On February 4, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games officially opened, offering a simple, safe and wonderful opening ceremony to the world. Nearly 3,000 athletes from about 90 countries and regions will compete on the same stage to achieve "faster, higher and stronger" ice and snow transcendence. In fact, China and ice and snow sports have an indissoluble relationship. In 2015, the Altay region of Xinjiang was internationally recognized as the "origin of human skiing", from the origin of human ice and snow sports to the Winter Olympics, connecting the history, present and future of China's ice and snow sports.
Yes, human skiing originated in China!
A petroglyph found in the Altay region of Xinjiang on the mainland confirms the claim that human ice and snow sports originated in China: on ancient rocks, vague human figures are carved, and the movement of skiing can be faintly seen.
This petroglyph dates back to the Paleolithic Period, where the ancestors of the Paleolithic Age, in order to survive, made skis from fur for transportation and hunting, and were able to ride freely in the snow and ice.
Altay ski hunting petroglyphs
But these fur skis are not the sports equipment of the Ataire herders, but one of the tools they use to make a living. Tens of thousands of years ago, Herders in Altay stepped on these fur skis and skied through the snowy mountains with their superb skiing skills. In this way, when hunting, skis speed up the speed and agility of herders when hunting, and the prey naturally falls into their hands. This method of using skis as a means of transportation has continued to this day. In the 1960s, postmen and border guards living in Altay would still pedal their skis through remote mountain villages and border defenses.
To this day, many local residents of Altay still have this kind of fur ski in their homes, and this is also the prototype of the earliest skiing event - "cross-country skiing". To this day, "Fur Skiing" is frequently featured in cultural heritage exhibitions, and Altay also holds a fur skiing competition every year.
However, in modern times, China has been in a weak position in ice and snow sports. Nor is there any empirical evidence of the relevant historical origins that can be internationally recognized.
To change this situation, an old man has been quietly paying for decades. He is Shan Zhaojian, who is known as the "father of Chinese skiing". In 1957, at the age of 19, Shan Zhaojian became the first ski champion in New China. After retiring from the army, he spent a decade confirming one of the thoughts in his mind: skiing originated in China. With this in mind, he studied history and archaeology, and traveled all over China.
Eventually, Shan Zhaojian locked down the Altay region and found traces of the petroglyph at the beginning of this article. After years of root-seeking and tracking, it was confirmed that China is the origin of human ice and snow sports.
The "Frozen" of the Ancient Chinese
By the Sui and Tang dynasties, the skill of skiing was popularized among various ethnic groups in the north, such as The Murwei, Uighurs (Uighurs), Wandering Ghosts, Banogu, and Bashimi. According to the Sui Shu Murwei Biography, "The Southern Chamber Wei traveled north from the eleventh to the North Room Wei, divided into nine tribes, living around the Tuqi Mountain... The land is full of snow, afraid of pits and traps, riding on wood, and it is customary to catch mink for business, crowned with fox pigs, and clothed with fish skins. "The Murwei people mainly live in the Nenjiang River, located in the southern part of the Daxing'an Mountains, the climate is extremely cold, the rivers are frozen in winter, and everywhere is covered with snow, so they can only rely on hunting to feed their stomachs, and their clothes can only wear animal fur.
In such a cold environment, as a hunter, it is natural to work speed and agility, so the new form of skiing riding wood was born! This is not to let you ride a piece of wood through the ice and snow, but to step on a sleigh-like wooden board to walk in the snow and ice, the wooden board is generally 4 feet long, 5 inches wide, one left and one right, tied to both feet. In this way, not only can the speed be increased, but also the ditch can be prevented. It is said that the speed of "riding on wood" can actually catch up with a galloping horse!
The harsh winters are similar, but the forms of skiing vary. North of the Changbai Mountains, in the Songhua River and the Heilongjiang River basin, the ancestors of the Jurchen people, a kind of ski equipment called "bamboo horse" was popular in their area. According to the "Great Yuan Yi Tongzhi", "shaped like a slingshot, four feet long, five inches wide, one left and one right, tied to two feet, excited, snow on the ice, can reach galloping horses." From the perspective of size and wearing method, it is similar to the "riding wood" of the Murongwei people, except that the "bamboo horse" is made of bamboo pieces, and the shape is like a slingshot, while the person stands on the bamboo horse, holding a stick in his hand, holding a force, and the person is like a "weapon" on the slingshot, which can glide for more than ten meters at once. Yes, like the Murwei people, the "Bamboo Horse" propaganda copy is still "a horse that can catch up with the galloping speed".
In the Tang Dynasty, another type of ski called "Trojan Horse" appeared, when a tribe in the northern frontier simply named itself "Trojan Turk". According to the New Book of Tang, "The three tribes of the Trojan Turks, namely Dubo, Milego, and Ozhi... Ride on a wooden horse on the ice, with a board to ride on the foot, bend the armpit of the wood, take a hundred steps, and the momentum is rapid. "The skis are rectangular or oval in shape, with their front ends upturned, wrapped back in horse skins and wrapped around the bottom of the board, and tied to their feet with ropes or straps.
The use method is improved compared to "riding wood" and "bamboo horse": when going uphill, the herders directly untie the wooden horse and hold it with their hands to go forward; when walking on the flat ground, alternately stab the ground with a double cane, and alternately slide on the double board; and when going downhill, just hold it with a cane and then slide down quickly. This improved "Trojan horse" has been greatly improved in terms of wearing comfort, efficiency and body feeling when using. However, it should be noted that the last three words in this historical material are "rapid and exciting", which may have long been doomed to skiing as a sports competition.
The real ice play is more exciting than "An Lingrong"
"Riding on wood", "bamboo horse", "wooden horse" was originally invented as a tool for hunting and making a living in the cold areas of the north, but how can words such as "reachable galloping horses" and "rapid excitement" not arouse human curiosity about new things!
Although skiing was originally a skill for making a living, in the process of skiing, the dopamine secreted by Fast and Furious was honest, so from the Song Dynasty onwards, skiing was no longer exclusive to the northern peoples, and it began to go to the world in another form.
After no longer used as an auxiliary tool for hunting, the style of ski equipment suddenly changed dramatically. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the "ice bed" was popular, and it was also called "ling bed", "dragging bed", "maple bed" and so on. Shen Kuo once saw the ice bed in Cangzhou moving freely on the river, and after being shocked, he wrote this insight into the "Mengxi Pen Talk": "Between Xin'an and Cangjing... The drivers are dressed in reeds. The winter moon is a small sitting, and it is dragged on the ice, which is called Lingmu. Ice beds are usually covered with warm, soft futons for the warmth of those sitting on the ice beds, while "ice coachmen" wear "reed hakama", that is, pants with grass tied to the outside, which are both warm and non-slip, while the ropes on the ice beds are usually made of camel hair, and there is a long plush at the handle.
The emperor's gorgeous ice bed surrounded by people in "Ice Play"
As soon as the ice bed appeared, it won the favor of many people, and Song Dynasty officials also sat on the ice bed to work. Later, in the Ming Dynasty, after The Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di set the capital in Beijing, the imperial family was full of interest in such a long ice age in the north. During the Ming Dynasty, Liu Ruoyu recorded in the "History of the Ming Palace": "Outside the Yangde Gate, the winter solstice is frozen, the bed can be dragged, the wood is used as a flat, the extra bed or the grass mat is recommended, one person leads the rope in front, two or three people can be pulled, and the ice is like flying." "But the one who is most interested in bringing skiing to sports competitions and entertainment projects is the ice frolic during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty."
In fact, long before the Manchus entered the customs, ice frolic was already popular, but at that time, ice frolic was called "Tatar Slipper", and the tool of Ice Frolic was called "Tassel Shoes". This shoe looks a little cool, that is, to tie the iron bar under the shoe and glide on the ice. According to the old Manchu records: "On the second day of the first lunar month in the year of the Yi Ugly (1625 AD), Khan led the People's Fu Jin, the Eight Banners of the Beyler, (and) the Fujin, the Mongolian Beyler, (and) the Fu Jin, the wives of the Han officials and officials, to the ice of the Prince River to play the game of kicking and playing football..." At this time, the activity of ice play had not yet become a regular project, there was no fixed time and place, until the hands of the Qianlong Emperor who could play, the sport of ice play took a qualitative leap.
"Ice Fun Map" (partial) collection of the Palace Museum
The Qianlong Emperor loved to make a scene of everything, and the fun things were not willing to miss, so he held an ice festival every year, and he was still very persistent, reigning for sixty years, never interrupted. Conservative calculations, three times a year is equivalent to holding more than two hundred ice festivals, and thousands of people have not had any problems. In the film and television drama "The Biography of Zhen Huan", An Lingrong was assassinated by Qi Concubine, and after his voice was broken, he practiced ice frolicking hard and regained the grace of the emperor, but if you think that the ice frolic of the Qing Dynasty just danced and ran on the ice, then you can underestimate the project of ice frolic.
According to reports, all the projects of Ice Play are carried out in an intensive manner, and even the competition to show individual skills is carried out one by one in a huge team of dozens or even hundreds of people. The early ice play was only flag skating, archery, and later developed into playing instruments on the ice, dancing, etc., no matter what form, the ice players must maintain a certain speed, and also have to take care of the people before and after, to maintain the beauty and neatness of the formation. In addition, there are also some skill-type projects in the ice play, which can be called acrobatics on the ice. For example, when playing on the ice, complete the double lift, but also complete the lifting pole while traveling on the ice... In the later stage, there were even high-intensity projects with six miles of ice skating speed, one person lifting two or even three people.
Even more breathtaking is the ice bow, the ball on the ice is made of leather, the way of playing is similar to modern rugby, when grabbing the ball, even on the ice, it is still necessary to use both hands and feet. According to the statistics of the "Combined Painting of Ice And Play", on the Tailiu Pond in the square circle, there are more than 500 people participating in the Keju, and a literati once wrote a poem describing this scene: "Peng Bo Qiang supported the swaying, and the horn Xu looked at the kee circle." Throw the lion hook with the brocade grab, probe from the jaw to hold the beads to sleep. ”
Ice frolic not only attracted Qing Dynasty people, but also foreigners loved to watch
Qianlong loved Ice Frolic all his life, and as a lover of literature and art, the "periphery" of Bing Frothy was also born. For example, Qianlong was addicted to writing poetry, and in the tenth year of Qianlong (1745 AD), Qianlong immediately wrote a post-viewing feeling "Ice Frolic Endowment" after reading the Ice Frolic Ceremony. As soon as this article came out, it had a huge response, followed by a "literary trend" with the theme of ice frolic. The official Shangshu Wang Youdun also wrote a post-viewing feeling of the same title, "Ice Frolic Endowment".
The Qianlong Emperor's "Imperial Ice Frolic Order" written by Ji Huang
The "circle of calligraphy and painting" was not far behind, and headed by Jin Kun, an old court painter of the three dynasties of Kang Yongqian, he joined forces with Cheng Zhidao and Fu Long'an to draw a realistic long volume of "Ice Frolic Map", and also specially asked the university scholar Ji Huang to record the full text of Qianlong's "Ice Frolic Endowment" at the end of the volume. In addition, on August 13, the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790 AD), Qianlong's eightieth birthday, his descendants united to present eighteen chapters of color dance and music, and according to the system of triumphant songs, using the ancient method of one word and one sound, three hundred poems were selected from Qianlong's poems to create the "Three Hundred Chapters of Wanshou Qu Song". Among them, the 250th song "Annual Ice Frolic Reward": "It is intended to be rewarded for both martial arts and martial arts, and it is strong to freeze the abdomen." So I tried to play in a thousand teams of ice, and rushed to the front of the cold to break the wax rope. "It is currently the first and only ice sports movement with musical notation in ancient literature.
Jin Kun, Cheng Zhidao, and Fu Long'an co-painted the volume of "Ice Play"
From the poems with the theme of "Ice Frolic", it is not difficult to find that like the Tang Dynasty's polo, the Qianlong Emperor also served Bing Frolic in domestic and foreign affairs. In the early years, during the conquest of the nine sons, the Yongzheng Emperor had to be cruel to his own brothers, resulting in estrangement of relatives. When he arrived at Qianlong, he wanted to ease the relationship with his uncles, but it was not good to go against the wishes of the Yongzheng Emperor, so he used the grand and happy activity of the Ice Frolic Ceremony to woo the uncles. In addition, Qianlong knew in his heart that the empress dowager was not his biological mother, and was worried that the empress dowager would interfere in politics, so he made a rule: La rifeng Emperor And Empress Dowager Guan Bingjiao. Every year, the Qianlong Emperor ran to Shou'an Palace to accompany the empress dowager to breakfast, and then accompanied him all the way to watch the ice frolic ceremony, after reading it, the Qianlong Emperor accompanied the empress dowager to dinner, and finally sent the empress dowager back to the palace. The empress's sense of existence brushed enough, and she also had enough to eat and drink, and she was naturally happy.
Of course, the Qianlong Emperor was also very good at using ice as a diplomacy. In the "Imperial Poetry Collection", there are ten poems that record the banquet of foreign countries to participate in the ice frolic ceremony, among which there are the ethnic leaders of the Four-Guard Laqiros Department, the Heshuo Special Department, the Dulbert Department, the Turbat Department, the Gorkha and Inner Mongolia, Hami and other places, as well as the korean, Annam, Liuqiu, Siam, Burma and other countries. According to the Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, "King Cheling Delek of Turbat County, Khotan's Yulong Hashi Four Pins Aqimu Bok Morommumus, the Korean King's Envoy Li Zaixie, the Deputy Envoy Yu Xiding, the Siamese State Envoy Pashi Slippery Suntong Ya Pai Na Chi Tu, the Taiwan Wu'ao General Society Fan Leader Hua Du Wa, the Alishan Headquarters Fan Leader Abali, and others visited the Xihua Gate with Qianlong and watched the ice frolic together with Qianlong. Qianlong believed that "the new domain in the northwest is called the old vassal,...... Bing Fei is still a clean and honest training." In a harmonious atmosphere, Qianlong and the foreign delegation watched bingxiao together, which not only showed the political, military and economic strength of the Great Qing Dynasty, but also played a deterrent effect on other countries, and at the same time showed a colorful and unique Chinese sports culture.
Author: Jinling Xiaodai
Introduction: Jinling Xiaodai: a native of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, post-90s, columnist, member of Jiangsu Writers Association, three levels of literary creation, good at the creation of literature, history and culture works, published about 1 million words in newspapers and periodicals, dozens of works have been widely reprinted, and have long been contributed to many well-known domestic media.
Source: "Jinling Xiaodai" public number
Review, Release: Zhang Yizhe