Christianity and the Transformation of Physical Education and Sport in China

Book excerpt: Modern physical education and sport in China are not products of indigenous Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese culture linked strenuous physical activities to low class and status. Modern Western PE and sport were introduced to China by Western Christian missionaries and directors of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and grew from a tool for Christian evangelism to an important tool for Chinese nation-building. This book examines this process of transformation of Chinese attitudes toward PE and sport, using the concepts of cultural imperialism and nationalism as a lens to understand how a Western cultural import became a modernization tool for the Chinese state.