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| [a] Games RF |
For today's post, I have been asked to write about sports in modern China...in the space of only 1,000 words. I "spend" a little more verbiage than that here—about fifty percent more. The approach I have taken is that sports, in particular, are a fundamentally different experience for China's youth than, say, North America's, and the consequences of this can be seen in everything from league play to international competition. If you want to read more on the subject, I have an entire chapter on Chinese sports and games in China (2010), from the publisher's "Asia in Focus" series. It should be available at your local library. Please see the end of this post for more information.
Feel free to peruse the other Modern China posts in Asian Miscellany.
6 Entertainment 7 Sports/Games 8 Urban/Rural 9 Family Life 10 Children
The NBA (National Basketball Association) is king in China’s sporting world today, except when even greater powers dominate—less predictable, but even more compelling. These include all football (soccer) contests on a national level, and many pan-Asian contest in badminton, table tennis, and other “small ball” (this is the Chinese term) sports. International competitions with a Chinese team pique the interest of an array of viewers that North American or European broadcasting systems would envy, and nothing can equal the interest shown in China for Olympic and World Championship sports—even if, as in the recent (2010) World Cup, a Chinese team is not competing. The obsession with sporting competition in China is a relatively new phenomenon, and almost entirely one that became solidified since the 1980s. There is almost no precedent anywhere in Chinese history for the sporting frenzy of the last thirty years. Games? That is another matter entirely.
Games in Chinese History
Traditional Chinese novels tell stories—and provide woodblock pictures—of games such as “chess,” “cards,” “Mahjong,” and riddle telling. Less common, but still found in a diverse array of sources are more physical games, the most popular of which seems to be a kind of “kickball” that resembles our contemporary hacky-sack, which could be played by men and women in small, circular groups. To China’s north, and in the rural prairie land just outside of the more temperate agricultural zones, games included a variety of competitions that loosely resemble American rodeo skills, as well as a favorite childhood game among Mongol and other Inner Asian children that required riding a “galloping” sheep and shooting prairie dogs with small bows and arrows.
It has often been said that the wealthiest families looked down upon physical exertion, and this was generally true. To be sure, rural families tended to get their exercise, such as it was, through agricultural labor, and there was not a large “middle class,” as there is today in China and throughout the world, looking for physical outlets during leisure times. The modern “sporting” situation is fundamentally different from what could be found in an earlier China, especially when it comes to viewership.
Perhaps the only event in an earlier China that can be said to be a large-scale, highly viewed event would be the dragon boat races that took place early in the fifth lunar month every year (this usually took place between late-May and mid-June). As far back as the fifteenth century we have sources that describe the excitement of competition between villages as their dragon boats (manned by village youth) raced on local waters. Sources describe the cheering and hometown pride in a way that calls to mind for many Americans high school football rivalries—not large enough for serious investment (as in European “league” football or American collegiate or professional sports), but still vital for the communities and the “bragging rights” they would garner with victory. Given the overwhelming competitive interest generated by dragon boat racing, it is surprising that almost no other kind of competition even came close to it until the late-twentieth century.
International Sports in Modern China
On some level, all sports in China are "international." That certainly does not mean that all teams that are fielded could possibly be competitive in international competition. It means rather (not unlike the former Soviet Bloc countries) that the various athletic overseers have geared their sights toward the building of international teams or individuals with skills that could be brought to a world stage. It is not unlike the premise behind the minor league system in American professional baseball. The five tiers of leagues are set up to provide competition for just a handful of players who have a legitimate chance of making the major leagues. One can go to a “Class AA” baseball game in Chattanooga, and see one “prospect” along with a talented array of players who are unlikely to go further in their careers.
Such is the case with the “reward system” in Chinese athletics. There needs to be enough legitimate competition to train the stars, and the hope is that those competitions will generate local and national interest. The point, however, is not to provide meaning to the lives of athletes or to create large market competitions that will “sell” in China (although the latter is growing). The point is to generate a dozen talented players who will make up the Chinese national basketball team, or the twenty-five players who will practice (with eleven on the field at a time) and play in international football (soccer) competitions. This is a far greater challenge than it appears at first glance.
Football—and how?
From an outside perspective, it is scarcely possible to believe that a country of 1.4 billion people cannot field eleven absolutely first-rate football players. That is precisely the case in China, however, which missed out on the World Cup in 2010, even as South Korea, Japan, and even North Korea were selected. As a number of football analysts stated, “how can it be that China cannot find one in 100 million to play on its national team at a spectacularly high level?” No other country other than India has the population resources to make the equation work, but China could not make the thirty two-team field. How can this be?
A number of factors are at work, and all figure powerfully in understanding sports and games in China. Unlike North American, South American, and European countries, China does not have “youth leagues” in almost any major sports. There are 400 million students in China, but almost no organized competitive sporting activity, and almost nothing like American high school sports. A small factor in this reality is the cultural role that sports have traditionally played in China. They have not been, nor are they—at least in an everyday or “family” sense—significant. A much larger factor is the one-child policy and the fact that the keys to success in China today, as in the past, have been viewed by parents as taking place in the examinations. Much greater weight is given to preparation for those tests than any amount of athletic activity. Particularly talented students are recognized early and removed from their schools to national training centers, but nothing resembles the daily practices and weekly competitions for a wide-array of students found in European or North American schools.
The further, and final, hurdle is not difficult to see. Even if several hundred of the most talented physical specimens in China are brought together to generate deeper skills, only those sports that are individual or small group oriented will develop international level skill
sets. This is why China has been enormously successful in diving, gymnastics, shooting, weightlifting, and other such sports. It has also done very well in team sports that have truly taken root in Chinese society, such as table-tennis and badminton.
The problem can best be seen in football (soccer) and basketball. To be sure, China has the talent, and they have assembled it on their international teams. Why, then, have they not excelled? Any sports fan will know exactly why. Without access to the highest levels of competition that are found in Europe and Latin America, the Chinese team is forced to rely upon Asian competition (good, but not consistent or first-rate) and Chinese feeder leagues. The system that works beautifully to tap talent in individual or small team sports is unable to create the level of competition that a large team needs to rival even mid-level teams such as those of England, the Czech Republic, and the United States, much less elite teams, such as those from German, Argentina, Brazil, and Italy.
The situation is not likely to change anytime soon, since few Chinese players are likely picks by Europe’s elite teams, and (even when they are) Chinese authorities are loathe to give them over to, and in many cases away from, international competition. This dynamic can be seen most clearly in the love-hate relationship that Chinese authorities have had with their best players (particularly form Houston Rockets star Yao Ming) playing in the National Basketball Association. They need such a star for the international stage, and to practice with the Chinese team. He was under contract for up over a hundred games a year (preseason, regular season, and postseason) to Houston. It is always going to be a problem, and—even when such stars do get truly world class competition—their other teammates do no.
become a television mainstay. They have not played an important role in the lives of Chinese youth that even approaches examples found throughout the rest of the world. That contradiction will continue to affect China as it strives to be a world player in multiple competitions, and as it seeks to develop its own leagues and committed fans. So far, nothing in China comes even close to the league attendance found in European football or American baseball, basketball, or football. Indeed, Chinese viewership for the NBA dwarfs any
interest in Chinese leagues themselves. This will remain a challenge in the coming decades.
Games in Chinese History
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| [b] Healthy RF |
It has often been said that the wealthiest families looked down upon physical exertion, and this was generally true. To be sure, rural families tended to get their exercise, such as it was, through agricultural labor, and there was not a large “middle class,” as there is today in China and throughout the world, looking for physical outlets during leisure times. The modern “sporting” situation is fundamentally different from what could be found in an earlier China, especially when it comes to viewership.
Perhaps the only event in an earlier China that can be said to be a large-scale, highly viewed event would be the dragon boat races that took place early in the fifth lunar month every year (this usually took place between late-May and mid-June). As far back as the fifteenth century we have sources that describe the excitement of competition between villages as their dragon boats (manned by village youth) raced on local waters. Sources describe the cheering and hometown pride in a way that calls to mind for many Americans high school football rivalries—not large enough for serious investment (as in European “league” football or American collegiate or professional sports), but still vital for the communities and the “bragging rights” they would garner with victory. Given the overwhelming competitive interest generated by dragon boat racing, it is surprising that almost no other kind of competition even came close to it until the late-twentieth century.
International Sports in Modern China
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| [c] Team RF |
Such is the case with the “reward system” in Chinese athletics. There needs to be enough legitimate competition to train the stars, and the hope is that those competitions will generate local and national interest. The point, however, is not to provide meaning to the lives of athletes or to create large market competitions that will “sell” in China (although the latter is growing). The point is to generate a dozen talented players who will make up the Chinese national basketball team, or the twenty-five players who will practice (with eleven on the field at a time) and play in international football (soccer) competitions. This is a far greater challenge than it appears at first glance.
Football—and how?
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| [d] Youth RF |
A number of factors are at work, and all figure powerfully in understanding sports and games in China. Unlike North American, South American, and European countries, China does not have “youth leagues” in almost any major sports. There are 400 million students in China, but almost no organized competitive sporting activity, and almost nothing like American high school sports. A small factor in this reality is the cultural role that sports have traditionally played in China. They have not been, nor are they—at least in an everyday or “family” sense—significant. A much larger factor is the one-child policy and the fact that the keys to success in China today, as in the past, have been viewed by parents as taking place in the examinations. Much greater weight is given to preparation for those tests than any amount of athletic activity. Particularly talented students are recognized early and removed from their schools to national training centers, but nothing resembles the daily practices and weekly competitions for a wide-array of students found in European or North American schools.
The further, and final, hurdle is not difficult to see. Even if several hundred of the most talented physical specimens in China are brought together to generate deeper skills, only those sports that are individual or small group oriented will develop international level skill
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| [e] Barriers RF |
The problem can best be seen in football (soccer) and basketball. To be sure, China has the talent, and they have assembled it on their international teams. Why, then, have they not excelled? Any sports fan will know exactly why. Without access to the highest levels of competition that are found in Europe and Latin America, the Chinese team is forced to rely upon Asian competition (good, but not consistent or first-rate) and Chinese feeder leagues. The system that works beautifully to tap talent in individual or small team sports is unable to create the level of competition that a large team needs to rival even mid-level teams such as those of England, the Czech Republic, and the United States, much less elite teams, such as those from German, Argentina, Brazil, and Italy.
The situation is not likely to change anytime soon, since few Chinese players are likely picks by Europe’s elite teams, and (even when they are) Chinese authorities are loathe to give them over to, and in many cases away from, international competition. This dynamic can be seen most clearly in the love-hate relationship that Chinese authorities have had with their best players (particularly form Houston Rockets star Yao Ming) playing in the National Basketball Association. They need such a star for the international stage, and to practice with the Chinese team. He was under contract for up over a hundred games a year (preseason, regular season, and postseason) to Houston. It is always going to be a problem, and—even when such stars do get truly world class competition—their other teammates do no.
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Sports have exploded into Chinese consciousness in the last thirty years, and they have |
| [f] Gendergame RF |
interest in Chinese leagues themselves. This will remain a challenge in the coming decades.
Again, for a full chapter on this topic, please see my book China (ABC-Clio, 2010). Parts of it can be accessed (click on the link, above) on Google Books. It should also be available in your local library (or have them order it). RL for RSQ.
Feel free to peruse the other Modern China posts in Asian Miscellany.
6 Entertainment 7 Sports/Games 8 Urban/Rural 9 Family Life 10 Children
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| [g] Athletic RF |
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