

Hakka are one of the main Chinese cultural groups in southern coastal China together with the Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hailufeng (“Hok Lo”) of the Chaozhou-Shantou regions. According to Prof. Lo Hsiang-lin, the Hakka originally came from northern China and migrated to the south through several waves of migration over the past two millennia. As a result, they have preserved archaic aspects of Chinese culture from the Central Plains, such as their spoken dialect, unicorn worship, and lineage-based social organization. On the other hand, the name “Hakka” is relatively recent, having been coined in the early Qing dynasty as they migrated from their adopted home in the Wuyi mountains where Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces converge. It was in origin a label the “native” communities used to describe “outsiders” (their name literally means “guest people”) who were just then moving into their territories.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties southern China was infested by social violence. Embattled by coastal disturbances, bandits, as well as continuous armed conflict between militarized villages competing for scarce land and water resources, the Hakka’s early social history was characterized by endemic conflict. The popularity of martial arts among the Hakka was, therefore, due largely to the need for survival in this chaotic and violent social milieu.
After over three hundred years of development, Hakka kung fu became one of the most distinctive and important martial art systems in southern China.
客家人與閩系福建人、廣東人,及聚居於潮汕地區(qū)的海陸豐(鶴佬)人,同為南方沿海地區(qū)主要族群之一。據(jù)羅香林教授的研究,客家人來(lái)自中國(guó)北方,經(jīng)長(zhǎng)達(dá)兩千年數(shù)次大規(guī)模的遷移而形成現(xiàn)時(shí)的客家文化。由此,他們保留了古代中原文化的一些特徵,如方言、麒麟崇拜、按血緣組成的社會(huì)結(jié)構(gòu)等。另一方面,「客家」這名稱(chēng)的出現(xiàn)是相對(duì)近代的事,自清初客籍人士從福建、廣東及江西三地相接的武夷山脈,再度向南播遷,進(jìn)入福建及廣東省定居,當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駷榱俗R(shí)別這群從外地遷入的移民,便以「客」稱(chēng)呼他們,意味其「作客」的身份。
明清時(shí)期,各種危機(jī)紛至沓來(lái),華南沿海區(qū)域及閩、粵、贛交接之山區(qū)戰(zhàn)事連年,加上面對(duì)海盜和山賊的侵?jǐn)_,以及村落之間因爭(zhēng)奪水源和土地等資源所引發(fā)的械鬥,長(zhǎng)期的紛亂以致客家人的發(fā)展歷史,基本上是由抗?fàn)帯⑽溲b戰(zhàn)事交織而成。因此,客家人習(xí)武的風(fēng)尚,很大程度是由生存環(huán)境及劇烈的社會(huì)動(dòng)盪催生出來(lái)。
經(jīng)過(guò)三百年的發(fā)展,客家功夫成為中國(guó)南方武術(shù)系統(tǒng)中極具代表性,同時(shí)又獨(dú)樹(shù)一格的重要組成部份。
During the Ming and Qing dynasties southern China was infested by social violence. Embattled by coastal disturbances, bandits, as well as continuous armed conflict between militarized villages competing for scarce land and water resources, the Hakka’s early social history was characterized by endemic conflict. The popularity of martial arts among the Hakka was, therefore, due largely to the need for survival in this chaotic and violent social milieu.
After over three hundred years of development, Hakka kung fu became one of the most distinctive and important martial art systems in southern China.
客家人與閩系福建人、廣東人,及聚居於潮汕地區(qū)的海陸豐(鶴佬)人,同為南方沿海地區(qū)主要族群之一。據(jù)羅香林教授的研究,客家人來(lái)自中國(guó)北方,經(jīng)長(zhǎng)達(dá)兩千年數(shù)次大規(guī)模的遷移而形成現(xiàn)時(shí)的客家文化。由此,他們保留了古代中原文化的一些特徵,如方言、麒麟崇拜、按血緣組成的社會(huì)結(jié)構(gòu)等。另一方面,「客家」這名稱(chēng)的出現(xiàn)是相對(duì)近代的事,自清初客籍人士從福建、廣東及江西三地相接的武夷山脈,再度向南播遷,進(jìn)入福建及廣東省定居,當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駷榱俗R(shí)別這群從外地遷入的移民,便以「客」稱(chēng)呼他們,意味其「作客」的身份。
明清時(shí)期,各種危機(jī)紛至沓來(lái),華南沿海區(qū)域及閩、粵、贛交接之山區(qū)戰(zhàn)事連年,加上面對(duì)海盜和山賊的侵?jǐn)_,以及村落之間因爭(zhēng)奪水源和土地等資源所引發(fā)的械鬥,長(zhǎng)期的紛亂以致客家人的發(fā)展歷史,基本上是由抗?fàn)帯⑽溲b戰(zhàn)事交織而成。因此,客家人習(xí)武的風(fēng)尚,很大程度是由生存環(huán)境及劇烈的社會(huì)動(dòng)盪催生出來(lái)。
經(jīng)過(guò)三百年的發(fā)展,客家功夫成為中國(guó)南方武術(shù)系統(tǒng)中極具代表性,同時(shí)又獨(dú)樹(shù)一格的重要組成部份。

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