Source text in Chinese | Translation by Ming Fu, Qi (#4843) |
足球在中国古代称为蹴鞠,早在春秋战国时期就已广泛开展。汉代出现了中国第一部足球专著《蹴鞠二十五篇》。唐代在制球工艺上有两大改进:一是把用两片皮合成的球壳改为用八片尖皮缝成圆形的球壳。二是把球壳内塞毛发改为放一个动物尿泡,“嘘气闭而吹之”,成为充气的球。由于球体轻了,可以踢高。球门就设在两根三丈高的竹竿上。在踢球方法上,汉代是直接对抗分队比赛,唐代则是中间隔着球门,双方各在一侧,以射门“数多者胜 ”。唐代开始出现了女子足球。女子足球的踢法不用球门,以踢高、踢出花样为能事,称为“白打”。到了宋代,足球在技术上已由射门比准向灵巧和控制球的水平方面发展。而且制球工艺比唐代又有提高,发展为“十二片香皮砌成”。原料是“熟硝黄革,实料轻裁”。工艺是“密砌缝成,不露线角”。做成的球重量要“正重十二两”。足球规格要“碎凑十分圆”。 | 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two major improvements in the technique of making football: first,the spherical cover made up of two sided parts had been replaced by the spheroid shaped cover made up of eight sided parts; second, the ball had been filled with an animal bladder instead of hair, "blow the bladder up, then tie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". |