A kick into mainstream culture!
It was February day when Cuju was played, and the fairy wind blew down two Chan Juans.
The powdery flowers are stained with sweat, and the willows are covered with smoke in the dust.
The emerald sleeves hang low to cage jade bamboo shoots, and the red skirt slants to reveal the golden lotus.
After several sexual intercourses, she was exhausted and hated the beautiful young man from Chang'an.
─Ming Dynasty Qian Fu's "Cuju"
▲The girl in the poem loves football. She doesn’t wait for the team to practice, so she starts playing football with each other on a cold February day.
This poem describes two girls playing football in Chang'an neighborhood during the Xiaozong era of the Ming Dynasty. "Cu" (pronounced "Cu") means kicking, "Ju" (pronounced "Ju") means ball, and "Cuju" is equivalent to the modern game of football. The girl in the poem loves football. She doesn't wait for the team to practice, but she plays with a pair of players on a cold spring day in February, dripping with sweat, which fascinates the young people at that time.
Although the poem is addressed to Chang'an, the poet was writing it for the Hanlin Academy and was reporting on his duties in Beijing, the capital, around 1500 AD. Football has long been a common team sport among Chinese people throughout the ages, and is widely loved by men, women, and children. Today, in North American parks and school districts, it is common to see young, athletic girls practicing football and participating in games. The teenagers watching from the sidelines are just like the teenagers of the Ming Dynasty more than five hundred years ago.
沒錯，團隊運動如足球，可不是歐美人、拉美人、非裔人的專利，國際足球總會（Fédération Internationale de Football Association，FIFA）官網也承認，「足球最早的記載，源自中國西元前二至三世紀的軍事手冊。」1
▲The father of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, was a super fan of the royal family.
In the Golden Palace of Cockfighting, beside the Cuju Yao Platform (Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty)
2014年，全美國體育產業產值總值估算約4,850億美元2，只差一點就追上臺灣當年度國內生產毛額（Gross Domestic Product, GDP）5,300億美元3。撇開各個球隊、教練、球員、相關商品的收入不談，光是美式足球聯盟（National Football League，NFL）年收入就超過110億美元4.
Generous business interests represent the popularity of team sports. Football games are very important in many people's lives. If they were told to stop playing, watching, and talking about football, their lives would be boring. There would be no interesting topics to chat about, and the cruelest punishment would be nothing more than this. Even U.S. President Obama often talks about basketball on Twitter.
The father of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, was a super fan of the royal family. "The Supreme Emperor moved to Chang'an and lived in a deep palace. He was miserable and unhappy. The Emperor Gaozu asked around and chose what he liked in his life...cockfighting and Cuju. Today, there is no such thing, so he is not happy." (Han, Liu Xin) , "Miscellaneous Notes of Xijing") There was no live broadcast at that time. The emperor lived in a deep palace and enjoyed all the glory and wealth, but there was no cockfighting to play or football games to watch, which made him suffocated to death. This old fan from 200 years ago does not make today's European and American fans any more beautiful than before!
Most of the sports that Chinese children learn in North America are single-player competitions such as badminton, tennis, skating, gymnastics, swimming, diving, etc. There are not a few outstanding players in these sports who have won the bid repeatedly. But the most popular sports are still team sports, and most of the most popular players are ball game players. Basketball player Jeremy Lin's exposure in one month is greater than the topics created by other Chinese in ten years. His single-person contribution to the image of Chinese Americans is equivalent to the results of thousands of accountants and engineers working silently for many years.
Asians are often called the "model minority" in the United States because of their hard work and hard work. Due to their different appearance and culture, the population is concentrated on the east and west coasts. In the vast inland areas of the United States, for many Europeans and African Americans, even though Asians have immigrated and settled several generations ago, they still seem to be "forever". Perpetual foreigners. The most straightforward way to get the vast majority of the inland population to get used to seeing Chinese Americans and to know and accept that we are also part of American society is to join a team sport.
▲The sound of drumming can be heard in the distance, and the military music of Cuju is played.
The sound of drumming is heard in the distance, Cuju is a military music (Tang Wei Yingwu)
西漢劉向《別錄》曰：「蹴鞠，兵勢也，所以練武士、知有才也。」5 華人至今緬懷漢唐盛世，這兩個朝代有無數與團隊運動相關的文獻與藝術作品，足球、馬球、手球等運動規則齊全，有專業球場，也有職業球員，團隊運動上至皇室，下及平民，男女老少人人喜愛，可謂是全民運動時代。6
In 2005, Korean-American human resources expert Jane Hyun published the book "Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians". Compared with the "glass ceiling" that represents the bottleneck for women's career advancement, the "bamboo ceiling" represents the bottleneck for Asians' career advancement. The causes include personal, cultural and organizational factors. There is often a stereotype of outstanding Asian talents: they are very professional, but lack communication skills and are unable to lead. Therefore, despite their high level of education and hard work, only a few Asians can enter the middle management class in the top 500 companies in the United States, and even fewer can enter the high-level management class. This phenomenon not only occurs among first-generation immigrants, but also affects immigrants after the second and third generations.
In 2011, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" was immediately followed by Korean-American writer Wesley Yang's response "Paper Tiger" published in New York magazine. The writer asked: Tiger mothers who sing war hymns in schools frighten other ethnic groups. Parents, the little tigers with war scars are in high spirits, but after they graduate and enter the workplace, where do these little tigers go? Why have they become paper tigers? The author believes that the merit-oriented school elite system is no longer applicable after graduation. Parents' strategy of asking their children to work harder will not be beneficial to their long-term development in the future. The battle wounds of these little tigers have been in vain.
In 2015, the "World Journal" editorial "Asian Ceiling in Silicon Valley, Difficulties in Reform" quoted the Ascend Foundation's survey report and pointed out that the five index companies: Google, Yahoo, HP, Intel and LinkedIn (LinkedIn) were very willing to Hire Asians as engineers but are unwilling to promote Asians to managers. Asians account for 27% of professional employees, but only 18% are supervisors, and only 13% are promoted to management. The editorial mentioned the reasons for this phenomenon, including unconscious bias and problems with Asians themselves. "When Asians are studying, they have developed the habit of speaking less, studying hard, and playing their own roles... But if Asians want to be supervisors, they must not only work hard, but also strengthen communication skills and build interpersonal relationships."
In the past, the transfer of knowledge was not widespread, and it was easy to stand out if you could learn well and memorize it. Now, as long as you search on the Internet, all information is at your fingertips. In the post-Internet era, what distinguishes talents is rapid learning, induction and integration, critical thinking, communication and leadership, and teamwork skills. Team sports are a good way to train these abilities. When a child joins a team three times a year, he or she will make 30 more friends each year. Team activities last for three hours a week, which means he or she can practice team spirit, develop communication and coordination skills, and practice rapid changes in the game. make an immediate judgment. North American teams usually have a mix of people of all races. In this diverse generation, cultural fluency is a very important ability. If you can get along well with people of all races since childhood, you will be an outstanding leader in the future.
"Cuju is the strength of the military, so practicing warriors can make you know how to be talented." We are not abandoning the advantages of Chinese culture and fully accepting the rules of the game in today's society. Rather, we first understand the mainstream culture of North America and hope that one day we can participate in formulating and changing the game. rule. If the Han Dynasty knew that football could also be used to train soldiers, how could we let go of such a precious cultural heritage and let our children fall behind others?
Thousands of miles away, the gold seal of the marquis is great, and the new ball (ball) is gathered in thousands of games (Xu Wei of the Ming Dynasty)
In the second chapter of "Water Margin", Gao Qiu made his fortune by relying on his good football skills. He attracted the attention of King Duan with his "Yuanyangguai" move. The book said that his "ball was like a swim bladder glued to his body, and King Duan was very happy." King Duan later ascended the throne and became Huizong of the Song Dynasty, and Gao Qiu also became the notorious Captain Gao, forcing many heroes to Liangshan. When Huizong of the Song Dynasty came to the throne in 1100 AD, Gao Taiwei was the most famous figure in historical novels who used sports to win court battles.
Today in North America, colleagues at work often form softball teams, basketball teams, and friendly football competitions. Colleagues come to chat and talk about sports. When you see those colleagues whose work performance is not very good, and who have excellent official career just by playing ball with the boss and calling them brothers, which one of them is not itching to hate them? Naturally, we don’t want to imitate Captain Gao and become a villain, but wouldn’t it be a good thing to use team sports as a workplace lubricant to build deep friendships with bosses, colleagues, and subordinates?
Music and art are world languages, but team sports are even more so. The easiest way to build cross-ethnic camaraderie is to play a game of football and cheer for the same team. If children are not allowed to participate in team sports, it will indirectly deprive them of common interests and topics with their classmates and colleagues, and even affect their ability to advance in the workplace in the future.
▲"The Unbeatable Brave": Team sports have a magical charm that single-player sports do not have. They can gather centripetal force and resolve differences.
Fortunately, I have the joy of throwing tea, and I will never say goodbye to a cup of wine (Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty)
The movie "Invictus" (2009), directed by Colin Eastwood, depicts the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa. President Mandela worked hand in hand with the captain of the national team to unite the country through rugby. Centripetal force unites South Africa, which has just emerged from apartheid and is facing division. At the end of the movie, South Africa won the Rugby World Cup, and people regardless of race cried with joy and embraced each other in celebration. The black and white guards who initially distrusted and glared at each other also had fun playing football together at the end of the play.
▲Team sports have a magical charm that single-player sports cannot. The picture shows the South African president and the national captain in the movie working together to unite South Africa through football games.
Team sports have a magical charm that single-person sports cannot. They can unite centripetal forces and resolve differences. In 1968, the Taiwan Hongye Little League team, from the Bunun ethnic group in Taitung, defeated Japan's ever-winning champion Chofu Little League team, making the world's sports world look at Taiwan with admiration, establishing Taiwan's name and greatly enhancing national self-confidence. In 1969, the Golden Dragon Little League team won the world championship. When the young players returned to China, the streets were packed with people, regardless of people from the province, people from other provinces, or aborigines, and the whole country was jubilant.
Just today, many friendships are established by watching a football game and drinking a glass of beer, not to mention belonging to the same team, young players practicing together, parents chatting on the sidelines, getting to know each other better, and it is easy to get to know each other. Different, but very similar experiences and preferences. After a whole season of cherishing each other, cheering loudly on the sidelines, and jumping up and down about unfair judgments. Parents and young players who didn't know each other at the beginning of the season were reluctant to part with each other by the end of the season. They left each other's phone calls and agreed to keep in touch.
▲The Red Leaf Little League team in 1968
Chinese Americans are underrepresented in politics and team sports. If you want to break the stereotype of "invisible minorities", participating in team sports is the easiest way to get started. Families you meet at football games and leagues can also be important political capital. Parents who are interested in entering politics, or wishing to train the next generation to participate in politics, can actively expand and maintain interpersonal networks to cultivate the votes of school district education committees and city councilors. .
▲The 1969 Golden Dragon Little League team made the world's sports world look at Taiwan with admiration.
Thousands of doors were opened, Sanlang was drunk and returned home without warning (Song Chao said this)
「（西漢）成帝好蹴鞠。群臣以蹴鞠勞體，非至尊所宜。帝曰：朕好之。」5 這位皇帝白日愛踢足球，愛到群臣規勸別踢壞了身體，夜裡愛擁美女，趙飛燕、趙合德兩姐妹就在他的後宮之中。他跟現代好些球壇金童可不像嗎？
"Thousands of doors were opened, and Sanlang was drunk and came back." The poet of the Song Dynasty also lamented that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, whose nickname was Sanlang and who favored Concubine Yang, did not manage state affairs in the later period and only indulged in entertainment such as playing ball. This is another emperor who loves beauties and plays ball but does not do his job properly.
Once you are too addicted to sports and worship stars too much, scandals are inevitable - sex scandals of stars or teams, corruption scandals of the International Football Association, drug abuse by college athletes, falsification of results, or irregularities in inflating American footballs. Even Christian fans do not go to worship on the Sabbath. Instead, they take their children to practice or watch football games at home.
Before joining a team, parents should sort out their priorities to avoid affecting their children's relationship with God. After all, "physical exercise is of little benefit, but godliness is of benefit in all things, for it holds promise for this life and the life to come." (Titus. (1 Timothy 4:8) Many Chinese churches have also organized sports-related activities, such as friendly basketball matches, sports summer camps, etc., to cultivate members' relationships and strengthen the church's centripetal force through team sports.
The dust can't be lifted by kicking it, and the rain can make it clear again by throwing fire and rain (Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty)
Football scandals and star worship often make devout Christian parents shy away from team sports and avoid them. However, if you think about it carefully, is the spirit of sportsmanship really contrary to the spirit of Christianity?
Good players all know how to train their bodies (see 1 Timothy 4:8), maintain and take care of their bodies (see Ephesians 5:29). Winning or losing on the court is a matter of military success, and it depends on what you are doing (see Romans Joshua 12:3); good players also know that they must exercise moderation in everything (see 1 Corinthians 9:25), respect the rules if they want to win the game (see 2 Timothy 2:5), and respect each other as members of the team (see 1 Corinthians 9:25). (See 1 Corinthians 12:12) I have a deeper understanding than anyone else. Parents can definitely implement Christian education in team sports. Godly players, like godly teachers, doctors, and lawyers, can be light and salt on their own stage.
American football quarterback Tim Tebow, who is self-taught at home and has received a good religious education, often testifies on the field and kneels to pray; NBA player Jeremy Lin has never shied away from the fact that his Christian faith is an important pillar in his basketball career; Cao Jinhui was involved in Taiwanese professional baseball betting Scandal, banned for life, but able to make a comeback in Major League Baseball. He confessed that he relied on prayer and Christian faith to get through the darkest and sinking years of his life.
After the 2015 NBA "Most Valuable Player" Andre Iguodala won the annual championship with the Golden State Warriors, he publicly responded to a reporter's interview and said: "God is so great! ... Thank you to all NBA team pastors ... Our entire team is a believer, We go to church before every game. We all believe that God will make a way for us. This is my purpose."
▲2015 NBA "Most Valuable Player" Andre Iguodala.
What is God’s life goal for children? Do we help or hinder our children in achieving their goals? Can we see beyond the reflexive actions of stereotypes, and can our decisions be different from blindly following without thinking? Nowadays, things are changing in a blink of an eye. Can we keep the kingdom of God in mind in our prayer center, look at the world, and practice insights that transcend culture and tradition?
Ten miles away, the world of mortals is constantly covering up, and the young men of Wuling are trying to return home (Wu Ruilong, Ming Dynasty)
華人家長普遍務實，認為孩子限於體型，打團隊運動沒有出頭的一天。美國全國公共廣播電台（National Public Radio，NPR）2014年報導指出，在國家大學體育協會（National Collegiate Athletic Association，NCAA）中，亞裔運動員集中在單人競賽項目，如壁球、體操與射擊。亞裔占美國人口約6%，但NCAA 5,380位男籃選手中，亞裔僅有十五名，占球員的0.2%；奈及利亞人在世界平均身高排倒數第七，但奈及利亞裔的男籃選手有116名，祖國民眾平均身高，和移民後代球員的表現沒有直接關係。6
Are our children really inferior in size and skills to others? Or is it our own stereotypes that limit children's opportunities for comprehensive and balanced development? Have the decisions we made unintentionally pushed our communities, workplaces, and political participation into a corner, giving away the power to steer the community, workplace, and political arena in a country of immigrants?
When a country's gender ratio is imbalanced, we will review and reflect on the gender discrimination in the culture; when a race's proportion in sports development, workplace promotion and political participation is imbalanced, we will not only allow the pioneers of the affirmative action movement to inscribe the racial discrimination of others, but also reflect on our own Are there any blind spots in culture or subjective consciousness regarding team sports and team spirit?
Team sports have a long history in Chinese culture, and they can implement Christian beliefs. They are also a good way to integrate into American society, enhance the status of Chinese Americans, and develop talents in the post-Internet era. I hope that more Chinese people can compete on the court and become leaders with both civil and military skills, great talents and strategies, cross-border and cross-ethnic leaders, and in this era of noisy people and unclear right and wrong, they can become the mainstay of the Kingdom of God and the beacon of the dark world. .
Notes
1.http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/the-game/origins.html FIFA, Origins of the Game
2.http://www.plunkettresearch.com/statistics/sports-
3.http://twbusiness.nat.gov.tw/old/pdf/sec8.pdf Ministry of Economic Affairs Global Taiwan Business Service Network
4.http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/03/09/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NFL-revenue.aspx
5. "The Writing of Opera in Tang Dynasty Poems" Donghua Humanities Journal, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Donghua University, Issue 18, January 2011, pp. 31-63.
6.http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/04/02/297287958/why-arent-asian-americans-getting-their-one-shining-moment
Author profile
Pan Xiaomei, MBA, accountant, internal auditor, computer auditor. He once traveled around the world for work and now lives in California, where he works in the energy industry and plans traditional and renewable energy configurations.