Games in Old Beijing

To pull a bag

To pull a bag, you need to find an open space three to four meters long and more than two meters wide, draw a white line on the outside about two meters wide, and then sew it Make a two-inch square cloth bag and put some sand or mung beans in the bag, but do not put too hard stones to avoid hurting people.

How to play: This game can be played by 3 to 4 people. The three-person gameplay is that one person stands outside the two lines and is responsible for holding the bag and cutting it. The person standing in the middle faces the person holding the bag. After the game starts, the person holding the bag pulls the bag towards the middle person and prevents her from catching it. , as long as she is hit three times and the person in the middle fails to catch the bag, she will lose and she will "step down" and replace the person who cut the bag. If the person who was hit catches the bag, then every time she catches it, she will Just score one point, minus one hit. The four-player game is divided into groups of two, with two people standing in the middle of the line. The rules of the chopping method are the same. If both people are chopping down, they lose. They "step down" and another group of people comes on to be the one who is chopping off.

This game not only makes children fit, but is also a competition of intelligence, because the person responsible for chopping the bag must find ways to chop the bag in a place where it is difficult for the person in the middle to reach it, and the person standing in the middle must find ways to turn around flexibly to hide the bag. , crouching and jumping at any time, on the one hand to prevent being hit, and on the other hand to catch the bag. This game not only provides physical exercise outdoors, but also deepens the emotions between friends and brings great fun.

Tiao rubber band

Tiao rubber band, also called jumping monkey rubber band. It is one of girls' favorite games and was popular from the 1950s to the 1970s. You only need to prepare a pair of long rubber bands for this game. The rubber bands are made from rubber or scrap bicycle inner tubes and are reamed into long strips. You can also use some small rubber bands (mostly taken from the rubber bands on milk bottles at the time) to connect them together. .

How to play: Three to five people can play together, or they can be divided into two groups to compete. It is very fun to dance and sing at the same time. First, two people each take one end to stretch the rubber band, and the others take turns to jump according to the prescribed actions. The one who completes the jump wins. If the jump is wrong or the rubber band is not hooked well, another person jumps. The jumping method is to start with the height of the rubber band from the ankle to the knee, to the waist to the chest to the shoulder, and then to the top of the ear, and then raise it high "small lift" and "big lift", the difficulty becomes more and more difficult. The jumper uses his feet (no hands allowed) ) unhooked the rubber band and danced while singing a self-composed song. I remember the songs that girls often sang at that time were: "Sister Jiang, sister Jiang, good sister Jiang, you shed blood for the revolution, traitor and traitor Fuzhigao, you are a big idiot." "Learn from Li Xiangyang and never surrender. The enemy will come to arrest me." , I jumped over the high wall, but the high wall didn't hold up, so I dug into the hole and shot out the gun, killing the little Japanese. ""A red flower is red and red. Sister Liu Hulan is a hero. She was a poor child since she was a child. Become a heroine" etc.

This rubber band jumping game with singing and dancing not only enhances the children's physical fitness during play, but also allows them to learn the noble qualities and revolutionary ideas of the heroes and martyrs through self-composed and self-sung songs, making them Children grow up healthily in morality, intelligence and body.

Catch the sheep's crutches

Catch the sheep's crutches is also a game that girls love to play. The so-called "guai" is the common name for the ankle bone of the sheep's hind leg. It is a hexahedron with a smooth and irregular surface. The four sides are two sets of uneven and can stand up. Generally, four are prepared, and the children wash and dye them. red or green color. In addition, a cloth bag more than one inch square must be sewn and filled with mung beans or pebbles.

How to play: There are usually 2 to 4 participants, often on the steps under the eaves of the courtyard or on the small dining table. At that time, there were many ways to play with different rules. A common way to play was to hold four sheep crutches in your hand, turn your wrist and scatter the crutches on the ground, and grab the cloth bag at the same time, and then throw the cloth after each throw. When wrapping, you must straighten or push down the crutches in order, and the bag must be connected without falling to the ground. Finally, you must grab the crutch at once and catch the bag to win. If you fail to catch the bag once or do not follow the rules If you hold the crutch well, you lose, and the other person will continue to play, taking turns until the result and ranking are determined.

This game allows children to devote themselves wholeheartedly, which not only exercises the adaptability of the brain, but also makes the children's wrists more flexible. Catching sheep crutches was once very popular, making girls extremely happy and growing up in cultivating their taste.

Top-drawing

The top-drawing game has a long history. According to the book "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital", this game has been popular since the Ming Dynasty. The top is a wooden spinner, a cone-shaped body with a round top and a sharp bottom like a funnel, with a small steel ball installed on the tip. In order to make it look good when it spins, you can also put a few circles of ring color on the top, which will look very good when it spins. In addition, you need to make a whip, that is, use a small wooden stick about two feet long and tie a rope or rope to one end of the stick. Thin leather strips or cloth strips are sufficient.

How to play: When playing, first wind the rope of the whip around the top a few times, then place the top firmly on a flat surface, let the steel balls rotate on the ground, and the player should whip the top with the whip to keep it spinning. The ground rotates. Some children with good playing skills can spin 2 to 3 tops at the same time, or 2 or 3 people can spin the tops at the same time. The one who can spin the longest is the winner.

The top-drawing game is a boy's game that was popular in the 1940s. At that time, children in old Beijing called top-drawing "traitor-drawing" because the Japanese invaded Beijing at that time and many traitors Helping the tyrants to persecute the emperor, they are as hated as the Japanese devils. The common people took advantage of the spinning tops to vent their anger. While doing so, they said: "Smoke the traitors, beat the traitors, defeat Japan, beat the traitors." "Smoke the traitors, beat the traitors, and the stick noodles will rise by a thousand." ." To relieve the resentment in my heart.

Top spinning is an outdoor game that is very suitable for children and is worth promoting.

Banging

Banging is a very interesting game, and both boys and girls can participate in the "battle". Just choose a flat site and use chalk to draw a few circles of about one meter on the ground as "positions".

How to play: This game can be played one-on-one or in groups. The one-on-one game is played by two people standing in two circles on the ground. Each person has to hold the ankle of one of his feet with one hand and cross the leg, leaving only the other leg on the ground to jump and walk. At the beginning of the game, one person goes out of the circle to "attack" and one person defends the "position." The attacker jumps to the edge of the opponent's circle, and the two people hit each other with their knees, but cannot push or pull with their hands. When one leg touches the ground, the battle is defeated. If the attacker is knocked off by the defender, the attacker with the other leg is defeated. Then take turns being the "attacker" or the "defender". If multiple people play in two groups, the winner will be the one who still holds his position and is not knocked out of the circle, and all attackers are defeated.

Both sides in this game must be witty, agile, calm, and brave. This is the key to victory. This bump-and-turn game can exercise children's physical fitness, confidence and perseverance amidst laughter.

Inviting people to cross the river

There is still a game of "inviting people to cross the river" that is still fresh in my memory. This game also comes with beautiful tunes, which is very fun to play while singing.

How to play: Divide the participants into two teams. Each team should have 4 to 6 people, or more. First, use chalk to draw two straight lines on the flat site. The one meter width left between the two lines is also called the "river" as the boundary. At the beginning of the game, people from both teams stand facing each other behind two lines. First, people from any team hold hands and wave their arms while walking back and forth, and at the same time sing in unison: "We invite someone! We invite someone!" People from the other team held hands, danced and followed closely and asked: "Who are you inviting? Who are you inviting?" (same music score) That team sang, "We invite ××× (name of a member of the other team) ) Yeah! We invited ×××?” The invited team sang “Who is coming to compete with her! Who is coming to compete with her?” The invited team sang “××× (a member of our team) Come and compete with her! ××× Come and compete with her!” After singing, the contestants from the two teams stood on the back edge of their own line, with their legs and feet not crossing the line. After they shook hands in a friendly way, they shook hands with each other. Pull hard with one hand, not two hands. The other two teams shouted: "Come on ×××, come on" to encourage their teammates. The two of them see who can pull the other side out of the other side's white line and across the "river". The winner is when they pull the other side inside their own team's line. Then the other team is the inviting party, singing and dancing according to the same rules, and inviting each other back and forth until one team pulls all the members of the other team across the "river", it is the winner.

The trick to playing this game is that the inviting party should choose the stronger, older, and more skilled "big shot", and the invited person should choose the younger member of the team with smaller arms. Some are weak. This game is very suitable for primary and secondary school students. It is fun and fun and exercises children's arm strength, perseverance and courage.

Hoop rolling

Hoop rolling is a popular game played by boys in the 1940s and 1950s. The iron ring is an iron ring about one foot in circumference, about one centimeter thick, and has an iron hook over one foot long.

How to play: Choose a flat venue. Players hold the iron hook and hook the hoop. They run and push from one end of the venue to keep the hoop from falling and rolling forward towards the venue. the end point. The hoop rolling competition can also be played by two or three people together. The one who does not fall in the middle and reaches the finish line quickly wins.

This game requires certain skills when rolling, and you need to master the balance of force. Playing this game allows children to exercise their perseverance and arm strength while running. It is a very suitable fitness exercise for children.

Choosing a Champion

Choosing a champion was also called choosing a “president” or a “leader” in old Beijing. It is a game that children loved to play in alleys or during physical education classes in the 1940s and 1950s. All you need for a toy is a volleyball or a big rubber ball. I remember that I had a rubber balloon when I was a teenager, and I often played this game with my neighbor’s friends.

How to play: There is no limit to the number of participants. First, they are divided into two groups. People in one group stand in a large circle outside, and people in the other group stand scattered inside the circle. After the game starts, the children in the outer circle take turns throwing the ball inward. Every time a person in the inner circle is hit, the person who is hit will exit the outside circle. After going back and forth many times, the person who is not hit in the end is the "champion" . Then the two groups of people in the outer circle and the inner circle switch places and start again.

In this game, children can exercise their bodies while jumping and sharpen their minds to dodge the incoming balls. It is an outdoor game that is very beneficial to the body and mind.