Chinese and Western sports philosophy and their differences

Authors

Keywords:

Sports philosophy, Chinese and Western culture, Taoism, Confucianism, Athletics, Harmony

Abstract

Chinese and Western sports are in two different social systems. Because of the difference in their origin, cognition and value trend, two kinds of sports cultures of different natures have been created. Each of which interprets the characteristics of human civilization in different forms. In Chinese culture, sports are often closely associated with Taoist and Confucian philosophies. Taoism emphasizes “letting nature take its course”, and physical exercise is regarded as a means of harmonizing body and mind, and achieving unity of body and mind. Confucianism believes that sports are to cultivate people’s morality and etiquette, not just to pursue physical limits. In contrast, Western sports philosophy usually emphasizes competition, challenge and self-transcendence. This idea can be traced back to ancient Greece’s Olympic spirit, which is to demonstrate individual honor, strength and courage through physical exercise. In general, although Chinese and Western sports philosophies both believe that sports are an exercise for the human body and spirit, they differ in values, goals and methods. This study takes the comparison between traditional Chinese sports culture and Western sports culture as the starting point and attempts to analyze the commonalities and differences between the two. This has important practical significance for enriching world sports culture and promoting the development of world sports culture.

Author Biographies

  • Yuanjiao Zhu, Tianjin University of Technology and Education

    Department of Physical Education, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin 300222-China; Department of Physical Education, Woosuk University, Jeonju 55338– Korea. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8250-8766

  • Rui Du, Henan University

    Department of Education, Henan University, Zhengzhou 450000 – China. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6737-0369.

References

BERTRAND, R.; ZHANG, Z.C. A History of Western Philosophy. Beijing: Beijing Publishing House, 2012.

CUI, H. M. Ancient Chinese and Western Sports Culture. Beijing: Beijing Sport University, 2011. v. 06, p. 34.

DU, D. Q. On the intersubjectivity of Chinese and Western sports. Sports Culture Guide, v. 05, p. 87-89, 2008.

DUAN, G. M.; LIU, D. Y. Further discussion on the comparison of Chinese and Western sports - Differences in medicine, philosophy and aesthetics. Anhui Sports Science and Technology, v. 01, p. 5-8, 1994.

HAN, L.; LIANG, H. X.; WANG, Y. F. A brief analysis of the comparison of Eastern and Western sports culture. Appreciation, v. 07, p. 349, 2015.

HU, X. M. Sports Aesthetics. Chengdu: Sichuan Education, 1987. p. 101.

MA, X. Y.; HE, X. H. Research on the construction of Chinese and Western sports culture systems from the perspective of philosophy. Journal of Nanjing Institute of Physical Education (Natural Science Edition), v. 16, n. 04, p. 129-132, 2017.

NI, Q.; JIA, C. H.; LAI, M. Comparison Between Five-Element Theory in Huangdi Neijing and Four-Element Theory in Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine. Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Materia Medica-World Science and Technology, v. 24, n. 03, p. 1272-1277, 2022.

SHI, Y. The development and evolution of health sports in the Song Dynasty. Lantai World, v. 03, p. 37-38, 2015.

SONG, C.; SHEN, L. Y. Differences in Chinese and Western sportsmanship and its cultural roots. Journal of Shenyang University of Technology (Social Science Edition), v. 14, n. 01, p. 92-96, 2021.

WANG, B. (Tang Dynasty); DAI, M.; ZHANG, S. X.; LIN, Y.; DAI Y. C. Huangdi Neijing Suwen. Nanning: Guangxi Science and Technology, v.12, 2016.

WANG, X. H. “Together with Yuan Qi” - A brief discussion on the thought of “Yuan Qi” in “Lv Shi Chun Qiu”. Theory Horizon, v. 03, p. 166-168, 2014.

WEI, M. F. The influence of Taoism on traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese Taoism, v. 01, p. 40-48, 2021.

XIAO, S. Z. Zhou Yi. Beijing: Golden Shield, 2009.

YANG, J. P.; MI, X.Y.; LI, S. P. Research on the internal strength of traditional martial arts based on “Qi”. Cultural Heritage, v. 01, p. 94-101, 2021.

ZHANG, C. C. A brief analysis of Pythagoras’ ethical thought. Theoretical Observation, v. 01, p. 47-48, 2014.

ZHANG, L. W. Theory of Hehe Life Realm. Jianghai Academic Journal, v. 05, p. 22-38, 2018.

ZHANG, M. Z. Research on “Four Seasons of Heaven and Earth” and Sports and Health Care. Popular Science, v. 05, p. 116-117, 2009.

ZHANG, Y. W.; LIU, W. Philosophical reflections on the outlook on life in traditional Chinese medicine. Journal of Changsha University, v. 35, n. 06, p. 7-11, 2021.

ZHOU, S. L.; CHENG, L. J. Philosophical analysis of traditional Chinese martial arts based on Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Martial Arts Research, v. 3, n. 10, p. 26-29, 2018.

Received: 18/10/2023 – Approved: 27/12/2023 – Published: 30/05/2024

Downloads

Published

2024-05-27

Issue

Vol. 47 No. 5 (2024): Eastern thought 2

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2024 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an article published in open access under a Creative Commons license

.

How to Cite

Chinese and Western sports philosophy and their differences. (2024). Trans/Form/Ação, 47(5), e02400188. https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/15234