Why is soccer called cuju in ancient times

Cuju, also known as "step on the bow", "cuju", "cuju round", "build a ball", "kick round" and so on, "cu" has the meaning of foot cu, step, kick, "cu" earliest Department of outer leather, solid rice bran ball. Therefore, "cuju" is to refer to the ancient people to foot cu, step, kick the leather ball activities, similar to today's soccer. According to historical records, as early as in the Warring States period of Han folk popular recreational Cuju game, and from the Han Dynasty and become a military practice method, the Song Dynasty and the emergence of Cuju organization and Cuju artists, the Qing Dynasty began to popular ice knit bow. Therefore, it can be said that cuju is an ancient Chinese long-lasting, influential a sports wonders.

May 20, 2006, Cuju has been approved by the State Council as intangible cultural heritage in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Cuju, an ancient Chinese soccer ball, is also called cuju in our ancient history. Regarding the origin of cuju, Liu Xiang, a scholar of the Western Han Dynasty, wrote in his "Farewell Records" that "Cuju is rumored to have been made by the Yellow Emperor." Although this legend is a product of hero worship, but from the Central Plains around the prehistoric sites in the stone ball relics unearthed continuously, the human race at that time to create this form of sports, reflecting this form of sports has a fairly long history.

The Warring States period, cuju has become quite popular sports activities. According to written in the second century B.C., the "Historical Records - Su Qin biography" recorded, then the politician Su Qin to the king of Wei introduced the prosperity of Qi, said: Qi's capital, Linzi, the inhabitants of the life of the rich and joyful, people often participate in a variety of recreational activities, and Cuju in the local is one of the most popular projects. At that time, not only Qi, Wei, these northern regions, is in the south of some places, also prevalent cuju activities.

After the unification of the six states by Qin, this kind of movement seemed to have been in decline for a while, but into the Han Dynasty, cuju activities with the development of economic and cultural began to flourish. Whether it is folk, or the court, cuju activities into a trend. At that time. Cuju has two forms, one is based on the musical accompaniment of cuju dance, kicking is not limited to the venue, the performers to their skills in the musical accompaniment kicked out a variety of patterns. In the Han portrait stone, painted bricks, often see this kind of pattern, and to show the women's cuju picture is dominated, that women's cuju at this time has been the first precedent. Another is in the stadium to the confrontation of the main game of cuju. This kind of game is mostly in the specialized stadium - "Cuju city" in the stadium at each end of the six goals, called "Cuju room". According to the description of the poem "Cuju City Inscription" by Li You of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the game was played with six goalkeepers on each side, and there were both referees and judges to enforce the law, as well as a set of rules and regulations for the competition. Since this kind of game is quite intense and confrontational, it is mostly prevalent in the military training of the army.

By the Three Kingdoms to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the military significance of cuju gradually back to secondary position, and the role of the game entertainment is more prominent. With this to the time, there is also a series of reforms. Such as the invention of the inflatable bow; appeared in different forms of goal, one is at each end of the field erected two zhang high bamboo poles, poles on the net into the goal, suitable for the two teams directly against the game. One is the center of the field, a single goal, the goal of the net has a goal hole, the game players stand on both sides of the goal, with a variety of difficult positions to kick the ball into the hole.

Cuju in the Song Dynasty, following the Tang Dynasty, further developed in the folk. At this time the main prevalence in the center of the field set up a goal form, and the Tang Dynasty, a single goal form is basically the same. In addition to the form of a goal, the Song Dynasty also prevailed in order to show the individual skills of kicking, known as "white hit". Can be performed by a single person, can also be two or three people to more than ten people **** with the performance. At that time, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Taizong Zhao Guangyi and Minister Zhao Pu and other good "white hit" Cuju and famous. Cuju artists also appeared in the folk organization - "Qiyun Society", in the Southern Song Dynasty at the time of Lin'an (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province). It was the most powerful cuju organization. This kind of organization is probably the earliest single sport association in the world.

After the Yuan and Ming dynasties, cuju activities have gradually moved to a purely recreational form of the game. In the Ming Dynasty, Du Xuan painted "ladies", there is a performance of ladies cuju picture, the picture, there are a few ladies in the cuju game, one of them are tottering to kick the ball, on both sides of the partner in the concentrated stare at the kicked up ball, the picture is vivid and interesting. To the Qing Dynasty, Cuju activities have become mainly women, children's play content, although the hobby of ice skating Manchu people have combined it with skating, invented a form of sports known as "ice Cuju", as the training content of the forbidden army, but this is only the prevalence of ancient China for more than two thousand years of the traditional Cuju activities of the residual charm only. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, under the constraints of social factors, with the gradual introduction of modern Western soccer, the traditional Chinese cuju activities were finally replaced.