A wealth of sports activities developed in historical China, together with what might have been the primary recreation of soccer. However it’s dragon boat racing that has the very best profile on the earth at the moment, an exercise catching on in Cyprus too
By Karen Taylor
A have a look at the outcomes from the current Olympic Video games in Paris is sufficient to perceive the significance of sport to life in China – second within the Olympic medal desk and first within the Paralympics. However sport shouldn’t be new to the Chinese language psyche, it has been an necessary a part of life since historical instances, and China even lays declare to being the birthplace of soccer.
Recognised by FIFA as one of many earliest aggressive ball video games utilizing the ft, China’s cuju has a historical past relationship again over 2,000 years, with legendary origins reminiscent of an excellent earlier age. Cuju interprets actually as kick-ball.
Among the finest descriptions of the sport dates from the latter phases of the Han dynasty and is by the poet Li You, whose poem attests that cuju was seen as greater than only a type of leisure or army coaching. It was thought to be a metaphor for main a great life.
It was the army that gave to rise to quite a lot of sports activities in historical China, together with all types of martial arts, resembling wrestling, pugilism, fencing, tripod lifting, horse-racing, stone-throwing, looking and swimming.
And at the moment, Chinese language President Xi Jinping attaches nice significance to sports activities. “Sports activities are an necessary means for enhancing individuals’s well being, assembly individuals’s aspirations for a greater life and facilitating well-rounded human growth,” he stated.
Linking historical China to the trendy world, the Silk Street performed an necessary half within the growth of sports activities, offering appreciable alternatives to complement exchanges in conventional video games of wrestling, polo, Go (an summary technique board recreation), Touhu (an historical banquet recreation involving throwing arrows right into a pot) and Chinese language Wushu (martial arts).
The Silk Street additionally supplied a chance for nomadic abilities resembling archery and horse driving to hybridise with farming tradition to type quite a lot of martial arts types.
Dragon boat races even have an extended historical past in China relationship again to the Warring States interval (475-221 BC) and are gaining momentum internationally, embodying the common values of teamwork, perseverance and cultural appreciation. The game’s journey from conventional Chinese language competition exercise to international phenomenon is a testomony to its enduring appeal and the ability of cultural trade.
Dragon boat racing made its Olympic debut as an illustration sport throughout the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The ten-minute showcase aimed to advertise the game globally, with hopes of its eventual inclusion in future Olympic Video games. It grew to become a recognised occasion within the Asian Video games in 2010, serving to to raise the game’s standing.
Past Asia, dragon boat racing has seen vital progress in Europe, North America and Africa, attracting fans from numerous cultural backgrounds.
In Cyprus too the game is gaining recognition, and the Cyprus Dragon Boat Federation was arrange in 2008. Regardless of taking a success throughout Covid, the game is now rising on the island with the federation having greater than 200 members and Cyprus even boasting a nationwide group.
“Now it’s at its greatest because the federation’s conception,” stated chairman Zacharoula Christou. There are 5 native golf equipment – Limassol Spartans, Cyprus Sharks, Raging Mouflons, ZuluForce and Limassol Dragons – that each one prepare on the Yermasoyia dam and, climate allowing, the Limassol seafront. Coaching additionally takes place in Larnaca and Paphos.
In boats that includes both 10 or 20 paddlers with a steerer (often the coach) and a drummer whose job it’s to beat out a rhythm so all paddlers act as one, the golf equipment participate in a yearly dragon boat regatta along with smaller and charity occasions all year long. This month will see groups arrive from the Center East, the UK and Europe to participate in two days of races on the dam, though they may all use the identical boats, solely bringing their paddles with them.
The boats – all produced in China – are designed to appear to be a dragon, Christou stated, with a head on the entrance and a tail on the again, whereas the size of the boat is embellished in what are the scales of a dragon.
Members of the Cyprus federation vary in age from 12 to over 65, participating in a sport that “promotes group constructing and friendship”, Christou stated, declaring that each one federations, together with Cyprus, have a group consisting of ladies who’ve survived breast most cancers – referred to as pink women who’ve their very own race at meets.
In the meantime, in July the Cyprus group received silver and bronze medals on the European championship. Because the begin of September coaching has begun for subsequent yr’s contest. “We hope we’ll do even higher,” Christou stated.
About Mirror of Tradition
Mirror of Tradition is a joint initiative of the Cyprus Mail and the Chinese language embassy. It highlights the parallels between Cypriot and Chinese language tradition to set an instance of acceptance, respect and
understanding among the many varied cultural communities on the island, recognising the elemental significance of tradition.
Tradition is the common language that transcends many obstacles, together with language and geography. The purpose is to work with numerous cultural communities in Cyprus to share and promote our vibrant cultures to additional bolster the bonds amongst all of the individuals of Cyprus and have fun the variety of cultures on the earth.
Moreover, the initiative understands the significance of cultural preservation, which is a crucial method for us to transmit traditions and practices of the previous to future generations.
