Shuai jiao (Chinese: 摔跤 or 摔角; Hanyu Pinyin: Shuāijiāo; Wade-Giles: Shuai-chiao) is the modern Chinese term for Chinese and Mongolian wrestling. The same term is also used to refer to Western wrestling of various kinds. Pinyin (拼音, Pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... The Wrestlers from Uffizi Gallery, Florence. ... The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

The Chinese wrestling art presently called Shùai jīao has a long history and has undergone several changes in both name and form. The earliest term, Jǐao dǐ (horn butting), refers to an ancient sport in which contestants wore horned headgear which they attempted to butt their opponents with. Legend has it that Jiao di was used in 2,697 BCE by the Yellow Emperor's army to gore the soldiers of a rebel army led by Chi You.^[1] In later times, young people would play a similar game, emulating the contests of domestic cattle, without the headgear. Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor or Huang Di (Chinese: 黃帝, Simplified Chinese: 黄帝, pÄ«nyÄ«n: huángdì) is a legendary Chinese sovereign and cultural hero who is said to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese. ...

Jiao li was a grappling martial art that was developed in the Zhou Dynasty (between 10th and 3rd century BCE). It is generally considered to be the oldest extant Chinese martial art and is among the oldest systematic martial arts in the world. As a military fighting system, Jiao li supplemented throwing techniques with strikes, joint locks and attacks on pressure points.^[2] These were practiced in the winter by soldiers who also studied archery and military strategy. Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty (also Chow or Jou)) (late 10th century BC or 9th century BC to 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... Chinese martial arts, often abbreviated as CMA, refers to the enormous variety of martial art styles native to China. ... A joint lock (in Japanese, 関節技 kansetsu-waza) is the general term for martial arts techniques involving painful manipulation of the joints. ... Pressure points are points on the body that have some anatomical significance, e. ... An archery contest in Ladakh, India Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... Military strategem in the Battle of Waterloo. ...

Jiao li eventually became a sport in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE), held for court amusement as well as for recruiting the best fighters. Competitors wrestled each other on a raised platform called lei tai for the potential reward of being hired as a bodyguard to the emperor or a martial arts instructor for the Imperial Military. Some contests would last a week or so, with over a thousand participants. Jiao li was taught to soldiers in China over many centuries and influenced the later Chinese martial arts. The Qin Dynasty (Chinese: 秦朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chin Chao) (221 BC - 207 BC) was preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. ... Lei Tai is a wooden platform similar to a boxing ring, but without ropes. ... A bodyguard is a person who protects someone (known as their principal) from personal assault, kidnapping, assassination, loss of confidential information, or other threats. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... The hundreds of different styles of Chinese martial arts (中國武術) are collectively called Kung Fu (功夫), Wushu (武術), Kuoshu (國術), or Chuan Fa (拳法), depending on the persons or groups doing so. ...

The term Shuai jiao was chosen by the Goushu Institute of Nanjing in 1928 when competition rules were standarized. Today, shuai jiao is popular with the Mongols who hold competitions regularly during cultural events.^[3] The art continues to be taught in the police and military academies of China and Taiwan. Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Nan-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Nanking), is the capital of Chinas Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. ... The Mongols are an ethnic group that originated in what is now Mongolia, Russia, and China, particularly Inner Mongolia. ... A military academy is a military educational institution. ...

Translation

The word shuai, 摔, stands for "to throw onto the ground", while jiao may have two meanings: the first and oldest, 角, stands for "horns" and the second and recent, 跤, stands for "wrestle" or "trip". Shuai jiao therefore means either "to throw onto the ground using horns" or "to throw onto the ground through wrestling". For other types of horns, see horn (disambiguation). ...

References

• ^  Chinese Kuoshu Institute. History of Shuai Jiao. <URL accessed January 26, 2006>
• ^  Burr, Martha. Ching, Gene. 100 Kungfu Styles of the Past Millenium. Kungfumagazine.com. <URL accessed January 26, 2006>
• Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Chinese Language, entry 35831.82
• Chinese Fast Wrestling for Fighting, Liang, Shou-Yu and Tai D. Ngo, ISBN 1-886969-49-3
• Chang Shuai Chiao
• Combat Shuai Chiao

See also

• Wrestling