Because of the influence of the traditional archery, and also the political and military needs, the popularity of the competitive sports culture in the Northern Dynasty shows an obvious comparison with the Southern Dynasty where peaceful sports are more popular. This is due to the different political and social environment. The Southern Dynasty is in a relatively stable state, and people there lived a decadent and dissolute life. The noble despised the soldiers and the competitive sports. What’s more, even the appreciation to the horses would be suspected by the rulers of possible intention of usurping the throne. On the other hand, according to the statistics, the categories of competitive sports got a boost in the Northern Dynasty. This development emphasized the "adversarial and competitive" side of sports and paid little attention to the recreational sports. Though the Northern and Southern Dynasties are fundamentally at the same era, while the latter favored the recreational sports, the former stressed out the competitiveness.
2.5 the educational function
The worship for physical power roots deeply in the peoples’ tradition and is very familiar with the people in the Northern Dynasty, makes it quite natural that they tend to use …show more content…
Emperor Xiaowen held "the Royal Archery Ceremony"(大射礼) in the implementation of his reform, in accordance with the Han customs. At first, the formation of this was basically in the form of the banquet, according to the History of Wei, the "out of the Emperor" chapter(魏书·出帝记):The emperor went to Hualin, …..., held a banquet, and rewarded the officials. However, after the Northern Zhou was unified by Emperor Yong Yuwen, the formation became a show off of the strong power grasped by the emperor. This shift reflects the influence of the martial