Two files of warriors march into the square and come to a halt, marking the beginning of the show. A man wielding a pair of wicked axes is followed by another hacking and slashing with a huge sword. Then comes a demonstration of Chinese boxing and a mock duel between two men, one fighting with a staff and the other with a sword and rattan shield. Then another duel, a man flashing two swords against another with a spear....and so on, through a veritable catalogue of traditional Chinese martial arts using enough weapons to fill a museum.
This is a scene from a "Sung Chiang battle array," a form of martial performing arts that was once highly popular in Taiwan and, to a reduced extent, still is--especially in the southern part of the island. The performance is now presented in two distinct types. One has performers in sportswear practicing boxing, weapons manipulation, and offensive and defensive formations and maneuvers. The other features performers in Ming dynasty costume parading and performing martial arts as the heroes and heroines of the Northern Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1127) portrayed in the epic novel Shui Hu Chuan, translated as All Men are Brothers or, more directly, as The Water Margin. The performances vary but all include the same tactics, which add up to a total of 108. Among these, the "eight trigrams" tactic is the most important.
Taiwanese Origin
Stories accounting for the origin of the Sung Chiang battle array also vary. Some claim that it was developed by Sung Chiang, the leader of a gang of 108 righteous bandits in the Shui Hu Chuan, for whom it is named. More recent research shows that it bears a close resemblance to
the yuan yang, or mandarin duck, tactics of a Ming dynasty general named Chi Chi-kuang who successfully defended the southeastern coast of China against the ravages of pirates, mostly Japanese. Mandarin ducks (the yuan is the male, the yang the female) are always seen in faithful pairs, and Sung Chiang tactics are also always performed in pairs.
Unlike many other traditional Taiwanese folk arts, the Sung Chiang battle array has never been recorded as existing in mainland China; it is purely Taiwanese. It was well used in the island's early days by Cheng Cheng-kung, or Koxinga, the Chinese pirate-patriot who fought to preserve the remnants of the Ming dynasty against the Manchus who overthrew the Ming and established the Ching dynasty in 1644. Unsuccessful against the Ching forces on the mainland, Koxinga attacked the Dutch who then occupied Taiwan, driving them out in 1661.
Many of Koxinga's also pirates, whose heroes were Sung Chiang and the other characters of the Shui Hu Chuan. Sung Chiang's rallying cry, in essence not unlike that of Robin Hood, was "Do justice for heaven; be loyal and righteous." Koxinga used this slogan in his fight against the Manchus and, undoubtedly, the Dutch.
Taiwan was a sparsely populated, practically virgin island when Koxinga and his people arrived. To aid in the development of the island's economy and protect it against possible invasion by the Manchus and the Dutch, Koxinga trained and armed the peasants. Many of the weapons used in the Sung Chiang battle array are actually the farm tools--rakes, sickles, hooks, umbrellas--used by the early peasantry.
Despite the best efforts of Koxinga's followers, it was not long before Taiwan succumbed to the Ching court. But the popularity and usefulness of the Sung Chiang battle array exercises did not diminish. In fact, they probably increased as feuds ran rampant among different groups of settlers--those from Chuanchou, those from Changchou (both in Fukien province), and the Hakkas. The performances declined during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945) and today they are seen only during festivals, especially the birthday celebrations for Matsu (Goddess of the Sea), Emperor Paosheng (God of Medicine), and Cheng Huang (City God). Sung Chiang performances are accompanied by drums and gongs, and by standard bearers acting as commanders. Chinese boxing (a kind of kung fu) is given prominent play. What makes the Sung Chiang battle array particularly fascinating, though, is the wide variety of weapons used, the countless changes of formations and tactics during the performances, and the spectacular range of martial arts included.
Sung Chiang performing groups are organized by temple priests, who have traditionally been at the forefront of martial arts training. The most famous martial arts temples in Chinese history, for example, were the Shaolin Buddhist temple in Sungshan, Honan province, and the Taoist temple at Mt. Wutang in Hupei province, each of which had an army of thousands.
A full-size Sung Chiang team has 108 members; smaller ones have 72 or, at a minimum, 36. Most of the teams are made up of men, but there are also teams made up of women and youths.
Superstition and Ritual
Injuries often accompany Sung Chiang performances, since they resemble vigorous military exercises. Because of this, a body of superstition and ritual has grown up around them. The number of team members actually present at a performance must not exceed 107; when difficulties arise, spirit money and incense must be burned; women born in the Year of the Tiger
are not allowed at the beginning of a performance; all team members must pray to Sung Chiang before a performance starts; and, at both the beginning and end of a performance, the performers gather at the temple gate (most often, performances take place in temple courtyards), raise their weapons high, and shout "Ho! Ho! Ho!"
The Sung Chiang battle array culture seems doomed to decline further in Taiwan as the island's society becomes more urbanized and more farm youths move to the cities. But there is some hope. A renewed recognition of the value of traditional culture has begun to emerge, and movements are under way to preserve its various aspects. The Council for Cultural Planning and Development, for one, has placed the Sung Chiang battle array on its list of folk performances that should be perpetuated for future generations to enjoy.
Copyright 1995 Vision International Publishing Co.