While weaponry changed, unarmed fighting techniques remained
important. Wrestling competitions were still held, in some parts of north
China four times a year. A new kind of contest of strength appeared, a
form of tug-of-war. This had its antecedents in individual contests of
strength and in the group training of soldiers and militiamen. Wrestling
grew in importance with the large numbers of steppe peoples now resident
in north China. Steppe enthusiasm for wrestling met the preexisting and
well-developed Chinese tradition of wrestling, leading to even more fre-
quent public competitions.
Boxing received less attention in the Six Dynasties period, though it
clearly remained in use. This was partly a cultural trend, with steppe
warriors more concerned with wrestling, and partly because the period
was one in which war on the battlefield dominated mostfighting men’s
consciousness. Skill in boxing, as well as bravery and ferocity, was dem-
onstrated by men like Ke Xiling, who, at the age of seventeen, encountered
a tiger and subdued it bare-handed with boxing.^31 Several other warriors,
like Yi Huan and Er Zhuzhao, are described, in addition to having skills in
riding and shooting and extraordinary strength, as able tofight wild beasts
bare-handed.^32 The idea of subduing a tiger bare-handed even led to an
incident when soldiers who found a tiger on their drillfield were ordered to
capture it empty-handed. They succeeded, but at the cost of several lives.^33
Men noted for their boxing skills were almost always also recognized
for their great physical strength. There was a clear connection between
boxing, strength, agility, and bravery. Xiu You was brave and powerful,
and so skilled in striking that no one was able to get close to him.^34 Boxers
were also capable of killing people with their strikes, a persistent descrip-
tion used to emphasize great skill and power. Particularly in a time and
place when many men were armed, the ability to kill someone bare-handed
was impressive. And while it was brave to charge into an enemy’s ranks in
full armor and carrying a weapon, it was another order of bravery entirely
tofight animals or men unarmed.
Women Martial Artists in the Six Dynasties
Most soldiers, and hence most people practicing martial arts, were men.
But in the Six Dynasties, as in earlier periods, many women also practiced
martial arts. Lin Boyuan attributes the prevalence of martial women dur-
ing the Six Dynasties to the influence of steppe culture. The maternal lines
of descent were more important among steppe society, giving women
greater political power. Just as significantly, steppe people had a culture
Women Martial Artists in the Six Dynasties 85