Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Ancient Ball Games

Football is known as the number one sport in the world today. In almost every corner of the five continents, football can be seen bouncing under the feet of children and rolling around amidst people's laughter.Every World Cup match, nearly half of the people on the planet are attracted by the black and white ball on the green field, and track its gliding trajectory through TV.Football has not only brought great wealth to the stars, but also great honor. No matter where they go, they are greeted with flowers. However, do these football stars know that the football that has swept the world and brought them such good luck was invented by China?Of course, at that time, this sport was not called football in China, but was called "cuju" [cuju cuju] or "taju". "Cu" and "ta" both mean to kick with feet, and "ju" means ball, which means playing football in modern language.

The appearance of Cuju can be traced back to the ancient times in China, but how it appeared, due to its long history, it is difficult to describe its initial development track.According to the records in "Bie Lu" written by Liu Xiang, a native of the Western Han Dynasty in the 1st century BC, there are two theories about the origin of Cuju: one is that Cuju was invented by the Yellow Emperor.About 4,600 years ago, the Yellow Emperor tribe in the north and the Chiyou tribe in the south fought a big battle in the wilderness called Zhulu. This fierce battle was so dark that the sun and the moon were dark. In the end, the Yellow Emperor finally captured and killed Chiyou and won Although he wanted to win, but remembering the heavy casualties in the battle, the Yellow Emperor still hated him. In order to vent his hatred, he stuffed Chi You's stomach with hair and made it into a ball for soldiers to kick ("Ten Classics Zheng Luan").The Yellow Emperor is the ancestor of the Chinese people. Therefore, later generations often attribute the invention rights of many things to the Yellow Emperor. This statement lacks sufficient arguments.Another theory holds that Cuju was used to train soldiers and appeared in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).This statement also lacks convincing evidence, because during the Warring States Period, Cuju was already a very popular entertainment.How Cuju came into being is still a historical mystery.

During the Warring States Period, with the development of commerce and handicrafts, the city developed rapidly.Before the Warring States period, cities were relatively small in size, covering an area of ​​less than 300 feet in length and width, and a population of less than 3,000 households.During the Warring States Period, many large cities, such as Handan in the State of Zhao, Daliang in the State of Wei, Ying (yingying) in the State of Chu, Xianyang in the State of Qin, and Linzi in the State of Qi, had become quite prosperous cities. There are more than 70,000 households, the streets are full of traffic, and pedestrians rub their shoulders.The prosperity of society has also promoted the prosperity of culture, and various cultural and entertainment activities have been carried out.Su Qin, a famous statesman during the Warring States Period, visited Linzi and was very impressed by the prosperity of the city. He praised Linzi’s wealth and said that besides music, the residents there often played various musical instruments, such as Yu and drums. Se, Jianzhu, playing the piano and cockfighting, raising dogs, playing a kind of chess called Liubo, and also likes Cuju ("Historical Records Biography of Su Qin").Playing football became a popular entertainment in the society at that time, and there were even some people who loved playing football to the point of death. There is such a story in "Historical Records Biography of Canggong Bian Que": A man named Xiang Chu was sick, and he asked Canggong, a famous doctor in Linzi, Qi State, to see a doctor.After Canggong prescribed the medicine for him, he told the patient not to be tired, otherwise he would vomit blood and die.But Xiang Chu was so addicted to football that he couldn't control it, so he went to play football. As a result, he sweated profusely and vomited blood to death.

During the Warring States period, not only people in northern areas such as Qi and Wei had the custom of playing football, but also in some southern places, such as Chu, folks also played football as a kind of entertainment.The father of Han Gaozu Liu Bang, who lived in the south in the late Warring States period, was a football fan.There is such a story recorded in the history books. After Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, and became emperor, his father also entered the palace and became the Supreme Emperor.But what surprised Liu Bang was that although the Supreme Emperor ate delicacies from mountains and seas, wore silk and satin, and was extremely prosperous and wealthy, he was depressed all day long, as if he was full of worries.After questioning, I found out that this Mr. Liu had nothing else to do when he was dawdling in the market, but he liked cockfighting and Cuju, and he often played football with his friends who killed pigs and sheep, and sold wine and cakes for fun.Since entering the deep palace, I can't play the ball anymore, so I feel uncomfortable.Liu Bang ordered people to remodel Liyi, which is not far from Chang'an, after the appearance of his hometown Fengyi (now Fengxian County, Jiangsu Province), and named it "Xinfeng". His old friends played cockfights and football together (Volume 2 of "Miscellaneous Notes of Xijing").

Throughout the Han Dynasty (206-220 BC), Cuju has also been a kind of recreational activity favored by the upper class.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty not only searched for Cuju masters among his captives, brought them back to the palace to perform for him, and sometimes even couldn't help himself from going down to the field to kick a few times ("The Classic of Playing Chess Preface").Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty was also a football fan. He loved to watch and play football. The ministers advised him not to play football anymore, because football is a strenuous sport, which is easy to hurt the mind and body. Being out of breath, not only hurts the dragon's body, but also hinders the view.However, Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty loved playing football so much that he couldn't give up his love for a while, so he ordered the ministers to offer other fun games that didn't make the body tiring.The ministers had no choice but to invent a game called playing chess to divert the emperor's interest in football ("Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" Volume 2).

However, Cuju in the Han Dynasty was significantly different from that in the Warring States Period. Cuju in the Han Dynasty was not only a popular recreational activity, but also a military training method widely used in the army.During the Han Dynasty, the Huns in the north were very powerful, and they harassed south from time to time, seriously threatening the border of the Han Dynasty.The Huns have practiced riding and archery since they were young, and they are skilled in bow and horse. They are mainly cavalry, they come and go without a trace, and they are highly mobile.In order to fight against such opponents, the Han Dynasty also developed a large-scale cavalry group in the century-long Han-Hungarian War. The era of cavalry became the decisive factor in the outcome of a war.However, because cavalry rode in a fixed posture for a long time, they were prone to fatigue and the muscles of the waist were easily strained. Especially the horse harness of the cavalry in the Han Dynasty was not perfect, there were no saddles and stirrups, and the legs were prone to numbness.In this case, Cuju, which was only used as an entertainment activity in the past, has become an excellent means of military training to correct the one-sided effects of long-time riding on the soldiers’ bodies. The lower limbs that are insufficient due to horseback riding can be fully exercised, making soldiers strong and agile, and can also activate barracks life and boost morale. Therefore, it has been widely developed in the Han army.

There are two forms of Cuju in the Han Dynasty. One is Huafa Cuju in the nature of entertainment performance. The kicking is not limited by the venue.From the portrait stones (bricks) of the Han Dynasty, we can see that this kind of flower cuju can even be combined with dance to become a very difficult and graceful football dance.The other is the confrontational game carried out in the army and played on the field according to certain rules. This kind of game can be played in the specially built "Ju City" in the palace garden, or it can be played on a relatively simple field in the wild. .The football field in the palace is surrounded by walls, so it is called "Ju City".There are crescent-shaped goals at both ends of Ju City, which are "Ju Room", which is equivalent to the goals on today's football field.The field in the field has no walls, and pits are dug on the ground as "ju room".When Huo Qubing, a general of the Western Han Dynasty, was on an expedition to the Huns, he ordered his soldiers to set up a field in the field to practice Cuju ("Historical Records Biography of General Wei Hushi").How did the football match in the Han Dynasty go? Due to the lack of sufficient historical materials, there are still many questions. For example, how many goals did each side of the match have?Is the referee one or two?How many contestants are on the field during the game?What is the style of the court and so on.People have different views on these issues.Li You of the Eastern Han Dynasty once wrote a poem "Ju Chengming" about football, which described the football game: "The round ju square wall is like Yin and Yang, and the law and the moon are opposite, and the two and six are equal; Jianchang Liping, the example There are constants, no closeness, no selfishness, peace of mind, no complaints, Juzheng is still the same, and it’s more about executive power.” The approximate meaning of this poem is: Cuju balls are round, while Jucheng walls are square, which is Designed according to the law of yin and yang in nature, there are moon-shaped goals at both ends of the Ju, facing each other, with six on each side.There are referees in the game, and the law is enforced fairly according to certain rules, and there is no favoritism due to closeness, so everyone has nothing to complain about.Li You's description gives us a general idea that the football matches in the Han Dynasty were played against each other by two armies, and the competition was very fierce.

It should be noted that Cuju in the Han Dynasty was not only a highly entertaining means of military training, but also people saw that "Cuju also has the image of governing the country" and believed that people should abide by the rules and obey the rules of Cuju during Cuju competitions. The judgment of the referee, which is unknowingly educated to abide by the law ("Selected Works" Volume 11).The referees enforce the law seriously, impartially and impartially in the game, which is the case in small Cuju, not to mention such a major event as governing the country (Li You's "Ju Chengming").Integrating education with entertainment, and giving full play to the social functions of sports, this distinctive feature of ancient Chinese sports has already begun to appear in football in the Han Dynasty.

Football was used as a means of military training until the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. During this period, people fought year after year. In addition to practicing horseback riding and archery, people also learned Cuju ("Taiping Yulan" Volume 754 cited "Kuiji Dianlu").Some people who are good at playing football will also be appreciated by the monarchs. For example, a man named Kong Gui won the favor of Emperor Wu of Wei Cao Cao because he was good at playing football, so he stayed with Emperor Wu of Wei to serve him ("Taiping Yulan" Volume 754 quotes "Wei Lue").

Because Cuju played an important military role in the Han Dynasty, Ban Gu included 25 chapters of "Cuju" on football at that time in his "Hanshu Yiwenzhi" as "soldier skills".Unfortunately, these writings were later lost. The Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) was a period of great development of ancient Chinese football.During this period, with the rise of polo, the military role of Cuju gradually disappeared, and it developed again in the direction of entertainment. Therefore, a series of reforms appeared and it became a purely entertainment activity.First of all, there has been a revolution in football manufacturing technology.Before the Tang Dynasty, all players played solid balls, that is, leather balls were filled with hair ("Han Shu·Yi Wen Zhi").Such a ball is heavy and lacks elasticity, which is good for exercising human strength, but it is impossible to develop complex techniques.The ball can only roll around on the ground, so the goal can only be a hole dug in the ground.The inflatable football that appeared in the Tang Dynasty used the bladder of animals with sufficient air as the bladder, and the outer wrap was covered with eight pieces of leather sewn into the ball skin ("Full Tang Shihua" Volume 5 "Pi Rixiu").At first, the air was inflated by blowing with the mouth, and later a small blower was invented to inflate it, which is called "beating method".The appearance of the inflatable ball fully demonstrates the various performances of the football, and the football begins to develop to a high altitude and becomes more attractive.In addition, unlike the pits dug on the ground in the Han Dynasty, the football field in the Tang Dynasty also changed. Standing goals began to appear, and various interesting ways of playing football appeared. The development of football has taken a big step forward.Football in the Tang Dynasty mainly had the following activities:

(1) Football with goal Two bamboo poles several feet high are planted at both ends of the field, and a net is formed on the poles to form a high goal. The game is divided into two teams, and the winner is determined by the number of goals scored. (2) Football without a goal This is a style of play that is based on personal skills.This kind of technical football is actually the inheritance and development of the kicking method in the Warring States Period and the Han Dynasty Cuju.Due to the lighter weight and enhanced elasticity of the inflated football in the Tang Dynasty, many tricks appeared in this kicking method: 1) Dawu [juju], also known as general field, is divided into 10 types of games: one-person field, two-person field, three-person field, and even 10-person field according to the number of players playing.In the one-man field, all parts of the body can replace two feet to play the ball, so the ball dances up and down on the body, which is dazzling. There is no limit to the number of people in the game, and each player can play alone. When there is no opponent, they can also perform alone.This style of kicking was introduced to Japan in the Tang Dynasty. 2) To play in vain, two players may play against each other, or multiple people (in an even number) may also play against each other. 3) 趯〔ti泪〕Ju, a competition to see who can kick higher.This style of kicking was passed to North Korea in the Tang Dynasty. Football in the Tang Dynasty was developed very widely and was deeply loved by all kinds of people.The royal family and aristocrats in the Tang Dynasty were as fond of football as those in the Han Dynasty. For example, Tang Xizong not only knew how to ride and shoot, was proficient in music, but also loved to play football ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian Xi Zong Ji"), and many other famous literati like Du Fu (AD 712) -770), Wang Wei (701-761 A.D.) and Bai Juyi (772-846 A.D.) also liked Cuju very much.It is particularly worth mentioning that women's football has appeared since the Tang Dynasty.Kang Pian of the Tang Dynasty wrote in his "Ju Tan Lu" that once, several young people in the army were playing football, and a pass was missed and rolled over. It happened that there was a man in clothes standing under a locust tree by the roadside. A ragged girl about 17 or 18 years old, she stretched out her legs to catch the ball firmly, and then kicked it hard, and the ball flew straight for several feet ("Drama Talk Record General Pan").This is probably the earliest record of women playing football in the world.Before and after the Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival, women's football is more active, and many Tang poems describe this vivid scene.Since the Tang Dynasty created the atmosphere of women's football, there have been women's football activities in different degrees in the following dynasties. For example, Guan Hanqing, a great dramatist in the Yuan Dynasty, once wrote two poems describing women playing football in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 AD). Sanqu - "Female School Captain" and "Cuju".In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), there were even female football entertainers with superb football skills who made a living by playing football. For example, in the early Ming Dynasty, a female artist named Peng Yunxiu, when she performed her football skills, she saw the ball on her body. Roll left and right, bump up and down, just don't land.Many people were fascinated by her skills, and some literati even wrote poems praising her outstanding performance, saying that she is "all about Cuju" (Zhan Tongwen's "Rolling and Walking").Until the early Qing Dynasty (AD 1644-1911), there were records about women's football.A poem by Li Yu in the Qing Dynasty describes the scene of two lively and lovely girls playing football in the picturesque February spring ("Beauty Playing Ball").However, the popularity of women's football in these later dynasties cannot be compared with the Tang Dynasty. Football became popular for hundreds of years after the Tang Dynasty, especially in the Song Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), due to the decline of polo, football flourished for a while.However, in the football playing style in the Song Dynasty, the content of performance and entertainment has greatly increased, while the content of competition has become less and less.There were also football games in the Song Dynasty, but there was only a single-goal game called "Zhuqiu".A high net is pulled up above the middle of the playing field, and a hole about one foot is set on the net, which is called a romantic eye, and this is the goal.There are 12 or 16 people on both sides of the game, and they are arranged on both sides of the goal according to a certain division of labor, and kick the ball through the eye.Whenever the imperial palace holds a palace banquet, there is this kind of ball building performance.This kind of game uses goals to separate the two sides of the competition, without physical contact and collision, which greatly weakens the competitiveness of football.However, because the goal is high and small, it is not an easy task to kick it through the goal. A very accurate foot is required, which also improves the skill of kicking the ball.The status of the players participating in this kind of game performance is very low, and the captain of the losing team will be insulted by smearing his face with white powder and whipping (Volume 3 of "Mengliang Lu").The football games of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties were basically the same as those of the Song Dynasty. (figure 1) The technique of Cuju without a goal in the Song Dynasty has improved a lot compared to the Tang Dynasty, because this kind of kick has many tricks and has 10 basic techniques that use various parts of the body, namely "shoulder, back, clap, pull, press, Kick, knee, crutch, kick, kick", called "10 kicks".There is also the "Ancient Ten Kicking Tactics" for 10 kinds of kicking techniques: "Shoulders are like lifting heavy objects in hands, use the back to slow down and look back quickly, bend the knees and bend the waist to take the crutches, stretch the feet and not the head when using it, and use it when you control time." Looking at the eyes, the tip of the shoulders are slightly twisted, pulling the tongue and falling down first, the right knee and left hand are slightly raised, the chest is patted so that the head is lowered, and the words are far and near to see people." ("Cuju Pu") technique Diversity and complexity have greatly improved the entertainment of Cuju, making it a fascinating self-entertainment and viewing activity. From the emperor, the ministers, to the common people not only love to watch Cuju, but also like to kick two feet in the end. .The "Cuju Picture" painted by Qian Xuan in the Yuan Dynasty shows us the expressions of Song Taizu, Song Taizong and several ministers playing football.Song Huizong was even more of a football fan. The Gao Qiu in "Water Margin" was appreciated by Song Huizong because of his ability to kick a good kick and make "this air stick to his body like fat glue". , The carp jumped the dragon's gate and became a high-ranking official (Volume 7 of Wang Mingqing's "Hui Yu Hou Lu").Even some Taoist priests who disregarded the world of mortals and sacrificed their lives to become monks also enjoyed Cuju.For example, Guo Chengyi, a Taoist priest in the Ming Dynasty Xianling Palace, often played football for self-entertainment. Over time, he developed a unique skill in playing with the ball.He can also play ball with several people at the same time. Others kick him lightly and slowly, or hard and urgently. In the Song Dynasty, there were already a considerable number of entertainers who made a living by playing football, and people's love for Cuju became a social trend. At this time, there appeared a folk mass association specializing in playing football - "Qiyun Society", also known as "Qiyun Society". "Yuanshe" (named because the ball is kicked high into the clouds and level with the clouds. Also called "Yuanshe" because the football is round), the members of Qiyunshe are also called "Yuanshe". Yuanyou".This is probably the earliest "football association" in the world.Those who join the club are not only folk football entertainers, but also "rich men, romantic disciples and idlers" who have nothing to do and like to play Cuju (volume 19 of "Menglianglu").These people "play games every day, play games all day long", and live a very comfortable life, but feel that "they don't belong to the society, and they will not be romantic when they get old." Therefore, they joined Qiyun Club one after another, which is quite fashionable in society The Cuju activities also showed some romance ("Cuju Spectrum").To join the Qiyun Club, one must first learn from a teacher, "preparing wine and banquet gifts, and presenting them to the master", and the gifts to the master are either silver bills, or boots and socks.Then there will be a banquet, called "newcomers' meeting" or "round meeting", and invite all "round friends" in the club.If you don't do this, you will be criticized and ridiculed. There are various rules in the Qiyun Club, covering everything from Cuju skills, competition rules, sports clothing to sports ethics.Most of these regulations are taught in the form of formulas, which are catchy and easy to memorize and remember.Members are required to understand etiquette, know family, and when playing football, their language should be elegant, their attitude should be honest, they should pay attention to taking care of others, and pay attention to their own posture. Be low, not high, and kick late, not fast." Dress neatly. There are also regulations on the ball: "inflate the ball at the beginning, whistle water (spray water on the ball surface) in the middle, and break up (deflate the ball) at the end".There are also "ten imperatives" about behavioral norms: "Be kind, be faithful, be sincere, be good, be gentle, be friends, be respectful, be modest, be polite, and be spirited." There are also "Ten Commandments" ", that is, "abstain from talking too much, refrain from gambling, refrain from fighting, refrain from right and wrong, refrain from arrogance, refrain from deceit, refrain from rampant, refrain from litigation, refrain from frivolity, refrain from drinking and sex." It is not easy to practice excellent Cuju skills. Not only do you have to worship a good master with superb skills and master the formulas, but you also need to practice hard. Work hard." Ancient Cuju lovers also summed up some prohibitions that are not suitable for playing football, which are called "ten don't kick": before the feast, after eating, there is wind and rain, muddy places, under candles, wearing three greens, having no children, breaking the watch , overwhelmed, uniform new" ("Xiwuchang Kefan"). Most of these regulations are based on considerations of health care and personal safety, and there is some reason. What deserves our attention today is that many cities in the Song Dynasty set up Qiyun clubs, so that circle friends could travel to different places and learn skills in a larger range.When friends from other places come to visit, they must first burn incense and worship in front of the sacred table with tablets such as Patriarch Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun and Immortal Master Lu Yang.After settling down, the company secretary will arrange to understand the basic situation of the visitor, such as name, place of origin, who is the teacher, and the number of years of practice, etc., and then agree on the time for "collision".The so-called "jumping the case" is actually a test of the Cuju skills of the visitors. The visitors have to make a list of the various techniques they are going to perform, and then they will demonstrate them one by one according to the list. Or solving math, or eleven kicks, or complete sets, or intercepting and rolling", which shows that one has a certain level of skill, and only then can one be qualified to compete with local circle friends and learn skills. The standard of "collision" is very high, such as the item of "foot head", that is, to use the feet to bounce the ball. It is required that the left and right feet should be bumped 100 times in a row.It doesn't matter if you fail to "crash the case" once, there are two more chances, if you fail three times, you have to go back home.In addition, if a person who has not worshiped the master and came from a wrong way, he cannot learn skills with him if he visits privately ("Cuju Pu"). All the friends in the Qiyun club are very proud of their football practice and competition, and think that this activity is "recreation for a long time, exercising limbs, good at harmonizing blood vessels, lightening the body and keeping fit, and surpassing Hua Tuo's five birds. The play...kicks it to a skillful place, and the body is wonderful." A friend of the Li family in Jintai compared Cuju to sweating powder and Huashi Dan ("Jintai Li's opera poems in praise of Yuan"). Ancient football began to decline in the Ming Dynasty. In the 22nd year of Hongwu (AD 1389), in order to prevent the soldiers from being obsessed with entertainment and losing their fighting spirit, he ordered to clean up the military discipline. Cut off their tongues, played chess with Shuanglu's severed hand, and kicked Cuyuan's feet..." Some soldiers were removed from their right feet because they violated the prohibition against Cuju, and the whole family was dispatched to Yunnan (Gu Qiyuan, " Guest Duplication "Volume 10).However, an entertainment sport that is loved by all walks of life and has a strong foundation cannot be banned by an imperial decree. Football continued to be carried out in the Ming Dynasty and developed to a certain extent. Wang Yuncheng, a native of Xin'an, Anhui, in the Ming Dynasty On the basis of experience, I wrote the book "Cuju Atlas", which described in detail the various ways of playing football.In the Ming Dynasty, some emperors also loved football, such as Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji, Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao and so on.However, due to the rise of Neo Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties, the social status of Cuju, a trivial skill of physical activity, has been declining.As far as the overall development trend is concerned, football has gradually declined since the Ming Dynasty. Whether it is the ruling class or the people, the interest in football has declined, and the social atmosphere that is conducive to football activities has begun to change.In the Qing Dynasty, football declined further. Although the Manchus who loved skating once combined football and skating during the Qianlong period, they invented a kind of ice football called "the play of cu cu cu cu", as a However, the ruling group is not interested in football, so ancient Chinese football, which has a long history and has written records for more than 2,000 years, has disappeared on the stage of history.In the Qing Dynasty, children in Beijing played a game of cushi ball in winter. However, this kind of game was due to the freezing weather in Beijing in winter. Some children from poor families had cold feet, so they beat stones and beat them into stones. Spherical, kicked with the soles of the feet to keep warm, the one who can kick the stone ball out and hit another stone ball is the winner ("Yanjing Sui Shi Ji").In addition, there is also a children's game of playing billiards with iron balls on ice ("Beijing Zhuzhi Ci Baixi Zhuzhi Ci kicking Ju"), but this simple Cuball game is completely different from Cuju developed before the Ming Dynasty , can no longer be regarded as football.