Culture: Drunken Monkey & Martial Arts

The Drunken Monkey theme from the lecture last Friday reminded me of the "Drunken Monkey" martial arts form in the movies, Last Hero in China and The Drunken Master. Both movies are quite popular martial arts movies (the clips are shown below). As there are numerous martial arts schools in Stockton, specifically Kung Fu school, such as Charley's Independent Wu Chun (been in Stockton for over 20 years), this topic with regards to the martial arts film clips is relevant to my Confucius blog in Stockton.





If Confucius were alive today in Stockton, he would have considered martial arts of any form to be beneficial to learning as martial arts meet the Confucian learning in his teaching. He was once quoted to say that for all scholars must be "well-versed in both polite letters and martial arts."  Additionally, it is emphasized in the teaching of Confucius that "archery" and "charioteering" are part of the "six arts" that all scholars must know. This means that all scholars are required to have physical strength as well as part of their learning. In fact, Confucius had great physical strength since he came from a family of warriors (his father was a well-known general and owned a fiefdom). He was also skilled at archery and chariot-driving. Archery is not just about being able to shoot a target; it is an activity that requires great physical strength (speaking from experience of doing this sports myself) but also a way to cultivate people.
The "six arts" are strongly emphasized, internally and externally, in the chinese culture. Just like archery and chariot-driving, the martial arts shown in the video are great examples of something that are more than a means of being a healthy sport/ activity or means to win a fight/ war. Confucius would had considered the drunken monkey martial arts in the clips as the means to "cultivate people" and their "thinking" and values through the methods that they learn, reflect, and realize.




In addition to the martial arts reference in Stockton, the "Drunken Monkey" form could be considered in the angle of viewing from their origins, the form of the "Eight Immortals" (the drunken gods). The "Eight Immortals" is a very well-known legend in the chinese culture. As strange as this examination may appear to some, this above video actually has some Confucian values regarding the "li," "yi," and "learning." Jackie Chan's character Wong Fei-hung did not start fighting until he got approval from his mother and so followed the "yi" (duty/ the precept that governs the five relationships) and "li" (ritual/ propriety/ rules). If one examines the above Jackie Chan video closely, one would realize that each form that he uses are named accordingly to one of the eight immortals like "Li Dong Bin" since each of those forms were originally the martial arts styles of the eight immortals. Here the character played by Jackie Chan would be following "li" and "yi" as well in referencing to the gods in the styles, which he is showing respect for when used in his moves. Just like the Drunken Monkey video I showed in the last blog post about how monkeys become stronger and "better leaders" after drinking more wine, Jackie Chan here become stronger and a better fighter when he drank more wine. This would be an example of how the "Confucian learning" is done. He likes to drink but here drank with the good intention to become better fighter and "junzi" to defend the honor of his mother and himself, thereby demonstrating his learning.