Ancient paintings depict Chinese forerunners of Olympic sports

2016-08-23   Source: Chinadaily.com

The Olympics originated from ancient Greece, and many different sports are covered. However, many modern Olympic sports can be traced back to ancient China. By looking at these ancient paintings, we can trace their evolution.

Cuju: origin of modern football

The painting by Huang Shen depicts Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty playing cuju with his brother Zhao Guangyi, the following emperor, and other ministers. [Photo/Artron.net]

Cuju was an ancient Chinese competitive game involving kicking a ball through an opening into a net, and reached the height of popularity in the Tang (AD 618-907) and Song (AD 960-1279) dynasties.

Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty was a big fan of cuju, along with his brother Zhao Guangyi, the next emperor, and they always played cuju on the pitch together.

Photo/The Palace Museum]

The earliest record of female cuju players can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. We can see from the paintings there were girls with their hair up, waving their long sleeves and looked chic while playing cuju.

Up to the Tang Dynasty, female players prevailed at the royal court, as emperors enjoyed watching football games. At that time, various skills were widely used in playing cuju, mainly serving as entertainment.

Jiaodi: Chinese-style wrestling

Qing Dynasty court painter Lang Shining's painting depicted the scene of a jiaodi contest in the royal court. [Photo/Artron.net]

Ancient jiaodi was performed by athletes wearing ox horns and wrestling with each other imitating wild oxen. Jiaodi was a major military training program during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476BC), and later during the Sui (581-618) and Tang dynasties, it was highly favored by emperors. It is said that Emperor Muzong of the Tang Dynasty watched jiaodi performance every three days.

During the Song Dynasty, jiaodi was even more popular, and specialized organizations were set up among jiaodi fans. There were two types, one for contests and the other for performance. The book "Jiao Li Ji (A record of Jiaodi)" detailed the evolution and skills of jiaodi, and was the first book about wrestling in China.

A special organ was founded in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) court which undertook the task of researching and practicing jiaodi. Every 23rd day of the twelfth month, a wrestling contest was held in the royal court and some ancient paintings depicted the scene.

A detail from the painting above. [Photo/Artron.net]

Chuiwan: ancient golf

Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty at Leisure collected by the Palace Museum, portrays the emperor playing Chuiwan. [Photo/Artron.net]

Chuiwan is an ancient ball game using a stick to hit balls, and quite similar to modern golf. The earliest records of Chuiwan dated back to a book from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) entitled Wan Classic. Chuiwan prevailed during the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, and was always mentioned in Yuan Dynasty verses and dramas. Since the Ming Dynasty, Chuiwan went into decline.

Chuiwan was always played in the open air, and by kicking the ball into holes with flags in order to win.

Ming Dynasty painter Du Jin's painting portrays women playing Chuiwan in court. [Photo/Artron.net]

Jiju: ancient polo

Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty at Leisure collected by the Palace Museum, portrays the scene of jiju. [Photo/Artron.net]

Jiju is a sport which uses a stick to hit balls while riding on a horse, pretty similar to modern polo. It was popular in the royal court and among common people in the Tang Dynasty. There were many fields for playing polo in the court and it was also a major military training program in the army. Polo playing can be seen in many murals in Tang Dynasty coffin chambers.

The game was still quite popular in the Yuan Dynasty and began to decline in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The game was forbidden by the rulers during the early Qing Dynasty, and has never regained its popularity.

A mural from a Tang Dynasty prince's coffin chamber depicted the scene of playing ancient polo. [Photo/Artron.net]

Archery

Emperor Qianlong Shooting an Arrow, by Wang Zhicheng, Qing Dynasty, collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing. [Photo/Artron.net]

During ancient times, the origin of archery was closely related with hunting and defence. Ancient archery is not only an athletic event, a military training program, and an entertainment activity, but also part of education.

During the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476BC) and Warring States Period (475–221BC), archery was a sport, and formal archery contests were held during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589). During the Tang Dynasty, archery was an important part of the Wuju Imperial Examinations, and special archers were organized during the Yuan Dynasty. Many emperors in the Qing Dynasty were skillful archers, especially the Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong.

A detail from the painting Emperor Qianlong Shooting an Arrow. [Photo/Artron.net]

Bingxi: ancient ice sports

A painting from Qing Dynasty portrays the scene of playing bingxi, collected by the Palace Museum. [Photo/Artron.net]

Chinese ice sport bingxi, was a winter activity regularly performed for imperial audiences, especially during the Qianlong emperor's reign in the 18th century.

Bingxi was a favorite form of entertainment for the royal families, with displays of imperial intrigue and politics, such as vying for the emperor's attention, being staged. Starting from the royal army's parade on the ice, bingxi gradually became a demonstration of the ice-skating skills of soldiers and fueled widespread public interest.

Participants would wield traditional Chinese weapons like broadswords and cudgels. More than 1,600 soldiers would take part into the annual event at that time.

Bingxi in the Qing Dynasty contained the speed and figure skating we now see in the Winter Olympics. But other sporting activities like "ice football" and acrobatics on ice were also played.

A Qing Dynasty painting by Zhang Weibang and Yao Wenhan portrays bingxi, collected by the Palace Museum [Photo/Artron.net]

Horse-riding: modern equestrianism

A Yuan Dynasty painting by Chen Jizhi portrays an equestrian performance. [Photo/Artron.net]

Ancient equestrian sports first appeared among the northern nomadic people. During the Tang Dynasty, horse-riding skills diversified, and special equestrianism shows were performed as entertainment. There were also "dancing horse performances" during the Tang Dynasty with performers riding on horses in fancy dress dancing to the music. Equestrianism became a part of military training in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

A detail from the Qing Dynasty painting by Lang Shining portrays an equestrian performance in the royal court. [Photo/Artron.net]