Abstract: This article applies ancient literatures to investigate the origin, changes and cultural contents of the "shooting art", reaching a conclusion that "shooting" derives from the ancient hunting activities in the primitive society, and later its pragmatic value is gradually replaced by an aesthetic value, and evolves into an art tradition. After the age of Confucius, "shooting" changes into an internal moral practice, namely the so-called "sheli", one of the Confucian principles. "Sheli" is a unique cultural phenomenon that combines production activity, aesthetic meaning and Confucian traditional thoughts.