Republican archery footage

By Peter Dekker, June 28, 2015

The following footage shows the 5th National Games held in Nanjing in 1933. Some 60,000 spectators came to watch 2,259 athletes in various disciplines, among which traditional Chinese sports but also Western sports. The idea behind these events was to encourage sports as a way to strengthen the nation. Part of the opening speech by Xiao Qin:

"All types of sporting competitions require a type of discipline. Cultivating our nation's virtues of propriety, justicy, honesty, and a sense of shame, while at the same time setting a good example for the younger generation, has much to do with sports as well. Zhongzheng [referring to Chiang Kai-Shek] is now engaged in battle in Jianxi Province and thus does not have the opportunity to attend the games. I hope that our National Games athletes understand these principles."

From: Marrow of the Nation, a history of sport and physical culture in Republican China, by Andrew D. Morris, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, 2004.