Hydrangea Tossing Competition
Throwing embroidered balls is a unique folk entertainment and competitive activity of the Zhuang people from ancient times to the present. Throwing embroidered balls has existed since ancient times and was called "flying balls" at that time. Zhu Fu of the Song Dynasty described it in his travel notes "Ximan Congtan": During the local custom of the New Year, men and women are divided into two groups in the wild, and each throws and catches colorful bags of beans and millet, which is called "flying balls". It can be seen that the Zhuang people's throwing embroidered balls has a history of at least a thousand years. Today's Zhuang people's "throwing embroidered balls" activity has developed from the ancient "throwing" embroidered balls. In ancient times, the ancestors of the Zhuang people sang and had fun by the river. After singing, they fell in love and threw objects to each other to show their love and commemorate. However, general objects such as handkerchiefs are not easy to throw accurately and are not easy to throw over the other side. So they wrapped things like beans in the handkerchiefs to increase the weight, and tied a silk thread on the handkerchiefs for orientation. In this way, they can not only throw far but also throw accurately. Over time, it has developed into "flying balls", which is today's embroidered balls. In ancient times, the Zhuang people had no entertainment, so they realized the fun of entertainment from throwing embroidered balls. So they changed the love element of "throwing" balls and evolved it into a primitive throwing competitive sport, that is, a ball target was built in the middle of the field, and a circle was opened in the center of the target. The two sides threw balls at each other, and the one who hit the center of the circle more often won. Thus, the competitive "throwing embroidered balls" competition was formed, which has been passed down to this day. "Throwing embroidered balls" is an entertainment and competitive activity that combines spiritual entertainment and physical exercise. It does not require strict competition rules or special technical training. The venue is free to choose. The activity can be carried out in the fields, roadsides and villages. It is truly a folk entertainment and competitive activity suitable for all ages. "Throwing embroidered balls" has been popular in most towns and villages in Jingxi for thousands of years, and even affected some villages in Vietnam bordering China. Now Vietnamese people still often go to Chinese border villages to communicate with Chinese Zhuang people, which has made an important contribution to enhancing the friendship between the border people of China and Vietnam. "Throwing embroidered balls" attracted the attention of relevant national departments and media at all levels in the 1980s with its unique nationality. In April 1982, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the State Sports Commission invited the Jingxi Embroidery Ball Team to Inner Mongolia to participate in the First National Ethnic Minority Sports Games, and arranged a special performance, which caused a sensation. Since then, every National Ethnic Minority Sports Games will invite this project to represent Guangxi to participate in the performance. So far, the Zhuang folk Embroidery Ball Throwing activity has been officially listed in the national ethnic sports. "Throwing Embroidery Ball" is a distinctive local living culture of the Zhuang ethnic group and one of the excellent cultural heritages of the Zhuang ethnic group. Zhou Qufei of the Song Dynasty recorded in "Lingwai Daida": "On the day when men and women gathered in rows, they tied five-colored balls, sang and threw them, which was called flying camel. When men and women formed their own, the woman received the camel and the man was married." Based on this, we know that throwing embroidered balls has a long history of development, profound national cultural heritage and unique activity charm, so it has extensive social research value. The cultural recognition of the Zhuang "throwing embroidered balls" is of great significance both today and in the future. "Throwing hydrangeas" is a spiritual and cultural heritage created and preserved by the Zhuang people in Longbang, Jingxi, in their long-term labor practice. In 1982, the first National Ethnic Sports Games was held in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Longbang Town sent a team to participate in the competition and won the Gold Cup Award. In 1989, hydrangea athletes were sent to represent Baise District in the Seventh Guangxi Ethnic Traditional Sports Games and won the regional hydrangea team championship. "Throwing hydrangeas" is held every Spring Festival, which is the time to prepare for spring sowing. The hydrangeas are filled with grain seeds, which means hope for a good harvest in the year. At the same time, hydrangeas are used as a token of love between young men and women, and the meaning of "fertility and prosperity" is implied in them. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)