Unique national sports of She Ethnic Group

Overview of She Ethnic Group Traditional Sports

The She people have always valued sports activities, which feature a rich variety of forms. Major traditional sports include wushu (武术), mountaineering (登山), Chi Hitting Cun (尺打寸), Stone Pushing (推石), Sea Horse Riding (骑海马) and Bamboo Grove Sports (竹林竞技), among others.

She Wushu (畲族武术)

Features of She Wushu

She wushu is most renowned for its boxing and cudgel play. She Boxing (畲族拳术) is an indigenous creation of the She people with a history of over 300 years. Its founder was known as Thunder Dark Dragon, who is respectfully addressed as Master Dark Dragon.

The core techniques of She Boxing consist of assaulting, wrestling, goring, kicking and jumping. Fists and elbows are frequently deployed in attacks, while forearms and palms are mainly used for defense. This boxing style lays stress on elbow protection for the ribs, steady stances, compact movements and fluid transitions between advancing and retreating. It is summed up in a classic motto: The lower body is as firm as iron nails, the upper body spins like a wheel, hands move like rotating plates, and eyes glint like copper bells. She Boxing also boasts a unique vital-point striking skill; a precise hit on a vital point can immobilize an opponent instantly.

Bajing Village in Luoyuan County, Fujian Province, is the hometown of She Boxing and a key inheritance site of this intangible cultural heritage. More than half of the local villagers are proficient in this boxing art. From elderly septuagenarians to school children, practicing She Boxing is a popular pastime among all ages.

Various Schools and Unique Training Methods

Dozens of schools of She Boxing have been passed down to this day, and some training methods are highly distinctive. The training of Iron Ore Palm (铁砂掌) is a typical example. Practitioners first prepare a thick bamboo tube and place a venomous snake inside. After the snake decomposes completely, trainees insert their hands into the tube. The residual snake venom causes intense itching, forcing practitioners to rub their hands repeatedly in rice bran, grains, sand and iron sand. Through long-term training, the skin and muscles of the hands gradually become tough and calloused.

Daily Tools as Wushu Implements

Local daily production tools such as post cane (柱杖), hoes and shoulder poles are commonly repurposed as weapons for She cudgel play. Firewood Rod Play (柴棍术) is a representative discipline of cudgel play. The rods come in different sizes: the long ones reach about 3.6 meters, and the short ones around 2.3 meters. Its routine movements include seven-step stance, nine-step stance, monkey somersault, two-headed mallet, four-and-a-half steps, three-step jump, heaven-and-earth observation and other classic postures.

Outdoor Traditional Sports

Mountaineering

Mountaineering activities are generally held during spring and summer festivals, attracting participants of all ages and genders. Everyone chooses their own route, and the first person to reach the mountain summit is declared the winner. This activity has long been a traditional recreational sport for the She people to build physical strength and enjoy group fun.

Bamboo Grove Sports

Bamboo Grove Sports are popular recreational activities among the She people, with bamboo pole climbing and archery being the most well-received events.

Many participants climb bamboo poles relying solely on their hands. Some even climb upside down, moving as nimbly as monkeys. In archery competitions, contestants aim to shoot down flying turtledoves, which tests their eyesight, stability and shooting skills.

Characteristic Folk Competitive Games

Chi Hitting Cun (尺打寸)

Chi Hitting Cun is a traditional folk competitive game with a long history, evolved from the survival skills of the She people.

A participant stands inside a circle with a diameter of two meters. They hold a 30 to 40-centimeter-long stick called Chi (尺) in the right hand, and a thin bamboo strip the length of a chopstick called Cun (寸) in the left hand. The player uses the Chi to strike the Cun out of the circle. A group of people outside the circle strive to catch the Cun before it touches the ground and toss it back into the circle. The player in the circle can either strike the Cun out again with the Chi or catch it by hand. The side that lets the Cun fall to the ground loses the game.

It is recorded that this sport originated from the heroic resistance of the She people during their uprising in the Tang Dynasty. The skill of catching and deflecting arrows with bare hands gradually evolved into this entertaining competitive game.

Stone Pushing (推石)

Stone Pushing is a strength competition between two teams. The competition uses oblate stones with smooth bottoms. Large stones weigh roughly 50 kilograms (one hundred Jin), while smaller ones range from several kilograms to dozens of kilograms. Matches are usually held on stone-paved roads.

Two representatives from the opposing teams each stand on a stone. Other team members push or pull the participants to make their stones collide with the rivals’ stones. If a team’s stone slides off the roadside after impact, the team is eliminated. This sport fully tests collective strength and coordination.

Sea Horse Riding (骑海马)

The so-called Sea Horse (海马) refers to a smooth wooden board, originally a traditional production tool of the She people. Sea Horse Riding means standing on the board and speeding across the beach.

This activity has a profound historical background. In the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, General Qi Jiguang trained his soldiers to ride sea horses to chase invaders during the coastal defense campaign against pirates, achieving remarkable combat results.

Today, Sea Horse Riding has become a popular leisure sport. After daily work, local people hold competitions to race for speed, showcase creative movements and test load-bearing capacity. The game is thrilling and widely loved by the masses.