How Dare You: The Formation of Martial Courage in Wushu Lu An
Huaibei Normal University
Abstract
All martial arts around the world emphasize the importance of courage, but the understanding of courage varies from culture to culture. In order to discuss the concept and formation of martial courage of Wushu, this paper tries to analyze the influence and contribution of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which are the pillars of traditional Chinese thoughts. The core of Confucian courage is benevolence, justice, propriety and wisdom. Its main function is to govern the country by establishing an ideology to normalize people^s martial activities. The core of Taoist courage is non-action, non-contention and being like water. Its main function is to govern the individual body by highlighting the philosophy that the unity of human and heaven is what the Chinese people have long been yearning for. The core of Buddhist courage is compassion. Its function is mainly to govern the mind by using either low eyebrows or angry eyes. Wushu absorbs the essence of the three thoughts on courage and constructs its own martial courage system, which not only facilitates the formation of martial arts techniques, but also acclimatizes Wushu practitioners^ behavior.
