Ancient paintings depict Chinese forerunners of Olympic sports

Bingxi: ancient ice sports

A painting from Qing Dynasty portrays the scene of playing bingxi, collected by the Palace Museum. [Photo/Artron.net]

Chinese ice sport bingxi, was a winter activity regularly performed for imperial audiences, especially during the Qianlong emperor's reign in the 18th century.

Bingxi was a favorite form of entertainment for the royal families, with displays of imperial intrigue and politics, such as vying for the emperor's attention, being staged. Starting from the royal army's parade on the ice, bingxi gradually became a demonstration of the ice-skating skills of soldiers and fueled widespread public interest.

Participants would wield traditional Chinese weapons like broadswords and cudgels. More than 1,600 soldiers would take part into the annual event at that time.

Bingxi in the Qing Dynasty contained the speed and figure skating we now see in the Winter Olympics. But other sporting activities like "ice football" and acrobatics on ice were also played.

A Qing Dynasty painting by Zhang Weibang and Yao Wenhan portrays bingxi, collected by the Palace Museum [Photo/Artron.net]