Kenjutsu & Kung-fu (!)

[claughrun]

Professor Bodiford's previous post in the "tachi exports" thread is a good summary of the texts and sources available on the topic. He consistently offers some of the best and more well-informed posts on this forum. However, I would like to clear up a couple of inaccuracies, before they create confusion.

The author of the Dadaofa xuan was Cheng Zongyou (—Q), not Cheng Zongxian (Œ£). The characters are similar. Perhaps there is a typo in Prof. Bodiford's source?

Although Wu Shu does give techniques and critiques of various weapons, his Shoubei lu and its two appendices are devoted primarily--almost obsessively--to spearmanship. It is a detailed and valuable contemporary resource on the topic, and we are lucky it survived.

[W.Bodiford]

Dear Chris Laughrun:

Thank you for the corrections.

***

Dear Bruce Sims:

I do not know of a translation of Wubeizhi, but during the Tokugawa period Japanese publishers reprinted the Chinese text several times both in abridged and in complete versions. I do not know of a modern Japanese reprint.

[glad2bhere]

Dear Dr. Bodiford:

Many thanks for your response. I had been advised that the Physical Education Department for the PRC in Beijing had reprinted both the WU BEI ZHI and General Qi's Jin Xiao Shin Shu in 1988. I have been able to locate a copy of the latter but not the former so it was a shot in the dark whether the Japanese market might have provided an alternative. Oh, well. Everybody needs a hobby, right? Thanks again.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[W.Bodiford]

Originally posted by glad2bhere
I have been able to locate a copy of the latter but not the former . . . .

Here is the bibliographic information from the UCLA library's catalog:

===================
Title : Wu bei zhi : [240 juan] / [Mao Yuanyi ji].
： æ_¦å‚™å¿— : [240å?·] / [茅元儀輯].
Edition : Di 1 ban.
第1版.
Publisher : [Taipei] : Hua shi chu ban she, [1991?]
[Taipei] : �世出版社, [1991?]
Description : 22 v. ([4], 10224 p.) : ill., maps ; 21 cm.
Note : Reprint, with new introduction.
"Wu bei zhi bi dian fan li" -- p.91.
： æ_¦å‚™å¿—批點凡例 " -- p.91.

Call number : U43.C6 W8 1991
===================

I hope this helps.

[glad2bhere]

Dear Dr. Bodiford:

My sincere thanks for your time and attention. I had tried both Columbia and UCLA and had not turned up anything on-line. You have done me a real service. I hope I might have an opportunity to return the favor.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[glad2bhere]

Noting the sketches published in the Chinese material, were one interested to see the real thing there is a picture of two ssang soo on the Sword Forum International Net under the category "more Korean swords". I think you might enjoy eye-balling these.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

[Nathan Scott]

Hi all,

I just came across a copy of the Wubeizhi from the 1600's. At first glance, I noticed a couple of pages of handwritten text that seemed to be titled "[something]-ryu no Mokuroku". The drawings that followed were of monkeys, similar if not the same to those drawings I've seen reproduced from the (Aisu) Kage-ryu Mokuroku. There were drawings of humans doing techniques that followed, and these techniques looked more Japanese than Chinese.

When I get a chance, I'll try to copy this section and take a better look at it. The kanji is pretty hard to read though.

Damn interesting,