Ruan Jingtian’s family background is rich and Zheng Yuanchang sets up a street stall, and the background of Taiwan’s Xiaosheng is revealed

Abstract: There are many popular students in Taiwan, and some of them are popular all the way. "Qiu Ze: Qiu Ze was born into a working family and grew up in a single-parent family. His father was a taxi driver, his mother was a hairdresser, and his parents divorced when Qiu Ze was 3 years old.

There are many popular students in Taiwan, and some of them have been successful all the way. Although they are dazzling stars on the stage today, their very different backgrounds are little known. Let’s reveal the background of these handsome guys one by one for you.

Ruan Jingtian: Ruan Jingtian’s great grandfather once opened a sauce garden to enrich a party. Recently, the family background of Taiwanese male star Ruan Jingtian was exposed by the media. According to media reports, his great grandfather Ruan Jiliang is the third generation descendant of Wanchang Sauce Garden, named Shang Fu, with the word Liang Bi, Ji Liang is his number, known as "Eighth Master". Zhejiang Wanchang Sauce Garden is the predecessor of Zeguo Winery, where the famous old wine of Zeguo is produced. In the generation of Ruan Jiliang, the Ruan family flourished for a while. According to the "Wenling County Chronicle" compiled in 1990, Ruan Shangfu and his brother Ruan Shangzhi had a total of 1,850 acres of land, 1 bank, 4 pawn shops, dozens of shops, and more than 200 houses. It was known as "Ruan Ban Street". There were private armed "Ruan Family Team" and 2 machine guns. In 1949, at the beginning of the liberation of Wenling, Ruan Jiliang was intimidated by the revolutionary situation and ran away to hide. In 1955, Ruan Jiliang’s two sons, Ruan Quanxi and Ruan Cangxi, both went to Taiwan. Despite the changes of time, there are still traces of Ruan Jiliang’s life in Zeguo and the surrounding area. The Wanchang Sauce Garden near Xianzeguo Primary School and the "Tomb of the Eight Elders" near Feiquan Temple in Yandang Mountain have attracted Ruan Jiliang’s descendants to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors.

Ruan Jingtian was born into a military family. Ruan Jingtian was born into a military family. Before entering the industry, he was a swimmer and won the Taichung Iron Man two championships in high school. His dream was to be a pilot, and he has passed relevant exams. In 2002, he was favored when he accompanied a friend to audition and starred in the "Love" MV of Penny Dai. After that, he signed a contract with Kaiwo Model Agency, which mainly focuses on walking shows and shooting advertisements. He also cooperated with Wang Fei, Zhang Huimei, Sun Yanzi and other divas in MV, and the other two male models of the company, Zheng Yuanchang and He Junxiang, also called "Kaiwo Three Musketeers".

There are 8 left bodyguards in public places. When he was a child, Zheng Yuanchang was a fat boy, much different from what he looks like now. When he was in high school, his father hoped that Zheng Yuanchang would study science and engineering, but he hoped to achieve his ideal in art. He knew in his heart that if he chose acting, the road might be very bumpy. If he was lucky, he might become popular overnight, and if he was unlucky, he might be broke. Very practical problems were in front of him, and after being shaken for a while, Zheng Yuanchang still chose to follow his father’s advice. But life still did not bury the boy who was 190 cm tall when he was in middle school in this country. That’s it, a friend casually recommended Zheng Yuanchang to participate in the model selection. He thought, anyway, try it, it doesn’t matter. Who would have thought that this step would enter the door of the entertainment industry and become a popular small student in Taiwan today. In the past, Xiao Zong usually took a taxi to other places, but now there are about 8 bodyguards in public places.

He Junxiang: He Junxiang was born into a family of military officers. According to Lianhe Zaobao, He Junxiang’s uncle is Hu Zhenqiu, a former deputy director of the National Security Bureau, who later served as a national policy advisor to the presidential palace. His uncle’s younger brother is Hu Zhenpu, the army commander-in-chief, and his family background is quite prominent. He Junxiang was suspected of evading military service because he had never graduated from his studies, but he revealed that his family elders were all high-ranking soldiers. He was educated and managed by militarization since he was a child. He said frankly: "The boys in the family are all soldiers. If any child does not join the army, he will lose face to his family." To prove his innocence, it is not to evade military service.

He Junxiang wanted to be a physical education teacher when he was a teenager, and later a friend took him to practice boxing. He Junxiang himself admitted that "I was ready to practice boxing well, so I went to the boxing supply store with my teacher and classmates to buy boxing supplies. As a result, an editor of" Men’s Gang "magazine was there. When he saw me, he asked me to take pictures. After taking pictures, he signed a contract with Kaiwo. Later, he took a MV, and then I made my debut." Later, He Junxiang made his debut as a model and entered the entertainment industry. Now he has become a popular student of Taiwanese idol dramas and is an idol of many female fans.

William Li: William Li’s father left without saying goodbye when he was 5 years old. He started working at the age of 13. His grandfather was British, his grandmother was of mixed Japanese and German blood, and his mother was Singaporean. He had an unpleasant childhood experience. At the age of 5, his father unexpectedly left without saying goodbye. Not only did he leave his mother, but he and his brother did not want him. In order to make a living, his mother had to work two jobs to support the family. William Li was a "key child" from the age of 5. He went home alone after school and ate the dishes cooked by his mother in advance. In school, William Li often could not speak a word all day. Because he was too quiet and too shy, William Li was often bullied by his classmates. William Li has been living in his own world. Finally, at the age of 13, he started a working life to help with the family. He worked many jobs, including porter, waiter, flyer, etc. At the age of 16, he also worked as a salesperson for Christmas supplies, knocking on doors every day. Rejection was a common occurrence for him. Unable to break the fear of facing crowds, he joined his brother in the modeling world, encouraged by his mother and brother.

In 2001, William Likely stood out in the male model selection in Singapore and represented Singapore in the "World Top Model Competition". He passed all the way and won the title of "No. 1 in the 2001 World Top Model Competition" and the "Best Body Award". In this regard, William Likely said: "The god of luck has favored me since this time." Later, he starred in "The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Dress" with Wang Xinling, which made him easily famous. According to Lianhe Zaobao, William Likely currently earns a net worth of hundreds of millions of Taiwan dollars in Taiwan, and he is a noble son in and out of the play. He owns four houses in Taiwan and has a net worth of hundreds of millions of Taiwan dollars. In fact, he is frugal by nature and is often called "governor". He also shops around in stores. Imported instant noodles from Singapore sold in Taiwan are twice as expensive. He would rather return to his hometown by air at NT $30 (about S $1.25) per pack of instant noodles to Taiwan. He also saves water and electricity. He can turn off wherever he goes at home and drive a diesel car in Taiwan, which is environmentally friendly and saves money.

Zhao Youting: Zhao Youting comes from an acting family. Zhao Youting, a Taiwanese actor born in 1984, is the youngest son of Taiwanese artist Zhao Shuhai. He returned to Taiwan from Canada to enter the acting industry. He starred in the first TV series "Ruffian Hero" in 2009 and made his debut. Won the Best Actor Award at the 44th Taiwan Golden Bell Awards, and jumped to the rank of emperor.

Zhao Youting’s father, Zhao Shuhai, is a Taiwanese singer, actor, lyricist, composer, and TV host. He graduated from the mechanical engineering department of Huaxia Institute of Technology and was an outstanding folk singer during the heyday of campus folk songs in the 1970s. He once hosted "Let’s Come Together", which was popular all over the world. He also presided over a number of scientific research and other research projects, and made major inventions and creations in the work of electric power anti-pollution flash. Since Zhao Youting’s debut, he has been smooth sailing all the way, and his father Zhao Shuhai has made great contributions. Not only has he laid a solid foundation for his son’s career, but he has also been extremely protective of his son. At that time, Zhao Youting and Zhou Yumin were competing for the Golden Bell Award for Best Actor, and Zhou Yumin’s fans on the Internet posted some negative messages to Zhao Youting. Zhao Shuhai was eager to protect his son and directly scolded him on Weibo to seek justice for his son.

Tang Yuzhe: Tang Yuzhe lost his father in childhood. In idol dramas, Tang Yuzhe is full of aristocratic gentleman temperament. Tang Yuzhe grew up in a single-parent family, and his father passed away when he was young, leaving only his sister and mother together. It is reported that when he was in the first year of the country, his father passed away in an accident on the construction site, which also gave Tang Yuzhe a great blow and made him become taciturn.

After being brought into the entertainment industry by a talent scout, Tang Yuzhe’s family worked hard for a living. Tang Yuzhe himself graduated from high school and was discovered by talent scouts while working part-time. Tang Yuzhe once confessed: "Although no one cared about my life during that time, I seemed to be free and could do whatever I liked, but it was the time when I was the most unhappy." Until he was 20 years old, the days without his family made him feel extremely uncomfortable, because no one shared with him whether he was happy or not. He said: "At that time, I would not say anything happy or unhappy when I encountered it. I just kept it in my heart. It was like closing myself up. I didn’t know how to talk to people very well. I just kept everything in my heart. At that time, I began to dream that if one day I could make a lot of money, I would buy land by the sea and build a beautiful big house to share my family with my mother, sister and future wife."

Qiu Ze: Qiu Ze was born into a working family and grew up in a single-parent family. His father was a taxi driver, his mother was a hairdresser, and his parents divorced when Qiu Ze was 3 years old. Just like every child from a single-parent family, he was forced to be independent very early, and he experienced the loneliness and insecurity of being alone at home very early. Since Qiu Ze’s memory, his father drove a taxi for 15 or 6 hours a day, and it was very difficult to pay rent and living expenses. As long as the lease expired, he kept moving with his father. He moved back and forth at least 8 times. When he signed a contract to enter the entertainment industry, even though Qiu Ze made some money, he still lived in a rented house.

Yan Yalun: Yan Yalun’s father is a famous doctor, Yan Yalun, his real name is Wu Genglin, and he is the youngest member of the Taiwanese male singing group Fahrenheit. He lived in Connecticut, USA for more than 5 years when he was in elementary school, and served as part of the location host of the Japanese TV program C-POP WORLD in Taiwan. There are one father, one mother and one sister in the family. His father, Wu Mingxiu, is an attending physician in the Department of Nephrology at National Taiwan University Hospital, and the director of the Blood Purification Department of the Comprehensive Clinic. He is a medical doctor from the Department of Medicine of National Taiwan University, and a doctor from the Institute of Physiology of National Taiwan University School of Medicine, Dr. Bandi. His mother was a well-known model back then, opened an economic company, and is now a housewife. His biological sister, Wu Minpei, is 2 years younger than him

He was called a young master by Big S, and it was learned that Yan Yalun was a premature baby with poor health, so his family loved him very much. Big S also said in the disclosure that he was a young master. Because of the good living conditions at home, Yan Yalun studied abroad since childhood and spoke authentic English. His family education was very strict. He started learning upper-class etiquette when he was young. At the age of 3, he started learning piano and recorder, and he played a beautiful piano. When he was in middle school, he played blogs with his classmates, and he was more popular. He posted a lot of photos on the blog. Later, the blog was very popular, and he was discovered and signed by Huayan boss and entered the entertainment industry.

Ming Dao: Ming Dao was born selling dried fish in the market. Ming Dao, a student of Changhua Normal University, had a poor home environment. His parents were vegetable vendors. Ming Dao recalls his childhood, and the vegetable market was the first priority. When I was in the 5th and 6th grades of primary school, my mother began to sell goods in the vegetable market. Every day, my father was responsible for going to the large wholesale market, batching back small fish, shrimp skins and other dry materials, and then carrying my brother, who was 2 years older than him, and him to the market to set up a stall. Since my mother did not set up a fixed stall, but moved to the mobile vendors in various markets, Ming Dao was familiar with the environment of each market since he was a child. After the third year, Ming Dao and his brother set up a stall independently. My father divided the goods into 3 batches, and took my mother and brothers to different markets to do business. He, who was used to accompanying his mother to set up a stall in the vegetable market, said, "I never thought it was very awkward to sell things in the vegetable market. It’s just that when I was a child, I was lazy. When I was tired of selling, I would be lazy

After flying into the big screen from the vegetable market, many people will deliberately hide their identity of being born in the market after becoming famous, but Ming Dao is not shy, and every time he mentions it, he is slightly proud and excited. Ming Dao said that when he grew up in the market, he would help the family sell dried fish every winter and summer vacation, and he also had a set of "must-kill skills" to attract customers at a young age. Ming Dao participated in the "I Guess I Guess I Guess Guess" rough male selection unit in high school, so he was discovered by talent scouts. In 2002, he officially debuted as the host of "Adventure King". In 2005, he played the general manager of the hotel in the "Prince Becomes Frog" drama, and has since become popular on the screen. After Ming Dao became famous, he also published a book "Ming Dao’s Adventure World", claiming that the vegetable market child will show you the world.

Peng Yuyan: Peng Yuyan’s mother used to run a snack bar. Peng Yuyan was born in Taipei. When he was a child, he had taken many commercials and participated in the filming of TV dramas. He was a standard child star. At the age of 14, he immigrated to Canada with his family and entered the famous Canadian school UBC, majoring in economics and business. Peng Yuyan grew up in a single-parent family. When he was interviewed, he said that he remembered that his family used to run a restaurant, and his mother carried all kinds of trivia. When he was a child, he watched his mother busy.

From the same star to the male lead of the idol drama, Peng Yuyan returned to Taiwan during the summer vacation of his sophomore year. The director who knew him when he was shooting commercials asked him to shoot idol dramas, so he entered the entertainment industry and therefore stopped studying to make films. This TV drama is "Love White Paper".

Ke Zhendong: Ke Zhendong was born well-off, Ke Zhendong, his real name is Ke Jiakai, born on June 18, 1991, from Penghu, Taiwan. He is now a second-year student of the Department of Physical Education at the Private Chinese Culture University. According to previous media reports, Ke Zhendong’s father, Ke Yaozong, used to be in the clothing business and is now a store owner, opening a "whiple" store. The first floor is a clothing store, and the second floor is a restaurant. The reporter rushed to the scene. He really saw Ke Dad talking on the phone at the door of the store, and soon went upstairs to greet him. The reporter stepped forward to ask, and Ke Dad first stated that he was not in the entertainment industry and did not want to be in the limelight.

Ke Zhendong became popular because he starred in "The Girl We Chased Together in Those Years". In fact, Ke Zhendong’s father also made a cameo appearance as Ke Zhendong’s father in "That". At that time, in order to support his son, he was loyal and accompanied his son to film. It can be seen that his father can also be regarded as a person in the entertainment industry.

Chen Chuhe: His family background is related to the gang. Although the male artist Chen Chuhe is handsome, he is not too outstanding in Taiwan where idols and men gather together, but his background is very attractive. Chen Chuhe’s father turned out to be the boss of Taiwan’s largest social organization, the "Bamboo Union Gang", and his father is the real boss. Chen Chuhe’s father, Chen Qili, is more well-known than him in Taiwan. He graduated from Tamjiang College of Arts and Sciences. In 1956, he joined the Taiwanese gang "Zhonghe Gang" (later renamed "Bamboo Union Gang"), and eventually gradually became the boss of the club and the spiritual leader.

The death of his father caused a sensation, and Chen Qili passed away due to pancreatic cancer. When he held a farewell ceremony in Taiwan, it caused a sensation. The elite police of Taiwan made every effort. In addition to the identification team selected by each branch to identify the gang members who attended the farewell ceremony, hundreds of plainclothes search personnel were also deployed around the mourning hall, and special police officers were deployed outside the mourning hall.

Left and right guardians to help him break into the entertainment industry, the first to let the audience know Chen Chuhe, is his role in the movie "Kung Fu Slam Dunk", and the film’s investment and distribution side Changhong film and television joint stock company boss is Taiwan producer Wu Dun, and Wu Dun is Chen Qili’s brother, the two are life and death friends, and served a prison sentence together.

Chen Chuhe admits that some viewers pay attention to themselves because of their father’s special status: "Because of my father’s relationship, maybe the group of people will be curious about me at first and start to have contact, but later interpersonal relationships still depend on how they manage and interact with others." The picture shows Chen Qili, Chen Chuhe’s father.

Ashin: The background of Ashin’s underworld family was exposed. Mayday’s lead singer Ashin (Chen Xinhong) attended his grandmother’s farewell ceremony on May 6, 2004, which accidentally exposed the background of the underworld family. From his father and uncle to his cousins, many of them were "brothers on the road". In addition to other members of Mayday, there were also the leader of the Bamboo Federation Gang and the head of Xintang, as well as the "younger brother" who was responsible for helping his family organize the venue or protecting the safety of his eldest brother. This shows the weight of the Chen family in the underworld. According to the investigation, Ashin’s father had opened a call station before Mayday’s rise, and was also seized by the police.

Ashin chases his dreams. It is reported that the song "Stubborn" is a work that Ashin felt when he encountered the "underworld family" incident. When it was reported that Ashin’s family had a underworld background, Ashin and the members of the group were doing a campus concert near Shanghai, and received a call from a colleague saying that the news had broken in Taiwan. At that time, Ashin didn’t want others to worry about his state, but he couldn’t help but worry about whether his family was good or not? Because of the relationship between historical background and environment, there are more or less complex interpersonal relationships. His uncle may be in a complex social relationship, but because he pursues his dream of music and stands in front of the stage, he must also be naked in front of the public.

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The earliest beauty of spring flowers! Come to Zhongshan Park to watch the Spring Festival.

In order to enrich the cultural life of citizens and tourists and set off the festive atmosphere, Zhongshan Park will hold a series of cultural activities for the Spring Festival. The flower shows in Tanghuawu and Huifang Garden will open to welcome guests, and citizens can also enjoy the earliest beautiful spring flowers in the dead of winter.

A traditional flower boutique exhibition with the theme of "Longteng Shengshi" has met with citizens and tourists in Tanghuawu. More than 70 varieties and more than 1,000 pots of various flowers and plants appear at the same time, and visitors can enjoy the unique charm of spring flowers and winter appreciation.

It is reported that in addition to the special flowers for controlling the flowering period in the park, such as plum blossom, peach blossom, rhododendron, bauhinia and Xifu begonia, there are also festive flowers such as Zhu Dinghong, Cymbidium grandiflorum, giant pumpkin, North American holly and autumn fruit-viewing plants, which are matched with foliage-viewing plants such as dragon’s blood tree and bird’s nest fern, so that visitors can see the four-season flowers with different shapes and charms at one time. In addition, in recent years, the newly cultivated and trial-produced wisteria and Jiexiang in Zhongshan Park will achieve the best display effect, providing different flower viewing experiences for citizens and tourists.

During the Spring Festival, in the quaint and elegant Huifang Garden, the "Four Seasons Fragrance" Beijing Celebrity Orchid and Chunlan Exhibition also welcomes citizens and tourists. More than 90 kinds and more than 200 pots of famous orchids, such as Chunlan and Chunjian, cultivated in Zhongshan Park are exhibited in the exhibition.

Orchids are elegant and fragrant, and Zhongshan Park has a long history of orchid cultivation and a unique orchid culture. Here, citizens and tourists can enjoy the famous orchids such as Haiyan Qi Fei, Hutoulan with Red Tongue, Chunlan, Longzi, Wangzi and Satisfied with Sumei.

In addition, in order to create a "prosperous New Year" flavor, Zhongshan Park has set up five landscape sketches outside Sanmen District and Xitan Gate. In the south gate, the theme scene of "Holding Yang and Ningrui" takes the IP "rumbling" of the Year of the Dragon as the main body of the installation, and combines traditional sectors, lanterns, windmills and other elements to set off a auspicious and peaceful atmosphere of the New Year. The auspicious theme of the Year of the Dragon in the East Gate and the theme of "Happy Plum Blossoms" and "Long Life" in the West Gate are mixed with various traditional China elements, expressing the beautiful New Year wishes to tourists.

Source Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Ren Shan Cheng Gong

Editor Hu Decheng

Liu Weili, Process Editor

Reporting/feedback

From "Border War" to "National Entertainment": How Rugby Became the First Sport in America

"border war"

On August 30th, 1856, a fierce battle broke out in the small town of Sabato, Kansas, USA. The warring parties were neither white men and Indians, nor Jiang Yang thieves and local people, but abolitionists from the north and militia from Missouri, a slave-holding state in the south. About 400 heavily armed Missouri militiamen attacked this small town guarded by the famous abolitionist leader John Brown. Being outnumbered, john brown and the abolitionists finally had to retreat, and Mr. Sabato was also looted. The incident became a microcosm of the Kansas Civil War.

In 1854, the US Congress passed the kansas-nebraska act, allowing Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether to join the United States of America as a "free state" or a "slave state" by referendum. This is tantamount to the abolition of the Missouri compromise in fact, which intensified the contradiction between the north and the south on the issue of slavery.

After that, a large number of abolitionists from the north and southerners who advocated the maintenance of slavery flooded into Kansas, hoping to win the referendum by means of large-scale immigration in the short term. Under the tense atmosphere, a series of violent conflicts broke out between the two sides of the contradiction, which eventually led to a Kansas version of the "civil war." This mini-war, known as "bloody Kansas", is often regarded by later generations as a prelude to the American Civil War or a scaled-down version of the Civil War. In January 1861, after this bloody baptism, Kansas finally joined the Union as a free state. However, only three months later, the Civil War officially started. At the beginning of the war, out of revenge, a group of Kansas militia named Jayhawks attacked and looted several towns in Missouri. Later, a local armed force calling itself "Fighting Tigers" rose in Missouri to confront it. As a result, the two sides continued their hatred since "bloody Kansas" on the battlefield.

In May 1865, the Civil War officially ended. Nearly 30 years after the smoke of the Civil War dispersed, the blood feud between Kansas and Missouri did not dissipate, and even found a new battlefield to prolong the old hatred and renew the new hatred. On Halloween in 1891, the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri met head-on in an American Football game. Coincidentally, the names of these two college teams are "Kansas Jayhawks" and "Missouri Tigers". In this extremely fierce game, the University of Kansas won by 22-10, which seemed to swear that it was the winner of the civil war again, while the University of Missouri, which was unwilling, stubbornly continued to challenge. Therefore, the two teams agreed to have a contest every year. In the end, this football game not only became a competition between two universities, but also became an honor struggle between two states. The football match between "Jieying" and "Tiger" was even called "Border War" because of the hot and even explosive atmosphere. Since 1891, this "border war" has been fought for 120 years, and it was not until the University of Missouri announced its departure from the "Big 12 Conference" in 2011 that it called a truce. In the final year of the competition, the University of Missouri crushed the University of Kansas 24-10.Revenge for one’s ancestors. During these 120 years, this football game has become a projection of the political, military and historical disputes between the two States.

The "border war" between "Jieying" and "Tiger" lasted for 120 years.

Transformation of American football

George Carlin, a famous American comedian, once described the war metaphor of American football in a famous paragraph: "Baseball is a pastime game in the 19th century, while rugby is a tit-for-tat for industrialization in the 20th century; When you watch baseball, you will feel like going to a picnic, while when you watch football, you will want to kill your opponent at least 27 times. The goal of rugby is clear, and all actions revolve around the Quarterback, the’ battlefield general’. He has to observe the enemy lines and launch a surprise attack, find his catcher in the chaotic army and pass the ball accurately. He must lead an army into enemy territory and try his best to tear a hole in the enemy’s defense line! "

In the world of American football, especially college football, similar and tense feuds are everywhere, and even become one of the biggest selling points of the game, attracting the attention of the whole state and the whole country. For example, the football confrontation between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma is called "Red River Showdown", because in 1931, the National Guard of Texas and Oklahoma had a gun battle over the ownership of a bridge across the Red River between the two States. The feud between the University of Michigan and Ohio University can be traced back to the conflict between the two States around the border demarcation in 1835. Since 1897, the fighting between the two schools on behalf of the two States on the football field has become the most wonderful, intense and even tragic rivalry in the history of North American sports. Before and after the game, Ohio will hold "Beat Michigan Week". On the day before the 2006 World War II, Bo Schembechler, the meritorious coach of the University of Michigan, died of a heart attack. After that, every year before the Ohio University, the University of Michigan will play Bo Schembechler’s cry "Team!" before his death. Team! Team! " (The Team! The Team! The Team! ) to boost morale.

The reason why American college football has become the carrier of American social tradition and even national hatred is closely related to its development and evolution to some extent. In the eyes of many foreigners, American football players seem to be all rough and tough men with big arms and round waist, developed limbs and mostly simple minds. However, American football was originally popular in college campuses all over the United States as elite and intellectual sports. In fact, even today, all professional players who participate in the National Football League need to take an IQ test before they can qualify. At the beginning of American football’s popularity in universities in the 19th century, it happened that the movement of "Physical Christianity" was in the ascendant. This Christian faction, which originated in England, advocates that sports can not only exercise the physique, but also improve the spiritual character of Christians. And a strong Christian is a symbol of God’s glory. Influenced by it, a very important task of YMCA is to advocate young people to actively participate in sports. The rapid popularity of American football in American universities also relies on the east wind of "strong Christianity" and "YMCA", and also provides religious legitimacy for hot-blooded college students to participate in such intense and even violent sports. As a social elite, college students have naturally become spokesmen and defenders of historical traditions in various States and regions.

In 1869, Princeton University and Rutgers College played the first American football game in history. As a sport born out of rugby, American football is even more intense, and college students are injured and even killed because of the game. In 1905, as many as 18 famous college students were injured and died in the competition, which became a major news in the United States at that time and alarmed then President theodore roosevelt. As a "progressive", Roosevelt Sr. issued a statement demanding that the rules of American football must be revised to ensure the safety of players, and young people who should be the pillars of the country should not be allowed to die in vain on the court. In the end, the rules of American football changed decisively-players were allowed to pass the ball forward instead of passing it back or flat like rugby, which gradually transformed the sport into what it is today.

Athletes singing hymns, taken in the gymnasium of YMCA Training School in Massachusetts, USA in 1909.

"national entertainment"

Although as early as the 1920s, professional football games, represented by the National Football League (NFL), appeared, but their commercialization was not high. In contrast, baseball, which has been professional and commercialized as early as the 19th century, is the "first sport" for citizens and workers. At that time, many professional football teams were "attached" to professional baseball clubs. Until today, people familiar with American sports can easily find many football teams and baseball teams with the same names, such as Giants, Cardinals, Redskins, Pirates and so on. In addition, quite a few early professional American football teams were actually in a "semi-professional" state, and players had other businesses besides playing. For example, the old team with a long history-"Green Bay Packer" is a team composed of local paper packers, which started with a sponsorship fee of $500 from the boss. Later, in order to ensure the normal operation of the team, the packers turned to issue the team’s shares to local residents, and finally let the team continue to this day in the form of "crowdfunding", even in the league.

In fact, until the eve of World War II, the campus elite label of American football remained unchanged, and most professional players were also graduates from universities, including many famous schools such as Ivy League. Many of the stars of universities or professional teams in those days later became world-famous politicians and social elites, and even entered the White House. Former US President Ford was once the star center of the University of Michigan. During the two years from 1932 to 1933, he not only helped the school achieve unbeaten results in the season, but also witnessed the epic battle between his alma mater and Ohio University. After graduating from college, Ford was recruited by professional scouts. After rejecting the invitation of Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, he went to law school to continue his studies and enter politics.

Byron White, one of the most important justices in the history of the United States Supreme Court in the 20th century, was the absolute main force and the star of the football team of his alma mater, Colorado State University. In 1937, he was even selected as the best team of college football in the United States, leaving more than ten competitive records on the field during his school days. In the second year after graduation, White went to the Pittsburgh Pirates (later the famous Pittsburgh Steelers) to play a professional game for one year. After winning the Best Newcomer Award with the highest rookie salary, White "hung up his boots" and went to Oxford University to study law. However, due to the outbreak of the European War, he had to return to China and transfer to Yale Law School. While studying at Yale, White also took time off to participate in professional competitions, played for Detroit Lions in 1940 and 1941, and finally became the record holder of "the longest charge". In 1942, White was drafted into the U.S. Navy and ended his football career. In 1962, the former football star became a Supreme Court Justice at the age of 44.

Byron White

After the end of World War II, especially after the popularization of television, rugby finally ushered in its own commercialization opportunity. Because the NFL was still an emerging professional sports league at that time, it was more willing to embrace such an emerging product as TV broadcasting. As early as 1848, the normalized broadcast of football matches began to appear on TV. Throughout the 1950s, ABC, NBC and CBS began to broadcast important NFL games one after another, and the broadcasting fee for championship games has reached a million dollars. The NFL, which has tasted the sweetness, is even willing to modify the schedule and rules for TV broadcast to enhance the viewing as much as possible and attract more viewers.

First of all, in order to ensure the visibility of the game and avoid the disparity between teams, the TV broadcasting rights of NFL are negotiated by the league as a whole with major TV networks, and the broadcasting fees obtained are shared equally by all teams, thus ensuring the relative balance of financial resources of each team. Therefore, many Americans jokingly call the NFL a "communist" professional sports league. Secondly, in order to cooperate with the prime time of TV viewing at night, NFL became the first professional sports league to change the important game from afternoon to evening for the first time, and created the tradition of professional sports night games.

Prior to this, Major League Baseball’s important games were usually held on weekend afternoons. After that, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football became the trump cards of ratings. In 1967, the American Football Confederation and the original National Football League merged to form a new NFL, and then a new annual championship event, Super Bowl, was established.

As a result, the "Super Bowl" quickly became the highest-rated TV program in the United States and lasted for a long time. Since 1991, the ratings of "Super Bowl" have remained above 40%, and the ratings have been stable above 45% since 2010. In 2016, the audience of the 50th Super Bowl in the United States reached 167 million, and the advertising fee per second reached an astonishing $5 million, almost 118 times that of the 1st Super Bowl in 1967. The "Super Bowl" halftime show has become the biggest stage for American performing stars to dream about. During the 50 years when the "Super Bowl" economy flourished, professional American football finally replaced professional baseball and became the most popular and commercially valuable sports game in the United States.

Similarly, in order to attract more audiences, the venue of the "Super Bowl" is not the home of the two champion teams, but the third place chosen in advance. In the view of NFL management, this arrangement is to show that the "Super Bowl" is a national holiday, not a special welfare that residents of the cities where the two teams are located can enjoy, making it a veritable "national entertainment".

(This article was published in Wenhui Scholar on February 3rd. The original title was From "Border War" to "National Entertainment": American Football Past and Present, which was reprinted by The Paper with authorization. Now the title and subtitle are drawn up by the editor. )

The Historical Meaning of Civilization and Its Contemporary Enlightenment

[Excerpts from arguments]

He Zhonghua wrote in the 6th issue of China Social Sciences in 2023 that "civilization" and "culture" can be used in a broad sense. In the early days of human civilization, people’s self-centeredness is a common cultural and psychological phenomenon, but the symbol of civilization maturity lies in the sublation of this self-centeredness. The existence of human beings is transcendent, and the positive interaction between human individuals and classes makes human civilization evolve in an accelerated way. The anthropological ontological paradox of the division between human physical existence and spiritual existence has its own manifestations in both eastern and western civilizations. The modernity shaped by western civilization exists the paradox of civilization and barbarism and the hegemony of "pseudo-universality". From a long period of history, the focus of human civilization is constantly shifting with different historical opportunities, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will profoundly affect the new pattern of civilization in the 21st century. Universal communication of human beings is an important condition for the development of civilization, and mutual learning of civilizations is helpful for different nationalities to make their own unique contributions to the overall progress of human civilization.

Guangming Daily (11th edition, September 15th, 2023)

Source: Guangming Net-Guangming Daily