Football is very popular around the world. Here are some interesting football games.

Cuju first appeared in the ancient Chinese historical work Zhan Guo Ce, which described cuju as a form of amusement among the public. Later, cuju was commonly played in the army for military (军事的) training purposes during the Han Dynasty.

Cuju, as the ancestor (祖先) of football, has had many changes throughout China’s history.

During the Tang Dynasty, the original hair-filled ball made out of two pieces of leather (皮革) was replaced by an air-filled ball made out of 8 pieces of good leather, making the ball rounder and lighter. Then during the Song Dynasty, the skills of making football further improved. The eight pieces of good leather developed into 12 pieces of better leather, and the ball was more closely connected together, fully round, and weighing about 500g. Moreover, at the time there were already forty different kinds of changes, and each had its advantages and disadvantages.

In ancient times, women were also good cuju players. The earliest record of women cuju players can date back to the Han Dynasty. We can see from some paintings that there were girls with their hair put up, waving their long sleeves (长袖) and looking fantastic when playing cuju.

【小题1】Many people in the world like playing football. They often call British soccer football. 【小题2】