960–1840
Mike Speak
A NEW WORLD: THE SONG, LIAO AND JIN DYNASTIES (AD 960–1279) AND THE SOPHISTICATION OF SPORT
Introduction
Gernet (1982:300) suggests that not a single aspect of political, economic or social life remained untouched by change during this period. The transition from a semi-mediaeval society under the Tang to a new world, whose basic characteristics reflect the China of modern times, was apparent in political attitudes, class relations, urban and rural societies, the military and the economy. During the eleventh century, the state’s need for civil servants, the spread of education, the growth of agricultural production and the subsequent increase in incomes from land all led to an increase in the number of wealthy families. Armies were no longer conscripted, but mercenary, and the governing class had considerably expanded. In the rural districts, the wealthy families provided the guards (Kung shu) or archers to ensure order, and many from the rural districts were recruited into the mercenary army.
There also appeared during the Song period large commercial centres, heavily populated, with a diversified class of small and large merchants. K’ai- feng, capital of the Five Dynasties, and also the Northern Song, was the first example of an urban agglomeration where commerce and entertainment became predominant. From 1063, following the abandonment of a general city curfew, places of entertainment (Wa-Ksu) were greatly expanded in Hangchow, and remained open until dawn. In all classes apparently there was a tendency to form associations of people from the same region which helps to explain the spread of individual cultures. All manufactures expanded rapidly, a network of navigable canals was established and the economic expansion was fed by the evolution of a wealthy urban bourgeoisie who began to enjoy the luxuries formerly only available to imperial palaces. It was not coincidental that architecture, landscaping, dress, cooking, ceramics,
weaving and products affecting daily life made such rapid progress during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries.
Economic, technical and social change was accompanied by a return to the classical tradition, the end of Buddhist domination and a return to a concept of man in a fully comprehensible world, represented by a practicality evident in experiment, invention, ideas and their application. There was a major change, equally, in attitudes towards physical effort and the pursuit of skilful athletic activities. Gernet summarizes the situation as follows:
Whereas in the 7th and 8th centuries, an aristocracy in which there was a good deal of ‘barbarian’ blood had imposed its love of violent games (polo, riding, hunting), the governing class of the 11th-13th centuries, consisting of rich, educated families usually living in an urban environment on the income from their estates, despised physical effort and wished to stand aloof from the traditions of the steppe and from popular amusements. The profession of arms, so highly regarded at the beginning of the Tang age, had lost its prestige ever since the armies had consisted of mercenaries recruited from the dregs of society.
The intellectual, contemplative, learned, sometimes even esoteric aspect of arts and letters among the Chinese upper classes asserted itself in the Song period and was to remain dominant under the Ming and Ching dynasties, in spite of reactions tending towards a return to practical knowledge and physical activities in original and isolated thinkers in the 17th C.Henceforth, the lettered Chinese, apart from a few exceptions, was to be a pure intellectual who thought that games of skill and athletic competitions were things for the lower classes.
This deeply rooted contempt in the governing classes for physical effort and aptitude was to persist to our own day; sports were re- introduced into China only in fairly recent years, under the influence of the Anglo-Saxon countries. From the Song period onwards, only learned literature, painting, calligraphy, the collection of books and works of art, and the designing of gardens found favour with the educated classes.
(1982:331) Yet this attitude could not influence the need or provision in the new urban centres for popular entertainment. The towns of the Song period, especially the capitals—Kai-feng, Hangchow, Peking—became permanent centres of entertainment. Amusement districts, separate from those where actors and musicians reigned supreme, served as a stage for professional showmen—
storytellers, mime artists, puppeteers, animal trainers, specialists in shadow theatre, animal imitators and presumably acrobats—and became centres of popular leisure and entertainment.
Military inf luences
The Chinese world of the eleventh to thirteenth centuries saw remarkable progress in military techniques, which remained unaffected by the attitudes of the governing classes and intelligentsia. The emergence of gunpowder, whose formula was reported in 1044, some 241 years before it was mentioned in the West, was to have a considerable influence on the physical preparation of the military in later periods.
A military academy was set up to train Song officers, in which 200–300 students trained over a three-year period. Examinations covered military history and strategy, the analects of loyalty, filial piety, kindness and love, but also practical tests in archery, riding and weightlifting. There is evidence according to Wu (1975:43) that the emperors were heavily committed to military progress. Sung Tai Chung (AD 967) restored the shooting ceremony, Jen Chung (AD 1022) examined warriors in riding and shooting, Sheng Chung (AD 1008) held shooting meets and feasts and Kao Chung of the Southern Song (AD 1127) established a law whereby common people could obtain official positions by learning shooting. In the move to mercenary armies, soldiers were chosen after a series of tests of physical aptitude—running, jumping, skill in shooting, eyesight—and classified according to height, the tallest being posted to crack units.
Social recreations
Ba Shan (1987b:37–8) claims, in contradiction to Gernet, that from the Song to the Yuan dynasties (AD 960–1368) a growth in health-oriented activities and physical recreations followed in the wake of economic success and urban development. Distinctions must obviously be drawn between the recreations of the court and those of ordinary folk, but there is evidence of universal interest and even participation.
Many of the popular activities continued from earlier periods. Dance continued to follow the basic rules and forms established by the Tang, although modifications were made to both the Gentle and the Violent Dances. Touhu was revised by Simaguang, new, complicated rules devised involving nine people in judging, marking and organizing ceremonials and playing music for every two players. Fairness and etiquette were emphasized. Shuttlecock became a popular activity, especially for children, who also played hide and seek, pa-hitting (a game like ‘peggy’ in the West) and a variety of games and activities vividly recorded in a genre of paintings called Ying-histu (paintings of children at play).
Wrestling continued to be popular and became commonplace in the streets and lanes, and public performances by women made their appearance. Skating in northern climes grew popular, but bull fighting which had originated in the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), and become popular under the Han, now
began to decline, possibly to prevent valuable livestock being destroyed, but possibly as a result of society’s interest in increasingly sophisticated forms of entertainment. Dragon boat racing continued in popularity during this period and was very common in the Song capital of Kaifeng, where races took place on Jinming Lake. Long-distance or cross-country running was also a popular activity, and those who displayed prowess were selected as couriers to carry military information.
Health and exercise
The tendency towards realism and the concept of man in a comprehensible world was reflected in patterns of exercise and health. The mystery and folklore which had governed earlier forms of exercise and which often sought ‘esoteric recipes for longevity’ (Ba 1987b:37) disappeared, and exponents began to investigate and develop more practical forms of exercise, based on actual physiological principles. There were still those, however, who advocated unrealistic forms of breathing and exercise. Chen Ro, or Chen Shi-i as he was described by Emperor Tai-Chung (AD 967), lay in bed for more than 100 days practising breathing, and adopted a 24-exercise routine of quiet sitting with exercise over a twelve-month period.
More realistic and practical however were the ideas contained in Bao Sheng Yau (Lu Essentials of Maintaining Health) by a Song Taoist priest, Pu Chuguan, who reflected that in the case of a healthy person, the blood circulates likes flowing water. He designed simple exercises for limbs, trunk and head which could be carried out at any place and at any time. The period also saw the introduction of Ba Duan Jin or Exercises in Eight Forms which are still in vogue today, and popular for effectiveness in health maintenance.
The systems varied according to the influence of northern, hard actions, or southern, soft actions. These exercises were aimed at mobilizing, digestion, strength, elimination of disease, circulation and kidney efficiency.
Another form of activity associated with health was the practice of sunbathing. Until its recent association with skin cancer, sunbathing, particularly in the West, was regarded as a healthy practice, associated with beaches, swimming and self esteem. Ba Shan (1987c:45) records how it has been described in the work of Bai Juyi (AD 772–846), a Tang poet whose poem ‘Sunbathing’
describes its relaxing and therapeutic effects, of Zhou Bangyan (AD 1056–
1121) a poet of the Northern Song whose description of sunbathing in winter likened it to the drinking of wine, and Zhou Mi (1232–98). In his Notes on the Southern Dynasty, it claims ‘sunlight is no doubt conducive to good health, as it can give a sudden boost to a person’s vital energy’. The ancient Chinese, without scientific evidence in support, were not in favour of exposure to the hottest of the sun’s rays, and traditionally bathed the back which, according to Chinese medicine, provided the main channels for the circulation of vital energy, blood and nutrients and key acupuncture points.
Sport forms and growing sophistication
One of the signs of growing sophistication in the field of sport was the use of the new art of printing which resulted in more and better texts on sporting forms, rules and regulations and techniques which, although in existence, had not been recorded in detail before the Song dynasty.
Another proof of the emergence of organized sport was the formation of sports associations. The emergence of Xiangpu (wrestling) societies, with their own rules and regulations and archery societies, with strict entry requirements, reflects the growing sophistication of society and sport. Archery was as popular in civilian life as it was necessary in the military and, in what must be one of the earliest pieces of research into sports participation, Shu Shi (AD 1037–1101) surveyed participation in Hebei’s Dingshou and Baoshu, and discovered the existence of 588 archery societies with a membership of 31,411 people, or nearly 15 per cent of the population.
Further evidence of sophistication in sport is provided in the History of the Song Dynasty which records that Emperor Taizong ordered his officials to draw up definite rules for polo. Standard sizes for playing area and goals were adopted, players of each team wore different colours and umpires and referees took charge.
The best example of the emergence of sport, as opposed to recreation, is provided by the classic text Wanjing (1282) which contains the most detailed regulations covering an activity which we would now call golf. There was an earlier reference to woodenball, wherein a ball was struck with a stick, which developed over time into chiuwan (hitting the pellet), in which players using clubs made of wood and bamboo competed over a terrain by hitting a solid wooden ball into holes. Details of the game which provide evidence of its golf nature are of interest to the sports historian.
Chiuwan, an ancient form of golf
The course or f ield of play
The course consisted of tees and holes, which could be as close as ten feet or as far apart as 100 paces, but there was no absolute limit. Holes tended to be in hollows, were marked with coloured flags, and locations were changed regularly. Players and spectators were not allowed to approach within five feet of holes to prevent cheating.
The equipment
Clubs were made of wood coated with animal ‘muscles’ and glue and had a bamboo handle. Clubs were of different length to suit the height of players, and different shapes. Players could select a club on arrival, but it could not be
changed during the course of a game. The balls were made of hard wood for durability, were proportional to the size of club used and were kept in a leather bag.
The players
The number of players could vary and different numbers were differently described. There was a big game (9–10), a middle game (7–8) a small game (5–6), a group (3–4) and a couple (2). When numbers were even, players formed couples and groups, but when odd, no groups were formed.
The playing system
Players gathered at the tee and the partner with the longest drive teed off.
When the ball stopped, its location was marked. The next player then hit the ball where it lay but was not allowed to use a tee, and so on until the hole was reached. Once a ball rolled into the hole, the hole was won and no more shots were allowed.
The result
Players collected counters before the start of a game and, according presumably to the number of holes won, counters were given for holes won, accumulated and at the end of the game the players with most counters were the winners.
Prizes were available donated by the players, and ranged from valuable items offered by the wealthy to cheap articles offered by poorer players. Ties apparently were possible.
The text also describes in great detail the techniques of striking the ball, and lists at least twenty-one rules and regulations mainly covering technical matters but some concerned with etiquette (see Wu 1975:62–8). The text also covers attitudes, selection of partners, correctness of action, the value of harmony, how to recognize the characters of different players and deal with proud players—laying stress on fairness and morality in sport. The game, it was also claimed, helped players relax, recuperate health and become cheerful, and the similarities with the modern game of golf are remarkable.
Summary
The period described above made its impact felt on the field of physical activity.
The growth of towns, wealth and spread of education provided a need for forms of entertainment during increasing leisure time. Gernet’s view that the governing classes despised physical effort may have been true for the literati and intelligentsia, but there is sufficient evidence of a range of activities enjoyed by the court and the people during this period to dismiss it as a valid perception
of the whole society. It is true that the literati rejected these physical expressions of leisure interest, but they themselves continued to enjoy touhu and weiqi and, as in any society, exceptions in both directions was probably existed.
In the field of health and exercise, new, more rational forms were devised, ball games continued in popularity and significant new sports like chiuwan, a forerunner of golf, emerged. The growing sophistication of the society is reflected in three main ways in the development of sporting forms: first in the growing sophistication of rules and regulations in such activities as polo, chiuwan, xiangpu and buda ball; second in the increasing number of texts available on sporting activities, a subject worthy of documentation in its own right; and third in the formation of special societies in archery, xiangpu and cuju.
THE YUAN (AD 1271–1368) AND MING (AD 1368–1644) DYNASTIES
Introduction
The general impression left by a survey of China in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries is one of an amazing economic and intellectual upsurge, and a comparison with the West leaves Europe backward in almost every respect—
trade, technology, scientific knowledge, political organization and the arts.
Marco Polo’s surprise, according to Gernet, at what he discovered was not simulated. The Ming dynasty was preceded by a Mongol invasion which relied for its success on a combination of the warrior tradition and military expertise. The Kingdom of the Western Liao was destroyed by Genghis Khan in AD 1218, alliances between the Song and the Mongols had finally destroyed the Chin by AD 1234, and the whole of North China fell under the Mongols.
It took them another forty years to gain possession of the Yangtse and the Southern provinces. They had however a very undeveloped administrative system. Territories were divided into private domains, and the situation was summarized by Liu Pingchung (AD 1216–74), an unfrocked buddhist monk who was summoned to the Kublai’s court at Karakorum in AD 1249. He presented a long memorandum on policy and administration, quoting the famous Han saying ‘one can conquer the world on horseback; one cannot govern it on horseback’.
The Yuan dynasty of the Mongols had inherited a China in full economic expansion, from which they were to profit, but the indiscipline of the Mongol nobility, the corruption of civil and local authorities in the provinces and the growing hostility of the Chinese masses, fuelled by harsh and insensitive actions and supported by the establishment and growth of secret societies, was to culminate in its collapse by AD 1355. During the period a number of envoys, merchants and missionaries made inroads into China, including the Venetian Marco Polo. The Ming dynasty (AD 1368–1644) consisted of three clearly
defined periods. The Hung-wu (AD 1368–98) and Yung-le (AD 1403–24) periods saw economic reconstruction, new and original institutions and diplomatic and military expansion. The late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century were periods of withdrawal and defence, before the third period, from AD 1520 onwards, saw a further Renaissance, marked by a whole series of economic, social and intellectual changes.
The founder of the Ming dynasty, who adopted the name of Hung-wu (1328–98) was the son of a goldwasher who had become a monk in 1344, then a rebel leader who between 1365 and 1367 eliminated rivals and established the Ming dynasty in 1368 at Nanking. By 1387, the whole of China was re-unified. A massive effort at reconstruction was undertaken between 1370 and 1398 to repair the ruination and destruction of the Mongol period. Irrigation, the restoration of land, the construction of reservoirs, repopulation of devastated areas and reafforestation were all contributions to repair the agrarian economy and form the basis of both the Ming and Ching empires’ reliance on agriculture. The Ming period saw the emergence of the functional division of the working population into peasant, soldier or craftsman who were dependent on three main ministries: finance, army and public works. Hung-wu’s background gave him an instinctive distrust of the literati and intelligentsia and impelled him to control the government and civil service by recruiting and promoting officials from the lower classes.
This tendency to centralize power in the hands of the emperor, govern by limited, restricted and secret councils, isolating imperial authority and developing secret police permeated the Ming dynasty and the climate of distrust it engendered grew worse with time. In AD 1421, the Ming dynasty transferred its seat of government to Peking from Nanking. Gradually, the early functional division of the population disintegrated and social mobility on the part of much of the population created major change from the start of the sixteenth century. The lowest strata of peasantry moved to the towns, seeking employment in small business and handicrafts or as servants for rich families.
There was considerable technical progress during the period, obvious in the number of technical treatises which appeared, particularly in weaving, publishing and ceramics. New machines for agricultural processes and the introduction of new crops and soil improvement led to massive progress and, by the sixteenth century, regional economic specialization had emerged to service a population which had grown from 70 million at the start of the period to 130 million at the end. Technical progress was accompanied as it had been in earlier epochs by social change: the rise of a proletariat and urban middle class, the evolution of a class of important merchants and businessmen and the transformation of rural life, influenced by the habits of the towns. Social progress was in turn accompanied by a remarkable development in artistic culture, in particular the theatre, the novel and a semi-learned, semi-popular culture