In his poem "Feelings of Late Spring" (Part 4), the poet Lu You of the Song Dynasty wrote about watching a football (Cuju) match in Xianyang when he was a boy. The poem says:
The young man rode into Xianyang, as light as a falcon and as mad as a butterfly.
Thousands of people watch Cuju on the sidelines, and it’s been a busy spring under the swing flag.
The scenery is as clear as yesterday, and low ambition only hurts oneself.
It was an uneventful day in Dongzhai, sweeping snow behind closed doors and burning incense. ”
The Song Dynasty poet Yang Wanli once wrote a poem titled “Jiaoduan Poetry” after watching a “Jiaodian” (now wrestling) competition held by the imperial court to improve the soldiers’ martial arts. The seven-character poem said:
The wonderful show in the square made Tian Yan smile. When the game was over, the banquet was held and the team came out of the palace to wear flowers.
Wang Jian, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a seven-character poem, vividly describing the situation of the "football match" among the palace ladies at that time. The poem said:
The remaining powder of makeup will always be in the cold food next to the Chaoyang flower tree. When people play for free, they first scatter money in the treasury.
At that time, the "Cuju" played by one or several people without a goal was called "Water Polo". The sport was called "water throwing" in the Song Dynasty. Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, once wrote a seven-character poem about this water sport:
The green ditch along the west corridor of the garden is long, and the green shadows are thick with bamboos.
Throwing the ball and playing in the water compete for distance, and the shooting stars shine brightly.