Chinese Red Boxing
By admin on 2014-12-26

Red Boxing is a leading boxing genre in Shaanxi, where three branches marked by Tongguan and Dasanguan appear - "Red Boxing of Eastern Shaanxi", "Red Boxing of Central Shaanxi" and "Red Boxing of Western Shaanxi". It is said that a lot of boxing sects in Shaanxi were evolved from "Red Boxing of Central Shaanxi".

Red Boxing has strong vitality in Shaanxi because of the unique regional and humanistic cultures in the area. The origin of Red Boxing can be traced all the way to the Zhou and Qin Dynasties. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, "wushu dance" and "wrestling" were quite popular. In the Qin Dynasty, "weaponless fighting" and "swordplay" caught on in Sanfu (modern-day central Shaanxi), especially in the area around Chang'an. Meanwhile, wushu practitioners would also spar with each other to enhance skills.

According to Historical Records by Sima Qian, at a feast given by Yingzheng, Emperor Qinshihuang, to celebrate a victorious battle, his warriors danced flapping dance to add to the fun. The dance was pretty much the same as the skills of "blasting" and "ten loud sounds" in Red Boxing. The dance was in some way supported the folk saying about Red Boxing - "beating the skin like a drum". The movements of Red Boxing were called "Tang hand postures" and "wrestling" in the Tang Dynasty, when a lot of people practiced the skills, including the great poet Li Bai, who claimed that he had a keen interest in swordplay at the age of 15. In addition, Shaanxi was home to famous Tang-Dynasty generals like Guo Ziyi and Xue Rengui.

Red Boxing couldn't have enjoyed booming development without the enthusiasm of ordinary people. Before the 1960s and 1970s, nearly all boxing practitioners in rural and urban areas practiced Red Boxing. The practitioners could be found in all villages. Red Boxing masters even combined the boxing with sacrificial rituals and Shaanxi opera, creating a main activity for fitness and entertainment in rural and urban Shaanxi.