China News Service, Beijing, February 5 Title: How does the ancient competitive spirit of China and Greece reflect reality?
Author Chen Rongnu Director of the Institute of Comparative Literature, Beijing Language and Culture University
China and Greece are ancient civilizations with thousands of years of history, and the ancient civilizations of the two countries are concentrated in their respective ceremonial cultures, and the formation of Chinese and Greek etiquette and its system has a deep relationship with ancient competitive sports.
In the Axial Age (800-200 BC), both China and ancient Greece had ceremonial systems and value configurations related to competition, and some etiquette was accompanied by competition and competitive spirit. They have become a special historical form that carries the core of the ancient civilization and the "state of etiquette", with etiquette as the carrier and "internal cultivation" taking the form of "external reach".
The rethinking of Sino-Greek ceremonial culture and competitive spirit not only belongs to historical cognition, but also reflects the current reality on the occasion of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The "Gentleman's Dispute" in Chinese Archery
The Analects record that Confucius mentioned the archery ceremony many times when talking about the importance of "rituals." Zi Yue: "A gentleman has nothing to argue with, and he will shoot!" Let go and rise, down and drink. Its contention is also gentlemanly. ”
Judging from Confucius's words, archery has a competitive nature, so from "no dispute" to "contention", but from "concession and rise" to "lower and drink", the focus is on the cultivation of the character of "gentleman", even when competing, it also pays attention to humility and courtesy.
The Discussion of archery in the Analects recognizes that it is a necessary skill for a gentleman, and also recognizes that it is not a competition of skill and strength, but the cultivation of morality. The formation of these views is inseparable from China's historical context.
The "Township Shooting Ceremony" activity of the Confucian Temple in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. It is understood that the "township archery ceremony" arose in the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, is a kind of archery competition with a ceremonial nature, held every spring and autumn. Photo by Wang Jiankang, China News Service
In ancient Chinese sports history, there were five competitive sports, namely horn arrival, walking, riding, bowing and archery. Archery originated from the primitive hunting culture, and the most direct source is the shooting of birds and birds. From archery to archery, it is a long-term development process from hunting shooting, sub-sealing shooting to cultural shooting.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, archery competitions evolved into a means for Zhou Tianzi to deter the princes and exercise central power. For example, jin wen records that Zhou Tianzi often held archery competitions to test the archery skills of the princes, and more importantly, to examine whether the princes were loyal to the Zhou royal family.
Archery/archery is also an aristocratic education, one of the six arts of "etiquette, music, archery, imperial, book, and number" (the "archery" here is mostly a military archery technique). This kind of aristocratic training of "passing through the five classics and six arts" became the cultivation path of the gentleman of the "scholars" in the Spring and Autumn Period.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucians further supplemented and improved the ritual of shooting ceremonies. As far as the Analects and the Book of Rites are concerned, in the Confucius era, archery not only followed the "ancient way", but also channeled the aggressive instincts in the competition of the body, "inner Zhizheng, outer body straight" when shooting arrows, paying attention to the internal cultivation of gentleman's virtue and the unity of external etiquette, emphasizing the "gentleman's dispute", morality first, archery second.
The idea of "shooting in the middle of etiquette, to view virtue" has had a great influence on future generations, and the basic contours of the core and extension of Chinese etiquette culture have been laid, and the formation of traditional Chinese sports ethics ideas such as justice, benevolence and friendliness is closely related to this, and these ideas have also been influencing the development of contemporary Chinese sports.
In October 2021, the men's competition of the 11th National Paralympic Games and the 8th Special Olympics Archery Competition was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi. China News Service reporter Zhang Yuan photographed
Ancient Greek sports fostered ceremonial culture and civilizational traditions
Athletic olympia is generally recognized to have begun in 776 BC, and since then, competitive sports have played a comprehensive role in ancient Greek social culture.
The four pan-Hellenistic athletics, in addition to Olympia, but also pito, Eastmi (also known as the Isthmus) and Nego, gradually developed into "periodic, standardized, panhelian, and continuously enriched athletics", until the Roman Emperor abolished Olympia Athletic in 393 AD.
Model of the ancient Olympia Athletics venue. China News Service reporter Tan Daming photographed
The ancient Greek athletics had four outstanding features: competition for power, fair play, the honor of victory, and the worship of the gods.
Almost all competitive events are related to the use of strength, such as running, wrestling, horse racing, etc. The ancient Greeks were very much in favor of showing strength in competition, and even held separate competitions for women. For example, at the Hera Sports Festival in Olympia, there are women's running competitions.
The ancient Greek Athletics also advocated fair play, a concept that has continued into the modern Olympic Games. Anyone who cheats in the game is severely punished, paying a large fine, which is used to make the statue of Zeus.
The winner of a competitive meeting receives great honors, but more of a spiritual honor (such as wearing a crown of olive branches) than a material reward. The Greek word "agon" means "to race for reward."
The Olympia Athletic program included a sacrifice to Zeus. Religious ceremonies and competitions were two sides of the same coin in the eyes of the ancient Greeks, and it was difficult to distinguish them. This is where the fire-making ceremony of the modern Olympic Games comes from.
In March 2008, the ceremony of collecting the flame of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing was held at the Ancient Olympia Arena, and the High Priestess received an olive branch from the boy. China News Service reporter Wang Huan took a photo
In the ancient Greek gymnasium (where sports training was usually held), three gods were often placed. Hercules wielded power, Eros, the god of love, ruled friendship, and God made Hermes in charge of eloquence. This meant that the ancient Greek sport (including athletics and daily training) was to train people who were physically, mentally, and intellectually superior.
The overall pursuit of excellence in physical strength, intellect and eloquence is a broad conception of education that fosters the ritual culture and civilizational traditions of the ancient Greeks, and its influence extends to the entire Mediterranean region with the expansion of the Roman Empire's conquest of the territory, and lasts from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD, long-term radiation and influence of Western social ideas and individual behavior.
The ancient Greek system of sports and athletics constructed a whole set of competitive spirit and value culture, which was not only a reflection of the social concepts of the time, but also helped shape the Later Olympic motto of "faster, higher, stronger - more united", as well as the modern sportsmanship of fair play, friendship first, and competition second.
The Olympic motto badge launched by the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee. China News Service reporter Yi Haifei photographed
The ancient spirit of Sino-Greek competition reflects reality
To understand the competitive spirit and historical form of the two major civilizations of China and Greece, the purpose is to build a modern pluralistic civilization facing the future and move towards win-win cooperation in mutual reference.
President Xi Jinping said at the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the legitimate seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations that the world is rich and colorful, and diversity is the charm of human civilization, and it is also the source of vitality and motivation for world development. "Unless you are beautiful, you can't become a miracle of one person."
In the current vigorous development of modern sports, the Olympic spirit and the ancient competitive spirit of China and Greece are not separated, but have both inheritance and innovation. For example, as one of the seven major events of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the "Winter Biathlon", which is a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, requires athletes to shoot horizontally or vertically after each distance of skiing, and then rank according to the overall performance.
If you look at it from another perspective, "biathlon" is vaguely the modern transformation of shooting competition between China and Greece since ancient times. As Winter Olympics events, they highlight the spirit of solidarity. The "biathlon" competition includes a team event, which can be completed not only by individual skiing skills and shooting skills, but by seeking collective cooperation among team members. "More unity" reminds athletes from all over the world not to forget unity, friendship and cooperation when competing.
On February 2, 2022, athletes trained at the National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou to prepare for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo by China News Service reporter Tomita
As two ancient civilizations, China and Greece should cooperate for a long time in the construction of the modern civilized world, jointly speak out, condense the competitive spirit with good traditional genes and modern vitality, and promote the development of human civilization towards permanent peace.
In the long run, the modern Olympic Games pursue the Olympic spirit of "mutual understanding, long-term friendship, solidarity and fair competition". Drawing on the ancient civilizational traditions of China and Greece will help further enrich the Olympic sports spirit of communicating ancient and modern times, and actively build a good international environment and a community with a shared future for mankind.
The ancient Sino-Greek "state of etiquette", the modern Olympic spirit, and the multi-civilizational mutual learning that can be expected in the future are bringing more understanding to the possibility of building peace and friendship in the three dimensions of history, present and future. (End)
Expert Profile:
Chen Rongnu, director of the Institute of Comparative Literature at Beijing Language and Culture University, provided a picture by herself
Chen Rongnu, Doctor of Literature, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor and Postdoctoral Co-supervisor of Beijing Language and Culture University, is currently the chief expert of the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation, the director of the Institute of Comparative Literature of Beiyu Language, and the editor-in-chief of the series Contemporary Comparative Literature, and her main academic research directions include Western classical literature research, cross-cultural drama research, and comparative literature research. He is the author of the monographs "Women and Lust: Ancient Greece and the World", "Homer's World - Modern Interpretation and Comparison", "Simmel and Modernity", translated "Philosophy of Money", "Xenophon Translation Notes", and published more than 70 papers in authoritative academic journals at home and abroad.