Zuo Jiaquan In Shanxi Wenshui Inheritance

Folk Wushu is the origin of the modern martial arts. Researches on the inheritance of Wushu meet the demand of its multi development and provide a reliable backup for the further development of Chinese Wushu. The inheritance of folk Wushu has an impact on the development of the Chinese Wushu. Folk Wushu has become a strong backing for a sustainable development of Chinese Wushu, therefore researches on the inheritance of folk Wushu meets the demand for the improvement of folk Wushu. Zuojia Quan, a representative of Northern boxing, has over two hundred years’ history in Wenshui county Shanxi province where considerable number of excellent Wushu masters are cultivated. Zuojia Quan has been listed in the intangible cultural heritage in Shanxi province since 2009 while Wenshui County is named the “Home of Wushu”. The researches on the history, content, inherit condition, inherit features and inherit methods provide evidences for the inheritance and development of Chinese traditional folk Wushu.Methods such as field investment, document research, interview survey, logical analysis etc. are adopted in this paper to present a profound research on the history, content, inherit conditions, features and current situations of Zuojia Quan in Wenshui County. Conclusions are made as following:(1)Zuo Changde, alias Zuo Erba, is the creator of Zuojia Quan. The development of Zuojia Quan goes through the following four stages. It is created at Jiaqing period of Qing dynasty, and reaches its height at Daoguang period of Qing dynasty when it is known as “the royal escort” while gradually dies down from the Republic period to the implement of the reform and opening up, however, since the reform and opening up, Zuojia Quan has regained its fame. Due to Zuojia Quan, Wenshui county, Shanxi province, is known as the “county of Wushu”;(2) The main form of inherit content of Zuojia Quan in the Wenshui district is the routine of Zuoshi tiger strides and soft palm, the basic routine of Zuojia routine ten of lower leg kicking, and equipment routine of Five tigers breaking door spear, Tiger spear, Single-broadsword, Tiliu sword, Swallow winds shaped spear, Zuoshi double hooks.(3) Lvliang district, Shanxi province has a long history of Zuojia Quan because of its better natural and social conditions fit for the inheritance of Zuojia Quan. The culture of Biaoju which is a Chinese ancient professional establishment providing armed escort for treasures sent over long distances provides the prerequisite for the inheritance of Zuojia Quan; the folk customs such as the Lantern Festival, festival temple fairs and so on are the safeguards of its development;(4) The inheritance of Zuojia Quan in Shanxi province has a feature of closure among different regions. The “fast-paced” lifestyle weakens the inheritance of Zuojia Quan. The training of Zuojia Quan requires a prolonged time. The inherit method through an oral way makes Zuojia Quan a characteristic of instability.(5)Zuojia Quan is passed down through traditional folk, family, teachers, as well as professional training, school training, Wushu associations or venues and so on.(6) The current situation of Zuojia Quan in Wenshui Shanxi province is that the school training is well developed in contrast with the professional team which is instable along with the ill-organized Wushu associations and the venues deficiency.According to the current situations of Zuojia Quan, this paper provides the following suggestions:(1) Reinforcement of communications between Wushu associations and society and enterprises as well as the active cross-county communications and investment from enterprises under government’s guidance;(2) Increasing the investments on Wushu venues by both the government and the civil society;(3) The introduction of Zuojia Quan in PE classes among Wenshui schools to arise the students’ interests of Zuojia Quan;(4) Improvement of selection system of Zuojia Quan successor under a unified voice by seeking common ground while reserving differences(5) Enlargement of the application of Zuojia Quan as well as the folk activities;(6) Reasonable utilizations of outside cultures to guarantee a balanced and sustainable development of Zuojia Quan by bringing in the newly rising sports events.(7) Taking advantages of “intangible cultural heritage” under the guidance of the government to improve the cultural sense of the local residents.