Transmission and Exchanges of African Martial Arts and Chinese Wushu: A Philosophical Hermeneutic Study

By SinAfricaNews September 14, 2026 0 Comments

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Why this book

It all begins with a teenager’s question. In Cameroon, and among the Bamileke people in particular, boys of fifteen or sixteen go through traditional initiation rites in which African martial arts are central. At the same time, the young Rodrigue was watching one Chinese kung fu film after another, and one question would not leave him: where, in the end, lies the difference between the two? To find out, he left for China. He learned the language, then wushu. And moved from “how to strike” to “why strike”.

Second reason: scholarly dissatisfaction. Work on the international spread of wushu long relied on the model of a culture transmitted one way only, with Africa confined to the role of spectator. For the author, that model is both false and sterile. He therefore chose philosophical hermeneutics in order to give Africa back its right of interpretation.

Third reason: timing. The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation placed the “partnership action for mutual learning among civilisations” at the top of its ten partnership actions and designated 2026 as the “Year of China-Africa People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges”, alongside the China-Africa “Cultural Silk Road” plan and the plan for innovative cooperation in radio, television and audiovisual media. The book therefore arrives at exactly the right moment, with a theoretical contribution from Africa.

What changes	What the book brings
The author	An African scholar writes directly in Chinese, without a translator. Africa is no longer narrated by proxy.
The method	Philosophical hermeneutics replaces the classic models of communication studies. The one-way transfer ends: sender and receiver answer each other.
The comparison	For the first time, African martial arts are treated as a civilisation in their own right, with their own philosophy, facing Chinese wushu.
The subject	The book asks a rarely asked question: why is research on African martial arts so scarce? And it looks for the historical causes.
The sources	Archives, knowledge archaeology, oral history, participant observation, and twenty years of martial and cinematic practice lived by the author.
The intended reader	A book written for Chinese readers, entering African culture through the door of wushu, the one they know best.
From theory to the field	Two ideas that became reality: the documentary Kung Fu Dream and the China-Cameroon Cultural Centre.

Detailed table of contents

Introduction

Origins and aims of the book　001
Approach and framework of the book　002

Chapter I　Unpacking the notions of “African martial arts” and “Chinese wushu”　007

The origins of the two China-Africa “martial arts”　008

(1) Defining the notion of “Martial Arts”

(2) The notion of “African martial arts”

(3) The notion of “Chinese wushu”

Features and cultural content of Chinese wushu　011

(1) Features

Knowledge archaeology of the character “武 wu”
The integration of “击 striking / 打 fighting” and “演 performing / 舞 dancing”
Martial ethics (武德 wude)
Health cultivation (养生 yangsheng)

(2) Content

Wushu and the theory of yin and yang
Wushu and the theory of the five elements
Wushu and Taoism
Wushu and Confucianism
Wushu and Buddhism
Features and content of “African martial arts”　027

(1) Knowledge archaeology of “African martial arts”

(2) The integration of “combat – spirituality – dance”

“Combat” as the art of engaging force
“Spirituality” as the fighter’s spiritual ritual
“Dance” as the art of performance
Interpreted cases of “combat – spirituality – dance” in African martial arts

(3) African martial arts and the animal world

(4) African martial arts and traditional initiation rites

Similarities and differences between Chinese wushu and African martial arts　045
Partial conclusion　046

Chapter II　China-Africa cultural exchanges in the new era: the diplomatic role of martial arts　048

The intercultural communication capacity of wushu　049

(1) Wushu, a language of the body

(2) The spirit of wushu

(3) The appeal of martial arts films

The martial responsibility of the China-Africa community with a shared future　052

(1) The context of China-Africa cultural exchanges

(2) Wushu beyond China’s borders: a “knowledge for oneself”

(3) Chinese wushu entering Africa must adapt to local ways

Historical background to the survival and development difficulties of “African martial arts”　058

(1) Reasons rooted in African history

(2) The controversy over the “civilisation of ancient Egypt”

(3) The scarcity of ancient African scripts

(4) The scarcity of African classical works

(5) The research deficit on “African martial arts”

Opportunities and challenges for the joint flourishing of the two China-Africa martial arts in the “global village”　066

(1) China-Africa martial exchanges remain at an embryonic stage

(2) The possibility of spreading “African martial arts” in China

(3) The Belt and Road Initiative: new opportunities for China-Africa martial cooperation

The “Sino-African Kungfu Movies” project
The “China-Cameroon Cultural Centre” plan
Partial conclusion

Chapter III　The spread of Chinese wushu in Africa in the light of philosophical hermeneutics　073

The deadlocks of interpretation in intercultural communication　074

(1) The perspective of philosophical hermeneutics

(2) Philosophical hermeneutics and intercultural communication

Philosophical hermeneutics and the spread of wushu　076
The absence of a hermeneutic perspective in the international spread of wushu　079

(1) In China

(2) In Africa

(3) In other regions

“Object”, “vehicle” and “subject” in the spread of Chinese wushu in Africa　082

(1) The “object”

(2) The “vehicle”

(3) The “subject”

Cross-linguistic interpretation of the “object”, the “vehicle” and the “subject”　084
“Visual memory” and “bodily memory”: the two memories of wushu taking root in Africa　085

(1) Defining the notions of “visual memory” and “bodily memory”

(2) Interpreting the “visual memory” of wushu among African audiences

(3) Interpreting the “bodily memory” of wushu among African audiences

Partial conclusion

Chapter IV　The path of Chinese martial arts cinema in Africa　089

Before the 1970s: foundations already laid for China-Africa audiovisual exchanges　090
After the 1970s: the glorious legend of Chinese kung fu films in Africa　091

(1) Early phase (1970s): Bruce Lee as the emblematic figure

(2) Middle phase (1980s-1990s): Jackie Chan and Jet Li as emblematic figures

(3) Later phase (after 2000): Donnie Yen as the emblematic figure

The current state of Chinese martial arts cinema in Africa　097
Partial conclusion

Chapter V　A historical genealogy of wushu teaching in Africa　099

The “Chinese martial soul” enters Africa: the case of Cameroon　100
Content and channels of wushu transmission in Africa　103

(1) Demonstrations by Chinese masters based in Africa

(2) The promotional role of local African masters

Partial conclusion

Chapter VI　Chinese kung fu: the martial visual memory of African audiences　114

Kung fu stars shape several “Chinese kung fu” in the eyes of African viewers　115

(1) “Bruce Lee” defines the notion of “Kung Fu” in African audiences’ representations

(2) “Jackie Chan” shapes “comic kung fu” in the eyes of African audiences

(3) “Jet Li” shapes “mythological kung fu” in the eyes of African audiences

(4) “Donnie Yen” shapes “kung fu of virtue” in the eyes of African audiences

From kung fu fan to kung fu star: the “kung fu dream” of African cinemagoers　124

(1) The African kung fu star: Luc Bendza

(2) The African Bruce Lee: Shi Yanmai

(3) The author: Dr Taling T. Rodrigue

Cinema’s “Chinese kung fu” within the cultural horizon of African martial arts　131

(1) From screen to tradition: African audiences’ interpretation of “Kung Fu”

(2) The African discourse of “bodily memory” in kung fu films

Partial conclusion

Chapter VII　Grasping Chinese wushu through the “techniques of the body” of African martial arts　138

The notion of “techniques of the body” in African martial arts　139

(1) Defining the notion of “techniques of the body” (after the philosopher Michel Foucault)

(2) The culture of the body in Africa

Experiencing wushu techniques among practitioners with no local martial background　143
Experiencing wushu techniques among practitioners with a local martial background　144

(1) Understanding the “qigong” of Chinese wushu through the African culture of “spirituality”

(2) Understanding the “striking / fighting” of Chinese wushu through African “combat”

(3) Understanding the “forms” (taolu) of Chinese wushu through African “dance”

Partial conclusion

Chapter VIII　Proposals for the coexistence and joint flourishing of the two China-Africa “martial arts”　162

Synthesis of the book　162

(1) African martial arts: the prior knowledge that allows Africans to understand Chinese wushu

(2) Chinese kung fu: how African audiences perceive the image of China

Proposals　164

(1) “Intercultural communication” as a “circle of interpretation”

(2) “Localisation” as the precondition of “internationalisation”

(3) “Give others what they desire, not what you desire”

(4) Making Sino-African kung fu film a bridge for China-Africa cultural exchanges in the new era

Afterword　169

The author speaks

Asked about his motives, the author does not answer like an academic defending a thesis. More like someone writing a long letter:

“If I wrote this book in Chinese, it was first of all to be read by Chinese readers. I wanted to open a door for them onto African culture, by way of wushu, because the two are more alike than people think. I understood one thing: to talk about Africa, you must not start with Africa. You must start with what the reader already knows. Chinese readers know wushu. So I start with wushu.”

“Many of my Chinese friends hold a few fixed images of Africa: poverty, the primitive, tribes, drums. It is not their fault. It is that, for a long time, it was not Africans who told Africa’s story. I want to show another continent: an Africa with a highly rigorous philosophy of the body, rites of passage, a moral order, a spiritual world. Once you know that engolo, dambe, laamb, donga or Zulu stick fighting each have their rules and their prohibitions, you no longer speak of ‘brawling’. And you no longer see Africa as a continent with a single face.”

“There is one thing above all I want to say: in Africa, Chinese wushu did not land on a blank page. Africans have their own ‘combat’, their own ‘spirituality’, their own ‘dance’. That is precisely why they understand Chinese kung fu so quickly, and love it so deeply. African martial arts are the key that lets them enter wushu. And conversely, kung fu was the first window through which Africa looked at China. This is not a one-way transfer: these are two civilisations lighting each other up.”

“I hope this book will spark curiosity. Why is African dance inseparable from combat? What does a teenager go through during initiation? Does Africa have its own Shaolin? Curiosity is the fairest starting point, because it acknowledges that the other is worth knowing. You do not destroy a stereotype through argument. You replace it, little by little, with knowledge, with faces, with stories. This book talks about Luc Bendza, about Shi Yanmai and about myself. We are living proof.”

“I believe, even more, that these two cultures can become a bridge between two great civilisations. With cinema, that mass medium, China and Africa can finally bring people-to-people exchanges to life. That is why I launched the idea of the Sino-African kung fu film, created the China-Cameroon Cultural Centre and shot Kung Fu Dream. I do not want theory to stay on paper.”

“None of this is easy, I know. Sources on African martial arts are too rare, ancient scripts and classical texts almost impossible to find, and too few of us devote ourselves to it. While writing, I often felt I was shuttling alone between two languages and two civilisations. But this book exists, and it speaks of my hope, my contribution and my will to carry on. If one day Africa evokes, for a Chinese reader, not only suffering but also wisdom, order and beauty, then it will not have been written in vain.”

—— Dr TALING T. RODRIGUE

Director of the Centre for African Film and TV Studies, Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University.
Email: dr@dr-taling.com
Blog: www.dr-taling.com

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