A few days ago, The Sports Culture Development Center of the State Sports General Administration announced the list of "2022 Excellent Chinese Sports Culture Projects". Nine projects including Hebei Province Plum Blossom Boxing and Baguazhang were on the list.
It is understood that the Chinese Sports Culture Excellent Project aims to promote and inherit China’s excellent traditional sports culture, excavate and organize outstanding Chinese sports culture festival projects, folk customs and national projects, and better promote the protection, promotion and innovative development of China’s excellent traditional sports culture.
The picture shows the performance of Baguazhang. Photo courtesy of Hebei Provincial Sports Bureau
Among the 9 projects in Hebei Province, plum blossom boxing, Baguazhang, Jingxing Lahua, Chengde paddock ice dragon boat, kick-foot martial arts, Luanzhou local Yangge, and Longhua County Ergui wrestling were selected as outstanding folk projects, Miao Dao, Dingzhou Xingyi Flower Club were selected as outstanding national projects.
Plum blossom boxing is one of the main types of traditional Chinese martial arts, also known as plum blossom pile boxing and Zoujia boxing. It is characterized by its elegance, strength and unrestrainedness, and integrates fitness and martial arts. It is loved by the majority of martial arts enthusiasts.
Baguazhang was created by Dong Haichuan, of Zhujiajia Village, Wen'an, Hebei during the Qing Dynasty. In June 2008, it was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Jingxing Lahua belongs to the northern Yangge. It was produced and spread in the territory of Jingxing County. It uses shoulder twisting, wrist turning, arm twisting, leg sucking, and foot curling as its main movements. In 2006, it was included in the national intangible cultural heritage representative items.
The Chengde Paddock Ice Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a folk intangible cultural heritage . From 2015 to 2022, Paddock has held seven ice dragon boat competitions, attracting more than 200,000 local people to participate in ice and snow activities.
Foot-tapping martial arts originated from Shaolin, was founded in the Song Dynasty, developed in the Ming Dynasty, and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. Historically, the foot poke has been called Eight Roots, Branch Boxing, Diamond Fist , Diamond Hammer, Waizi Kick, Jiufan Yubu Mandarin Duck Kick, etc.
The picture shows a demonstration of foot poking martial arts. Photo courtesy of Hebei Provincial Sports Bureau
Luanzhou Yangge is a folk dance widely circulated in rural areas of eastern Hebei. It is divided into several professions such as Gongzi, Niu, Chou, Kuai, etc. The performers create vivid characters through their rich facial expressions, body language, costumes, props and distinctive "twists".
Longhua County Ergui Wrestling is a Manchu traditional folk dance popular in Longhua Jiutun Township. The performer is only one person, but he wears clever props and can play the role of two naughty children with pigtails wrestlingwrestling.
Miao Dao is mainly distributed in the Cangzhou generation. It was created in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. It has a slender shape and has the characteristics of both a knife and a gun. When used, it can be tossed and turned in combos, rapid and sharp, and the body can push the knife forward with force like breaking a bamboo.
Dingzhou Xingyi Flower Fair, the performance items include drums, lion dance, the most distinctive ones are cannon shooting of five boats, ugly cars, etc. In addition, there are also operas, sketches and other projects.
The picture shows the wrestling performance of Ergui from Longhua County. Photo courtesy of Hebei Provincial Sports Bureau
