Training the Body for China was a difficult read in some ways for me. I grew up with little understanding of sports or sports culture. The idea of spending evenings rooting for teams never entered my household. Beyond that, when I was assigned to play sports, I never felt any pressure to do well. This…

This week we had two readings that dealt with games or activities with a distinctly martial focus. The first of these was the rise and tradition of martial arts in China. This looked at the earlier existence of calisthenic programs and their evolution into a codified martial arts system, driven by the cultural shift to…

This weeks reading continued on the focus of Weiqi and Go, two similar games from China and Japan respectively. Whereas last week we covered the Chinese origin of Weiqi, this week the readings focused on the Japanese adoption of the game and how they grew and evolved not the game itself, but the culture surrounding…

The game of Weiqi looked to be, from a play, culture and place in society point of view, a very similar game to chess. They are both games that take great skill and their players are prized for their intellect and abilities. They both had a high standing in courts and seats of power yet…

Games reflect the culture at large. This applies to any kind of cultural element, be it essentials like food and architecture or more discretionary elements of life such as music and games. The Birth of the Chess Queen reinforces this idea, driving home the interactions between leisure activities and the culture that surrounds them. The…

Games act as a lens for the society that births them. Out of all the articles assigned this week, that is the core takeaway. The evolution of society and the changing of games go hand in hand, more so than other mediums such as books and, later, movies. Games had the benefit of not being…