This book examines the relationships between sport, nationalism and nation building in China. By exploring the last 150 years of Chinese history, it offers unparalleled depth and breadth of coverage and provides a clear grasp of Chinese sports nationalism from both macro and micro perspectives. Beginning with a discussion on the role of sport in the Qing Dynasty's Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1895), the book examines how sport contributed to the shaping of the early forms of Chinese nationalism in the late 19th century. It identifies and defines the core functions of sport in the...

This book examines the impact of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympic Games and highlights the latest findings in the areas of sport policy, elite sports system, sport media, sport facility management and sport social development in the two host countries - China and Britain. It identifies the role of national and local governments, universities and educational institutions in the delivery of elite sport in different cultural and social settings. Aspects of the elite sports system are also analysed, such as elite athletes' training and education, athletes' rights and...

Outside China, little is known about the process and implications of the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement, a Chinese state policy from 1967 to 1979 in which more than 16 million secondary school-leavers in different cities were relocated to rural areas. The Movement shaped the lives of these young people and assigned them a shared group identity: Zhiqing, or the Educated Youth.

This book provides new research on Zhiqing, who were born and brought up after the establishment of the People's Republic of China and regarded as a lost generation during the...

Modern physical education and sport in China are not products of indigenous Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese culture linked strenuous physical activities to low class and status. Modern PE and sport were introduced to China by Western Christian missionaries and directors of the Young Men's Christian Association, and grew from a tool for Christian evangelism to an important tool for Chinese nation-building. This book examines this process of transformation of Chinese attitudes toward PE and sport, using the concepts of cultural imperialism and nationalism as a lens to understand how a...

The history of China's National Games - first held in 1910 - reflects the transformation of both elite sport in China and wider Chinese society. This is the first book to describe the origins and development of the National Games, and to explore the dynamic interrelationship between the Games, Chinese politics, and nationalism during the process of Chinese nation-building in the modern era. It also examines how the Games were reformed to serve the requirement of China's Olympic Strategy in the context of sports globalization and commercialization since the 1980s. A fascinating read for...

Outside China, little is known about the process and implications of the Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside (UMDC) Movement, a Chinese state policy from 1967 to 1979 in which more than 16 million secondary school-leavers in different cities were relocated to rural areas. The Movement shaped the lives of these young people and assigned them a shared group identity: Zhiqing, or the Educated Youth.

This book provides new research on Zhiqing, who were born and brought up after the establishment of the People's Republic of China and regarded as a lost generation during the...