First the compass, then gunpowder and printing; now golf!
“It’s an ancient game that has never quite worked out where its origins lay.
But while it is generally considered to have been born in Scotland, a new Chinese mural could spark the battle of ownership over the sport.
A 500-year-old scroll showing three Chinese ladies and their caddies playing chuiwan – an activity very similar to golf – will be displayed at the V&A today.
Court Ladies in the Inner Palace, Du Jin, believed to be from the 2nd half 15th century, from the Shanghai Museum. The 500-year-old scroll showing three Chinese ladies and their caddies playing chuiwan – an activity very similar to golf – will be displayed at the V&A today
While it is generally considered to have been born in Scotland, the Chinese mural could spark the battle of ownership over the sport
The museum’s curators say the scroll predates any paintings of European golfers, The Times reported.
It could be proof that their game of hitting a ball with a stick bears more resemblance to golf than the Scottish, who claim that golf derived from their game of hockey.
Scotland has long declared itself to be the home of golf.
It claims that the games goes as far back as the 15th century when, the game of ‘gowf’, as it was known in those days, was banned by Parliament under King James II, who branded it as a distraction from military training.
The ban was lifted when the Treaty of Glasgow came into effect in 1502.
However, the earliest form of golf can be traced back to the Roman game of paganica, where players used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball
From the tenth century, the Chinese game chuíwán ¿ played with several clubs and a ball were played in China during the Song Dynasty, according to the International Golf Federation
From the tenth century, the Chinese game chuíwán — played with several clubs and a ball were played in China during the Song Dynasty, according to the International Golf Federation.
A book written during the Song dynasty described how competitors would dig holes in the ground and then drive the ball into them using different coloured sticks.
Literally, chui means ‘hit’ and wan means ‘ball’.
It could have reached Western shores after Chinese traders began travelling to Europe in the Middle Ages, explaining why golf became popular from the 15th century.
The painting, which comes from the Shanghai Museum, is part of the V&A’s Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700 – 1900 exhibition, and will be shown in Britain for the first time.”
via Chinese tee! How the game of golf could stem from the Far East | Mail Online.
See also: http://www.curledup.com/geniusch.htm
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