Primitive society to AD 960
Mike Speak
INTRODUCTION
For convenience, this historical introduction is divided into three periods.
Ancient China is considered by historians to be that period of Chinese history stretching from the neolithic period to the middle of the nineteenth century or the end of the Qing dynasty in 1840. This chapter describes physical activity and forms of sport up to AD 960. Chapter 3 investigates the second millennium as far as 1840. Chapter 4 follows China into the modern era up to 1949.
Britain came to be regarded, rightly or wrongly, as the cradle of modern sports, in the same way that Greece was identified with the ancient and later modern Olympic Games. Yet the universality of play and recreation does not allow a single country, or even continent, to lay claim to the parenthood of sport. Gernet (1982:3) has made the point that Chinese civilization has been the guiding spirit for a large section of humanity, and that ‘the West which has borrowed from China right down to our day without realising it, is far from recognising its sizeable debt to her’.
Recent progress in international sport by China has sharpened the interest of western observers, but there is a long and respected history of physical culture, recreation and sport in Ancient China which has remained largely unrevealed outside China and even within its borders, but which, in the complex pattern of the history of world sport and recreation, deserves serious attention. The period of history under consideration spawned a wide range of activities, many of which withstand serious scrutiny as the forerunners of modern sport and carried marks of sophistication well in advance of similar activities in the West.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF RECREATIONAL AND SPORTING ACTIVITY IN ANCIENT CHINA Political and economic influences
One of the problems facing the sport historian in this context is the vastness of the time period involved in the spread of Chinese history, the range of
climatic differences and influences, from the cold wastes of Siberia to the tropical heat of the South China Sea, the diversity of peoples inhabiting the vast land mass known as China and the variety of individual cultures and languages involved.
Four cultures have been identified by demographic and anthropological historians, namely: sedentary populations with a highly developed agriculture, nomadic cattle-raisers of the grasslands and deserts, mountain peoples of the huge Himalayan Tibetan complex, and mixed cultures of the tropical zones.
The recreational lives of these populations generally reflected the basic background culture. The nomadic peoples enjoyed a lifestyle which was almost permanent training for war, incorporating horse training, hunting and horseback exercises. Mountain peoples endured a hardy lifestyle and were equally warlike in their habits, whereas the sedentary and coastal plain cultures tended to be less aggressive in their approaches to life and recreation.
Chinese civilization, like other great civilizations throughout history, has been a perpetual, dynamic creation, occasionally absorbing external influences from distant civilizations. Time periods are so vast that whole periods of history are often referred to as a homogeneous whole, for example the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), yet there are variations within each time period and certainly within each region which ensure that a simple treatment is impossible.
Political, economic and social systems are living organisms which continually adapt to change and the religious, warrior monarchy of archaic times (1600–
900 BC) has nothing in common with the centralized empire administered by paid civil servants established in the third century AD. The political system of the Sung period (AD 960–1279) and the authoritarianism of the Ming dynasty are worlds apart.
The Chinese economy tended towards decentralization. The major river valleys which absorbed the bulk of the population offered ideal conditions for crop cultivation, and China rapidly developed into a major agrarian society, relying on large-scale production of food to support political, economic and social developments. There tended to be a division of labour between males, who tilled the soil, and females, who wove cloth, highlighting the division between physical effort and sedentary role accepted for millennia. The mode of production isolated small groups of people in self-sufficiency, and social intercourse, particularly in large groups, became the exception. This may partly explain the obvious pleasure of social gatherings during festivals. Major mass gatherings were the exception rather than the norm.
Self-sufficiency also curtailed the need for urban-centred economies and substantial commercial trading, and during certain periods of Chinese history, central governments sought to actively confine commercial trade. The reasons were simple: commerce and manufacturing production would compete with agriculture for a labour force and the primary occupation should be protected.
Small farmers also provided the backbone of military forces and corvée labour, and their conversion to an industrial or commercial workforce would
compete with this. Change and competition would challenge the traditional authority of the feudal rulers and this was to be prevented. The Han government (206 BC-AD 220) lowered the social status of merchants, forbade them to become officials, increased trading taxes, changed the monetary system to prevent accumulated wealth and monopolized key commodities such as iron and salt.
In summary, even in a highly centralized political system, decentralized economies persisted and were encouraged. No opportunity was offered for national cohesion, festivals retained a fairly local character, and traditional Chinese recreations demonstrated great diversity.
Military, medical, philosophical and social factors
A further factor influencing the nature of physical activity and recreation was the need for military preparation. In most societies, there has been a clear link between military training and physical fitness and there are substantiated interactions in Ancient China. Horsemanship and archery were basic military skills, and both developed social forms. Charioteering and archery were both included in the curriculum of educational establishments for young aristocrats, together with propriety, music, writing and arithmetic.
Running, throwing and jumping also evolved from military exercises, and wushu, or Chinese martial arts, is an early and inseparable component of Chinese culture. Exercises were performed naturally or with implements and, as cavalry and chariots became supplemented by infantry, a variety of forms of wushu were employed for training artisans and foot soldiers. Forms also developed for personal fitness training and for entertainment purposes.
A further major influence on the nature of recreational activity in Ancient China was the development and direction of medical theory. A key element was Qi (air) which had an abstract and broader meaning than simply air or oxygen, and whose precise nature is still debatable. The theory of Qi emanated from Taoism, which proposed that, in the universe, all was interconnected and interacted, and Qi became all-important as the material forming the human body, having responsibility for the physical functions of human beings and connecting the human body to its external environment. Human life depended on the constant interchange between the internal body and the external environment, and breathing came to hold a predominant position in Chinese exercise.
The concept of Yin and Yang which appeared in the late Western Zhou period (eleventh century BC-771 BC), but was refined and developed in I Zhuan (Book of Changes) in the Warring States period (475–221 BC) was also an influential factor. The theory was that all things in the universe possess the nature of Yin (a negative, female, cosmic force) and Yang (a positive, male force), embodied in natural phenomena such as heaven, earth, wind, water and fire, but also in human society as master and subject, father and
son, husband and wife, even and odd numbers, softness and hardness in personality, and virtue and evil in behaviour. The basis of the theory is that all is well when Yin and Yang are balanced and mutually harmonious.
The medical theory was that good health will result from the balancing of these two agents, yet balance and harmony are not easily achieved. Jingluo, or the network of Qi, is the channel through which Qi flows, connecting all parts of the human body. Where the flow is smooth and uninterrupted, bodily functions will be good, but if stagnation, or blockage, occurs, pain and disease would be likely to follow. Acupuncture is based on the theory of re-opening blocked pathways. Chinese traditional exercises, such as Dao Yin, seek to cultivate the Qi by the intake of breath and undertaking certain physical exercises to ensure smooth circulation of Qi in the network. Methods of breathing are emphasized, but emotional states involving anger, joy, sorrow, likes and dislikes will affect the balance of Yin and Yang, so that a calm, relaxed state is an essential concomitant of breathing and exercise. A mental approach was inseparably linked to physical exercise, and Chinese physicians recommended gentle, non-vigorous exercise, since vigorous exercise would make it impossible to achieve the harmony of breathing, movement and mood.
Activities associated with the maintenance of health and fitness in China emphasized a harmony of movement, consciousness and breathing to stimulate vital energy. Muscular development was not the primary purpose, and again, reflecting the rural nature of society, many of the movements imitated the motions of animals. Muscular development and beauty was never highly valued by Taoism and Confucianism. External appearance was less important than moral virtue, and virtue and mental health in turn were likely to play a fundamental part in achieving good health and longevity, respected goals.
The Shang Shu (Book of History), which records affairs in the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties (2100–771 BC) claims ‘of the five happinesses:
the first is long life; the second is riches; the third is soundness of body and serenity of mind; the fourth is love of virtue; the fifth an end crowning the life’. There were several schools of exercise, but whatever the variations, all were concerned with longevity and achieving mental and physical harmony, and were more concerned with internal organic function than musculature, strength and vigour.
The simple agricultural life of the sedentary populations allowed experiences of natural life to be absorbed into recreational activity. Imitation of animals occurred in early forms of dance, and also became part of Dao Yin and Wushu through forms of traditional exercise. Early medicine also reflected the proximity of humans and nature, and in Shan Hai Jing, written before 221 BC, sixty-two species of animals and forty-two species of plants are recorded and recommended for medicinal purposes. Exercises were described according to the behaviour of animals, affording a vivid picture to the exponent of how movements should be performed. Taoism also recommended a return to nature, and regarded all creatures as equal, since
all had Qi and Yin and Yang, and there should be no discrimination between all living forms. Man was required to live in harmony with nature, according to natural laws and in tune with a natural rhythm. Neo-Taoism, however, moved from a passive acceptance of the need to follow nature’s way to a more dynamic reflection of the vigour and freedom of animals. After the Western Han period (206–24 BC), physical exercises took on a greater imitation of wild animals, evidence of which is available in the Dao Yin silk painting in the Han tomb of Ma Wang Duai.
Ren (1988) draws attention to certain philosophical factors which helped to shape the nature of sport and physical recreation in Ancient China, and contrasts them with very different ideals and purposes within Greek civilization. Since the nature of sport in a society is likely to reflect the value system of that society, consideration has to be given to the moral, philosophical and social attitudes towards physical activity in Chinese society. Competition in Chinese society was invariably discouraged, and emphasis was placed on harmony.
The most influential philosophical schools, Confucianism, from 500 BC, and Taoism, from 100 BC, totally opposed competition. The former had benevolence at its core and strove to maintain a harmonious patriarchal social structure.
Conflict, rivalry and competition were likely to damage this harmony. Political life consisted of a complicated hierarchical structure of administration, in which people were ranked according to their socioeconomic status. The Empire was divided into thirty-six Jin (commanderies), each comprising several Xian (sub- prefectures), all with a variety of officials whose duties involved agriculture, taxation, ceremonials, the law, tribute, militia and education. Inequality was universal, between and within classes, and was reinforced to preserve the feudal hierarchy by clothing, residences and ceremonies. There were also three ‘cardinal guides’ which first appeared in the works of Xun Zi (313–238 BC) and Han Fei Zi (280–233 BC) to regulate social behaviour. These stated that ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife. These social and moral precepts and hierarchical structures gave little room for competition, and both society and its recreational forms tended to emphasize the cultivation of virtue, self-improvement and recreational pleasure.
The sedentary cultures, rooted in agriculture and politically and commercially estranged from competitive practices, tended towards non- competitive forms of recreation. The process of physical activity was emphasized rather than the outcome. Some activities were associated with health and general physical fitness, others remained co-operative in nature.
Activities such as archery often identified and reinforced a hierarchical social order, and many activities concentrated on the cultivation of virtue as a priority.
In archery and touhu for example, participants were required to demonstrate moral virtue in addition to skill, so that winner and loser equally could gain respect. Indeed Zhou (1991:71) suggests that, because of the special emphasis placed on moral education and ethics in traditional Chinese society, ancient Chinese sports were overburdened with moral principles.
The emphasis on thoughtful recreation is also revealed in a nine-level hierarchy of competence in board games, with Wei Qi (Go), a game played with black and white pieces on a board of a hundred squares, representing the highest form of Chinese wisdom, being fully developed by the Warring States period. Xiang Qi was played with sixteen pieces on each side, and both games were attempts to represent forms of complex military strategy.
As in most agricultural societies, festivals had a seasonal nature, often integrated with crop production and seasonal rhythms. There were often religious and contained superstitious undertones, particularly arising from folk legends. Whatever the reason for festivals, however, they became a vital ingredient in the social life of rural communities, and developed, according to Gramet (1932:180), into ‘festivals of union in which people became aware of the bonds which unite them and, at the same time, of their oneness with their natural environment’. Many of the festivals incorporated forms of physical expression. Dragon and Lion dances were both symbolic and physically demanding, and were performed at certain festivals. Dragon boat racing was the major activity on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and mountain climbing has been associated with the Double Ninth Festival since the Eastern Han period (AD 25–220).
Dance forms are common in most early societies, and in Ancient China served purposes in religious rites, recreation, education, health and fitness.
By the Western Han period (206 BC—AD 24) a variety of secular dances for recreational purposes had emerged and involved all social classes. There was a mimicking in early dance forms of animal behaviour, but gradually dance as entertainment emerged, and dancers employed long sleeves, weapons and musical instruments to accompany the dance to entertain audiences. The Han court set up a special institution, Yue Fu (Department of Music), and employed the finest artistes from the whole country as professional entertainers.
Summary
This introduction has attempted to offer information on the nature of sport and recreational activity in Ancient China. There are obviously major differences in the nature of sport and recreation during different periods of Chinese history, and in their availability in certain forms to different sections of the population, aspects which need to be further explored. There appears to be evidence, however, that the nature of sport and recreation was often a product of philosophical directions, which stressed co-operation and harmony at the expense of competition. Equally, religious and medical proponents who stressed the therapeutic nature of exercise, breathing and mental state as opposed to the development of strength, musculature and vigour had an important effect on the direction of Chinese physical recreation.
The variety of ethnic groups, geographic locations and traditional occupations also influenced the range and natures of sports practised. In the nomadic and mountainous peoples, more vigorous forms of physical activity were adopted, often linked with horsemanship and preparation for warfare.
Conversely, in the agricultural and coastal populations, gentler forms of recreation were practised, and co-operation was the watchword. Festivals provided an opportunity for mass celebration and the practice of communal forms of physical activity and entertainment.
The process of physical activity was often stressed at the expense of outcome, and some activities reinforced the social hierarchy and concentrated on the cultivation of virtue and good behaviour. The relationship between recreation and mental stimulation should also be stressed and was evident in a variety of board games and exercises which evolved. Dance and acrobatic entertainment were prominent in a variety of forms throughout Chinese history, in early times as a form of social expression, but later for the entertainment of imperial courts and the aristocracy. These forms of physical recreation and sport will be illustrated in subsequent descriptions, together with commentary on the significance of activities undertaken.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES IN PRIMITIVE CHINESE SOCIETY (3,000–476 BC)
The Neolithic stage of culture in China (8,000–2,000 BC) marked the end of the mesolithic, hunting and gathering phase of history, and saw the start of settled societies, the building of villages, farming, horticulture and the use of pottery. By the eleventh century BC, the surge in social organization was accompanied by sophisticated knowledge and techniques, bronzes, architectural design, the chariot and forms of writing. Excavations of the Shang civilization (sixteenth to eleventh centuries BC) have revealed royal palaces, walled cities, chariots and bronzes reflecting an organized society with a developed aristocracy. The Shang were replaced in power by the Zhou (eleventh century to 771 BC) and evidence of the nature of this society is provided by a chronicle added to the Annals of Lu, called Traditions of Tso.
Society was based on a hierarchy of domains and families who owed their authority to the number of chariots owned, their religious privileges including the right to dance, links with the royal household and possession of treasures.
During this period emerged the ideal of the noble warrior and the ethic of honour.
Throughout history, the development of man’s physical skills and capacities has served a number of purposes—military, social, educational and health.
There were strong links with military preparation during this period, and charioteering, the most sophisticated form of warfare, formed part of the education curriculum for young aristocrats. They were required to drive skilfully, and the primitive design of the chariot and difficulties presented by