Daur Chuantongqugunqiujingji
01 · Historical Records
Historical records state that the sport of “step-ball striking” was in vogue during the Tang dynasty, and that this sport was extremely similar to the hockey of the present day. The Daur traditional hockey sport is a typical representative of traditional stick-and-ball play and a remarkable skill within Chinese sport. In 1989 the State Sports Commission named Morin Dawa Banner the “Home of Hockey”.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Step-ball striking remained in vogue in the Liao dynasty; in the History of Liao it is called “jitu”, and the curved lower end of the striking club is called “yuezhang”. The Daur traditional hockey game is called “Beikuotarike” in the Daur language, in which “beikuo” refers to the stick. The Daur stick is chosen from oak wood with a curved root and a straight shaft, and is shaped by hewing and grinding. In Daur the ball is called “pulie”; it is about the size of a baseball and is made in three kinds — wooden ball, hair ball and fire ball — with bone balls also used occasionally. The wooden ball is hewn and ground from oak roots; the hair ball is twisted from livestock and animal hair; the fire ball is used mainly for play at night, and is made from the hardened white bracket fungus that grows on birch trees, with a hard shell and a hollow interior, several holes pierced through the ball and pine resin poured in, so that once lit the smoke and flame do not go out. Daur traditional hockey matches are held mostly on major festivals, at gatherings or in spare time, on the scale of the clan (mokun) or of the village. The playing ground is generally chosen on level grassland or on open ground in the village, with no uniform size laid down. A goal is set at each end of the ground, the two competing sides need only have the same number of players, and the side that puts the ball into the opponents’ goal more often wins. The rules of competition stipulate that the ball may not be won or struck from the left side, that no player may strike or trip another player with the stick, and that — apart from the goalkeeper — no one may press the ball with the hand or kick it with the foot.
Beikuo, the oak stick
The game is called beikuo tarikbei; the beikuo stick is shaved from oak with a naturally curved root and a straight shaft.
Pulie, the wooden, woollen and fire balls
The ball, pulie, comes as oak-root wood, felted wool, or a hollow birch fungus fire ball filled with pine resin that burns through a night game.
Clan teams on the grassland pitch
Matches are played between clans or villages on flat grassland with a goal at each end and an equal number on each side.
Rules against left-side tackling and handling
Players may not tackle or strike from the left, use the stick to hit or trip, or handle the ball except the goalkeeper.
Hasen and China's first women's team
The inheritor Hasen, China's first woman hockey coach and referee, formed the first national men's team in 1976 and the first women's team in 1980.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Daur traditional hockey sport is distributed chiefly among the Daur-inhabited villages and settlements of Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner of Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and is organised on the scale of the mokun (clans) of such townships and towns as Nirji Town and Tengke, Arla and Baoshan. In 1989 the State Sports Commission named the banner the “Home of Hockey”. Many primary and secondary schools in the banner now open hockey courses, forming a supply chain running from ordinary schools through sports schools to professional teams.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
As time passed, this sport later largely disappeared among the other ethnic groups of our country, whereas among the Daur it was inherited and developed. At present this hockey sport is distributed mainly in the Daur-inhabited area of Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner of Inner Mongolia. At the present time, with regard to the professional development of the Daur traditional hockey sport, shortages of funding and of talent have appeared; support should be given so that the sport can be inherited smoothly and carried further forward. Hasen (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Female, Daur, born in January 1945, a native of Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. China’s first female hockey coach, China’s first female hockey referee, and one of the founders of modern hockey in China. She loved sport from childhood, was skilled in all kinds of athletics, and trained herself in excellent ball technique. On the basis of command of the competitive techniques and rules of the traditional event, she also organically combined the modern international competition rules with the traditional rules. She has repeatedly served as deputy chief referee and as referee at major international and domestic competitions. In 1976 she formed China’s first men’s hockey team. In 1980, on Hasen’s initiative and with the approval of the local party committee and government, China’s first women’s hockey team was established. She has visited more than thirty countries and regions, and to this day is still working actively for the inheritance and development of the Daur traditional hockey sport. Representative inheritor of the Daur traditional hockey sport, a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Hasen 05-2539
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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