Xiao Tong
The word "wu" (; ') means ‘martial’. Its Chinese character is made of two parts; the first meaning “walk” or “stop” (; ') and the second meaning “lance” (; '). This implies that “wu’ 武,” is a defensive use of combat. The term “wushu 武術” meaning 'martial arts' goes back as far as the Liang Dynasty (502-557) in an anthology compiled by Xiao Tong (), (Prince Zhaoming; d. 531), called "Selected Literature" (; '). The term is found in the second verse of a poem by Yan Yanzhi titled: 皇太子釋奠會作詩 "Huang Taizi Shidian Hui Zuoshi".