Story of China

Under the Song, the population of China doubled. A hundred million in the year 1,000. It was 200 million by the late 1200s, more than a third of the world's people. And with a huge urban population, the Chinese invented many games and sports, including what they called kickball. Football was massive in the Song Dynasty 1,000 years ago. -

Host

And it's massive again in today's China. (speaking in Chinese) So I suppose you could say, as the Chinese would, (speaking in Chinese). "Football's coming home." (crowd roaring) (crowd chanting) -

Host

It wasn't a mass sport, of course; there was no such thing then. But soccer in the Song was a spectator sport with clubs, rules, and fouls. The emperor's not arrived yet. (crowd chanting) (whistle blowing) (crowd roaring) (announcer speaking in Chinese) Oh, wow! Different ways of playing the game in the Song Dynasty; the favorite one, the goals were posts about 10 meters high, colored net hung between them with a hole through which you had to shoot the ball. -

Host

And, of course, being China, ethical conduct was vital. In Song soccer, it was player could play the game. Abusing the referee was unconfucian, and professional fouls were unthinkable. (whistle blowing) Well, almost. And, after all, in history, aren't complex team games another mark of a high civilization? (crowd roaring) (whistle blowing) Though not yet the people's sport, football wasn't just for the elite. China was opening up socially; and that went for government too. There was definitely a lot of social mobility going on during the Song. The social classes were in flux in some sense. People from all sorts of backgrounds could engage more closely who were more sensitive towards the social situation. They became involved in government too.