Chuiwan: Ancient Chinese golf

Author: Liu Bingguo, Zhang Shengping (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Chuiwan was an ancient ball game in China. Regarding the description of Chuiwan, the most complete records appear in the Wan Jing (The Book of Balls) written by Ning Zhi during the Yuan Dynasty. From the surviving literary materials, it can be seen that Chuiwan emerged far earlier than the Yuan Dynasty. By the late Northern Song Dynasty, Chuiwan had already reached a considerable scale. The Ming Xuanzong Xingle Tu (Illustration of Emperor Xuanzong's Leisure Activities) preserved in the Beijing Palace Museum and the Chuiwan Shiniu Tu (Illustration of Noblewomen Playing Chuiwan) painted by Du Jin during the Ming Dynasty indicate that Chuiwan was popular among the imperial family and scholars during the Ming Dynasty. Since "Chuiwan" is very similar to modern golf, it has been referred to by sports historians in both China and the West as "Chinese golf." Today, golf has tee boxes as the starting points for each hole, and Chuiwan also designated striking points called "ji" (bases). During play, players used head clubs, second clubs, and third clubs. The head club had to first set the base before striking the ball, with each subsequent club using the previous landing spot as the new starting point. In summary, except for the name, the entire game of Chuiwan can be said to be the precursor of modern golf. The relationship between Chinese Chuiwan and golf has always been a topic of interest for many sports historians. Nineteen years ago, when Professor Ling Hongling proposed that the rules and methods of Chinese Chuiwan were very similar to those of golf, and that the former appeared several hundred years earlier than the latter, everyone hoped to see further research on Chuiwan sooner or later, with the hope that the findings would be widely understood by society. Nearly two decades have passed, and now, for the first time, a systematic book on Chuiwan has been presented before us. It not only explains the birth, development, and spread of Chuiwan from the perspective of the evolution of ancient ball games but also clarifies the methods and essence of Chuiwan. Moreover, it popularizes the difficult-to-understand ancient sports textbook Wan Jing, enabling us to firmly believe that ancient Chinese Chuiwan and modern golf are similar sports, and that Chuiwan was a new phenomenon that emerged from the cultural soil of ancient China. Like many readers, I sincerely thank the efforts of Professors Liu and Zhang.