Kicking shuttlecock is a widely spread and long-standing folk sport in China, which can be roughly divided into two schools: the South and the North. Guangzhou is a famous "hometown of national shuttlecock" and "demonstration city of national shuttlecock", as well as one of the central regions for the dissemination of southern style shuttlecock.
In 2015, the Southern style shuttlecock was included in the sixth batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage representative projects in Guangdong Province. Subsequently, with the efforts of Li Cuihuan, the representative inheritor of the Southern School of Flower Shuttles at the city level, and a group of Southern School of Flower Shuttles enthusiasts, the breadth and depth of the dissemination of Southern School of Flower Shuttles have been continuously expanded, and "intangible cultural heritage+sports" have radiated vigorous vitality.
Companionship for 20 years: 'I am very fascinated by the Southern style shuttlecock'
Guangzhou is a historical and cultural city in Lingnan, where the Yunshan and Zhushui rivers have nurtured a unique urban style that combines tradition and modernity. On the central axis of Guangzhou's modern traditional city, there is a city oasis standing quietly, which has attracted countless citizens and fitness enthusiasts to rest and exercise here for a hundred years. This is Guangzhou People's Park.
Li Cuihuan's journey of walking hand in hand with the Southern style shuttlecock began here. In 2005, I passed by People's Park and accidentally saw many middle-aged and elderly people forming circles to kick shuttlecocks. They were light bodied and agile, and a small shuttlecock kept flying and circling around them with their footwork. I couldn't help but be fascinated by it. At that time, she knew that this ever-changing sport was the Southern style flower shuttlecock.
At that time, my first reaction was' I wanted to learn '. With the guidance of her shuttlecock friends, she began to use her spare time to practice basic skills, gradually mastering the techniques of the Southern style shuttlecock and making a name for herself in the shuttlecock art circle. She recalled, "When I first debuted, I made great progress and could easily learn difficult movements. I was one of the most outstanding young people in the shuttlecock art circle at that time, and I felt a little 'proud' in my heart
Afterwards, a chance sparring allowed Li Cuihuan to further explore the "mystery" of the Southern School shuttlecock. Once, with the introduction of a shuttlecock friend, I played a game of shuttlecock with an old man who was lively and had a bright gaze. His every move was pleasing to the eye, and I greatly admired his superb skills. This old man was none other than Deng Yongsheng, who was known as the "King of South Shuttlecock".
Afterwards, she followed Teacher Deng to learn the Southern School shuttlecock. During this process, she not only learned about the history and techniques of the Southern School shuttlecock, but also gained many principles of being a good person from Teacher Deng, such as "having a sense of awe, maintaining humility, and always keeping an empty cup mentality
After about two years of exposure to the Southern style shuttlecock, Li Cuihuan entered a bottleneck period. "At that time, no matter how I practiced, my skills could not be improved. But this did not stop her from moving forward. 'The Southern School's shuttlecock is easy to learn but difficult to master, so I did not feel discouraged. I know that if I want to go further, I can only persist.'. Encouraged by Teacher Deng and other shuttlecock enthusiasts, she used her spare time every day to continuously strengthen her footwork and basic skills, and ultimately achieved a breakthrough in her technique.
In the same year, she joined the Southern School shuttlecock club founded by teacher Deng Yongsheng. On the one hand, she continued to improve her personal level, and on the other hand, she voluntarily served as a technical guide and was responsible for the management of female athletes, contributing to the inheritance of Southern School shuttlecock. For many years thereafter, she persisted in the forefront of inheriting the Southern style shuttlecock.
In 2016, the Guangzhou Nanpai Flower Shuttle Research Association was established, and Li Cuihuan first served as a manager. In recent years, she has also taken on the important role of president. In 2023, she was selected as one of the eighth batch of representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage at the city level in Guangzhou. She was deeply moved by this and said, "In the past, when I practiced the Southern School shuttlecock, it was mainly a personal pursuit in terms of technology, which was relatively pure. After becoming a representative inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, I developed a strong sense of mission and a drive to contribute to the development of the Southern School shuttlecock
Since 2005, Li Cuihuan has been accompanying the Southern School shuttlecock for 20 years. In her opinion, the Southern School shuttlecock is a representative project of Chinese folk culture and a characteristic representative of Lingnan culture in Guangdong. Each move and gesture reflects the spirit of tolerance, mutual assistance, unity, friendship, and vigorous progress of people. "This makes me very fascinated by the Southern School shuttlecock".
Inherited for over 400 years: Endless vitality, gathering Lingnan cultural characteristics
As a major folk sport, the appearance of the Southern style shuttlecock can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty, about 400 years ago. The Guangdong New Language, written by Qu Dajun, one of the "Three Great Masters of Lingnan" in the Qing Dynasty, states: "During the day, the shuttlecock is played at the Five Immortal Temples. The shuttlecock has different sizes, and those who play the big shuttlecock are ordinary people, while those who play the small shuttlecock are wealthy and noble." These few numbers describe the scene of shuttlecock enthusiasts in Guangzhou gathering at the Five Immortal Temples to play shuttlecock, which was also the prototype of the Southern style shuttlecock.
Li Cuihuan introduced that in the early Qing Dynasty, the children of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty who came from the north to garrison Guangzhou brought the northern shuttlecock to the Lingnan region. In response to the humid and hot climate with mild winds in Guangzhou, they adapted to local conditions and used locally sourced materials to improve the northern shuttlecock. After years of development, the Southern style shuttlecock has absorbed the characteristics of Lingnan regional culture and presented a unique style.
In terms of material, nowadays the upper part of the Southern style shuttlecock is mostly made of pigeon or duck feathers, and the base is made of animal leather such as cowhide, snake skin, pig skin, and mixed with elastic film, making the kicking sound crisp and the rhythm lively. In terms of kicking techniques, the northern kicking technique mainly focuses on "stopping" and is a practice of individual routines. It requires a high level of basic skills from the kicker and is often practiced from a young age, known as the "traditional shuttlecock"; The Southern style shuttlecock usually consists of 4 to 5 people forming a circle, with each person taking turns kicking one foot. Those who kick the shuttlecock within the basic rules can freely play, making it easy to get started. Therefore, it is called "modern shuttlecock".
The high-level Southern style shuttlecock emphasizes mutual coordination and coordinated movements, clear passing paths, accurate landing points, and high requirements for the strength of the waist and legs of the shuttlecock player. If the shuttlecock player can use various foot techniques such as flat, side, and pointed to handle the shuttlecock, thereby resolving the transition of shuttlecock flying around different landing points, and achieving the highest level of Southern style shuttlecock skills, "Li Cuihuan added.
It is reported that there are currently 180 styles of Southern style shuttlecock, including 11 starting shuttlecock, 26 stopping shuttlecock, 18 circling shuttlecock, 39 passing shuttlecock, 26 jumping and hitting shuttlecock, 23 threading shuttlecock, and 37 other styles. Many of them were developed and summarized by Professor Deng Yongsheng, who innovatively integrated artistic elements such as martial arts, drama, dance, and lion dance from the Lingnan region based on the high difficulty footwork of the Northern style shuttlecock. This makes the Southern style shuttlecock more ornamental and artistic.
After people see the various styles of the Southern style shuttlecock, they usually have certain associations, which is also the unique feature of the Southern style shuttlecock in the national shuttlecock system, "Li Cuihuan further explained. For example, the" Su Qin Back Sword (Outer Side Over Back); The "Lion Picking Green" (pointed out with a shuttlecock back in hand) is a technique in which the shuttlecock player kicks the shuttlecock and, as it passes through the face door, holds it with their mouth, resembling the posture of a lion picking green, reflecting significant Lingnan cultural characteristics.
She believes that the Southern style shuttlecock technique has typical regional and unique characteristics, and its unique style is worth learning and referencing for shuttlecock enthusiasts in other regions of China. The Southern style shuttlecock is the 'business card' of Guangzhou and a good way to spread Lingnan culture
Responsibility and Mission: Inject innovative vitality and showcase the charm of intangible cultural heritage
The Southern style shuttlecock has a long history and has a certain mass base and development soil in the Lingnan region. But Li Cuihuan admitted that with the rapid development of society, teenagers have gradually lost interest in the traditional self entertainment sport of Southern style shuttlecock, and its main audience is middle-aged and elderly people; In addition, the Southern School's shuttlecock technique has many key points, and for a long time, relying on words and deeds to teach has led to difficulties in its inheritance.
Fortunately, with China's comprehensive strengthening of the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage and active promotion of creative transformation and innovative development of intangible cultural heritage, the inheritance of Southern style shuttlecock has reached a new turning point. After being included in the sixth batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage representative projects in Guangdong Province in 2015, the audience and cities touched by the Southern School shuttlecock have been increasing year by year, thanks to the unremitting efforts of representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage such as Deng Yongsheng and Li Cuihuan, and the gathering of stars has formed a river.
The Guangzhou Nanpai Flower Shuttle Research Association actively explores and carries out the inheritance work of Nanpai flower shuttle, and has achieved significant results so far. "Li Cuihuan introduced that on the one hand, the research association has built a Nanpai flower shuttle inheritance base in the non heritage gathering area of Liwan District, improving the technical level of members through competitions, level evaluations, and other methods, discovering high-level talents of Nanpai flower shuttle, and focusing on training. Among the more than 200 members of the research association, in addition to 3 representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, there are 6 members who have been rated as "master level of Southern style shuttlecock", 55 members who have been rated as "professional level of Southern style shuttlecock", as well as 1 second level coach and 23 coaches.
On the other hand, Li Cuihuan led a group of enthusiasts of Southern style shuttlecock to actively participate in and organize promotional activities for Southern style shuttlecock. For example, various public welfare training courses were held at Southern style shuttlecock training bases, sports venues, parks, and other places, attracting thousands of participants; Utilize opportunities such as National Fitness Day, the 19th Guangzhou Sports Festival, and the Guangzhou New Culture Center Intangible Cultural Heritage Sports Festival to perform and showcase the Southern style shuttlecock, expanding the dissemination channels and coverage of Southern style shuttlecock; Deepen exchanges with local and non local shuttlecock clubs and shuttlecock enthusiasts, hold more than 100 types of technical exchange activities, and spark new sparks in the collision of technology; Carry out the "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Schools" activity and jointly organize intangible cultural heritage classrooms with multiple primary and secondary schools in Guangzhou, allowing young people to personally experience, learn about the sport of Southern style shuttlecock.
Nowadays, there are about 300000 people who engage in the Southern style shuttlecock sport in Guangzhou all year round, including many young people. At the same time, the Southern style shuttlecock started from Guangzhou and radiated to dozens of cities across the country, including Wuhan, Xi'an, Shanghai, Lanzhou, Qingdao, Shijiazhuang, Urumqi, Jinan, Nanning, Zhengzhou, etc.
Although the dissemination of the Southern style shuttlecock has achieved certain results, Li Cuihuan believes that there is still a long way to go in the future inheritance work. In addition to continuing to organize inheritance and exchange activities, and relying on existing models to cultivate more inheritors and high-level talents, she stated that "Southern style shuttlecock must constantly innovate and develop in order to have a future." Overall, the first is to strive to combine Southern style shuttlecock with modern technology, change the mode of teaching through words and deeds, and innovate the teaching mode, making it easier for the masses and young people to learn Southern style shuttlecock technology; The second is to innovate the kicking techniques and "gameplay" of the Southern style shuttlecock, such as arranging fancy movements and combining them with modern dance, in order to attract more young people to participate; The third is to strive to declare the Southern style shuttlecock as a national level intangible cultural heritage project. "Although it is difficult, we will actively strive for it.
Looking ahead to 2025, the 15th National Games will be held in November in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. As the highest level, largest scale, and most influential comprehensive sports event in the country, this National Games will play a positive role in promoting the development of sports in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. Li Cuihuan said, "Although the Southern style shuttlecock has not yet been included in the official competition events of the National Games, it has strong playability and ornamental value. The next step is to strive for live performances of the Southern style shuttlecock during the intervals of the competition to showcase its charm. We will also set up an interactive experience area for the Southern style shuttlecock in the competition venue to provide the audience with opportunities to experience it firsthand
She believes that relying on the opportunity of the National Games, "intangible cultural heritage+sports" can radiate greater possibilities, so as to improve the public's awareness of the importance of the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, let the people walk into the intangible cultural heritage, understand the intangible cultural heritage, understand the intangible cultural heritage, feel the intangible cultural heritage, consciously join the ranks of intangible cultural heritage protection, and jointly inherit the excellent traditional Chinese culture.