Ice beds, bamboo horses, ice frolics... Want to travel back in time to ancient times and play ice and snow sports!

BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- With the progress of various events at the Beijing Winter Olympics, people's enthusiasm for ice and snow sports is getting higher and higher.

In fact, there are many types of ice and snow sports in ancient China. According to Tong Tong, a doctor of literature and a teacher at Harbin University of Commerce, at first, the ice activities of the ancients were based on the needs of production and life. During the Song Dynasty, there were records of "ling beds" in relevant books, indicating that this activity had a certain degree of entertainment.

Data map: Performers wearing Qing Dynasty Eight Flags costumes staged a royal "ice frolic" in Beijing's Beihai Park. Photo by China News Service reporter Tomita

Ancient ice and snow culture, Tong Tong generally divided it into three categories.

One is the material basis created with ice and snow as the material, that is, ice and snow economy and trade, transportation, architecture, clothing, diet, winter fishing, etc.; the second type is the competition and entertainment activities with ice and snow as the medium, such as various ice sports; the third is the ideology, festival customs and art forms with ice and snow symbolic significance that are produced in the natural environment of ice and snow, such as ice lantern ice sculpture.

"Among them, in ancient times, in terms of ice and snow sports, in addition to ice skating, there are also 'bamboo horses' and dog carts (that is, dog sleds), ice beds and so on." Tong Tong said.

For example, in the Book of Sui, there is a record of "the land is full of snow, afraid of sinking into pits and traps, riding on wood" such a record. The so-called "riding on wood" refers to stepping on a wooden board similar to a sleigh and moving forward in the snow and ice.

In the New Book of Tang, there are the following texts: "Riding on wood to chase deer on the ice", "The custom is to ride on the ice on a wooden horse, with a board to rely on the foot, bending the armpit of the wood, and taking a hundred steps". Tong Tong introduced that these are all descriptions of ice hunting and skating.

During the Song Dynasty, ice and snow sports flourished. Books such as "Dream Creek Pen Talk" mention a kind of ice game called "Ling Bed", similar to a big sleigh, where several people sit on it and one person pulls a rope in front, similar to the current "snow circle".

The Ming Dynasty's "Zhi Zhongzhi" also mentioned, "Frozen in winter, you can drag the bed, use wooden planks to cross the bed or recommend, one person leads the rope in front, can pull two or three people, the ice is like flying, the snow is cloudy, and the embellishment is picturesque." "People tend to have a lot of fun.

To sum up, with the development of the times, the ice and snow sports of the ancients have become increasingly rich, and there have been various forms of ice activities such as skating, ice rock riding, sledding, and ice hockey.

In the exhibition area of the China International Fair for Trade in Services 2021, a participant watched the "Ice Map" displayed with digital technology at the booth of the Palace Museum. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu

Among them, speaking of "ice play", Tong Tong introduced that in 1625, according to the "Manchurian Old File Secret Record", Nurhaci held the first "Ice Games", in which the main projects were "kicking heads" (ice keju, ice hockey) and multi-person speed skating competitions.

She said that Qianlong once wrote an article entitled "Imperial Ice Frolic Endowment", believing that "ice frolicing is valued by the national system", noting that "national customs often have the code of ice frolicing", then there is formation speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating, ice bow and so on.

"People's passion for snow and ice goes far beyond that." Tong Tong said that there is a record in the "Tokyo Dream Record" about "shaping snow lions and installing snow lanterns to kiss the old", and the ancients would pile up snow lions on snowy days with different postures.

In her view, from ancient times to the present, our rich ice and snow culture, the core of which is the wisdom of harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature, the pure and sincere artistic spirit and the courage to be in awe and fearless. (End)