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Fond memories of 'stone barbell'
By Chen Jinfa |
June 29, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
RECENTLY, I saw an old photo of me taking part 30 years ago in the first "Nanxiang Farmer Sports Meeting." My partner Chen Guanghua and I were playing "stone barbell," with many people standing around watching and it really reminded me of my youthful enthusiasm.
Stone dumbbell and stone barbell is a traditional sports event of Nanxiang Town, and it's often played and performed at various grand activities. The players make stone dumbbells from concrete, which weigh from 20-100 kilograms for each dumbbell.
Then they play with the heavy dumbells in different ways, such as single-hand holding, two-man throwing and human pyramid. It's a sport that originated from farm works. About 30 years ago, it used to be a very popular event in the whole town, especially in our farm group. At that time, since the whole society was not as well-off as today, we had few entertainments. So when we felt tired during farm work, playing stone dumbbells together could be our biggest fun.
In our group, boys began to play it when they were just 15 or 16. Because we youths were full of energy, we usually played it during a break between work. Apart from traditional forms like two-man and four-man throwing, we also invented some new styles through our daily labor. Gradually, we all became strong and healthy.
Thirty years ago, Nanxiang was not a town and was called Nanxiang Commune. When the first Nanxiang Farmer Sports Meeting was to be held, organizers decided to add stone dumbell and stone barbell as an event.
Over 20 youths in our group, including me, were invited to participate. It was our first time to take part in the sports meeting and were very excited so we practiced harder and harder.
The sports meeting was held in summer. I remember it was rainy on the day we performed, but there were still many people in the audience. After performing the traditional forms such as throwing, shoulder-holding and finger-holding, the last one would be feet-holding, which meant I needed to lie down and hold my partner Chen Guanghua and a 100-kilogram stone barbell with only my feet.
As the ground was wet, the organizers put some gunny bags on the ground to prevent me from getting dirty. Chen and I finished our performance perfectly and won great applause, and that's what this photo is about.
Stone dumbbell and stone barbell became a permanent event at the sports meeting, which inspired our continuing passion. We even used to visit the home of Dong Shangwan, a famous stone dumbbell player in Shanghai, and talk with over 30 other stone dumbbell lovers there. It was one of the most unforgettable periods in our life.
With the economy improving, there's less and less labor in farms, and the number of stone dumbbell players has decreased.
We old participants also live apart. But we still gather to play it when we're free and, nowadays, that's at least once a month.
By now, 40 years have passed, and I have a lot of memories of stone dumbbell. Every time when I see my children and grandchildren play video games, I really hope that someone could carry on this sport, preventing it from being lost.
Stone dumbbell and stone barbell is a traditional sports event of Nanxiang Town, and it's often played and performed at various grand activities. The players make stone dumbbells from concrete, which weigh from 20-100 kilograms for each dumbbell.
Then they play with the heavy dumbells in different ways, such as single-hand holding, two-man throwing and human pyramid. It's a sport that originated from farm works. About 30 years ago, it used to be a very popular event in the whole town, especially in our farm group. At that time, since the whole society was not as well-off as today, we had few entertainments. So when we felt tired during farm work, playing stone dumbbells together could be our biggest fun.
In our group, boys began to play it when they were just 15 or 16. Because we youths were full of energy, we usually played it during a break between work. Apart from traditional forms like two-man and four-man throwing, we also invented some new styles through our daily labor. Gradually, we all became strong and healthy.
Thirty years ago, Nanxiang was not a town and was called Nanxiang Commune. When the first Nanxiang Farmer Sports Meeting was to be held, organizers decided to add stone dumbell and stone barbell as an event.
Over 20 youths in our group, including me, were invited to participate. It was our first time to take part in the sports meeting and were very excited so we practiced harder and harder.
The sports meeting was held in summer. I remember it was rainy on the day we performed, but there were still many people in the audience. After performing the traditional forms such as throwing, shoulder-holding and finger-holding, the last one would be feet-holding, which meant I needed to lie down and hold my partner Chen Guanghua and a 100-kilogram stone barbell with only my feet.
As the ground was wet, the organizers put some gunny bags on the ground to prevent me from getting dirty. Chen and I finished our performance perfectly and won great applause, and that's what this photo is about.
Stone dumbbell and stone barbell became a permanent event at the sports meeting, which inspired our continuing passion. We even used to visit the home of Dong Shangwan, a famous stone dumbbell player in Shanghai, and talk with over 30 other stone dumbbell lovers there. It was one of the most unforgettable periods in our life.
With the economy improving, there's less and less labor in farms, and the number of stone dumbbell players has decreased.
We old participants also live apart. But we still gather to play it when we're free and, nowadays, that's at least once a month.
By now, 40 years have passed, and I have a lot of memories of stone dumbbell. Every time when I see my children and grandchildren play video games, I really hope that someone could carry on this sport, preventing it from being lost.
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