Another fundamental concept in classical Chinese philosophy is "the unity of nature and man." The so-called "heaven" does not refer to the dominance of gods, but the representative of "nature". "Unity of man and nature" has two meanings: first, no one agrees. The universe is naturally a big world, while humans are a small world. The second is that adults respond, or no one communicates. It means that man and nature are essentially connected, so all human affairs should comply with the laws of nature to achieve harmony between man and nature. Laozi said: "Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature." (The second copy of "Laozi" unearthed in Mawangdui) shows the consistency and interconnection between man and nature. Pre-Qin Confucianism also advocated "the unity of nature and man". "Book of Rites: Doctrine of the Mean" said: "Sincerity is the way of heaven, and sincerity is the way of man." It is believed that as long as people carry forward the virtue of "sincerity", they can be consistent with heaven. Dong Zhongshu, a Han Confucian, clearly stated: "Heaven and man are integrated into one." ("Spring and Autumn Fanlu: Deep Observation of Names") has become an important point of Confucian thought for two thousand years. This idea of ??the unity of man and nature is reflected in martial arts, first of all in the martial arts practitioners' pursuit of the unity of man and nature. Because the idea of ????the unity of adults believes that humans are part of nature and the best part of nature. All things in the world and humans constitute a whole, and humans are the indispensable leading factor in this system. Humanity and heaven are similar. Based on this idea, martial arts practitioners pay special attention to the unity of man and nature. There is a saying in the Tai Chi manual passed down by the Yang family in the Qing Dynasty: "The universe is one big heaven and earth, and humans are a small world." And "the so-called human body generates a small world, heaven, nature, earth, destiny, human beings, and emptiness" If you don't understand the spirit and the spirit, you can't match the heaven and the earth. ""You must know the principle of the unity of heaven and man, and you can get the popular energy of the sun and the moon." Therefore, in the process of practicing martial arts, people are always pursuing it. The harmonious connection between the human body and nature allows people to follow nature, and their movements must also obey the changing laws of nature, so as to achieve a balance between things and myself, internal and external, and achieve peace of yin and yang. Because of this, martial arts practitioners since ancient times have paid great attention to coordinating the human body with the external natural environment such as the four seasons, climate, geography, etc. during the practice process. They have adopted different training contents and methods according to the time and place, and chosen beautiful and quiet exercises. The natural environment serves as a place for practicing Qigong and cultivating one's character, so as to give full play to the creativity of man, the spirit of all things, and integrate the individual's body and mind into nature. If it goes against the favorable weather, time and place, it will be detrimental to health. This is also one of the reasons why Chinese martial arts has formed many types and schools due to different regions. In order to pursue the harmony between man and nature, ancient martial arts practitioners often imitated heaven and earth, imitated nature, absorbed nutrients from nature, and simulated the movements and postures of various things in nature. Expression combines the laws of human movement and the requirements of martial arts methods to create and enrich martial arts, and uses natural phenomena to illustrate the principles of boxing. Therefore, there are many types of boxing and movements named after various things in nature in martial arts. For example, Tiger and Crane Guanxing Quan in Nanquan is a type of boxing created based on the movements of tiger and crane, combined with human body movement characteristics and martial arts techniques. The twelve shapes in Xingyi Quan are based on the movements of twelve animals and evolved according to the movement and strength characteristics of Xingyi Quan. In addition, Mantis Boxing and Eagle Claw Boxing are also types of boxing created by imitating the movements of a mantis and an eagle respectively, taking their shapes and understanding their meanings. The list goes on and on. As for the name of the action, such as Qinglong offering its claws. Swallows fly through the forest, and white cranes spread their wings. There are many names like golden rooster and fluttering feathers. Not only that, there are also many examples of using natural phenomena to illustrate boxing principles. For example, Wang Zongyue said that Tai Chi is "a long-lasting boxer, like the Yangtze River and the sea, flowing endlessly." This not only explains the technical characteristics of Tai Chi, but also shows that when practicing, you must also pay attention to cultivating a heart that is "relaxed and calm in the abdomen." All activities are based on the power of the river and the sea as a metaphor for fist power. Another example is the "Twelve Shapes" of Chang Quan, which says: "Move like a wave, be still like a player, rise like an ape, fall like a magpie. Stand like a chicken, stand like a pine, turn like a wheel. Fold like a bow, light like a leaf. Heavy." "As slow as iron, as slow as an eagle, and as fast as the wind" also uses twelve kinds of objects to illustrate the requirements for the twelve changes in movements during the exercise, most of which are also taken from natural objects to describe the boxing postures. Because of the idea that no one is one, Chinese traditional culture emphasizes harmony. The thinking characteristic of attaching importance to the whole is reflected in the pursuit of "integration" of movements in martial arts. "He" means harmony and coordination of movements. The most typical one is the so-called "three internal and external combinations", that is, "the heart and mind are combined, the mind and Qi are combined, the Qi and force are combined; the shoulders are combined with the span, the elbows are combined with the knees, and the hands are combined with the feet." This is actually asking from within the heart. The mind and energy are directed to the external limbs. All parts of the body are coordinated with each other. It should be noted that coordination is not only a human instinct, but also an ability that people consciously cultivate and train to achieve perfect movements. "Combined" is the unique technical requirements and unique theory of martial arts. The idea of ??the unity of nature and man also determines that Chinese philosophy advocates that human moral principles are consistent with natural principles. Zhang Zai affirmed that the unity of no one is "sincerity due to clarity, and clarity due to reduction." "Sincerity" is the highest moral cultivation, and "Ming" is the highest wisdom. This kind of "sincerity" is expressed in martial arts as martial ethics, and "Ming" is expressed as superior skills. This is why throughout the ages, respected martial artists have continued to The reason for the pursuit of self-moral perfection and technical perfection. In ancient times, people advocated martial ethics based on the code of conduct between martial arts practitioners and the relationship between a person and society, and strive to do things that are beneficial to society. For this reason, among martial arts practitioners. There are often some precepts and regulations. Although their contents have changed with the changes in history, the basic purpose remains the same, which is to require martial arts practitioners to become brave and moral people.
At the same time, martial arts practitioners also regard the study of technical excellence as a means of moral cultivation and consider it a kind of internal cultivation. They advocate the spirit of diligent study and practice and strive to improve their skills. In the past, people often referred to martial arts training as "practicing kung fu". Kung fu refers to the high level of effort required to do something. Therefore, the predecessors often devoted their whole lives to "practicing kung fu", resulting in "kung fu" being synonymous with martial arts. Rumor has it around the world that this is the result of their diligent pursuit of excellence in craftsmanship.