Traditional games of China
China has many traditional games, sports, and physical activities.[1]
Extinct games[edit]
Chuiwan[edit]
Chuiwan was an ancient Chinese game that can be considered an early form of golf.[2]
Cuju[edit]
Cuju was an ancient Chinese game that is similar to association football.[3]
Traditional games[edit]
Jianzi[edit]
In jianzi, players attempt to keep a shuttlecock from falling to the ground by hitting it with any part of their bodies other than their hands.[4]
Pitch-pot[edit]
See also: Pitch-pot
In pitch-pot (also known as Touhu), players attempt to throw arrows in to a pot with a narrow mouth. The game is explained in the Book of Rites, one of the Five Confucian Classics. Pitch-pot traditionally was governed by many rules of etiquette, as explained in the Book of Rites, though nowadays the game has more informal versions.
Variations of tag[edit]
Chicken vs eagle[edit]
In this game, one player is the eagle, another player is the chicken, and the remaining players are chicks. The chicks form a line behind the chicken by holding each other's waists, and the goal of the eagle is to tag the chicks, while the chicken tries to prevent this by holding their arms out and moving around. Throughout the game, the chicks must stay in the line formation, and if one of them is tagged, then they become the eagle.[5][6]
Catch the dragon's tail[edit]
All the players line up by holding each other's waists, with the player in the front known as the "dragon", and the player in the back known as the "tail". The goal of the dragon is to tag the tail, while all other players aim to prevent this by moving around. The players must stay in the line formation throughout the game, and once the dragon tags the tail, the players all move up one spot, with the former dragon now at the back of the line.[7][8]
Cat and mouse[edit]
All but two of the players form a circle around a player called the "mouse", with one player known as the "cat" staying outside of the circle. The encircling players rotate around the mouse for a certain amount of time, and once they stop, the cat tries to tag the mouse while both players run in and out of the circle, though the cat has to follow the exact path taken by the mouse.[9][7]
Martial arts[edit]
Board games[edit]
Go[edit]
Go is a board game in which players attempt to surround their opponents' pieces on the board with their own pieces in order to "capture" the opponents' pieces. The player that captures the most overall territory on the board wins the game.[10]
Xiangqi[edit]
Xiangqi is a board game with similarities to chess.[10][11]
Gambling games[edit]
Pai gow[edit]
Pai gow is a gambling game played with dominoes, in which the goal is to get four tiles with numbers that add up to nine or more.[12][10]
Boat racing[edit]
Dragon boat[edit]
Dragon boat racing is over 2,000 years old, with either 10 or 20 participants trying to row the dragon boat as fast as possible.[13]
Minority games[edit]
These games are played only by certain minority groups (ethnic or regional) in China.
Pearl ball[edit]
Pearl ball is a Manchu game which is similar to basketball. Six players from each team compete on a 28x15m court, with the goal of the offense being to shoot the ball into a small net held by one of their teammates, while some of the defenders have paddles they can use to deflect the ball away from the net.[14][15]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Vic-Liu (2019-07-22). "16 Unique Traditional Chinese Sports". Let's Chinese. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). 2013-10-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ Barr, Adam. "History of Football: Cuju". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ Tang, Ching Yuet. "A guide to jianzi, a Chinese game with a shuttlecock (but no racket)". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ "Children's Day special: Do you remember these games?[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ "How To Play Eagle Catch Chick: An Outdoor Game Of Tag For Groups". Little Day Out. 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ a b "Chinese Historical & Cultural Project - Traditional Chinese Games". chcp.org. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ "Catching the dragon's tail". Stuff. 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ "Here's What Recess Looks Like Around The World". Fatherly. 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
- ^ a b c Vincithevin (2022-11-23). "A Few Chinese Tabletop Games to Learn and Master". www.thebeijinger.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ "Chess returns to India". Chess News. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ "History Of Pai Gow - Global Casino Guide". www.globalcasinoguide.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ "Dragon Boat". ICF - Planet Canoe. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ "Young generations in Ningxia experience traditional ethnic sports - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
- ^ "Pearl Ball: Manchu competition now enjoyed by varied players|game 2011|chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
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