Chapter 4 Section 3 Hitting the soil, throwing stones, and throwing pots

According to legend, there are two versions of Jiyang: one is for games, and the other is for singing and dancing."Taiping Yulan" compiled by Li Fang and others in the Song Dynasty quoted "Yishi Biography" records. It is said that in the time of Yao, there were 50 old people playing the game of "strike the soil" on the street. Yao's great achievements in governing the world.But the old people replied with great disapproval: Huangfumi of the Jin Dynasty also recorded this matter in "The Century of the Emperor", with a slight discrepancy, saying that "the world is in harmony, the people are fine, and there are eighty old people who attack the soil."In the "Killing the Land Picture" painted by Li Gonglin in the Song Dynasty, it seems to depict a mass singing and dancing scene.In the "Sancai Tuhui" compiled by Wang Xin of the Ming Dynasty, "Killing the Land" is a game that depicts farmers during their work in the field.Hitting the soil is an acrobatic game that originated in ancient times. When the ancients were resting in the field, or when the farming came to an end, they would gather in twos and threes, stamp their feet on the soil and sing songs to relieve fatigue and adjust their daily monotonous life.In Han Dynasty Liu Xi's "Shi Ming" said "Ji Rang" is "the play of wild old people". In Song Dynasty Li Fang et al. edited "Taiping Yulan" cited the Three Kingdoms Handan Chun's "Yi Jing" also said it is an ancient game.Its game method is to erect a small piece of wood on the field, called "soil", and the farmers each hold a piece of wood of the same size, "the front is wide and the back is sharp, four feet long, three inches wide, and the other Shaped like a shoe."During the game, stand at a distance and throw towards the "soil" in order, and whoever can hit the "soil" is the winner of the game.As for the distance to hit the soil, the "Art Book" says "three or forty steps" away, but there is no hard and fast rule. Generally, it should not be too close, nor too far away.If it is too close, it is easier to hit, and it is difficult to distinguish high from low. If it is too far away, it is not only difficult to hit, but also does not have that kind of wrist strength, which will make people lose interest in the game.There are different opinions about the shape and size of "soil".According to "Feng Tu Ji" by Zhou Chu of the Jin Dynasty, "soil" is one foot and four inches long, and it is cone-shaped, one end is large and the other end is small. "Sancai Tuhui" draws "soil" as a shoe-like object.In fact, it is just a target, and there are no hard and fast rules about its shape.Strictly speaking, "Jiyang" cannot be regarded as pure acrobatics, but it requires skill to do this kind of game, which is closely related to the emergence and development of acrobatics.Throwing stones in the pre-Qin period, throwing pots in the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties, and throwing bricks, throwing Tuo (tuo), throwing knives, and playing darts after the Tang and Song Dynasties are all variants of hitting soil.It is expounded in Wang Yinglin's volume 20 "hitting the soil" in the Song Dynasty, and Yang Shen's "Sheng'an Ji" volume 58 "throwing" in the Ming Dynasty.

Stone throwing cannot be regarded as pure acrobatics, but it is closely related to acrobatics.Throwing stones first appeared as a means of training soldiers. According to the "Historical Records Biography of Baiqi Wang Jian", Wang Jian, a general of Qin State, fought with soldiers of Chu State.When he was inspecting the barracks, he found that the soldiers in the army were practicing long-distance throwing stones. He believed that such an energetic, active training, and always ready to fight army was the guarantee of defeating the enemy, so he said very happily: "Soldiers It's usable."Stone throwing later developed into throwing balls, throwing knives, and playing darts, which had an impact on the hidden weapons in acrobatics and martial arts.

Tossing Pot, a game with a competitive nature played by the nobles and scholar-bureaucrats in the pre-Qin period.Later, it gradually developed and evolved into an elegant feast for literati, which probably has something to do with the habit of literati drinking alcohol since the Wei and Jin Dynasties.The pot is a long and thin-mouthed utensil, and the mouth of the pot is used as the target. People stand at a certain distance and throw short arrows into the mouth of the pot. The one who throws it into the mouth of the pot wins.According to "Book of Rites: Tossing the Pot", Lantian Lu's note says:

Throwing pots, shooting etiquette is also very detailed... let's use Le Bin, let's learn how to look, and let's talk about skills.Those who throw pots can't do their best to shoot rituals, but practice their integrity. It shows that throwing pots evolved from the "Bin She", "Yan She" and "Xiang She" in the "Li She" in the Western Zhou Dynasty to a new barter entertainment.The "arrows" (arrows) used when throwing pots have three lengths, two feet indoors, two feet eight inches in the hall, and three feet six inches in the court.In the 25th year of Zhao Gong (530 BC) in "Zuo Zhuan":

It shows that this kind of game was popular in the pre-Qin period, and it was a reward activity in the social activities of the upper class nobles.At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the pot-throwing activity had a new development. According to the fifth volume of "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" by Ge Hong in the Jin Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there was a Guo Sheren who "used bamboo as a arrow and did not use thorns." He broke the old Confucian system. The throwing pot method in the book can throw bamboo arrows into the pot and bounce them out. After receiving them with your hands, you can throw them again and then catch them again. It is called "Xiao" pot. Jinbo".The general Ji Zun under Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, because he advocated "Confucianism" and abided by the old law, "when making fun of wine, he must throw songs into the pot" ("Book of the Later Han·Ji Zun").Among the stone reliefs unearthed from Han tombs in Nanyang, Henan Province, there is a picture of the game of throwing pots in the Han Dynasty. In the picture, a pot is engraved, and two people in the pot are throwing 筭 [suan suan] into the pot, which shows that this kind of activity was very popular at that time.During the period of the Three Kingdoms period, Handan Chunzuo had a "Fu on Throwing Pots", which described two methods of throwing pots, old and new.He said that the style of the pot is about three feet high, a long-necked pot with a "pan belly and a long neck", and the top is "decorated with gold and silver, and the text is carved".This is not a jug used to hold wine every day, but a handicraft made with exquisite workmanship. It is a relatively sturdy metal jug specially used for people to play.When throwing the pot, place the pot "seven feet away from the banquet", which is obviously placed in the hall or hall. This game is only used at relatively large-scale banquets to help the wine.A little later than Handan Chun, about the early Jin Dynasty, pots began to have ears. According to the "Jing Shuo · Tou Hu", this kind of pot has "ears smaller than the mouth, and the more careful the heart is, the more the ear counts. many".Due to the continuous change of pots, the difficulty and skill of throwing pots have also increased. According to the "Ancient and Modern Books Collection · Museum Collection · Art Code · Throwing Pot Department" records, in the early Jin Dynasty, Shi Chong's family had a prostitute who could throw pots through a screen.It is recorded in the book "Jinyang Autumn" that Wang Huzhi, the magistrate of Danyang County, was able to close his eyes and throw an arrow into the pot, which is even more miraculous.The above-mentioned data shows that from the Western Zhou Dynasty, the "shooting ceremony" reflecting the hierarchical system, to the pre-Qin period, it was developed into the throwing pot of nobles and scholar-bureaucrats. After Confucianism also advocated throwing pots, it was gradually occupied by literati, and finally developed into almost all kinds of rituals in society. A universal game enjoyed by all classes.