文化 | Hello China 英文版《你好中国》（25-26）

2019暑假已至！本号试图利用假期时间，每天分享Hello China 英文版《你好，中国》，每期2集，从不同角度用英语阐释中华文化。为英语，尤其是高中英语学习中华文化铺路。

需要说明的是Hello China 英文版《你好，中国》是由中国国家广电总局主办、中国国际广播电台、高等教育出版社联合策划实施的大型多媒体系列文化项目。本分享视频来自腾讯视频，版权归原作者所有。本分享旨在学生英语学习。

《你好，中国》选取了100个代表中国传统文化精髓的汉语词汇，从不同侧面反映中国文化的博大精深，加深国外民众对中国和中华文化的了解。

25 Phoenix：King of birds

26 Kung Fu：The Oriental martial art

An Introduction to Chinese Martial Arts Styles

A brief overview of 5 different fighting styles

by Robert Rousseau 

To discover the origins of the Chinese martial arts styles, one has to go deep into the past, far beyond recorded history. We're talking well before Christ here. That said, the martial arts have been a part of China for so long that it's truly hard to pinpoint their origins in the country. In other words, there's a good deal of educated guessing going on.

What we do know, however, is that things and names like Bodhidharma, kung fu, the Shaolin monks, and more are connected to the Chinese martial arts. Here's a more detailed list of five famous Chinese martial arts styles.

Baguazhang

The roots and history of the martial arts style of Baguazhang can be traced back to the 19th century in China. It is a soft and internal style of martial arts, characterized by its breathing techniques and meditative qualities.

"Bagua zhang" translates to "eight trigram palm," which refers to the canons of Taoism and specifically one of the trigrams of the I Ching (Yijing).

Kung Fu

Kung fu is a term used in much of the contemporary world to describe the wide variety of martial arts types in China. That said, the term means any individual accomplishment or refined skill that is achieved after hard work to the Chinese.

Popular Kung Fu Substyles

Northern China

Shaolin

Long Fist

Eagle Claw

Monkey Style

Southern China

Wing Chun

Hung Gar

Choy Li Fut

Shuai Jiao

Most of the Chinese styles focus either exclusively on stand up fighting, or at the very least, devote most of their time to it. That said, there is evidence to suggest that the first martial arts style in China, called jiao di, served to teach troops how to use horns on their helmet to defeat adversaries. This style of fighting eventually morphed into a grappling art called jiao li. And, of course, jiao li soon became shuai jiao.

We're talking wrestling and throwing here, folks.

Tai Chi

Tai chi is an internal martial arts style characterized by its breathing techniques. It is a highly popular martial arts style that seems to aid balanceand serves as stress relief for a significant number of practitioners.

In Mandarin, the term tai ji chuan or t’ai chi ch’uan translates to supreme ultimate fist, great extremes boxing, the ultimate, or boundless fist. 

The thing about Tai Chi is that although it isn't necessarily the most effective self-defense style, it is practiced by millions throughout the world for meditative and health reasons.  

Wushu

Wushu really isn't a style. More a global term or sport, at least in the contemporary world. We're talking about forms, beauty, health and wellness, and something that appears to look awful good on the silver screen. Regardless, it's worth learning more about.

Well Known for a Reason

The Chinese martial arts styles are well known for a reason. So check out more information on them here. And while you're at it, consider getting involved. It can only aid in your health!

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