The Central Guoshu Institute (simplified Chinese: 中央国术馆; traditional Chinese: 中央國術館; pinyin: zhōng yāng guó shù guǎn; lit. 'Central Martial Arts Academy'); was established in Nanjing by the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China in March 1928 for the propagation of Chinese martial arts, and was an important center of martial arts during the Nanjing decade. Guoshu (also spelled Kuoshu) 國術 "national art" was the term for martial arts adopted by the Republic of China at the time. The institute was created by (Zhang Zhijiang 张之江, 1882–1966) under the sponsorship of elite gov't officials such as Li Liejun 李烈鈞 (1882–1946) and others. Along with the Jing Wu Athletic Association (established in 1910), the academy played a crucial role in the transmission of traditional Chinese martial arts