First of all, figure has little to do with martial arts.
It is not difficult to see from these modern sports that those sports that especially pursue strength, such as shot put and weightlifting, are magnificent, but their muscles are not obvious. As for the Hercules who can tow cars or even planes, he did not show too obvious muscles.
This is because the important factor that determines a person's strength mainly depends on the number of muscle fibers controlled by neurons, and the size of muscle depends entirely on the brawniness of muscle fibers. Although muscles will get some exercise in strength exercises, they are not necessarily proportional.
Second, the general should not go out to fight like a novel.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Water Margin, The Tang Dynasty and other novels, those brave and skilled military commanders have to go out in person and fight for hundreds of rounds. In fact, the greater significance of generals' existence lies in their strategy, planning and management of the army, and fighting in person. It's not their job at all, and the court is not stupid enough to send hard-earned talents to the battlefield to die. Moreover, in the era of cold weapons, it is obvious that one person's strength has no important change to the whole war situation.
Looking through the whole history book, there are countless military commanders who died in the disorderly army. However, there are basically no generals who died in one-on-one battles, and there are only a handful of general battles, such as Guan Yu's Yan Liang's secretariat and Lu Bu's Guo Si's capture. Most of the glorious stories of Athens are basically taken from their boyhood or before they became famous. For example, the soldiers of the Five Dynasties were famous for being "brave and powerful, able to stumble", holding an iron gun, galloping and flying bravely, while the military commanders of the older generation rarely went to the front again. "
Third, the need for artistry.
In ancient paintings, not only generals, but also many emperors were pregnant naturally and even needed the help of imperial secretaries. This is of course an exaggeration. In fact, it is also considered to be rich forever, a symbol of status and dignity. In the past when productivity was backward and materials were scarce, just like some landlords who liked to grow their nails and showed that they were not laborers, wealth was also the embodiment and representative of the upper class. In the book of songs, it will be direct. This is from the body posture to describe her unusual.
In the poem describing the army written by Gao Wenxiu in the Yuan Dynasty, there is also a sentence: "Soldiers are brave and brave, and everyone is magnificent and swept away." It is not difficult to see that obesity is also a manifestation of adequate food and grass and strong military strength.
Of course, in the late Qing dynasty, the military commanders in the late Qing dynasty were not like this. For example, Zeng Guofan's portrait is very close to himself, which is closely related to his literary background.