Foreword
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be held from 20 July to 20 August 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, and China National Women Football Team will participate in the World Cup for the eighth time. China Cultural Centre in Sydney, Network of International Culturalink Entities, and Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism jointly launch “Cultural Journey to the Origin of Football” Online Exhibition, to tell the story of China through the medium of Cuju culture.
Cuju is a ball game first played in Linzi, the capital of the historical State of Qi, in present-day Shandong Province of China, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. With a history of more than 2,000 years, Cuju is recognized by FIFA as the origin of football. As a product of ancient Chinese wisdom, Cuju embodies the spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship. In ancient China, as a way of entertaining and military training, Cuju enjoyed widespread popularity from royalty to commoners, and evolved with the passage of time. Through friendly exchanges between China and the rest of the world, Cuju was introduced to many other countries and became intermingled with their respective cultures. Our journey of discovering the Cuju culture will be incomplete without talking about its place of origin, Shandong, China.
Gallery
This exhibition in both English and Chinese have two different versions to enhance audience’s experience. Please follow the instructions below to enter the exhibition.
Chinese Version
English Version
* Please use your mobile phone to scan the QR code to enter the online exhibition.
About Shandong
Shandong has a long history and rich culture, and is the birthplace of “Li”, traditional Chinese norms of proper social behaviors. It was also home to China’s earliest institute of higher education, witnessing the “Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thoughts”. Shandong is more than the birthplace of Confucianism. The prehistoric archaeological sites there also proved it to be an important cradle of Chinese civilization. All of these gave Shandong an essential role in the early civilization development of China. Shandong, an extraordinary land, boasts green mountains and blue seas. It is home to Mount Tai, a UNESCO mixed natural and cultural heritage site, the estuary of the Yellow River, the mother river of the Chinese nation, Confucius, the great ancient Chinese philosopher, the Great Wall of Qi, China’s oldest existing Great Wall, 200 years older than the Athenian Long Walls, and the “Wonderland Coast”, which stretches for more than 3,300 kilometers.
Shandong today is committed to inclusiveness and innovation. Just as Confucius said, “How happy we are, to meet friends from afar”. With Cuju and football as a bond, Shandong is pleased to share with the whole world its story about cultural inheritance as well as a message of friendship and harmony.
