Chapter 3 Kicking in the second quarter (polo)

Polo is another sport popular in ancient Chinese society following the rise of football.Polo in ancient China was called "Jiju", also known as "hitting the ball" and "playing the ball".During the competition, the brave polo players, holding sticks, rode galloping horses and competed with each other to hit the ball, and the winner was determined by how many balls hit the goal. How polo developed in ancient China is still inconclusive.Some people think that it was introduced from Persia (now Iran) during the Tang Dynasty; some people think that it was introduced to the Central Plains by Tubo (now Tibet); The word "Jiju" first appeared in the "Mingdu Pian" written by Cao Cao's son and great writer Cao Zhi in the 3rd century AD, which satirized Cao Pi's indulgence in hunting and pleasure.However, the golden age of polo was the Tang Dynasty.Polo is directly related to the development of ancient cavalry. It is not only a recreational activity, but also a means of military training for cavalry.Although China has had cavalry since King Zhao Wuling of Zhao State in the Warring States Period "hufu cavalry and shooting" learned from the northern nomads to form cavalry troops, but the horse gear at that time was still relatively primitive, and cavalry was not the main combat arm.The riding skills of the Han Dynasty were limited by the lack of saddles and stirrups; while the heavy cavalry of the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (265-589 AD) and the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD), whether they were humans or horses, were all dressed in heavy armor. Bulky and ineffective, the burden on the horse is very heavy, and it is difficult to carry out polo activities.In order to gain the initiative in the war, the Tang Dynasty also adopted the combat method of vigorously developing the cavalry, and the cavalry reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty.In the 40 years after Zhenguan, there were as many as 706,000 horses ("New Book of Tang Bingzhi").Different from the cavalry of previous dynasties, Emperor Taizong of Tang saw the weakness of the heavy armored cavalry of the Sui Dynasty and established fast, mobile and flexible light cavalry, which provided good conditions for the development of polo.In addition, the Tang Dynasty already had complete harnesses, including saddles and pedals, which greatly improved the ability of the rider to control the horse. This kind of violent beating action, the horse can also turn left and right with ease.Playing polo in turn effectively improved the riding skills of the light cavalry in the Tang Dynasty and became an important means of military training.In the sixth year of Tianbao (AD 747), Tang Xuanzong ordered the national army to carry out polo sports (Volume 375 of "Quan Tang Wen"), and it was under such circumstances that polo suddenly became popular in the Tang Dynasty.

Polo fields in the Tang Dynasty were generally laid in front of the main hall, so in history books, we can often see records of playing in a certain hall and a certain palace.The other three sides of the court are surrounded by low walls. The length of the court is about 1,000 steps. The surface is pressed very flat, as flat as a whetstone, and as smooth as a mirror. It's like cutting" (Han Yu's "Biansi Exchange Presented by Zhang Pushe"), "Looking flat is like a stone, looking down is like a mirror" (Yan Kuan's "Wentang Yuwu Fu").Some extravagant and corrupt princes and nobles spared no expense in building polo fields in order to show off their wealth. For example, during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty, Yang Shenjiao even poured oil on the ground to pave the polo field ("Sui and Tang Jiahua") ).If the golf course is not managed well, it will also cause people's discussion, and sometimes the emperor's blame. For example, Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty once asked Zhao Xiangzongru: "I heard that when you were in Jingzhou, the stadium grew grass. What's the matter?" Said: "This is the capital crime of the minister. There is indeed grass on the field, but it does not hinder the exchange of balls" ("Tang Guoshi Supplement").To play in rainy weather, you have to set up a tent with tarpaulin on the court and play the game.If you want to play polo at night, you can light special large candles to form a "light court". In the Five Dynasties, Yang Wo, the son of Wu Lord Yang Xingmi, played polo in this way when his father died and was in mourning ("Tong Polo") "Looking at the Chronicle").The ball stick is also called Ju Zhang, which is made of wood. The handle of the stick is also made of rattan.

The polo game is divided into two methods: single goal and double goal. The single goal is to open a small hole about one foot in the lower part of a wooden wall. There is a net pocket behind the hole, and the winner is determined by the number of hits into the net pocket.Because the goal is very small, it requires great skills to get started. Zhang Jianfeng wrote in a ball game poem: "It is difficult for the ancients to shoot from left to right when leaning over and hitting the ball. Who would envy you?" Yang Youyaopo" ("Rewarding Han Yu for Schooling Books and Playing Songs").Hitting the ball with a stick on a galloping horse is difficult for the ancients to shoot left and right on the horse, but to hit the ball within a hundred steps is similar to the famous marksman Yang Youji's "Hundred Steps Through Yang" in the Warring States Period. As the poem says, "The colored goal is not full of feet, and the origin of the skill is like a broken one."The method of playing double goals is similar to modern polo, and the goal is won by hitting the opponent's goal.The polo game has a shocking charm. On a flat field like a stone, colorful flags are fluttering, drums are bursting, horns are sounding, and horseshoes are rushing like rain. The riders are dressed in brocade clothes, holding sticks, and suddenly leaning over. Hitting, knocking side to side, turning up and down on the horse, coming and going like wind, sometimes like a whirling torrent, sometimes like a storm sweeping the earth, chasing the one who is on the field from left to right, as fast as lightning, with hardwood A small red ball the size of a fist is made.The sound of shouting, horse neighing, drums and trumpets, and applause all mixed together, which was thrilling.Because polo is also used to train soldiers and fight wars, the competitions are often very intense and quite dangerous. Injuries often occur, which may damage people's faces if they are mild, and may be disabled if they are severe.The horses were also very tired, so that Han Yu worried that the horses would get sick in one or two years at the earliest, and three or four years later ("Biansi Exchange Presents Zhang Pushe", "Han Yu's Second Book on Zhang Pushe").In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, during the Anshi Rebellion, Wang Chu, the prefect of Changshan, was about to surrender to Shi Siming's rebels. His generals were very angry when they learned about it. Death ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian Su Zong Ji").It can be seen that injuries in polo matches at that time were commonplace, and people would not take it as a surprise.

In the Tang Dynasty, some players with superb skills appeared. For example, in the early days of Jianzhong, there was a general named Xia in Hebei who could draw hundreds of catties with his bow. , Hit the copper coins with a bow stick, and each blow hits one coin very accurately, and it flies up to seven feet (Volume 5 of "Youyang Miscellaneous Zu").On the polo-patterned bronze mirror collected in the Palace Museum, we can see that the polo players were galloping their horses and hitting the ball with their clubs.What is especially rare are the four heroic female polo players, showing the heroic spirit of our country in the heyday of Tang Dynasty.

The emperors of the Tang Dynasty were mostly polo fans. They not only liked to watch, but also played, and some of them were quite good.Tang Xuanzong Li Longji is one of the most typical representatives.Once, Tubo sent envoys to Chang'an to welcome Princess Jincheng, and Tang Zhongzong invited the guests to watch a polo match.The Tubo people are good at playing polo. After watching the game, they felt that the Tang Empire's polo skills were no different, so they proposed to compete.At the start of the match, the Tubo team was indeed very strong. The Tang Dynasty team was no match and lost consecutively.Seeing that the situation was not good, Tang Zhongzong hurriedly sent Li Longji (later Tang Xuanzong), who was still the king of Linzi at that time, with three royal children to fight against 10 Tubo people.I saw that "Xuanzong drove east and west, the wind returned and the electricity was excited, and there was no way forward," defeating the Tubo team (Feng Yan's "Feng Shi Hearing and Seeing Records").Tang Muzong was playing polo in the palace in December of the second year of Changqing. An eunuch suddenly fell off his horse. Mu Zong was frightened. Book of Tang·Jing Zong Ji").When Xuanzong played polo, he rode a nimble steed, and he could hit hundreds of hits in a row with a stick. .Tang Xizong, another emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was very incompetent in governing the country, but he was very good at playing. He liked to ride and shoot, dance with swords, play cuju, and cockfight, and he was especially good at playing polo.Once, he joked to Shi Yezhu, an excellent man in the palace who specially entertained the emperor, that if he played polo in the Jinshi examination, he would definitely win the number one scholar ("Zizhi Tongjian·Tang Ji Sixty-Nine").

On the west wall of the tomb of Prince Zhanghuai in the Tang Dynasty, there is a large-scale colorful mural "Polo Picture", which is now in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. This mural enables people today to witness the fierce and vivid polo games of the Tang Dynasty more than 1,200 years ago. scene. In the Tang Dynasty, not only the warriors who rode horses and fought in battle liked polo, but also the scholars who practiced writing were not unfamiliar with playing polo.Every year after the imperial examination, among the Jinshi activities to congratulate Xin Jidi, there is a polo club held in Yuedeng Pavilion.At this time, those scholars who were able to answer questions fluently during the countermeasures in the Golden Palace, all of them became vigorous polo experts.Some Jinshi's game skills even surpassed those of the polo masters in the army.At the Yuedeng Pavilion Ball Club in the fourth year of Qianfu (877 A.D.), several officers of the Shence Army, relying on their superb skills, did not pay attention to these scholars. challenge.I saw Liu Tan, the new and first-ranked Jinshi, swinging his horse and leaping into the field. He was as fast as lightning. After a few strokes, he intercepted the opponent's ball. The little ball flew into the sky like a projectile, and it disappeared without a trace. The officers were dumbfounded. Amidst the roar of laughter from thousands of spectators, they were ashamed and dejectedly left the field (Volume 3 of "Tang Yuyan").

Women in the Tang Dynasty also loved polo, and the ladies in the palace also enjoyed playing polo.Among the pottery figurines unearthed from Tang tombs, there are figurines of women playing ball.Under the influence of the ethos of playing polo, a donkey-riding activity called "Donkey Ju" also came into being.Donkeys are small in size and run slowly, so riding donkeys and playing ball are very popular among women. Therefore, donkey bowing became a kind of women's sport in the Tang Dynasty.Tang Jiannan Jiedu envoy and Chengdu Yin Guo Yingyi [yiyi] liked to watch the women's donkey bow very much. He did not hesitate to spend tens of thousands of dollars every day to dress up the little donkey in a magnificent manner, and the female riders showed off each and every one of them ("Old Tang Book· Guo Yingyi Biography").This kind of donkey bow still existed in the palace of the Song Dynasty, and it was called "Xiao Da" to distinguish it from the "Da Da" played on horseback.

Polo was also introduced to Japan in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, Song Taizong ordered the formulation of detailed rules for playing polo, so that we know that polo at that time was already a highly stylized activity.The stadium is set in front of the Daming Hall. Two wooden goals with stone lotus seats are about ten feet high. They are placed on the east and west sides of the stadium.The palace band has drum music in the two corridors, and there are five battle drums under the banners of the two goals. The left friend wears yellow lace, the right friend wears purple lace, and the horsetails must be tied in knots.In the sound of drum music, the emperor kicked off the ball, and then ordered the kings and ministers to gallop to fight.There are 24 embroidered flags on both sides of the goal.There is an empty flag stand under the east and west steps of Daming Hall. If you hit a ball, it is called winning. Two guards holding small red flags will sing loudly, and an embroidered flag will be inserted on the flag stand of the friend to show winning.If the emperor wins a goal, everyone will shout long live, and the officials will applaud if they win.The winner must dismount to give thanks.Every three chips, the game is suspended, and the officials are called to drink in the Royal Palace.At the end of the game, the winner is determined by the number of flags ("Song History" Volume 121).Lu You, a poet of the Song Dynasty, also described the polo at that time in his poem: "The army strikes and the strong men are idle, and the fine grass is flat and the suburbs are galloping. Taozhou's horses are golden, and Liangzhou's field is playing every day." ("Winter Night News" The Geese Have Feelings")

Although in the Song Dynasty, polo was listed as a military salute and played according to the above rules, it has lost the significance it had in the Tang Dynasty.In fact, polo has gradually declined from its peak since the Tang Dynasty, and basically disappeared by the middle of the Ming Dynasty.This is mainly due to the lack of horses and the dominance of military guiding ideology that ignored cavalry after the Tang Dynasty. Because the rise and fall of polo is directly related to the development of cavalry, when polo has gradually declined in the Central Plains since Tang Dynasty, it has become popular among many northern minorities who have always advocated riding and shooting.From the beginning of the 10th century to the 13th century, the Liao Kingdom (916-1125 AD) and the Jin Kingdom (1115-1234 AD) established by the Khitan people and the Jurchens celebrated the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year, and the Zhongyuan (July 5th). 15) and Chongjiu (September 9) will hold a grand worship ceremony.After the ceremony, willow shooting and polo games are held.The so-called Sheliu is an activity dedicated to offering sacrifices to heaven in the Liao and Jin dynasties established by the Khitan people and the Jurchens.After every Chongwu, Zhongyuan and Chongjiu bowing to the sky, willow shooting ("Golden History · Lizhi") must be carried out.At that time, two rows of willow branches will be inserted on the polo field, and the bark of the willow branches will be peeled off a few inches above the ground to reveal a section of white branches.Tie up handkerchiefs of different colors to indicate your target, and then, according to the order of seniority and seniority, let a rider ride fast as the leader, and the archer rides afterward, and shoots off the willow branches with featherless arrows while galloping. , catch the broken willow in your hand before it hits the ground, and gallop away, this is the first class; shoot the willow, but fail to catch it, it is the second class; A broken shot or a missed shot counts as a failure.When shooting willows, beat the war drum to boost momentum ("Golden History · Li Zhi"). In September 1965, in the tomb of Feng Fu, an aristocrat from Beiyan, unearthed in Xiguanyingzi, Beipiao County, Liaoning Province, there were more than 130 flat-edged horizontal arrowheads, and the arrow shafts were wrapped with silver threads, which were very delicate.In the unearthed Liao tombs, there are also horizontal arrowheads. The body of the arrowhead is flat, like an inverted isosceles triangle. Some arrowheads have slightly curved edge lines, which are fan-shaped iron arrowheads.The willow shooting activity continued until the Yuan, Ming and early Qing dynasties, and gradually disappeared after the middle of the Qing Dynasty.Immediately after shooting willows is a polo match, and then a grand banquet is held, and everyone breaks up happily.The emperors of Liao and Jin also loved polo very much, because they understood the military role of polo.In the eighth year of Dading (1168 A.D.), Jin Shizong played polo in Changwu Hall. His minister Ma Guizhong advised him not to play polo anymore, because it was a very dangerous sport. The former emperor prince fell off his horse.Jin Shizong replied that the world is peaceful now, but we can't forget that our ancestors used force to pacify the world. I play polo just to let people not forget to practice martial arts ("Jin Shi·Ma Gui Zhong Biography").In "Liao History·You Xing Biao", there are many records about the emperors of the Liao Kingdom either playing polo in person or watching polo matches.

In the history of sports, people can often see the phenomenon that one form of sports leads to another form of sports. For example, today's rugby is developed and changed from modern football.The same is true of the developed polo game in the Tang Dynasty, which not only led to the emergence of donkey balls, but also made a kind of hockey, which does not ride a horse or a donkey, but hits the ball on foot with a stick, to appear in China.This game of batting is called "stepping", and it was originally a women's sport.According to the customs of the Tang Dynasty, every year during the Cold Food Festival, the Shaofu Supervisor organizes entertainment activities of "presenting balls" in the palace, including various ball games, such as Cuju, Juju, and stepping ("New Book of Tang Baiguan") "Zhi San").Those court ladies who wasted their youth in the deep palace not only like to play trick football without a goal, just like a poem said, "Hanshi insiders play Changbai" (Wang Jian's "Gong Ci" and "Quan Tang Poetry" volume 302 ), and divided into two teams, holding the bent wooden sticks at the lower end to go on foot to the field for stepping competitions, performing for the emperor.The game is won by how many points are hit.The court ladies are very fascinated by this kind of ancient hockey. Tang Wangjian's "Gong Ci" also describes this cheerful scene: "There are two buildings in front of the hall, and the people in the Cold Food Palace are walking. Half of them come to kneel down and worship, and the first to thank the first place in the shed. That is to say, during the Cold Food Festival, the court ladies set up a stepping court in front of the palace, and divided them into two teams (teams) to compete. The team who broke the record first came to kneel down in front of the emperor to thank him, and then continued the game.The emperor of the Tang Dynasty also often let the male priests in the palace team up to play football games for his own enjoyment.During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, step playing was also combined with music and dance, resulting in a hockey dance called "playing ball music" in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Later, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, who was proficient in rhythm, changed the accompanying dance music of playing ball music to "Jiegu". Song" (Hu Zhenheng's "Tang Yingui Sign").

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Chinese step play was introduced to Japan. The Daur and Hui nationalities in my country also have ancient hockey that is similar to playing with steps.The Daur people call it "Dabeikuo", "Boyikuo" or "Bolie".There are two types of balls: soft and hard. The soft ball is a fur ball made of cow hair. It is light and has a little elasticity, which is suitable for children and teenagers to play.Hardballs are made of bone and hardwood and are played by adults.The batting stick is about four feet and is generally made of oak wood. The lower end of the batting stick is curved to facilitate hitting the ball.There are no strict regulations on the number of people playing in the game.There are two types of games with goals and without goals.During night games, especially during the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the ball is soaked in oil and ignited to form a ball of fire. The game has a special charm.Hui people's traditional folk hockey is called "wooden ball", also known as "playing basket" or "playing hairball". It has a history of more than 200 years.Today's woodball is a highly standardized modern competitive sport, such as the size of the field, the number of players, and the game time. There are clear regulations.However, it still retains its traditional traces. For example, the ball used is red and blue, with oval-shaped wooden balls at both ends. This kind of ball often changes direction when rolling, which increases the fun of the game.The bottom end of the club is beveled to increase the contact surface when hitting the ball.