CRICKET FIGHTS, an original form of competition
in old China, continued until the present time during
local festivals and fairs. They have the character of
simple entertainment, usu. held after lunch. 2 crickets
are put on a special 'arena', i.e. in a flat bowl, covered
with a transparent net so that the fight can be observed.
As the cricket does not live long, about 8-10 months,
it must be skillfully prepared for the fight. Cricket
catching has become a special skill, as when a good specimen
is found, its owner can win many times. The innate aggression
of male crickets against other male crickets is used.
The 'contestants' try to pluck the opponent's legs or
feelers. Crickets are trained not only how to attack but
also other formats of combat. Cricket fights are often
compared to >GONGFU. It is estimated that a well trained
cricket can apply about 20 methods of attack.
Cricket boxes, in which they were brought to matches organized
by royal courts, made of china, were genuine masterpieces
of art. The most original porcelain boxes include ball-shaped
ones from the Kangxi period (1662-1722). Most of them,
however, were rectangular, as those from the Qianlong
period (1736-95). Today ordinary boxes are made of bamboo.
Training boxes are differently designed. The basic equipment
for catching and training crickets includes: a wide variety
of nets - from nets mounted on a long pole, resembling
traditional butterfly nets, to small sieves, used to select
and quickly cover breeder crickets; different transport
cases and containers, 'arenas' and training boxes, the
design of which triggers the cricket's natural defensive
instincts and permits the trainer's intervention through
the holes, containers which protect crickets against the
light so as to arouse them by rapid illumination just
before the fight etc. As the fight is preceded by a 'concert'
given by crickets, the sounds they produce are made more
resonant when special metal vibrators (long brass rods
coiled at one end) are put into the boxes. The coil intensifies
the sound and gives it a musical character. Before the
fight the crickets are kept in the boxes at high temperature,
the walls are covered with knitted wool, thick felt or
thick cloth. During the fight the crickets are stroked
with special brushes, made of mouse hair. When the owner
has more crickets fighting, multi-storey boxes are built.
A fight usu. lasts about 15min. Defeated crickets, without
legs and feelers, are simply thrown away. Exceptionally
brave crickets are buried with full honors, the funeral
resembling funerals of dogs and cats in Great Britain.
In many cases, following the court tradition, crickets
are buried in special small caskets, which today can be
found in many Chinese museums and which were displayed,
together with many other implements used during cricket
fights, at the exhibition 5,000 years of Sports in China.
Art and Tradition (Lausanne 1999).
History. The oldest information about
crickets kept by scholars as pets comes from the Tang
dynasty (618-906). Cricket fights were organized for the
first time in 1000 AD. |
They became particularly popular during the
rule of emperor Xuande (or Ksuang-zong, 1426-35). The
emperor's personal porcelain box for the crickets, decorated
with dragons, the symbol of the emperor's family, has
been preserved. Cricket fights were also very popular
among the lower strata of the population, simply because
this was a sport in which everybody could take part. |
In the 18th and 19th cent. cricket fights became universal
entertainment in China. After WWII the government of the
People's Republic of China put a ban, not so much on cricket
fights, as on the bets that were placed. Despite this,
even today cricket fights are very common, particularly
in the suburbs and in smaller towns.
F. Dautresme, 'The Cricket Champion of the Ring', YOSICH,
1999, 118-121. |
