On the Origin of Sports Festival

From 65438 to 0942, during the difficult period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Nanjing National Government established the National Sports Festival.

Sports activities play an important role in strengthening people's physique, improving people's quality and promoting their all-round development. In the history of China, sports activities have a long history. In modern times, especially after the Republic of China and before the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, with the slow development of economy and the gradual introduction of western sports activities and theories, sports activities in China entered a new stage: physical education class was widely opened in schools at all levels, and a number of teachers and professionals were trained. At one time, a number of associations and sports activities were established among the people, showing a prosperous scene. However, from the Beiyang government to the Nanjing National Government, there was little concern and little support. 1929, the Nanjing National Government promulgated the National Sports Law, but it was only written, and it was never seriously implemented, which made China's sports cause fall far behind the world level. For example, in the Olympic Games held in Berlin in 1936, the China delegation lost all the events it participated in and could only be saved by martial arts performances.

After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression started, Nanjing National Government soon tasted the bitter fruit of backward sports. There was an urgent need to expand the army. However, due to the lack of attention to sports in the past, ordinary people were unable to exercise because of poverty, which greatly hindered the improvement of national physique and made it difficult for Nanjing National Government to recruit qualified soldiers-"strong" candidates were not strong, and most of them were "thin". According to the report of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs 1937, the physical standard of conscription decreased several times in that year, but the unqualified still accounted for more than three fifths. Later, when he was elected to the Air Force, his physical fitness was less than 1%, which caused vibrations in all aspects. At a meeting in Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, many delegates called for national sports activities to enhance people's physical fitness, so the National Government had to grasp sports urgently by cramming. 1940 10 June10, the Ministry of Education held the second meeting of the National Sports Conference in Chongqing, the capital of Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek emphasized at the meeting: "In the future, the education of anti-Japanese and nation-building should focus on movement, order and discipline." The meeting put forward and passed the proposal on amending the National Sports Law promulgated by 1929. After hard work, on September 9, 194 1, the national government promulgated the revised National Sports Law, stipulating that all citizens of the Republic of China have the obligation to take physical exercise in order to improve the national physique and health, and also stipulating that the Ministry of Education is in charge of the whole country. At the beginning of 1942, the Ministry of Education wrote to the Executive Yuan. He said: "In order to make use of the custom of the Double Ninth Festival (referring to the folk custom of climbing on the Double Ninth Festival) to publicize the national law (that is, the national sports law) and promote the national sports system to commemorate the first uprising of the founding father (that is, the Guangzhou uprising planned by Sun Yat-sen on June 26, 1895), this proposal was approved by the Executive Yuan and promulgated and implemented nationwide. This is the first sports festival stipulated by the government in China.

1942 the celebration of the first sports festival was very warm and grand.

Since August, the National Sports Commission of the Ministry of Education has carefully arranged the celebration activities. By the end of August, statistics show that important cities such as Chongqing, Kunming, Chengdu, Guilin, Xi and Hanzhong 1 1 and Liancheng 16 counties in Fujian Province have decided to hold large-scale celebrations, and there are not a few general events, among which the celebration in Chongqing is the most prominent. At 2: 30 pm on September 9, the first '99 Sports Commemorative Conference and the first Chongqing Sports Conference opened in the square of Fuziqi New Life Sports Demonstration Zone. Subsequently, the sports activities held in Chongqing included: skill sports performance of fitness class in New Life Sports Demonstration Zone, martial arts performance of China Wushu Society, tennis competition between British Embassy in China and China Trust Bureau, tennis competition between Dutch Embassy in China and Central Bank, softball competition of US Air Force, football competition for normal students in East Sichuan, glider skydiving, children's swimming performance, group aerobics performance, women's basketball competition, mountain climbing, crossing the river and kicking shuttlecock. Other places have also carried out some special activities according to local conditions, such as cycling competition in Jiangxi and shooting competition in Xikang, which have been welcomed by the citizens.

1943 the second sports meeting is still highly valued by all localities. For example, in Chongqing, on September 9th, in addition to traditional celebration activities such as celebration party and sports performance, a "National Health Parade" was also held in an ingenious way. Sports performance teams, female nurses' teams, cleaners' teams, cavalry teams and ten carriages were all covered with health education slogans.

However, the third to fourth sports festivals from 1944 to 1945 were held under special background.

1944 On the eve of the world anti-fascist war and War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's final victory, the Kuomintang (KMT) was even more decadent because of its passive resistance to Japan, saving its strength and waiting for victory. The whole war situation went from bad to worse, and it was defeated in the battle of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi, which caused panic in the Kuomintang-controlled areas, and people could not have much interest in the sports festival that year. 1On September 9th, 945, the Sports Festival coincided with the signing ceremony of the Japanese surrender book in China Theater held in Nanjing that day, and the whole country reveled and celebrated the victory of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Of course, the sports festival is too busy to ask.

1946 is the first sports festival after War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory. It is celebrated all over the country, especially in the areas occupied in those years and now recovered. Moreover, it is the first time to hold a sports festival, and sports activities are even more enthusiastic. Celebrations in Nanjing began on September 7th, with swimming competitions on the 7th and 8th, and mountain climbing, tennis performances, basketball and martial arts performances on the 9th. Another example is Shanghai. According to Shenbao, a lecture on "Sports and Hygiene" was held in the city gymnasium at 9: 00 am that day, and table tennis and basketball exhibition matches were held in the afternoon. Hongkou Swimming Pool will hold a swimming competition in the afternoon. Before and after the sports festival, the city also held a police cup basketball match.

However, after War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, the Kuomintang went against the historical trend, adhered to one-party dictatorship and reactionary rule, and launched a new civil war. The people of the whole country quickly fell into depression, the national economy deteriorated rapidly, people's lives were in jeopardy, sports activities were in a dilemma due to lack of funds, and sports festival celebrations showed a downward trend.

1September, 948, the strategic decisive battle between the PLA and the Kuomintang army is about to begin, and the Kuomintang rule is crumbling. In order to whitewash the peace and appease the people, the Kuomintang authorities still hold sports festival celebrations. However, except for Nanjing and other places, all localities have adopted a perfunctory attitude and organized some small-scale activities to complete the task.

To sum up, we can see that the Sports Festival and its activities set up by Nanjing National Government during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period achieved certain results and promoted the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. However, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, with the retrogression and collapse of the Kuomintang, sports festivals declined accordingly. This proves from the opposite side that without the guarantee of progressive politics and society, there will be no real prosperity of culture and art.

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