This book, the first research publication on China’s archery culture to appear in the English language, introduces the historic development, key concepts, and research methodologies for archery studies. Archery was the most important weapon of war in pre-modern China; at the same time, archery practice was intimately tied to Confucius’ cultural and pedagogic ideals. Chinese archery was divided into the domains of military archery (wushe) and ritual archery (lishe), and may be further distinguished into han (Chinese) and hu (barbarian) archery traditions. Bringing together the leading scholars in this field, including Ma Mingda, Stephen Selby, Ma Lianzhen, Peter Dekker, and others, this book presents the most comprehensive statement on archery studies to date. In particular, it provides an in-depth survey of archery development during the Qing period and offers a unique cultural perspective to understanding China’s last imperial dynasty—through the lens of Manchu archery.
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Background: Theory, Material Culture &
Literature.
Chapter 2. Towards a Framework for Understanding Traditional
Chinese Archery Culture, Ma Lianzhen.
Chapter 3. Archery Books in China, Ma
Mingda.
Chapter 4. The Bows of China, Stephen Selby.- Rituals and
Transmission: Archery in Ancient China.
Chapter 5. A Socio-Political Study
of the Chinese Archery Rituals of the Zhou Period, Stephen Selby.
Chapter 6.
Archery Masters in Ancient China, Ma Mingda.- Diplomacy & Exchange: Chinas
Foreign Relations Through the Lens of Archery.
Chapter 7. Banquet Archery at
Yujinyuan Garden in the Song Dynasty, Ma Mingda.
Chapter 8. Chinese
Archerys Historic Influence on Japan, Ma Mingda.- Archery in Manchu China:
Diversity and Unity.
Chapter 9.- Manchu Archery, Peter Dekker.-
Chapter 10. Imperial Hunt in the Qing Dynasty, Geng Zhichu.
Chapter 11.- The
Institutionand Administration of Imperial Bowyers and Fletchers during the
Qing Dynasty, Geng Zhichu.
Chapter 12.- Manchu Arrowheads, Kay Koppedrayer.-
Chapter 13. Solon Archery Tradition: Forgotten Martial Arts of an Elite Qing
Force, Hing Chao in collaboration with Peter Dekker.- Contemporary Revival &
Development of Traditional Asian Archery.
Chapter 14. Archery Rites:
Remaking Confucian Rites, Sarah Kenderdine et el.
Chapter 15. Korean
Archery: Modern Transition and Development, Kim Ki-hoon.
Chapter 16. Three
Fundamental Conditions for the Revival of Traditional Chinese Archery.
Hing Chao is the founder and Executive Director of Institute of Martial Studies, Executive Director of International Guoshu Association, and Trustee of Hong Kong Maritime Museum. He is also the founder of Hong Kong Martial Arts Living Archive, the largest 3D martial arts archive in the world, and has curated and produced several pioneering exhibitions including 300 Years of Hakka Kung Fu: Digital Vision of Its Legacy and Future (Hong Kong: 2016, Melbourne: 2017), and Kung Fu Motion (Lausanne: 2018). Lianzhen Ma is a professor at the Sports Science School of South China Normal University, and is the deputy director for Postgraduate Education in Traditional Physical Activities and Culture Major, and for the Exercise & Training Department. He is a well-known martial artist and the 3rd generation inheritor of Mas Tongbei Martial Studies. At the same time, he is the deputy director of Shaolin Changong Committee of Mt. Song Shaolin Temple, president ofInternational Guoshu Association, president of Gansu Province Mas Tongbei Wuxue Association, chief editor of Wuxue, and the headmaster of Jiangong Academy. Loretta Kim is assistant professor and director of the China Studies programme at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Hong Kong. She is a historian of late imperial and modern China. Her primary research areas include the comparative history of borderlands and frontiers, Sino-Russian cultural relations, and Chinese ethnic minority languages and literatures. She is the author of Ethnic Chrysalis: Chinas Orochen People and the Legacy of Qing Borderland Administration (Harvard Asia Center, 2019).
