古时没手机没电脑，年轻人都玩儿啥？| How did ancient Chinese youths have fun?

青年节快乐

你打算怎么庆祝即将到来的青年节呢？是暂时逃离城市喧嚣，到山清水秀的自然景区遍观如画美景，还是约上三五好友在ktv尽情嗨唱？亦或是悠闲宅在家，补两集《人民的名义》，充分享受“偷得浮生半日闲”的小确幸？

当现代青年往往难在“乱花渐欲迷人眼”的娱乐选项中作出抉择时，你可曾想过，在还不知网络和手机等高新技术产物为何物的古时，年轻人有哪些休闲娱乐活动呢？除却农耕、念书、为官，他们又会做些什么来打发赋闲时漫长的白日光景？

青年节前夕，搭乘CGTN的时光列车，一起到没手机也没电脑的古代进行一场穿越之旅，看看那时的年轻人都玩啥，与他们进行一次关于娱乐活动的跨时空对谈。

How would you celebrate the upcoming national Youth Day, which falls on Thursday this year? Would you look to escape from the bustling urban jungle for an outing to some picturesque natural scenery and fresh air, or find some friends for a big meal out and let off some steam by singing karaoke? Or would you simply just stay at home for a box-set binge of the latest TV series?

While young people today may need some time to decide on what to do, thanks to a wealth of options now available to them, have you ever wondered what ancient young people did for fun, in an era when life was relatively simple, monotonous and, perhaps thankfully, Internet and mobile phone free?

Ahead of Youth Day, follow CGTN as we take you on a trip back in time for a glimpse of how ancient Chinese young people entertained themselves.

 

  贵由赤(Guì Yóu Chì) 

Royal running race in the 

Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD) 

“贵由赤者，快行是也。每岁一试之，名曰放走，以脚力便捷者膺上赏…走一百八十里，直抵御前，俯伏呼万岁。先至者赐银一饼，馀者赐段匹有差。” ——《辍耕录·贵由赤》，陶宗仪 （明）

起源于元代的贵由赤活动可谓是现代马拉松长跑的前身。元世祖忽必烈为检验士兵体能和耐力，每年都要组织御林军进行一次长跑比赛。贵由赤比赛全长180里（90公里），是当代马拉松比赛里程的两倍之多。参赛士兵通常于黎明出发，并在6小时内跑完全程。优胜者可获皇帝御赏银锭或缎匹。

Gui You chi, which means “fast runners” in Mongol, was an annual race held between young imperial guards during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Started by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in 1287, as a way of testing the stamina and physical agility of the royal soldiers, the race came into being almost six centuries before the launch of the modern marathon race, which was instituted in 1896 in commemoration of legendary Greek messenger Pheidippides, who reportedly died in 490 BC after running some 40 kilometers nonstop from Marathon to Athens to announce victory on the battlefield.

According to Chuo Geng Lu《辍耕录》, Idle Recordings in the Slack Season) by historiographer Tao Zongyi from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the race covered 180 ancient hua li (about 90 kilometers, more than double the Olympic marathon distance), and started from the empire’s “Great Capital”, Dadu (today’s Beijing). The competition kicked off at dawn, and participants were usually asked to finish the race within six hours. They were also required to kneel down before the emperor after completing the arduous journey. The top three winners and all runners who eventually survived the race would be rewarded respectively with silver ingots or exquisite silk.

 

冰嬉 (Bīng Xī) 

Ice-skating

“至冬至后，驾幸瀛台等处，陈设冰嬉及较射天球等伎…射球兵丁一百六十名，幼童四十名俱服马褂，背小旗，按八旗各色以次走冰较射。”——《清朝文献通考》卷一百七十五

提到冰嬉，或许很多人会想起《后宫·甄嬛传》中的一幕：安陵容一席霓裳红袍，翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙，有如冰上飞燕，芳姿万千，技惊四座，终凭冰嬉重获盛宠。冰嬉在清代大为盛行，有国俗之称。皇上每年会于冬至前后亲临北海观看八旗士兵走冰。民间青年人也常参与花样滑冰和冰上蹴鞠等多种多样的冰嬉活动。

While the bitter cold winter was not great for long-distance running, that doesn't mean low temperatures kept the young people cooped up indoors. The exact origins of ice-skating are hard to trace, but it was definitely once one of the most popular winter activities in northern parts of China.

Ice-skating became popular towards the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when Manchu soldiers led by Nurhaci, a Jurchen chieftain whose conquest of the northeast of Ming China eventually led to the founding of the Qing Dynasty in 1644, had to master the skill of quickly trekking through icy, snowbound routes to reach their enemies. The practice then became a traditional sport and an imperial military drill after the Ming Dynasty was overthrown.

According to Qing Chao Wen Xian Tong Kao (《清朝文献通考》, Encyclopedia of Official Documents of the Qing Dynasty), edited by Qing politician Zhang Tingyu, at least 1,600 young soldiers from the Eight Banners (administrative military divisions in the Qing Dynasty) would take part in ice-skating performances every year around the winter solstice at Beijing's Beihai Park, demonstrating their speed as well as figure skating skills in an attempt to impress the emperor.

Ice-skating spread beyond the royal family, with young people across the country becoming adept at competitive speed skating, ice archery, figure skating, sledding as well as entertaining ice football in the Qing dynasty. “In winter, citizens assembled and skated on the moats,” noted Qing author Pan Rongbi in Di Jing Sui Shi Ji Sheng (《帝京岁时纪胜》, Time Records of the Imperial Capital), adding that Shichahai, the lake to the northwest of the Forbidden City, was always full of teens playing Cuju (ancient Chinese ball game) on ice during the winter season.

 

曲水流觞 (Qū Shuǐ Liú Shāng) 

Poetry and drinking games

此地有崇山峻岭，茂林修竹，又有清流激湍，映带左右，引以为流觞曲水，列坐其次。虽无丝竹管弦之盛，一觞一咏，亦足以畅叙幽情。——《兰亭集序》，王羲之（东晋）

曲水流觞为古时文人墨客饮酒赋诗之雅事。活动最早可追溯到西周时期。曲水流觞常于三月三上巳节举行。祓禊仪式过后，人们列坐河流两端，任羽觞或耳杯由上游顺流而下，酒盅所停之处，离其最近的人便要将酒一饮而尽，并即兴赋诗一首。

Besides physical exertion, literate youths in ancient times were also obsessed with poetry and philosophy. Qu Shui Liu Shang, which literally means “letting the wine cup flow along the wandering water”, was such a time-honored game for ancient literati and scholars.

The classy game, with historical roots that can be traced back thousands of years to the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC), was usually held on Shangsi Festival, also known as the Double Third Festival, on the third day of the third month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Traditional celebrations included Fuxi (祓禊), namely observing cleansing rituals to shake off bad luck, as well as going for spring outings and having picnics next to bodies of water.

Sitting alongside the meandering riverbank following the Fuxi ceremony amid the Shangsi Festival, people would place a wine container called “Yushang (羽觞)” or “Erbei (耳杯)” into the water and watch it drift downstream along the winding creek. The one closest to where the cup stopped should down the wine and recite a poem off the cuff. 

 

斗草(Dòu Cǎo)

Grass Game

海燕未来人斗草，江梅已过柳生绵，黄昏疏雨湿秋千。——《浣溪沙》，李清照（宋）

斗草是古时深受年轻人喜爱的简易休闲娱乐活动。斗草分为“文斗”和“武斗”，文斗即对花草名，双方采来百草，谁说出的草种多便最终取胜。武斗则类似今日北方常说的“拔根”，即双方将手中草根交叉并用力拉扯，不断者为胜。

Ancient Chinese young people found pleasure in simple games such as Dou Cao, which literally means "fighting grass." People would try to find a tough blade of grass and overlap their blade with their competitor. The one with the toughest blade of grass would be defined as the winner.

The origins of the game can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms era and period of disunion (220-589). The game thrived during Tang Dynasty (618-907), and was described in many poems including Cai Sang (《采桑》, Picking Mulberries) by Zheng Gu, depicting teen ladies and gentlemen betting jewels and pearls on Dou Cao. There is also a chapter in A Dream in Red Mansions, one of China's Four Great Classical Novels, which recounts the game being played among dozens of maids during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

 

刺绣 (Cì Xiù)

Embroidery

独坐沙窗刺绣迟。泪沾衣。不见人归见燕归。——《忆王孙·上阳宫里断肠时》，汪元量（宋）

刺绣是古时闺阁女子间最为普及的休闲活动之一。针线在指尖往来穿梭，便可在布面上构绘出一幅幅精美的山水花鸟图。独坐小轩窗，若遣绣鸳鸯，想来也必是一番安然祥和的深闺光景。

The arts and crafts movement as a hobby is popular today, and was popular for our ancestors too. Thanks to its time-consuming nature, embroidery was especially popular for young girls in ancient China. Using several types of needles and threads made from fine silk, gold or even hair, the girls could create various patterns including flowers, animals or landscapes on a plain piece of cloth.

Cloth and threads were more enduring than paper. Hence thanks to the embroidery skills of ladies in ancient China, we are able to learn what people used to do or wear in old times through reading patterns on the antique embroidery work that still exists today.

 

击鞠(Jī Jū)

Polo

连翩击鞠壤，巧捷惟万端。——《名都篇》，曹植（三国时期）

击鞠类似今日的马球运动，在唐代大为盛行。参赛者分为两队，每对三至四人。比赛时在马背上以球仗击球，至进入对方球门得分。唐朝皇帝中有多位马球高手，其中唐宣宗可策马持杖，在空中 “连击至数百，而马驰不止，迅若流电，”高超球技令人叹为观止。

Ji Ju, which literally means striking a ball, was a team game played on horseback, similar to the modern game of polo. Two teams made up of three or four youngsters would each try to strike a ball with a stick into their opponents' goal. Ji Ju was usually played on a large field almost six times bigger than a modern football field. Each game featured four to eight rounds, with each round lasting no longer than seven minutes.

Experts hold differing views on the origins of Ji Ju, but the most convincing theories suggest it was firstly played in Tibet, ancient central China or ancient Persia. The very first evidence of the game in writing was found in Cao Zhi's (192-232 AD) Ming Du Pian (《名都篇》, Our Famous Capital), a poem that depicts the lives of youngsters during the Three Kingdoms era, when ancient China was divided by conflict and fighting.

若不是写此篇文章，小编真是万万没想到原来古时年轻人这么会玩！你还知道哪些古代年轻人的休闲娱乐活动，请在评论区分享给我们哦~

Story: Cai Mengxiao, Li Yezi

Animation: Du Chenxin, Fu Lei

Editing: Nick Moore