Artful Archery

China has a 2,000-year history of archery (shejian,) according to historical records. In remote antiquity, bows and arrows were used for hunting and later as weapons. China’s most famous archer, often dubbed the Chinese Robin Hood, was Yang Youji who lived during the Warring States period (475-221 BC). Every Chinese person associates Yang Youji with the story of the competition between him and another archer named Pan Hu. When Yang’s turn came to shoot, he complained that the target was both too large and too near. He agreed to take his turn after substituting the target for a willow leaf and lengthening the distance to 100 paces. He naturally won the competition hands down. The two Chinese idioms “bai bu chuan yang” (shoot an arrow through a willow leaf at a hundred paces) and “bai fa bai zhong” (a hundred shots, a hundred bull’s eyes) that originate from this story make shooting at willow (sheliu) synonymous with striving constantly to improve skills.

Shooting at willow subsequently evolved into horseback archery, an extremely difficult sport at which only the most skilled exponents could compete. The target comprised two rows of peeled willow twigs stuck in the ground and tied at the top with a kerchief. Each of the contestants aimed a flightless arrow at one of the twigs as they rode past. The point was to split it and catch the topmost half before it hit the ground. Archers that accomplished both feats scored highest, followed by those that hit their twig but failed to catch the severed half.

This sport was a feature of Song Dynasty military training and performances. It began to die out around the mid-Qing Dynasty with the introduction of hot weaponry.

Wrestling

Wrestling (jiaodi) was the ancient sport believed best to evince the might of the ruling monarch. This concept was based on the legendary battle of two tribes. One was headed by Yellow Emperor, the other by Chiyou, chief of the Miao tribe and inventor of weapons and metallurgy. Chiyou was a ferocious warrior who affixed two ox horns to his head with which to gore his foe. Although he failed to vanquish the Yellow Emperor, tales of his bravery have been passed down through generations.

Ox horn headgear became a facet of the Chinese traditional performance art known as “Chiyou Drama,” that emerged and became popular during the Qin Dynasty (221– 207 BC). Its performers wore horns and simulated battles between wild oxen.

It was Emperor Qinshihuang that first brought Jiaodi Drama (wrestling minus the ox horns) to the imperial court. Upon unifying China, the emperor collected, confiscated and destroyed all weapons so as to consolidate his rule and prevent uprisings. It was his love of Jiaodi Drama that gave him the idea of promoting jiaodi as a means of self-defense. This form of drama subsequently developed into a competitive sport of strength and skill. By the succeeding Han Dynasty it was a favorite among the common people. They would travel from near and far to attend large-scale official contests held regularly in large towns and cities.

The Mongolian rulers of the Yuan Dynasty particularly enjoyed both watching and actively participating in wrestling. It was also a sport for women. Marco Polo’s travel notes mention one Yuan Dynasty noble woman who decided that she would marry the man that could defeat her in a wrestling bout. As it happened, she emerged undefeated from a series of matchmaking feats, and so found no mate. Her wrestling prowess did, however, win her the reward of 10,000 horses. There is no record of whether this doughty lady subsequently abandoned wrestling in favor of horse racing.

Editor: Xu Shenglan