My students can change history

Chapter 20 The Charm of Football

"Where is the mistake?" Ming Xunze looked at Gao Qiu curiously and asked.

"The fault is that you have no ability and no achievements." Gao Qiu said to Xunze, "Even if you are a lucky minister, as long as you can make achievements, future generations will only remember your achievements, not how you came to power Just like Caihou (Cai Lun) who improved papermaking, he not only started from the beginning, but also relied on entering the forbidden area to serve the nobles in order to be in charge of Shangfang (the institution in charge of the royal manufacturing industry in the Han Dynasty). But he was in the Shangfang Order At that time, he not only made the world-famous Cai Taipu Crossbow and Longting Nine Years Sword, but also improved papermaking. Therefore, when someone mentions him in the future, he will first mention these achievements, and other bad deeds will be remembered. With the spring and autumn style of writing, people will think that he is a capable minister." (Cai Taipu and Longting both refer to Cai Lun. The weapons made by Cai Lun were also very famous in Han Dynasty.)
"Savvy is not too bad." Ming Xunze looked at Gao Qiu and said, "Your problem is that you were promoted because of good luck and followed Liu Zhongwu for a few military exploits, but after being promoted, you have been in office for decades. There is no merit left behind. When writing history books, perhaps historians can still be impartial, but novelists will easily write you as a traitor because of your deeds."

"Teacher, please teach me." Gao Qiu hurriedly stood up and saluted Xun Ze.

"Don't do this in the future, we don't like saluting here." Asked Xun Ze to signal Gao Qiu to sit down, and then said to him, "I have prepared teaching content for you here, you don't have to learn arithmetic like Li Bai, But you have to study medicine and modern football."

"Modern football?" Although Gao Qiu didn't understand why Xunze asked him to learn medical skills, he couldn't understand the word football.

"Football is what we modern people call a sport, but at your time, this sport was called Cuju."

"Teacher, I may not be good at other things, but I am a rare master in Cuju." Gao Qiu was not humble this time, it seemed that he was very confident in his Cuju level.

"Then let me ask you." Ming Xunze looked at Gao Qiu and said, "When does the history of Cuju go back?"

"Teacher, in the "Bie Lu" written by Liu Xiang, a great scholar in the Han Dynasty, it is recorded that Cuju was rumored to be made by the Yellow Emperor. It was called Taju in the Warring States Period. During the Han Dynasty, Cuju was very popular. People "fly around in the village and dance in the poor alleys", "the business is to bow the horse, and the family learns to play Cuju." It can be seen that it has been widely spread.

In the Tang Dynasty, the balls used in cuju were no longer solid balls stuffed with hair, but balloons (inflated balls) that were "air into a ball and combined into a quality".Moreover, the people of the Tang Dynasty also "networked at the top as the gate, with the degree of success, the workers are divided into left and right friends, and the winners and losers are determined by the angle." Cuju at this time is no different from the popular Cuju in our dynasty.It's just that not only nobles often play football in my dynasty, but common people in the city often use Cuju to play.In terms of rules, there is an additional way of playing called white play, which can be played without a goal. "

"You know the relevant history quite well." Ming Xunze asked after listening to Gao Qiu's words, "Then do you know the difference between the Cuju that was popular in the army during the Han Dynasty and the Cuju that you use for fun now?"

"The cuju that is popular in my court is more exciting and beautiful." Gao Qiu said with certainty, "It is more suitable for watching."

Unlike what everyone thinks, Cuju in ancient my country just changed the volleyball net into a goal hole, and then the players on both sides used their feet instead of their hands. The difference is that in the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, our The Cuju method is that there are goals on both sides, and then the two teams compete on the field, trying to kick the ball into the opponent's goal.This method of playing is very similar to modern football.However, with the development of the times, Cuju has become more and more deviated, and has developed into a sport that occupies a small area and is highly ornamental. Although it looks good to kick, it lacks a lot of passion.

To be precise, it is actually freestyle football, which is played for viewing, not for competition.

What Xunze was asked to do, of course, was to guide the way of playing football to the correct path starting from the Song Dynasty.

Because inflatable balloons appeared in the Tang Dynasty, there is no big gap between the Song Dynasty and modern times in terms of equipment. What is lacking is that there are no detailed rules and undiscovered ornamental features.

"Your cuju is of course more entertaining, but the original purpose of cuju is actually to strengthen the body and make people have a competitive heart. That's why it can be called a competitive sport. If it's just for good looks, So in fact, it deviates from the original meaning of Cuju, and it may become more and more crooked.

After the Song Dynasty, Cuju even developed into an ice sport, resulting in fewer and fewer people participating, and finally it simply turned into shuttlecock kicking.So, Gao Qiu, do you think it’s enough for Cuju to be just good for viewing? "

"But folks like this kind of cuju. Not only will it not hurt when practicing, but it can also be played by women and children."

"You were not allowed to promote it among the people." Ming Xunze said.

"Then teacher, do you mean to bring the Cuju from the Han Dynasty to the army?" Gao Qiu understood the meaning of Xun Ze's words.

"Yes!" Ming Xunze looked at Gao Qiu and said, "In the future, you will be in charge of the Forbidden Army for decades. How to improve the combat capability of the Forbidden Army is the first thing you should consider. If it is still the same as before, use some ostentation to please the officials , you will be criticized in future generations. However, if you can make the officials happy and improve the combat capability of the army, then no one will be able to fault you."

"Teacher, I understand what you mean." Gao Qiu said quickly, "You want me to train the army with Cuju from the Han Dynasty."

"Yes." Ming Xunze said, "Sports like this are highly confrontational and easily injured. Some people may criticize you if you bring it to the people, but who dares to say it's inappropriate to promote it in the army."

"Also." Ming Xunze said to Gao Qiu, "The reason why people like the Cuju of the Tang and Song Dynasties, but not the Cuju of the Han Dynasty is because they didn't find the fun of watching the Cuju of the Han Dynasty."

"Then I would like to ask the teacher, where is the fun of this kind of Cuju?" Gao Qiu still doubted whether what Ming Xunze said was right.

After all, the appreciation of these two kinds of Cuju is indeed quite different.

Moreover, if you want to see whether a person can play Cuju, in the Tang and Song Dynasties, it is easy to see if one person plays a ball on the spot. After all, Cuju in the Tang and Song Dynasties mainly focused on flower work.

As for Cuju in the Han Dynasty, if you want to know whether a person is good at Cuju, you need to show it on the field, and it can't be abusive food. You have to compete with two equally well-matched teams to see it.

Therefore, the venue and convenience limited the Cuju method in the Han Dynasty to be popular among the Tang and Song Dynasties.

"The fun of football is never just on the field." Ming Xunze said to Gao Qiu very seriously, "It also lies in the history of the team, the attribution of honor, the personal legend of the stars and the hatred between the teams. "

(End of this chapter)