I don't know who cut the fine leaves, and the spring breeze in February is like scissors. After the steep February, we will soon usher in mid-spring. In the mid-spring season, qingming and light rain, men and women and children come to the green, naturally to play some games, what shooting willows, tug-of-war, is definitely a must-have game project. However, do you know that these game projects have been popular since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period of the Chu State.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, aristocratic men were required to learn the Six Arts, including archery. In order to compete in talent, the men will compare arrows under the willow tree, of course, there is no shortage of Chu people. King Zhuang of the Chu State was one of the famous overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period, and he made a splash, gradually freed himself from the control of the traitors, worked hard to rule, turned the tide, and left a story of winning the Central Plains. The reason why he can achieve so much is because he is really good at using people.
"Chu has a nurturing base, and a good shooter also." Go to the willow leaf and shoot it in a hundred steps, a hundred shots and a hundred shots. There are thousands of people on the left and right, all of whom are good at shooting. The meaning of this sentence is that there is a person named Yang Yuji in the Chu Kingdom, who can shoot willow leaves from a hundred steps away, or even a hundred shots, and people who have seen him shoot arrows say that he is a sharpshooter. The Chu God Archer Yang Yuji, who left behind the custom of shooting willows, was one of the fierce generals under King Zhuang of Chu.
From the point of view of martial virtue, this person once showed great courage in the chu state's war against other countries, especially when the chu state faced the rebellion of douju pepper, daring to use his own archery skills to defeat the enemy and win victory. At that time, the king of ChuZhuang was the time when the tiger fell to Pingyang, and Yang Yuji still did not abandon the monarch, but chose to fight alongside the king of Zhuang, and finally received the recommendation of Sun Shu'ao, and from then on, he shocked the Chu state.
From the perspective of political ability, Yang Youji can prepare the ambush in advance through the Wu army to produce a light enemy mentality during the funeral of the Chu state, and finally win the victory, we find that Yang Yuji is very cautious and considerate of the overall situation. His ability is not just as simple as archery.
In terms of pattern, Yang Yuji was very indifferent to fame and fortune, he was loyal to chu guoyi, obeyed the duties of a courtier, and even if he only did the relatively small official position of gongsan yin in his later years, he still did not betray the chu state, which made later literary works continue to praise his style.
In the early years of the Warring States, in order to revive the Chu state, King Hui of Chu, a descendant of King Zhuang of Chu, recruited more eclectic talents, and even the craftsmen became his subordinates, according to Lü Buwei's "Lü Shi Chunqiu" record, Gong Hui wang once built cloud ladders and other war tools for the Chu state. The tug-of-war game we are playing now originated from a weapon called hook strength created for King Hui of Chu like a public loser, which allows the chu state's boat soldiers to advance and retreat freely in front of the enemy army and counterattack. When practicing this kind of weapon, Chu soldiers were often divided into two teams on one side, pulling with arm force, known as pulling hooks. Later, over time, this training slowly became the current tug-of-war game.
However, behind the Chu state were the nobles of the three households, which doomed it to be only in a corner of peace, and could not be unified. Due to the inability to achieve the balance between the common elite and the aristocratic door valves, after the King of Chu Huai, the path of change in the Chu State was completely shelved, and finally failed to unify the world, which was really a good hand of cards. Tug-of-war and willow shooting have also become games often played during the Qingming Dynasty. At the end of each tug-of-war and willow shooting, it is very natural for the disciples to put one hand on one shoulder and once again walk into each other's lives. The clear breeze blows across their cheeks, and the sweat-soaked back will invariably ignite the fire of faith.
With the change of the times, the acceleration of the pace of society, many children have no longer played these old games that have been circulated for thousands of years, but like to play video games, yes, who knows, these forms of diverse, rich content of the old games is an important part of China's history and culture. What is history, history is a subject that we have to practice all our lives. It will tell us that it is the thoughts and desires that push us forward step by step, and change all the most important things in us. Just like this old game that was once used to celebrate the Qingming Festival and once represented the glory of the Chu Kingdom, even if no one pays attention to it, it will guide every history lover like a starry sky.