The Past And Present Of The White Ape Tong Bei:An Oral History Research

The White Ape Tong Bei,which originated in the late Tang and early Song dynasties and developed in the late Qing and early Republic of China,is a thousand years old boxing with orderly origins,clear boxing principle,outstanding style and its own system.In July 2016 and April 2020,it was selected into the sixth batch of Taicang intangible Cultural Heritage representative items list and the seventh batch of Suzhou intangible Cultural Heritage representative items List.The report of the 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to strengthen the protection of cultural relics and cultural heritage,and strengthen the protection and inheritance of history and culture in urban and rural development.In this era of carrying forward the excellent traditional culture of China,as a pearl of intangible cultural heritage,the White Ape Tong Bei is relatively short of relevant history excavation research,and the road of protection and inheritance is faced with many practical difficulties.Therefore,it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on it and put forward reasonable suggestions for its development.In this paper,relevant theories of history,sociology,anthropology,literature,oral history and other research methods are adopted.Taking the White Ape Tong Bei as the research object and Qiu Bisong,the inheritor of the White Ape Tong Bei,and his high foot as the oral object,meticulous oral history materials are collected,supplemented by the most cutting-edge documentary evidence.It tries to accurately acquire the historical memory of the inheritors of the White Ape Tong Bei,and vividly restore the two logical approaches of the White Ape Tong Bei: the historical development context of the "past" and the inheritance status and dilemma of the "present",so as to retain its historical and cultural memory and provide theoretical reference and practical reference for its effective popularization and dissemination in modern society.The study found:First,the White Ape Tong Bei mainly has certain training requirements for setting and moving boxing;the technical characteristics of the White Ape Tong Bei are as follows: the integrated content of the boxing system,the internal and external body movement,and the vigorous and majestic boxing force driven by the trunk and limbs;the inheritance value of the White Ape Tong Bei includes the value of defending the family’s defense,the value of keeping pace with the times,and the value of cultural inheritance.Second,the White Ape Tong Bei was initiated in Wudang Mountain by the famous Taoist priest Chen Tuan in the late Tang Dynasty and the early Song Dynasty,and then spread to Beijing by Shandong furs merchant Lu Yunqing in the Daoguang period of the late Qing Dynasty.During this period,Shi Hongsheng,Zhang Wencheng,Ma Deshan,Yang Qishun and many other inheritors adhered to and inherited it,and finally returned to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River with the inheritor Qiu Bisong.It has become a valuable intangible cultural heritage of Suzhou.Thirdly,the current inheritance methods of the White Ape Tong Bei include the inheritance of master and apprentice and the inheritance of school.In terms of the inheritance of masters and apprentices,Qiu Bisong abandoned the conservative traditional concept when choosing apprentices,but paid more attention to the investigation of his disciples’ martial virtues.In terms of school inheritance,the White Ape Tong Bei has carried out the "Martial arts into the campus" activity in many primary and middle schools in Taicang.Among them,Taicang Mingde Primary School and Taicang Mingde Junior High School are successful cases of the White Ape Tong Bei school inheritance.Fourthly,the current dilemmas facing the White Ape Tong Bei mainly include: competitive martial arts encroach on the living space of traditional martial arts;lack of practice field affects the construction of collective memory;the absence of organization and management in government and related departments is prominent;barriers of financial distress hamper the inheritance activities;lack of inheritance power due to the fault of inheritors.To this end,suggestions are as follows: 1.Establishing competition evaluation rules suitable for the development of traditional martial arts;2.Promoting the implementation of multi-function inheritance base in linkage with colleges and universities;3.Promoting the government to establish a special intangible cultural heritage leading group;4.Establishing a mechanism of multiple subjects of government,school and society to jointly provide financial assistance;5.Establishing and improving the selection system of intangible cultural heritage inheritor.