A "shuttlecock" kicks out cultural self-confidence

Dazhong reporter Fan Mingyu reported from Jinan

Recently, the video of the shuttlecock game in Xiyang County, Jinzhong, Shanxi Province has caused an uproar on the Internet. The contestants in the video are agile and graceful, and they are constantly accompanied by difficult movements when kicking the shuttlecock, as if they are showing Chinese kung fu. This amazed countless netizens, and they all said, "I thought that kicking shuttlecock in the TV series was a special effect, but it seems that the shooting is still too conservative".

Nowadays, in the city's large and small parks, shuttlecock kicking is one of the most popular sports for citizens. Whether it is a child who has never been in the world or an old man who has been weathered, he can kick the shuttlecock twice and enjoy the "happiness on his feet". Such traditional sports games come from the folk and are the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people, which not only has unique national characteristics, but also is a kind of cultural inheritance and expression, showing the cultural idea of "cooperation and progress" in traditional Chinese culture.

Image source: Visual China

From ancient to modern

In the video screen of the shuttlecock competition in Xiyang County, the players showed their extraordinary shuttlecock kicking skills in the spacious gymnasium. Everyone is light and vigorous, the movements are smooth and free, and the shuttlecock is played superbly. Watching this video makes people feel like they are in the middle of a wonderful martial arts performance, and they can't help but want to try it out for themselves.

The shuttlecock is made of cloth or leather wrapped in small copper coins or iron sheets as a base, and a bunch of feathers are inserted on it. According to historical documents and unearthed cultural relics, the shuttlecock originated in the Han Dynasty in China, and the murals, stone carvings, and terracotta figurines of the Han Dynasty have depicted the image of the shuttlecock many times. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang and Song dynasties, the game of shuttlecock gradually developed into an artistic performance, which was not only popular among the people, but also loved by the royal family and aristocrats, and the skills were more superb.

According to the Song Dynasty Gao Cheng's "The Origin of Things" recorded: "At this time, children take lead and tin as money, pretend to be chicken feathers, call them sheaths, and walk and kick in groups of three or five, with incorruptible inside and out, dragging guns, shrugging knees, protruding belly, Buddha top beads, scissors, and abductors of various colors...... "It can be seen that at this time kicking shuttlecock has a way of kicking while running, and not only kicking with feet, but also playing with shuttlecock with knees, abdomen, and head. And in the Song Dynasty, due to the excessive number of people kicking shuttlecocks, there was also a small business that made a living by selling shuttlecocks.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the game of shuttlecock was at its peak, and more and more people participated. At that time, shuttlecock was not only used to exercise the body and nourish the body and mind, but also to show skills and compete. In the Qing Dynasty's Pan Rongma's "Ji Sheng in the Year of Emperor Beijing", he described the situation of Beijing folk shuttlecock kicking, and the original text recorded: "There are people who specialize in kicking shuttlecock in the capital, dancing with their hands, many stopping, if the head is like the face, if the back is like the chest, the group turns and strikes, with its high and low, the movement is appropriate, and it will not fall, and it is also a stunt in the play." It is reported that the shuttlecock has a disc kick, crutch kick, jumping kick, hook, top tiptoe and other kicking methods, the skilled can kick out the "embracing the moon in the arms", "the air abduction fish", "white snake spitting letter", "Su Qin back sword", "two dragons spitting pearls", "harrier turnover" and other more than 20 kinds of tricks, so that the audience is amazed.

From tradition to innovation

As a traditional folk sports activity, the shuttlecock kicking can be loved by the masses and flourish for a long time, because it can not only exercise and fitness, but also is an entertainment activity, feasible in all seasons, suitable for all ages. More importantly, this sport reflects not only the wisdom and creativity of the Chinese, but also the unity and cooperation of the Chinese.

In the 30s of the 20th century, a number of nationally famous shuttlecock kicking experts emerged, and the shuttlecock kicking technology has also been improved on the basis of popularization. On the basis of fancy shuttlecock kicking, the evolved and developed shuttlecock sport also flourished.

Shuttlecock is a kind of sports that compete across the net, which integrates the field of badminton, the rules of volleyball, and the technology of football, and is a sport rich in ornamentation, competitiveness and fitness. In 1984, the former State Sports Commission made the "Decision on Listing Shuttlecock as an Official National Competition", marking a new development of shuttlecock from popularization to improvement.

In 1987, the "China Shuttlecock Association" was established in Beijing, and shuttlecock was included in the track of organized, led and planned formalized development. This fully reflects the country's emphasis on shuttlecock, a traditional national sport, and its care for the health of the whole people. Today's shuttlecock is a comprehensive sport that integrates history, culture, art, science, education and other aspects.

From inside and outside the Great Wall, to the north and south of the Great River, you can see the people playing shuttlecock everywhere. This sport can not only develop physical qualities such as bounce, speed, agility and endurance, but also cultivate the fighting spirit of bravery, tenacity, wit, agility and unity, which is beneficial to the development of mass sports activities for the whole people in the mainland.

From entertainment to self-confidence

Sports, so to speak, is a culture that is expressed through body movements and gestures. A nation's traditional sports use body language to express the survival mode and state of a specific nation, constituting the nation's sports culture system, making the national cultural self-confidence more basic, broader and deeper.

Martial arts, wrestling, chess, archery, dragon boat, shuttlecock, five-bird gymnastics, dragon and lion dances and other traditional Chinese sports are the products of the historical development of the mainland, with rich national cultural connotation and humanistic spirit, reflecting the rational thinking and theoretical wisdom of the Chinese nation on body culture in the development of more than 5,000 years.

Therefore, traditional sports must be inherited, not only to educate and inherit the content and style of sports, but also to further explore the deep cultural connotation of these contents and styles, strengthen the interpretation of the humanistic spirit of excellent traditional sports, and explore the use of traditional culture to empower traditional sports.

Nowadays, the opportunity for young people to contact the traditional national sports platform has been greatly improved, taking shuttlecock as an example, many schools have incorporated shuttlecock into the classroom, and actively organized various shuttlecock competitions, the purpose is to let young people contact and learn shuttlecock in a good atmosphere, and some of them will be interested. Only by expanding the mass base of shuttlecock can it play a role in social promotion and promote the comprehensive and coordinated development of events and industries.

It is the common responsibility of all Chinese people to inherit and develop the excellent traditional Chinese culture. As far as the inheritance and promotion of traditional sports is concerned, it needs the recognition and support of the whole society. Only by enhancing the society's sense of identity and pride in traditional sports can we further invigorate the national spirit, awaken the national consciousness, unite the national strength, and maintain the national unity.