Subscribe to free Email Newsletter

Chinese wrestling, orShuai Jiao, is one of the oldest sports, tracing back to Huang Di (Emperor Huang). It was also named Sumo in ancient times. It is believed that Chinese wrestling was first practiced on the battlefield more than 5,000 years ago. During the Zhou Dynasty (11th century to 221BC), Chinese wrestling was adopted as a fighting art by the government. From the time of the Qin dynasty (221-206BC), Chinese wrestling was more like a recreation than simply for military purposes. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911), Chinese wrestling absorbed some techniques of Manchu and Mongolian fighting, and gradually the embryonic form of today's wrestling came into being.     

In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a national wrestling organization was established, called Shan Pu Ying. The wrestlers wore a tailor-made white jacket no further than the elbow with a white belt tied around the waist. Grabbing the jacket to manipulate for a throw was allowed, but not the grabbing of the pants. Single and double-leg tackles were permitted, but the wrestlers must not hit a knee to execute the move. At present, there are several wrestling fields around the Tianqiao area in Beijing, the most famous ones of which include Shensan and Baosan.

Chinese wrestling is classified into 10 levels according to the athletes' weight. The wrestling uniform consists of a white jacket that comes no further than the elbow, white silk pants and black laceless boots. A white belt is tied around the waist. In competition, grabbing the jacket to manipulate for a throw was allowed, but not the grabbing of the pants. You are allowed, within reason, to kick your opponent's shins and ankles to set up a throw. You can also punch him to set him up -- so long as you are holding him by the jacket.

The throws of Chinese wrestling are forceful, and ideally, you remain standing when your opponent crashes to the mat. Four points are awarded for a grand amplitude throw (feet over the head); three points for a throw in which your opponent's body comes off the ground or flies parallel to the ground or above your waist before landing; two points for throws in which the back is exposed or the height of the throw is below the waist; one point for jerking your opponent to a hand or knee; and regardless of how many points the throw should be, if you lose balance and land on your opponent -- you only get one point.