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A Chinese equivalent of soccer known as cu-ju started to be a popular game as early as in the Spring and Autumn through the Warring States periods. A treaties on this sport, Cu-Ju in 25 Chapters, dates to the Han dynasty and is believed to be the first of this subject in China.
Two improvements were made in the Tang dynasty to the techniques used for making the ball. Instead of two hemispherical leather pieces, the exterior of the ball now consisted of eight pieces narrowing on the ends sewed together for a rounder shape. Innovations were also inside the ball. Hair stuff was replaced by a bladder which could be inflated by blowing in air through an opening. An air ball was lighter and could be kicked higher for a goal perched on top of two 7-meter bamboo poles.
The ball game was played as a competitive sport in the Han period when two teams played each other. In the Tang era, however, a team shot from one side of a goal in the middle of the pitch to win the game by scoring more than its opponent shooting at the same goal from the other side. The Tang women also played the Chinese soccer but in a different way. Woman footballers did not go for goals but competed with each other in the height of kicks and the acrobatic moves they delivered. Women's soccer featuring this contest orientation was called bai-da.
In the Song dynasty ball handle techniques evolved from an emphasis on accurate shots to place more stress on being light in motion and sure in control. Ball making was further advanced to use twelve pieces of finely dressed leather, sewed in fine, inner stitches that were not visible from the outside. Standardization was introduced in ball manufacture for the weight and the shape. A ball was supposed to weigh exactly twelve liang (approx. 544 g) and to be "perfectly round with patchy leather pieces."
Entry #2 - Points: 10
Lei Yang-Hohme (X)
Soccer, in ancient China, was called “Cùjú.” Its early development could be traced back to as early as the Spring-Autumn and Warring States periods. In Han dynasty, the first monograph on soccer in Chinese history, 25 articles on Cùjú, was published. In Tang dynasty, craftsmanship on manufacturing soccer balls made a leap forward with 2 major improvements in tow: soccer balls were made of 2 spherical shells of leather at that time. Tang craftsmen refined the technique by sewing 8 pieces of leather together into a ball. The other improvement was to replace the hair that was traditionally stuffed inside the ball with an animal bladder. The artisans were supposed to “blow air into the bladder” so the ball would be charged with air. Since the weight of the ball is reduced, the ball can go up in the air higher than before. The goal was set on 2 thirty feet high bamboo rods. Han and Tang dynasties also differed in soccer rules. In Han dynasty, the players from both sides scattered around the field of play and the match took its course. But in Tang dynasty, the goal was positioned right in the middle of the field, each side taken by a team. And “whoever scores more goals wins.” The boom of women’s soccer was seen in Tang dynasty. The rules in women’s soccer dictated that no goal were to be used in the field. To win the game, the players were required to demonstrate mastery in high kicks and various soccer tricks. This is called the “báidǎ”. In Song dynasty, the soccer kicking techniques were taken to the next level by shifting the emphasis from soccer goal scoring skills to player's control skills. The flexibility of the player then began to play a more important role than simply scoring a goal. The craftsmanship on soccer ball manufacturing also reached new high in Song dynasty. The balls must be “made of 12 pieces of tan leather." The tan leather used were "boiled tan leather, thick materials cut exquisitely." Fine workmanship is also demanded: “neatly sewn together, with no visible threads.” The ball must weigh “exactly 12 taels.” The dimension of the soccer ball is also specified as “to be of perfect sphericity.”
Entry #3 - Points: 8
tianshandun (X)
Canada
Soccer was known in ancient China as Cuju, widely developed as early as in the time of The Warring States. The first monograph of Chinese soccer, "Cuju in 25 chapters", came out onto market in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - A.D. 220), while two major improvements in manufacturing engineering of the soccer ball were carried out in the Tang Dynasty (618-907): first, the two-piece ball shell of leather was replaced with eight pieces of sharpened-leather sewn up to a rounded spherical shell; second, the stuffing hair inside the shell was replaced with an animal’s urinary bladder, "aspirated and then inflated", transforming it into an inflated ball. Since the ball became lighter, it could be kicked higher. The goal was set up on two bamboo poles thirty meters in height. In playing methods, the Han Dynasty competed directly in dual meet, while in the Tang Dynasty the goal was set up in the middle of the pitch with each of the two teams taking a side, "whoever shoots more wins the game". Women’s soccer also emerged in the Tang Dynasty. There was no goal in women’s soccer games, but they were judged by kicking height and style, so-called "plain playing". Up to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), soccer had forged ahead laterally in techniques from competing in shooting accuracy to dexterity of ball control. And ball manufacturing had been further improved over that of the Tang Dynasty, using a method of "assembly of twelve scented sectors." The raw materials were tanned leather that was cut out into light pieces. Then technically, the ball was constructed by close, piece-by-piece assembly, without showing any thread. The final ball had to weigh exactly 600 grams and the distance from the centre of the ball, to any point on its surface, had to be the same.
The football (soccer) was called "Cuju" in ancient China, and had been widely played as early as in Spring-Autumn and the Warring States periods (770-221 B.C.). The first football monograph entitled "Twenty-Five Articles on Cuju" in China appeared during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 24).
The ball-making technology underwent two significant improvements in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). First, the hull oversewn from two pieces of leather was replaced by a round one stitched from eight pieces of tapering leather. Second, the ball was upgraded from being feather-stuffed to air-inflated with an animal bladder inside that can be "blown up". Because of lighter weight, the ball can be kicked higher.
The goal was constructed out of two 3-zhang-high (10-meter) bamboo posts. With regard to the ways to play Cuju, in the Han Dynasty, Cuju matches were held directly between two competitive teams, but in the Tang Dynasty, there was a goal set up in the middle of the field between two teams and the team with the highest scores was the winner.
Female Cuju teams appeared in the Tang Dynasty. They played Cuju - in a way called "Bai Da" - without utilizing any goal, but for demonstrating the ability of kicking the ball high and playing it in an unusual way.
When it came to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the measurement of Cuju football skills was evolved from shooting precision toward the delicacy and ball-control capability of players. Moreover, the ball-making technology improved a lot than in the Tang Dynasty. The hull then was "made from 12 pieces of fragrant leather", which were "processed and tawed yellow leather" and should be "real materials and cut facilely". In making the balls, the leather pieces were "stitched together tightly without showing any thread end". And the ball was required to weigh "exact 12 liang (0.6 kg)" and its shape to be "compact and perfectly round".
Soccer was called 蹴鞠 (Cù Jú) in ancient China, which had been played extensively as early as in the Spring-Autumn and Warring State Periods.
In the Han dynasty, China’s first monographic book on soccer named “25 Chapters on Cù Jú” appeared. In the Tang dynasty, techniques for making soccer balls had two improvements. One was that the ball cover was changed from being made of 2 combined panels of leather to a sphere stitched with 8 pointed panels of leather. The other one was the change from stuffing up the ball with feathers and hairs to placing an animal’s bladder inside and inflating it by someone with mouth to make an air-filled ball. Since the ball became lighter in weight, it could be kicked up to higher level. The goal was setup between two bamboo poles that were 3 Zhang (about 9.2 meters) high.
In terms of playing methods, it was direct confrontation with players divided into teams in the Han dynasty. In the Tang dynasty, there was a goal in between with two teams on each side. The team scored more than the other won.
In the Tang dynasty, woman soccer started to emerge. There was no goal in the field setup for woman soccer, and who could kick the ball high and demonstrate many styles would be considered as an exceptionally capable player. This was called “白打”(Bai Da).
In the Song dynasty, the soccer playing skills had transferred from focusing on accurate shooting to emphasizing on agility and ball controlling level. Moreover, techniques of ball making had been further improved compared with those in the Tang dynasty. The ball was made of 12 panels of fragrant leather. The raw material was deeply tanned yellow leather which had been smartly cut from a piece of solid leather. The ball making techniques made the ball tightly stitched with seams and corners well hidden. Regarding specifications, the final ball must weigh 12 Liang (about 448 grams) exactly and must be very round.
Brief Introduction To Football In Ancient China . Daniel Xie.
Football in ancient China is called Cuju （similar to kickball), being popular in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and the Warring States Period (475-221B.C.). In the Han Dynasty, the first monograph on football, Twenty-Five Chapters on Cuju, had been published in China history. The Tang dynasty shows two major improvements in the technique of making football： first，the spherical cover made up of two sided parts had been replaced by the spheroid shaped cover made up of eight sided parts； second, the ball had been filled with an animal bladder instead of hair, "blow the bladder up, then tie it up; repeat the operation", until the bladder becomes an inflated ball. Because the spherical body is light, football players can kick it high. The goal was made with a pair of three zhangs high bamboo poles (zhang, a unit of length, equal to 3 1/3 meters). Kicking method takes different shape in different time. In the Han Dynasty, the game played by two teams who directly confront each other. But in the Tang Dynasty, between two teams that are assigned to both sides on the field of play stands the goal in the middle. The winner is the team who scores most goals. Women’s football got into shape in the Tang Dynasty. For women’s football，there is no goal on the field; nothing else than higher in sky and more variety in kicking. Such method comes to be known as "Bai Da". In the Song Dynasty, emphasis on football skills shifted from shooting accuracy to dexterity and ball control. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty shows an improvement in the technology of making ball, the ball was "made of twelve sided parts of fragrant leather". The raw material for football includes "stout tanned yellow leather that is cut and sewn with great care." Football is "sewed with close stitches, no stitch can be seen on the cover." The wrought ball just weighs "twelve liang (a unit of weight, equal to 50 grams)". And the ball must be made "in perfectly round shape using many sided parts".
Soccer game in ancient China was called “Cuju”, or “kicking a leather ball”, which was already a game played widely in the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. The first soccer study book appeared in the Han Dynasty, it was named The 25 Chapters of Cuju. The Tang Dynasty saw two major improvements in the ball-making craft: 1, replacement of the two-piece leather shell with one made of eight pointed pieces for achieving a rounded shell; 2, replacement of the hair filler with an animal bladder so that it truly became an inflated ball after you “taking a deep breath then blow slowly into it,” a lighter ball would certainly go higher on a kick, while the goal was set on two bamboo poles of 3-zhang (roughly 10 meters) in height. Regarding the game rules, in Han Dynasty it was played on direct dual meet of teams, while in Tang Dynasty the goal was placed in the middle with each of the opposing teams on one side of it, the team with more shoots would win. It was in the Tang Dynasty that women’s soccer game emerged, but they did not use the goal, instead they were competing on who kicked the ball higher and who had more fancy“acrobatic” moves, so women’s soccer game was called “baida” – “playing for goalless”. In the Song Dynasty, the rules changed from a competition of shooting accuracy to that of agility and ball handling. ball-making craft in Song Dynasty also improved than in Tang Dynasty. The ball shell was made of “twelve fragrant pieces”, where the raw materials being “heated saltpeter and yellow hide” with the former “in solid stuff” and the latter “gently tailored”. The process was “to closely piece them together and stitch them till no string or corner shown”, and the ball should weigh “exactly 12-liang”, that’s equivalent to 0.6kg, on a specification of “piece them seamlessly to the tenth degree of roundness.”
