Yang Hanxiao (

Yanzhao Evening News): Why did this fight attract so much attention? For years, martial arts have been seen as a shield against aggression and enemies by the Chinese. In China, martial arts are not only something that can help protect oneself, but also a part of traditional Chinese culture. As such, they are highly respected among the Chinese people.

In this sense, what Xu beat is not a tai chi master, but a kind of cultural symbol. His behavior will undoubtedly hurt many people’s feelings, as the public doesn’t believe that Chinese martial arts are so weak. They hope that a top martial artist will come forth to challenge Xu.

Xu claims he is fighting against fraud. For centuries, many stories and novels have been created based on traditional martial arts. Many people believe martial arts are mysterious, and some take advantage of this sense of mystery to cheat the public. They label their fluff as martial arts and are swiftly defeated when they meet real martial artists. Therefore, Xu’s claim deters fake martial artists to some extent.

Whether Chinese martial arts are just showy postures or miraculous kungfu is not only a concern for martial artists, but also for the wider public. We believe that Chinese martial arts have reason and value to exist. While the public hopes that a really strong martial artist will come forward to prove that martial arts are extraordinary, they also support Xu in exposing fake martial artists.

To preserve the quintessence of the nation’s traditional culture, it’s important to winnow truth from falsehood. In this sense, whether Xu is generating publicity by staging such a fight is not so important.