National Martial Arts
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Summary
Guoshu forged in him a robust physique, a powerful will, and indomitable perseverance, and it guided him lifelong with patriotism and service to the nation as his original aspiration.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he joined the resistance, formed a guerrilla unit, and later went to Anhui to fight the Japanese as a martial arts instructor.
During the period of labor reform, he stood up for justice and eliminated violence, used his exceptional skills to help the people, and, with his expertise in traumatology and self-made Chinese herbal medicines, provided free bone-setting and wound treatment for the common people.
In peacetime, he founded his own school, wrote books, and taught martial arts, promoting and passing on Chinese martial arts.
Guoshu truthfully and vividly recreates the legendary life, patriotic sentiments, loves and hatreds, and twists of fate of such a chivalrous man. At the same time, the novel portrays a group of Chinese figures who devoted themselves to the study of guoshu with the ideal of serving the nation through martial arts, their hardships and struggles amid the rise and fall of the times, the enormous conflict between their original aspirations and dreams and social reality, and their true and minute encounters with fate over 80 years. The fates of these inheritors of guoshu are intricately interwoven, broadly and profoundly reflecting the great transformations of modern and contemporary Chinese society.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in the interweaving of modern and contemporary Chinese history with personal fate
- Those who enjoy solid, weighty literary works based on real-life prototypes
- Readers curious about traditional martial arts culture and its situation in modern times
- Literary fans who appreciate the somber realist style of Hunan writers such as He Dun
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking the fast pace and intense plot conflicts of web literature
- Readers hoping for pure martial arts combat or mysterious kung fu depictions
Reading tips
- While reading, pay attention to the depictions of Hunan's regional scenery and period atmosphere, which form a solid stage for the characters' actions.
- Read the protagonist's martial arts pursuit and spiritual growth as two parallel threads to understand the author's intention of giving equal weight to skill and the way.
- The historical turning points and personal choices in the latter part merit deeper reflection in the context of modern history.
About the publisher
Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 一 虎坪村发生了一场械斗
- 二 学堂设在祠堂里
- 三 那年七月
- 四 总教练王润生的武功
- 五 一个叫常东升，一个叫常贺勋
- 六 旷楚雄功夫好
- 七 很多年后
- 八 旷楚雄是训练所里身体条件最好的
- 九 范志桂是湖南平江人
- 十 严乃康教官教学员劈刺
- 十一 中央国术馆
- 十二 贺涵跟着大哥二哥走了
- 十三 周进元去了柳悦家
- 十四 军人是张排长
- 十五 离比武只差一个月了
- 十六 从南京回来
- 十七 假期训练班结束
- 十八 历时一个多月的战事总算停了
- 十九 刘杞荣做梦都没想到
- 二十 新兴机械厂
- 二一 省主席何键行伍出身
- 二二 翌日散打比武
- 二三 刘杞荣打了冠军
- 二四 第二天
- 二五 杜心五和万籁声来了
- 二六 大馆里
- 二七 散打比武容易受伤
- 二八 柳老先生从外面回来
- 二九 星期天
- 三十 七七事变
- 三一 众官兵嘴里说的日本鬼子
- 三二 那个星期二的下午
- 三三 贺涵的儿子和女儿都大了
- 三四 带着摔跤队去了北京
- 三五 饭菜都摆在桌上了
- 三六 一九三九年八月里的一天
- 三七 八月下旬
- 三八 刘杞荣回到第二十一集团军
- 三九 经过这一次战斗
- 四十 一九四五年八月
- 四一 一个冰天雪地的日子
- 四二 四月里的一天
- 四三 周进元吓了一跳
- 四四 甘长顺面馆
- 四五 转眼便是一九五三年
- 四六 大刀比赛抽签
- 四七 参与摔跤比赛的人多
- 四八 回来时捧着四个红本本
- 四九 贺涵回家了
- 五十 共培、大宏和芋头等徒弟
- 五一 这个世界上最倒霉的人
- 五二 回原籍劳动改造
- 五三 有天上午
- 五四 雪花在空旷的田野上空飘舞
- 五五 一九八〇年十月
- 五六 进少林寺
FAQ
Is this book a biography or a novel?
What does guoshu mainly refer to in the book?
How is this book related to the author's earlier The Fourth Huangpu Class?
Comments
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About the author
He Dun is a Chinese author known for social fiction. Public information about him is limited, and details such as his dates of birth and death, nationality, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Three of his works are included in the collection: Happy Street, Ruthless: The Underworld, and Chinese Martial Arts. His subjects tend to focus on social reality and everyday urban life, with strong narrative tension and a vivid sense of local atmosphere. A title like Ruthless: The Underworld suggests that his writing touches on marginalized people and the codes of the underworld, while Chinese Martial Arts turns to traditional martial arts, showing his interest in different aspects of society. Happy Street, named after a street, implies attention to the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Overall, He Dun's writing leans toward realism and is skilled at presenting the situations of individuals amid social change through specific characters and scenes. His works are classified as social fiction and are suited to readers interested in realistic themes and stories of ordinary urban life.
