What was Cuju like in Qing Dynasty?

There are few records about Cuju in ancient books of Qing Dynasty. Cuju in ancient China has experienced thousands of years since the Warring States Period, and it once shone like a comet in the Han, Tang and Song Dynasties. Later, it was put into the water of Qing society, leaving only a little foam and finally turning black.

Generally speaking, by the time of development in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ancient cuju in China had begun to be entertaining and basically lost its due competitiveness. In this way, Cuju began to decline from prosperity in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and large-scale Cuju competitions are rare.

Even Manchu people in Qing Dynasty who loved skating once combined cuju with skating and invented a sport form called "Cuju on the ice". But this is just the aftertaste of traditional cuju activities in China.

There are probably several reasons for the decline of Cuju in Qing Dynasty. From the objective social conditions, Neo-Confucianism rose in the Song Dynasty, emphasizing literature over martial arts and ignoring the entertainment of physical activities. Also, the rise of traditional Chinese opera novels and the expansion of social entertainment have relatively reduced people's interest in Cuju entertainment. Under the influence of these internal and external conditions, the ancient Cuju activities in China had to decline.