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 5之4 |
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作者/Robert L. Chard |
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The non-fiction record offers ample evidence that the world of fighters, criminals, escort agencies (biaoju 鏢局), and secret societies portrayed in the wuxia novels was to a considerable extent based on reality. The novels portray this world in vastly greater detail than the historical sources, but they are after all fictional, written as entertainment; many of them, particularly the premodern ones, contain elements of magic and obvious fantasy𡟙mmortals, marvellous periapts, monsters, and people capable of flying through the air. Even the anecdotal accounts in the biji literature are colorful and sometimes fantastic. Can we really justify the use of wuxia fiction as a historical source for the study of martial China? My comments here will be general ones; I have neither the space nor the expertise to explore this question with detailed examples. However, it is important to remember that premodern wuxia fiction was produced within the conceptual universe of late imperial China, and even its most fanciful elements reveal beliefs deeply embedded within the Chinese martial tradition. A prominent characteristic of wuxia fiction, one which more pragmatic readers might find difficult to appreciate, is accounts of astonishing feats of skill and strength, in many works (though not those of Jin Yong) including superhuman powers. Even arts which are represented as being physically possible strain the credulity of readers not steeped in wuxia fiction, such as the leaping and climbing abilities of adepts in the arts of lightness (qinggong 輕功), or the exploits of experts in small throwing weapons (anqi 暗器). However, all of this derives not from the imagination of the author, but from the actual belief systems of those involved in the martial arts. Martial arts training was a part of the overall Chinese tradition of self-cultivation, overlapping with meditation, breathing techniques, physical exercises, alchemy, the observation of moral precepts, and the like, through which it was believed that the more rarefied constituents of the human body and mind (such as qi 氣 and jing 精) could be strengthened and transformed, in some contexts ultimately leading to the greatly extended lifespan and superhuman powers of the 懀ranscendent” (xian 仙). The overlap between martial arts and spiritual cultivation is clear in exercises designed to strengthen the practitioner𠏋 qi 氣, part of the practice of the 𧗽nner arts” neigong 內功. Even in Tang dynasty stories such as 幞ie Yinniang” 聶隱娘 and 鎽ing xi dian laoren” 京西店老人 martial adepts who have undergone such training are said to be able to perform magical feats. It was widely believed that ordinary human beings could develop extraordinary fighting powers through prolonged and arduous training according to esoteric techniques transmitted by masters. And of course Chinese martial arts (and derivative traditions elsewhere in Asia) reached a level of skill and sophistication unknown in the West. As a sidenote, it is also worth mentioning that esoteric arts are associated not just with individual adepts but also whole armies. This is particularly evident in religious uprisings (such as that of the Boxers/Yihe tuan 義和團), but even official armies used divinatory techniques to read the strength and disposition of the enemy, and resorted to magical techniques to cause harm, examples of the latter being found in traditional novels.
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