中国古代冬季运动 从历史到传承

楚河

冬天，大概是最容易激发人们运动本能的季节了，只要温度合适，它可以冻得每个人都忍不住跺脚，并且似乎温度越低，跺脚的力度越大。

这是人类自我保护的本能，目的是维持身体机能的正常运转。自古以来，人们就知道，强健的体魄是生存的保证。于是，“运动”应运而生。只不过人类早期的“运动”并不是为了竞技，而是为了捕猎。

俗话说：春有百花秋有月，夏有凉风冬……冬天，可能啥也没有。只有猎人知道，冬天打猎的难度要远远大于其他季节。因为冬天最尴尬的是几乎无猎可打，冰雪的覆盖让万物归于静谧，动物们有的迁到了更温暖的地方，有的已经备好了自己的“粮仓”，还有的准备把整个冬天直接睡过去——也就是冬眠了。即便有些物种会在这个寒冷的季节出没，也很难捕捉。人类没有鹰的眼睛，没有熊的力量，更没有豹的速度，想要在漫天飞雪的冬天追上猎物，这简直是不可能完成的任务。但好在，人类还可以依靠智慧，作为世界上最古老的体育运动之一——滑雪，就是在这样的背景下诞生的。

滑雪“ski”这个词就源于古挪威语skith，意思是“雪鞋”，指形状像窄木舟一样的滑雪板。 早在13世纪，滑雪便成为挪威的国技，甚至被用来充当作战的方式。但滑雪却不仅仅出现在挪威，远在数千年前的瑞典、芬兰、俄罗斯和中国，滑雪便已经诞生。或许有雪的地方就注定有滑雪吧。

生活在地球南北两端的人类，面对严酷的生存环境，都想到利用滑雪战胜冰雪。这既是大自然物竞天择的偶然，也是必然。

在中国，滑雪也是一项非常古老的运动。古老到什么地步呢？关于雪橇起源的文字记载，据说最早可以追溯到大禹时期。在这里，我们可以简单介绍一下大禹生活的时代，那是中国的上古时期，神秘且浪漫，传奇又富有诗意，在其中不难见到魔法和神力，也从不缺少信念和神迹。这些传说故事对于中国人来说，大概与西方朋友们心中的“希腊神话”相当。

值得一提的是，在中西方神话中，都曾提到过大洪水。只不过在西方的传说中，是诺亚方舟拯救了世界，而在中国的传说中，人们之所以获救，是因为大禹治水。

在很多古籍中都记录了这段传说，但要说最权威的，还要数二十四史。西汉史学家司马迁所著的《史记》（约成书于公元前104年至公元前91年），被列为二十四史之首，在《史记 · 夏本纪》中，就记载了大禹治水时的一些细节，其中提到，“陆行乘车，水行乘船，泥行乘橇，山行乘檋”。

橇是什么？有一种说法认为，橇就是形状像小船一样，可以在山中和泥上行走的乘具。而后人在此基础上把它改良成能在冰雪上行走的工具，于是就出现了雪橇。

据《隋书》记载，在距今1400多年前，中国隋唐时期的东北民族室韦人，就掌握了不俗的滑雪技巧。由于他们生活的地方“气候最寒，雪深没马”，因此他们“骑木而行”。这几乎可以肯定他们是在滑雪了，因为可以让人骑行的木头，如果不是用来在雪地上滑行，那就只剩下飞行了。当然，后半句是个玩笑。

除此之外，《新唐书》还提到过古老的木马突厥三部落，那里的人们有一个习俗，就是在冰上乘木马奔驰。所谓木马，就是把木板系在脚上，然后用弯曲的木头支在腋窝下面，据说稍一使劲就可以溜出百步，速度非常快，就是不知道百公里要消耗几根木头？

要注意的是，此时的滑雪依然是一个生存技能，或作为狩猎的辅助工具，或作为运输食物的载具。

直到宋朝以后，这类运动才有了些许娱乐的成分，而冰雪运动也不再是北方少数民族的专利，开始與百姓的生活息息相关。宋朝的人们普遍认为，冬天不滑冰，生活似乎缺少点乐趣。

据《宋史 · 礼志》记载，在当时的宫廷中，滑冰是非常流行的游戏，不仅如此，它还有一个非常文雅的名字，叫作冰嬉。游戏规则大体是，人们排着队，在冰面上滑行，逐一划过飘舞着彩旗的旌门，在旌门上悬挂着射手们的目标——彩球，滑到此处的人，便可以弯弓射箭，只要射中了彩球，便可以得到奖赏。

这个游戏几乎风靡了之后中国历史上的每个朝代，元朝、明朝、清朝的宫廷都十分热衷于冰嬉。北京故宫藏有一幅清代宫廷画《冰嬉图》，描绘的就是当时冰上游戏的盛况。如果不是看到这幅画，真的很难想象，一个游戏居然需要这么多人参与，只见画中的旗手和射手间隔排列，队伍蜿蜒曲折，远远看去，简直就像一条巨龙。

可即便滑冰也已经难以满足当时人们的需求了，他们不仅要滑冰，还要划床，于是明清时期又开始盛行乘冰床。这是一种类似雪橇的冰上滑行工具，需要用竿子撑或者人力、畜力推拉前进。民间对冰床的制作要求相对简单，基本是能滑就行。做好之后，大家就坐在冰床上赏雪饮酒。

相较之下，宫廷里的冰床就显得格外豪华了，据说清朝宫廷里的冰床，会在上面搭一个金属的床棚，棚上有门，门上有窗，棚脊和底座都有金龙的装饰，冰床下面还安装了设计精美的滑轨。清代的冰床，相当于在雪橇上盖了一间小房。

不过，清朝进步的地方不仅仅是冰床设计，冰上运动也在这一时期愈发成熟。确切地说，在清朝建立之前，清太祖努尔哈赤就十分喜爱冰上运动了，为此，他还曾经举办过中国有文献记载的第一次冰上运动会。

据说，比赛项目还不少：有“跑冰鞋”，要求参赛者分成两队，面对面站在场地两端，正中间是终点，号令一响，大家奔向终点，先到的人得奖;有“抢等”，要求参赛者在三里外的起点一字排开，终点是皇帝的冰床前，号令响后，同时冲刺，先到的人得奖，很像现在的速滑项目;还有一个项目叫 “双飞舞”，需要两人在冰上表演各种舞姿，很像现在的花样滑冰。除此之外，还有冰上射箭、冰上武术等，这么多项目放在一起比，赛程不可谓不长啊，但凡冰床里保暖措施不力，皇帝也得感冒。

中国的冰雪运动历史悠久，可参加国际重大冬季体育赛事的时间却不长，1980年，我们才第一次参加冬奥会，这已经是第13届冬奥会了。而直到2002年，我们才收获了第一枚属于自己的冬奥会金牌。

基于种种原因，冬季运动赛事似乎没有夏季运动赛事那么家喻户晓，但在发展冬季运动项目上我们从未放弃，为什么？因为运动健儿们早已通过赛场中的表现，说出了答案。在他们心里，根本就没有“放弃”二字。

當他们一次次突破人类身体极限的时候，当他们克服万难驰骋于赛场的时候，当他们团结一心、奋力拼搏的时候，从来就没有输家！

汗水与泪水挥洒交织，心跳声与呐喊声此起彼伏，决不放弃，勇往直前，赛场上的体育健儿仿佛给每个人都注入了前进的动力和能量，这正是体育的魅力，这正是奥林匹克精神。

相信2022年第24届北京冬奥会，一定会是你所期待的体育盛会！

Winter Sports China： From Past to Present

By  Chu He

Winter is perhaps the season most likely to stimulate people’s instinct to do exercise， as long as the temperature is right. Sometimes， it can be so cold that people can’t help but keep stamping their feet， and it seems that the lower the temperature， the stronger the stamping.

This is a human instinct for self-preservation — to keep the body functioning properly. Since time immemorial， human beings have understood that a strong body is the guarantee of survival. As a result， “sports” were born. However， in the beginning， “sports” were not meant for competition， but for hunting.

As the old saying goes， flowers in spring， moons in autumn， cool wind in summer. In winter？ There seems to be nothing. Only hunters know that hunting in winter is a lot more difficult than in other seasons， as there is almost nothing to hunt for in this season. The cover of snow and ice makes everything quiet. Some animals have migrated to warmer places， some have hoarded food and built their own “granaries”， and some are ready to hibernate for the whole winter. Even if a few animals are still active during the cold weather， they can be difficult to catch. Without the eyes of eagles， the strength of bears， or the speed of leopards， it is nearly an impossible task for mankind to keep up with their prey. Fortunately， human beings can still rely on their intelligence， and one of the oldest sports in the world — skiing — was born in this context.

The word “ski” comes from the Old Norse word “skith”， which means “strip of wood”， “cleft wood”， “snowshoes”. Skiing became Norway’s national sport in as early as the 13th century， and was even used in warfare by the Norsemen. Not only in Norway， skiing also emerged in Sweden， Finland and Russia thousands of years ago. For people living near the poles of the earth， facing a harsh living environment， they have all thought of using skiing to harness ice and snow. Maybe where there’s snow， there’s skiing.

Skiing is a very old sport in China as well. The earliest written records on sleds can be traced back to Yu the Great， one of the “Sage Kings” in Ancient China. That era is usually considered mysterious and romantic， legendary and poetic， in which it is hard to separate history from magic and divine power. To the Chinese， these legends are probably equivalent to the Greek mythology. It is worth noting that a great flood has been mentioned in both Chinese and Western myths. In the West， it was Noah’s Ark that saved the day. In China， people were saved because Yu the Great tamed the flood.

Many an ancient record has documented Yu’s tale， but the most authoritative texts are the “Twenty-Four Histories”. In Records of the Grand Historian， the first and foremost of the “Twenty-Four Histories”， the Western Han dynasty （202 BC- AD 8） historian Sima Qian （？-？） wrote of Yu’s travels when controlling the flood， “When traveling on land， he used a carriage， on water， he used a boat， on swampy areas， he used a sled [qiao]， and on mountains and hills， spikes.”

What did qiao （“sled”） here refer to？ Some believe that it was a vehicle in the shape of a small boat that could travel on mountainous and miry lands. After improvement by people of later generations， it was transformed into a tool to travel on ice and snow.

According to the Book of Sui， one of the “Twenty-Four Histories”， the Shiwei people， an ethnic tribe populated in China’s northeast during the Sui dynasty （581-618）， had already mastered the art of skiing about a millennium and a half before. As they lived in places “with a frigid climate and covered in horse-deep snow”， they “rode wood when traveling”， which all but confirms they were skiing; otherwise， they would have ridden on the wood as wizards and witches ride on broomsticks.

In addition， the New Book of Tang， another of the “Twenty-Four Histories”， covering the history of the Tang dynasty （618-907）， made references to the three tribes of Wooden-Horse Turks （Muma Tujue）， where people usually rode on wooden horses on ice. The so-called wooden horses were in fact two boards each fastened on one’s foot， supported with curved wood sticks under the armpit. It is said that one slide could carry people as far as 100 steps away. On the other hand， skiing and skating at this time were still very much survival skills， either as aids for hunting or as ways of transporting food.

It wasn’t until the Song dynasty （960-1279） that such sports began to be played as an amusement， and winter sports were no longer the monopoly of ethnic groups in the north， but gradually became part of the everyday life of common people. Indeed， it was generally believed a winter without ice skating was a winter without fun.

Ice skating， as recorded in the History of Song， was a popular game in the imperial court; it even earned itself an elegant name， bingxi， or frolic on ice. The rules were simple enough： players lined up and skated on ice one by one through an honorary gate decorated with fluttering flags of various colors， and shot arrows on their target， a colored ball hung on the gate. Anyone passing the gate was eligible to shoot on the ball， and once they hit the target， they would be rewarded.

The game was wildly popular in the following dynasties， and the imperial courts of the Yuan （1206-1368）， Ming （1368-1644） and Qing （1616-1911） dynasties were all keen on bingxi. Bingxi Tu， or Frolic on Ice， a Qing-era court painting currently collected at Beijing’s Palace Museum， depicts the pomp of the game. Without such a painting， it would be really hard to imagine that a bingxi game would have so many people to participate： some 1，600 players， or more fittingly performers， were organized into different groups showcasing their skills on ice.

Apparently， ice skating was at the time could no longer satisfy people’s needs， for they had come to play “bed skating” as well. Similar to a sled， the “ice bed”， as it was called， was in fact a makeshift “vehicle” that could be pulled or pushed manually or by animals. In comparison to the simple “design” of the commoners’ “ice bed”， the ones made by the imperial court were much more luxurious， with slide tracks installed underneath and a “small house” （with doors， windows and all the decorations） erected above. Nurhaci （1559-1626）， founding father of the Qing dynasty， was believed to have initiated the first documented winter games in China， in which events that were precursors to the modern versions of speed skating and figure skating were held.

While China has a long history of winter sports， it wasn’t until 1980 that China made its debut in the Winter Olympic Games （13th edition）， and it was not until the 2002 Winter Olympic Games that China won its first gold medal.

For a variety of reasons， winter sports may not be as popular as summer sports， but China has never considered giving up developing winter sports. Why？ The performance of Chinese athletes already gives the answer： for them， there is no such thing as “giving up”.

When they push the limits of the human body again and again， when they overcome all the obstacles and reach the Olympic Games， when they unite as one and give their best， everyone is a winner！ Sweat and tears， hearts beating and cheers chanting. Once inside the arena， once on the rinks， the athletes just march forward， filled with power and energy. This is the charm of sports， this is the spirit of the Olympics.

In 2022， the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing are destined to be the spectacular sporting event that you have come to expect！