Rise after the Harshest Winters
Sports demonstrated the ability to promote public health and the potential to improve the physique of the entire nation.
At the end of the 19th century, China was forced open by Western powers armed with guns and cannons, and some of their sports entered the country alongside foreign troops, migrants, and missionaries.
Ice sports were introduced after Tianjin was forced to open its port following the Second Opium War (1856-1860). According to historical records, the British Municipal Council of the Tianjin Concession established the Tientsin (old name of Tianjin) Skating Club in its stadium in 1895.
In 1925, the Tianjin Printing House published a book titled Tientsin: An Illustrated Outline History, written by Otto Durham Rasmussen based on his experience living and working in Tianjin. The book was written in English and accompanied by more than 170 photos. Rasmussen was an Englishman who had worked as an editor and journalist for foreign media outlets in Tianjin including North China Business, North China Star, and Far East Times. Also a proficient hockey player, he recorded the development of Chinese ice hockey in its early stages.
According to the book, American and British expatriates in Tianjin organized the Tientsin Ice Hockey Club in January 1905. In 1906, the United States Marine Corps stationed in Beijing and the Beijing Young Men’s Christian Association (Beijing YMCA) established the Peking (old name of Beijing) Ice Hockey Club. Since 1906, inter-city ice hockey games had consistently been played. In the 31 years from 1906 to 1936, the Beijing-tianjin Ice Hockey Competition was held every year without interruption.
Confronted with domestic trouble and foreign invasion, the Chinese began to rise to the
occasion. People from various sectors started reflecting on how the country had been reduced to a deteriorating lapdog. National salvation became the most urgent task.
Sports demonstrated the function to promote public health and the potential to improve the physique of the entire nation. The idea of national salvation through strengthening human physique eventually dominated Chinese sports, which promoted the development of modern sports in China greatly.
When modern sports first entered China, virtually all sports organizations were established by Westerners, and most competitions were planned by them. Although Chinese people did participate, the games were invariably controlled by Westerners.
After the May 4th Movement of 1919, voices in the sports community began calling for restoration of sovereignty in sport realm. After the Third National Games in 1924, the process accelerated dramatically. On August 24 of that year, the formal establishment of the China National Amateur Athletic Federation, a Shanghai-based national sports organization independently led by the Chinese people, marked a milestone development.
With the process of sovereignty reclaimed by the Chinese sports community in the 1920s, ice sports in Beijing and further north began to develop slickly. Schools in Beijing and Tianjin such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Yenching University, Fu Jen Catholic University, and Nankai University started opening ice rinks for students every winter.
Wang Jianwu, a sports educator in Tianjin during the Republic of China period (1912-1949), dedicated a chapter of his 1935 book Physical Education in Northern China to ice sports. “Skating and ice hockey were also the most modern winter sports among schools and colleges in northern China including Peking and Tientsin,” declared the book. “Most schools built ice rinks in winter to entertain students. Others sought natural or public ice rinks in the vicinity so the kids could have a good time.” He also noted that skating was a fashionable but costly sport. “The only problem is that blades, skates, and tickets are expensive, making the skating rink entertainment preserved for the leisure class and a rendezvous venue for modern youth on par with golf courses and billiards rooms. It is no longer considered a sport taught in school.”
In his description, Mr. Wang truthfully reflected on how ice sports emerged but failed to
notice all the activities. Back then, hockey teams were indeed organize d in many schools in northern China and interschool ice hockey tournaments were often held. In 1925, Nankai University of Tianjin, headed by Zhang Boling, China’s Olympic pioneer, led the establishment of the “White Bear” ice hockey team. And then in Peking, Yenching University, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Normal University, and other schools each established an ice hockey team.
When the Chinese nation was plunged into some of its direst straits after the September 18th Incident in 1931, which dragged China into the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945), students integrated patriotic feelings into sports and pursued physique training with full enthusiasm, ushering in rapid development of ice hockey. In 1932, Tsinghua University, Yenching University, Huiwen Middle School, Fu Jen Catholic University, and the U.S. Academy launched an Ice Hockey Championship among Five Schools, and Tsinghua University was dubbed the champion with seven points from three wins and one draw in four games.
In 1935, the 19th Ice Performance of the North China Games was held in Peking. Categories included speed skating, figure skating, and ice hockey. The games launched a trend of ice-sports events in China. Two weeks before the games, the First City Ice Games was held in Peking to determine athletes to compete in the North China Games. In February 1937, the Second City Ice Games were held in Peking.
On February 7, Beichen Pictorial devoted a full page to photos of the games with the title “Ice Heroes.” According to the photos and story, costumed skating, speed skating, and a “bean-picking” race (appears like a skating shuttle run in photos) were held.
On July 7, 1937, the outbreak of China’s nationwide resistance war against Japanese aggression caused an interruption in ice sports in Peking until the surrender of Japan. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, thanks to its rising national strength, ice and snow sports have enjoyed comprehensive and rapid development. Beijing is all set for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which will make it the first city ever to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.