Ancient Asia - The Ancient Standard

A Brief History of Tae Kwon Do (ca. 600 AD)

By: The Scribe on January, 2008

This ancient Korean wall painting shows men practicing Tae Kwon Do as spectators look on… perhaps students or people watching a competition?

The origins of Tae Kwon Do lie in the area of Asia known presently as Korea, during the Koguryo Dynasty which ruled between 37 BC and 668 AD. The martial art was developed out of an amalgamation of unarmed combat styles that were being practiced by three rival kingdoms at the time: Koguryo, Baekje, and Silla.

The earliest evidence for Tao Kwon Do is found in wall paintings on warriors’ tombs that date back to around 3 AD. These wall paintings show men engaged in battle with each other, in a type of fighting often referred to as ‘Subakki’. Although different from the kind of Tae Kwon Do practiced today, its origins were found in this ancient fighting style.

Since Koguryo was being threatened by rival kingdoms, a special corps of warriors was formed for its protection. These men were known as the ‘Sonbae’ – meaning “man who never recoils from a fight” – and are thought to have practiced another fighting style called ‘Taekkyon’ , which was a direct predecessor of Tae Kwon Do.

Eventually, the Sonbae’s Taekkyon fighting made its way to the Silla Kingdom, where its own version of the Sonbae – the Hwarang, or “Flower Knights” – took the new style and adapted it for their own use. It was around this time that the “five student commitments” were developed for students of Taekkyon, and which are still taken by Tae Kwon Do students today.

This fragment of a wall painting from the Koguryo Dynasty came from a warrior’s tomb, and shows two men in the midst of a ‘Subakki’-style fight.

Meanwhile, the third rival kingdom of Baekje – a tribe which had actually split from the Koguryo kingdom years before – was developing their own special warrior corps, called the ‘Soo Sa’. They were employed to defend the kingdom, and learned a fighting style called SooByeokTa, which also built upon Taekkyon fighting and would become a Tae Kwon Do predecessor.

Eventually, the kingdom of Koguryo was able to rise up and conquer its two rivals, which unified Korea under one dynasty. The Koryo Dynasty ruled the area between 918 and 1392 AD, and all men who were a part of the military received martial arts training as part of their regimen. Specific rules and standards of evaluation were thus developed as Taekkyon techniques became standardized, thereby developing what has become known as the first ‘official’ form of Tae Kwon Do.

Since that time, Tae Kwon Do has continued to mature and develop as a martial art, however this is an important part of the art itself – after all, its origins lie in the amalgamation of three fighting styles, centuries ago.

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Tomorrow: Caesar censors

Who – or What – is the Peking Man? – Part 1/3 (ca. 400,000 – 250,000 BC)

By: The Scribe on January, 2008

A source of great controversy, the bones of Homo erectus pekinensus – “Peking Man” – are supposedly those of a human ancestor who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.

First discovered in 1921 during excavations at the site of Zhoukoudian near Beijing, the fossils of Homo erectus pekinensis have since been the source of controversy, speculation, and rather extensive research into human ancestry. Known more colloquially as ‘Peking Man’, the fossils have been dated to about 250,000-400,000 years ago, placing them in the Pleistocene.

The story of the fossils’ discovery begins in 1921, which was when the first surveys of the region were conducted. Locals told the men organizing the dig – the famous Swedish archaeologists Johan Gunnar Andersson and Otto Zdansky, a well known Austrian palaeontologist – that there were fossils on a hill opposite from where they were working, and figuring that locals probably knew the area better than they did, the men began a survey of the area and found two human-like teeth.

The teeth weren’t formally announced to the scientific community until a few years later, in 1926 – but the news was still potent enough to astonish the world, since up until that time, absolutely no ancient human fossils had been found in China, let alone the entire Asian world! As for which teeth they were, one was an upper molar, while the second was an unerupted lower premolar.

A Canadian anthropologist then had the opportunity to study the fossils, noting that it appeared to belong to an entirely new species of Hominidae! It was around this time that academics dubbed the molars as belonging to a “Peking Man”, though its official name is either Sinanthropus pekinensis, or more commonly, Homo erectus pekinensis. It was decided that further excavations were needed of the area, and in 1927, a second excavation was begun at Zhoukoudian.

This was the first skullcap from a Peking Man ever found, discovered in 1929 inside a cave fissure.

The results were far greater than anyone had expected. In 1928, two lower jars were unearthed, allowing for the establishment of a specific research laboratory just for these fossils. Over the next seven years, archaeologists would find more than 40 fossil specimens, including 6 almost fully intact skullcaps.

While previous “human” fossils had caused considerable argumentation and unrest in the scientific community, it seemed that the Peking Man was indisputably human. Results from examination of the fossils deduced that Homo erectus was quite different from apes in terms of physical characteristics and cranial capacity, and that the skullcaps of Peking Man indicated by their physical form that they belonged to a creature capable of creativity, cultural development, the creation of fire, and systemized hunting.

What was more, scientists argued that Peking Man stood in a position to occupy the intermediate stage of human evolution. Since then, scientists and historians have since admitted that this statement was perhaps too bold and premature, but they still consider Peking Man to occupy an important phase of human history.

In 1937, the Japanese moved into Beijing and occupied the area, forcing excavations to end. They were stored in a safe location until 1941, when they were packed up to be sent to the USA for safekeeping until the war had ended. However, as the fossils were en route to the port city of Qinghuangdao, the crate containing all the pieces mysteriously vanished…

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Tomorrow: Part 2!

Cambodia’s Warrior Princesses? (1 – 400 AD)

By: The Scribe on November, 2007

Five female skeletons were discovered at this Cambodian burial site with weapons, leading researchers to believe that female warriors played an active role in the society.

At the site of Phum Snay in northwestern Cambodia, archaeologists uncovered a group of 35 skeletons, believed to date between the first and fifth centuries AD. The unusual aspect of the burial, however, was that five of the skeletons were females – and all of them were buried together with bronze or steel swords and helmet-like objects.

In an era and location where women were supposed to have played a more ‘traditional’ role in society – these were villages of fishermen and rice-farmers, where women tended the household and were responsible for mending clothes, caring for children, and food preparation – finding battle objects with female bodies was quite surprising.

The burials seem to suggest that this area of Cambodia was a place where female warriors played an active role in the society – and the find-spots of the skeletons in prominent locations within the tomb also indicates that these women were held in high regard, at least to some degree.

Of course, before any theories can be made absolute, it is probably best to wait until more investigation is done on the women’s bones – if the skeletons show signs of cut marks and other battle-related damages or injuries, then it is likely that the theory of Cambodia’s version of ‘Amazon’ warriors may actually ring true.

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Tomorrow: Mummy Lion

And You Thought Rice Was For Eating… (ca. 1300 AD)

By: The Scribe on October, 2007

Turns out that sticky rice made excellent mortar for ancient Chinese craftsmen…

Once thought to be merely an ancient legend, it turns out that several thousand years ago, the Chinese were using sticky rice to cement their walls. Indeed, this glutinous ‘rice porridge’ was the best kind of mortar additive available, surviving until today in the remnants of plaster on ancient Chinese bricks.

It was during a round of maintenance work on the ancient wall of Xi’an that workers found that the plaster on many bricks was extremely difficult to remove – and since the task was much more difficult than it should have been, the substance was tested. Infrared analysis then revealed that the mortar had a molecule structure nearly identical to that of glutinous or “sticky” rice.

In fact, the use of rice as mortar may be the real reason that many ancient Chinese structures are still standing! The wall of Xi’an was built in the early years of the Ming Dynasty that spanned from 1368-1644 AD, and still remains standing at approximately 12 meters high.

While the claim that construction workers used sticky rice to build the Great Wall of China had previously been discounted as a myth, it turns out that there may have been truth to the legend after all.

Think about it: workers wouldn’t have to stop for lunch, they could just snack while they were working…!

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Tomorrow: More Ancient Standard!

The Ancient Standard

Archive for the ‘Ancient Asia’ Category

A Brief History of Tae Kwon Do (ca. 600 AD)

Who – or What – is the Peking Man? – Part 1/3 (ca. 400,000 – 250,000 BC)

Cambodia’s Warrior Princesses? (1 – 400 AD)

And You Thought Rice Was For Eating… (ca. 1300 AD)

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