2020 年 33 巻 p. 19-41
People in China experienced unprecedented confusion under the directed political ideology, power
and class struggle in the decade of the so-called‘ Proletarian Cultural Revolution’ during 1966
and 1976. The violence that occurred during the Cultural Revolution left a deep shadow on the
development of sports activities such as football. This paper will explore Liu Qi’s Football Fan’s
Diary( 1966-1998) as a primary source and use it in an analysis of a new sport history that considers
the political sensitivities of the era.
The contents of Football Fan’s Diary describe the transition of the circumstances of football from
prior to the Cultural Revolution to changes that occurred following it. In particular, the‘ Proletarian
Class Strife’ slogan‘, Friendship First, Competition Second’, caused social confusion. The diary
provides an excellent account of the characteristics and significance of the relationship between
football and politics of the era.
To put an emphasis upon competitive and entertaining aspects in football was not encouraged in
the era. As a result, football was partly separated from the nature of sports as a play. Football was
forced to be a tool through physical education to adapt to the political purpose of implementing the
proletarian revolution.
Under the standardized authoritative value and belief brought by the Cultural Revolution, the
democratic value of sports was suppressed, which eventually caused the delay in the development of
football as modern sports with a‘ play theory’ in China.