More of this Feature • Part 1: Before Western Han • Part 3: Minority Sports

Join the Discussion "What does Confucianism say about evolution and creation?" ORGONENERGY

Related Resources • Chinese Ghost • Town God Temple • Articles by Topic

Another important period in the development of sports in China was the Tang Dynasty, when a variety of programs including some ball games and women's sports games emerged. A game popular in the palace and with the aristocrats and high officials was equestrian polo. A sand table constructed according to related historical documents and archaeological findings reproduces a spectacular scene of the Tang people playing polo.

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), sports games began to develop into popular games and games of entertainment. From Emperor Taizu Kicking a Ju, a painting by the famous Yuan (1279-1368) artist Qian Xuan, we can see Zhao Kuangyin, the first emperor of the Song Dynasty, kicking a ju with his brother Zhao Kuangyi and some close officials. Ju, a leather ball filled with hair, is a primitive soccer ball. It was so popular in the Song Dynasty that everyone form the emperor to the ordinary people liked it.

Golf is a modern game for the upper class. But in the Yuan Dynasty, the Chinese were already playing a sports game similar to golf, which was painted in Hitting Balls, a mural painting displayed in the museum. At that time people played the game by hitting balls into a hole with a stick crooked at one end. The one who hit the most balls into the hole won.

Next page > Minority Ethnic Groups' Sports > Page 1, 2, 3

Written by our column writer Ye Qinfa.

Articles by Topic