Ewenkeqiangshu
01 · Historical Records
Legend has it that when Evenk ancestors were herding their lele carts across the grassland in migration, the wooden locking pin (the 'shu') of one wheel fell out and the caravan could not move on. Everyone searched for it, and when it was found they vied to seize it back and to be the first to fit it onto the axle. This scene was reenacted again and again, gradually evolving into a competitive game, and it became a way for the Evenk people to commemorate their migrating life with the lele carts.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Evenk Qiangshu (axle-pin grabbing) is a traditional folk athletic game, circulating mainly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 'Shu' means 'pin' in the Evenk language: it refers to the reinforced wooden locking pin on the axle of the lele cart used by nomadic peoples to keep the wheels from falling off. 'Tineng' means 'to grab' in the Evenk language; hence Qiangshu is also called 'Shu Tineng' in Evenk. Qiangshu is especially suited to nomadic life in mountain and grassland regions: a single family or several families can gather for recreation and competition, and people from the elderly down to teenagers can all take part in the grappling in their own ways. Qiangshu has a long history. In the Hulunbuir grassland and the Greater Khingan Mountains where Evenk people live, whenever the Oboo gathering, the Naadam, or the Sibin Festival is held, Qiangshu is staged together with wrestling, horse racing, archery, and other events. Qiangshu matches require players to have good running ability, quick reactions, strong arms and grip, and sound wrestling technique. In a Qiangshu match there is both rugby-style contention and strength-based grappling and grabbing. The game gathers together many of the skills of the Evenk people's daily nomadic and hunting life and, through its unique form of competition, forges the strong physique and resolute, courageous character of the Evenk people. It is deeply loved by the Evenk people and has also been accepted by brother ethnic groups such as the Mongols, the Daur, and the Oroqen. It is a traditional sport that combines ideological, educational, and recreational value.
Shu: the cart's axle pin
In Evenki the word means pin: the wooden key that keeps a cart wheel from slipping off its axle, the object contested in the game.
Shu ti neng
As the Evenki word for seizing, ti neng gives the game its alternative name, seizing the pin.
Oboo, Nadam and Sebin festivals
At oboo gatherings, Nadam and the Sebin festival the game is held alongside wrestling, horse racing and archery.
Running, grip and wrestling skill
The game demands running, quick reactions, arm and grip strength and wrestling, mixing rugby-like scrums with trials of strength.
An event for every age
Suited to the pastoral life of steppe and mountain, it lets families and neighbours from the old to the young take part in their own ways.
Hasenqiqige and children's matches
Born in 1949, she heads the local shu association, teaches in the pastures and has helped establish school bases for the game.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The transmission and practice of Qiangshu centers on the grassland pastoral areas along the Hui River and Yimin River within the Evenk Autonomous Banner and on the Evenk-inhabited villages at the western foot of the Greater Khingan Mountains; the sumu towns of Bayan Tohoi, Yimin, and Huihe are the main areas of distribution. Relying locally on Qiangshu associations and primary and secondary schools for organization, competitions are arranged at the Oboo gathering, the Naadam, and the Sibin Festival, as well as in school ethnic physical education classes, so that this grassland game is gradually becoming an event with fixed rules.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
As the Evenk people gradually move to the cities, fewer and fewer young Evenk know their own ethnic history; the cultural connotations of Evenk Qiangshu are gradually fading against the backdrop of modernization, and its rescue and conservation are now a matter of the utmost urgency. Hasenqiqige (associated inheritor, per the official archive record): Female; Evenk; born in August 1949; a native of the Evenk Autonomous Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A performer of Evenk Qiangshu. She currently serves as president of the Qiangshu Association of the Evenk Banner and has given lectures on many occasions, devoting herself to publicizing and popularizing Qiangshu. She persists in going deep into the pastoral areas year-round and taking root at the grassroots, teaching Qiangshu to children on the Evenk grassland and holding children's Qiangshu competitions. She actively promoted the establishment of an Evenk Qiangshu base at a local primary school, publicizing and popularizing the sport. She is a representative inheritor of Evenk Qiangshu, a project of the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage. She has long been engaged in the excavation, publicity, promotion, and conservation of Qiangshu, mastering its competition rules and techniques; building on the inherited tradition, she has improved the folk game into a competitive sport that conforms to modern competition rules.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Hasenqiqige 03-1218
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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