PDA

View Full Version : Martial arts museums in Beijing



Jason W
19th April 2004, 14:58
Hi everyone,

One of my students is going to Beijing in June, and he has kindly offered to do some research in country for me, related to martial arts.

Does anyone know of a good museum or place to visit with a good display of martial arts paraphernailia, - weapons, armour, illustrations of techniques/arts etc.

The focus of this type of research will be looking at early connections and possible influences between the Chinese and Japanese, particularly the Chinese influence on early Japanese metal weapons and related arts, such as swords, knives, chain weapons, and in particular, shuriken.

Any suggestions would be most welcome, and if fruitful, I will let everyone know what we come across!

cheers,

Jason Wotherspoon

Neil Hawkins
20th April 2004, 01:38
Jason,

I went to Beijing in '93 and couldn't find anything useful about martial arts. I'm sure it was there, just wasn't part of the culture that we were allowed to see.

Even in the parks in the mornings you didn't see many people doing Tai Chi like you do in Taipei, Honk Kong or Singapore. There were a few, but you needed good language skills, and the Governement supplied guides weren't very helpful.

I was told that there is a museum in the Forbiden City that has a lot of MA stuff, but in those days you couldn't get access. It may be different now.

The only MA I saw in my whole time there was some cheesy Kung Fu demonstrations for the tourists, you know holding hot chains, bending spears against throat and so on.

Let us know if your student finds anything interesting.

Regards

Neil

Jason W
20th April 2004, 01:52
Geez, Neil you're in Broome. What do you guys study up there?

Thanks for the info - it seems things have certainly changed in China in the last 10 years. I believe its much more open now, so maybe they will find something interesting (if it hasn't been fabricated for the pubic!).

cheers,

Jason Wotherspoon