained their dependents and family members in martial
arts to defend themselves against bandits and raiders. Local elites were
deeply involved in the martial arts and military matters. These measures
did not challenge the powerful regimes controlling large armies, but they
did limit the reach of those regimes into local society. A highly militarized
and organized countryside could easily resist a government’s ability to
extract necessary resources. Under such conditions, the widespread prac-
tice of martial arts was a challenge and obstacle to the state.
The Tuoba, a part of the Xianbei confederation, emerged to unite the
north in 439 under what is known as the Northern Wei dynasty ( 386 –
534 ), ultimately providing a century and half of stability. Chinese elites
cooperated with Tuoba elites to maintain aristocratic privilege. Peace led
to a number of changes in politics and society. The Northern Wei govern-
ment became increasingly Chinese in its practices and customs, gradually
alienating the Tuoba military garrisons guarding the state in the north. At
the same time, the government began directly to apportion agricultural
land to farmers in 477 , drawing them away from local landlords. With
generally more peaceful conditions, farmers no longer needed the protec-
tion of a local power holder, and fewer of them trained in martial arts. The
Tuoba garrisons in the north were supplemented with Chinese criminals
sentenced to serve on the frontier as a punishment.
The Northern Wei shattered after the Tuoba garrisons rebelled in the 520 s.
These soldiers found their martial skills devalued by a court that no longer
practiced them. Martial arts had become a sign of low status, rather than of
being a privileged member of the dominant ethnic group. The Northern Wei
broke into an Eastern and a Western half in 534 – 5 ,withtheEasternWei
becoming the Northern Qi ( 550 – 77 ) and the Western Wei becoming the
Northern Zhou ( 557 – 81 ). As we will see, it would be the Northern Zhou that
would once again train and arm the Chinese farmers for war.
The period immediately following the end of the Han dynasty, known
as the Three Kingdoms period–after the main contenders for power,
the three states of Wei, Wu, and Shu–is one of the greatest mythological
periods for martial arts in Chinese culture. This tri-lateral struggle was
rendered into historicalfiction during the Ming dynasty ( 1368 – 1644 )in
theRomance of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguo Yanyi). As in most cultures,
76 The Six Dynasties