Chapter 7 Section 6 Cuju and Swing

Cuju [cuju promotes living], also known as Taju.Ju is a kind of leather ball in ancient times, and Cu means kicking, so we know that Cuju means kicking a ball.People in the pre-Qin period liked to play football as a form of entertainment. According to Liu Xiang's "Bie Lu" in the Han Dynasty: Cai Fu in the Tang Dynasty further elaborated on Liu Xiangzhi's theory in "The Preface to Playing Balls": There are 25 pieces of "Cuju" in the "Thirteen Classes of Military Skills" in "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi", which can exercise and improve the soldiers' physique, endurance, speed, and alertness. A great way to entertain.Cuju is related to ancient war and military training. Chen Jiru in the Ming Dynasty said in "Taiping Qinghua" that "Cuju began after Xuanhou", that is, at the time of Emperor Xuanyuan Huangdi. He agreed with Liu Xiangzhi's theory, but more documents say that it began in the Spring and Autumn Period Time.It is recorded in "Historical Records Su Qin Biography" that in the area of ​​Linzi (Zizi) in Shandong Province, the citizens are relatively well-to-do, and they often play "playing Yu, playing the zither, playing the piano, building, cockfighting, lackeys, Liubo, and taju" for entertainment.It is recorded in Ge Hong's "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" in the Jin Dynasty that Liu Ji, the father of Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, liked to play Cuju "for joy" when he was young.Later, Liu Bang became the emperor, and Liu Ji was named the Supreme Emperor. He lived in the deep palace for many years, feeling very unhappy and often "melancholy and unhappy".After Liu Bang knew about it, he built a "Xinfeng" stadium in the palace garden imitating his hometown Fengyi, and invited some people who could play Cuju into the palace to accompany the Supreme Emperor in games.In the "Ju Chengming" of the Han Dynasty, Li You explained the court, ball equipment, number of players, referees, rules, and the moral style of referees and athletes ("Ju Zheng"). , the Warring States period has risen, it was very popular in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it remained unabated in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Swing (the ancient work "Autumn (Geqian)") is still used by the people today, such as "swing trapeze", "wave bridge trapeze", "trampoline trapeze" and other high-altitude and difficult acrobatics are based on the ancient swing acrobatics. Based on the development of innovation.According to the lost article "Ancient and Modern Art Pictures" quoted in "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" by Zong Mo of Liang Renzong in the Southern Dynasty: It is a game of the northern Shanrong people who lived in the Hebei area in ancient times. It flowed into the Central Plains in the Spring and Autumn Period, and then spread to the south of the Yangtze River.Gao Wuji's "Hanwu Emperor Houtingqiu (Geqian) Fu" records the situation of swing games in the inner palace in the early Han Dynasty.Zong Mo quoted Liu Xiang's "Bie Lu" in "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji":

It seems that this kind of game has also entered the eyes of the interpretation family.In the sixty-ninth chapter of Chu Renhuo in the Qing Dynasty, it described the seductive scene of Xiao Hou's "frivolous body" when playing on the swing. Tang Taizong Li Shimin praised this game as "the joy of half-immortals" after seeing it, because the performance Those who fly with the swing in the air, graceful posture, fluttering like a fairy, quite arousing people's daydream.It can be seen that this kind of acrobatic entertainment was popular in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and it was still popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, otherwise it would not have been written by Chu Renhuo in the novel.