ALTHOUGH, in the modern Olympics, China doesn’t display any special superiority in such sporting events as soccer, track and field, polo or swimming, Chinese people actually began engaging in these activities long ago ?in some cases before the original Greek Olympics even existed.

Yet the cultural environment in ancient China was not appropriate for the development of sports based on intense competition. The traditional ideas of Chinese society encouraged calm, peace and tolerance, determining that China’s ancient sports would be different from those in Western countries which are more exciting and competitive. China’s ancient sports put more emphasis on formalization and practicality.

The practical spirit is embodied in many ancient sports which were designed to meet the demands of war. For example, cuju (ancient football), ancient polo and ancient track and field all had close relations with military training.

Track and field events had an important status among China’s ancient sports because of their high degree of practical application.

In historical records from thousands years ago, there are several mentions of talented runners. In one piece of writing from the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11 century BC - 256 BC), the king went to a farm with his servants. On the way back, the king asked his servants to chase after his speeding horse. A talented servant kept up with the horse from start to finish and won a reward from the king ?10 families of slaves.

From the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) to the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220), running was considered an important part of military discipline and training. In recently discovered Han Dynasty paintings many running figures can be clearly seen. These military runners were called wubo, responsible for transmitting information.

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), long-distance running competitions appeared. They were held between the two big cities of Dadu (Beijing) and Shangdu (now in Inner Mongolia), with the distance being about twice that of a marathon.

Apart from running, jumping and throwing were also important sports in ancient China. In the Spring and Autumn Period, people skilled at jumping were selected for a special unit. Later, around the fifth to sixth century, ordinary people also organized jumping competitions known as the “jumping gamble?

With the development of the economy and culture since the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), sports have also gradually become more and more entertaining instead of just being a part of military training.

Cuju

Ball games thrived during the period. An ancient “football?game began over 2,300 years ago in East China’s Shandong Province. On February 4 this year, the Federation of International Football Associations declared the ancient Chinese game of cuju to be the origin of modern soccer. The ancient ball was made out of a leather bag which was filled of hair.

In the Han Dynasty, the ancient football game called cuju was very popular. Historical records say that during the war against the Huns, soldiers set up sports fields along the march routes. Cuju was considered to be both a form of entertainment and a type of military training at that time.

In the Tang Dynasty, people invented a hollow ball made of eight pieces of leather. There were also two goals made of netting. The cuju game looked very like modern soccer.

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), many emperors were cuju fans. Zhao Ji was one such keen soccer fan emperor of the period. He insisted that the palace sports teams should hold a cuju competition to celebrate his birthday every year. A man called Gao Qiu was selected and promoted to a high-level official position just because he played the game very well.

There are also many records of emperors who were addicted to playing cuju being criticized by officials and other members of the imperial family.

Diving, swimming

In the modern Olympics, diving and gymnastics are the two sports in which Chinese athletes are very successful. These two sports were also very popular in Chinese society hundreds of years ago.

Diving appeared soon after swimming became a popular sport. But during the Song Dynasty, a new kind of diving emerged. People set up a swing over a river. Performers would then dive into the water from the swing, embellishing their dives with graceful twists and spins, when the swing reached its highest point. The swing was actually used as a diving board.

During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, in the southern part of China where lakes are found in many places, such diving and swimming activities were held by people as annual events. But most people considered it more of an entertaining performance than a serious competition.

Ancient gymnastics, just like ancient diving, was also understood to be a performance, like to dancing and acrobatics. In the paintings of the Han Dynasty, people are often seen standing up-side-down or in other gymnastic postures.

From the Song Dynasty onwards, such skilled feats became popular with everybody from aristocrats to ordinary people. Both regular and episodic performances took place in towns and villages throughout the country.