With a score of 4-0, the men's football team of China beat Myanmar during the Hangzhou Asian Games. But do you know soccer has a long history in China?
The ancient capital Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province has just held the National Games. As the capital of 13 dynasties in Chinese history, from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC-771 BC) to the Tang Dynasty (618 AD-907 AD), the ancient city has never been far from sports. During that time, it held many sports events, such as cuju games.
Cuju was an ancient Chinese competitive game. It was mainly about kicking a ball through an opening into a net. As an ancestor (祖先) of soccer, it first appeared in the ancient Chinese historical book Zhan Guo Ce, which describes cuju as a way of entertainment (娱乐) among the common people.
Later, cuju was commonly played in the army (军队)—for training in the capital Xi'an, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). Emperor Hangaozu Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, was a cuju fan. He not only liked watching cuju games, but always tried his footwork on the field (场地). Liu Che, emperor of the Han Dynasty, who was crazy about cuju, would build a cuju field wherever his army went. He used cuju as a way of training soldiers.
Up to the Tang Dynasty, women cuju players were very popular in the royal court (皇宫), as emperors enjoyed watching cuju games. At that time, different kinds of skill were widely used in playing cuju, mainly serving as a form of entertainment.
As a way of national culture protection, cuju was listed into China's intangible cultural heritages (非物质文化遗产) in 2006.