When I was little, I didn’t like sports. On the one hand, I was lazy and didn’t feel like moving; on the other, I thought sports were too “violent,” nowhere near as quiet and elegant as intellectual activities.
As a child, I did like playing chess, but what I never really understood was—why does chess count as “sports” too?
As I grew older, I gradually came to understand what sports and chess have in common, and I also came to feel more and more deeply the charm of sports.
Sports are not merely “exercise,” and even less merely a kind of “violence.” They can stand alongside philosophy, science, religion, and art, becoming part of “culture”! In fact, in a certain sense, the spirit of sports contains and embodies the characteristics of science, philosophy, religion, and art!
Ancient Greece is the source of Western civilization, the source of philosophy, science, art, and myth. But at the same time, ancient Greece is even more the source of the Olympics, the fountainhead of the spirit of sports! From 776 BCE to 394 CE—the ancient Olympic Games witnessed all the glory of ancient Greece.
In fact, the “Olympics” of ancient Greece was not simply the name of a sporting event. During the period when the ancient Olympic Games were held, other cultural activities such as religious festivals, academic discussions, poetry readings, and art exhibitions were also conducted, so people gave the entire event—including the contests at Olympia—the name “Olympics.” This is precisely an expression of the fact that sports are one whole with the other parts of human culture. Moreover, one can no longer find another form of activity that, like the Olympics, can fuse philosophy, religion, and art all together in the same grand celebration!
Modern Olympic sport is not quite the same as in antiquity; it seems more closely linked with the economy, and in this respect perhaps falls short of the inclusiveness of the ancient Olympics. But in any case, the spirit of sports represented by the Olympics has never changed, and the connection between sport and the other parts of human culture has always been the closest of all!
First, sports are an embodiment of “strength.” Yet rather than saying that people engage in sports in order to display and flaunt strength, it would be better to say that they do so in pursuit of strength. Just as philosophy and science come from the “love of wisdom,” arising from humanity’s persistence, love, longing, and pursuit of wisdom. The spirit of sports is first and foremost a mood of persistence and love. Force and power are the way people flaunt “might”; those are the truly “violent” things! Sports are not a symbol of “raw power”; they symbolize the “pursuit” of strength. Just as philosophers do not brag about or show off their knowledge, but first of all, like Socrates, “know that they do not know” — precisely because of ignorance, the pursuit of knowledge is human nature!
When human beings are born, they are weaker than any animal. But precisely because they are so weak, human beings yearn for strength more than any animal, and understand toughness and struggle better than any animal! Precisely because human beings do not come into the world with the skills needed to survive, it is humanity’s persistent pursuit of wisdom and physical robustness that makes survival and progress possible. The preciousness of human beings lies not in their strength, but precisely in their “weakness”! Whether in philosophy, science, or sports, this spirit of “pursuit” shines through!
Second, sports are a symbol of “passion.” Perhaps some people will ask: what, in the end, is sports competition for? What meaning is there in running a little faster or jumping a little higher? Certainly, improving the precision of manufacturing by 1% also increases productivity, but what benefit can possibly come from improving the 100-meter dash record by 0.1 second?
Human beings are not only rational animals; they are even more the most “affectionate” of animals! Reason and speculation are not everything about human beings; what humans possess is by no means only wealth and utilitarian gain. Many human activities are not judged solely by practical benefit, and sports are a classic example!
Sports are a form of entertainment, a way for human beings to release their passions. In this respect, the spirit of the Olympics is common to ancient Greek sculpture and drama, and to the “Dionysian” spirit identified by Nietzsche!
Finally, sports are sacred; they represent harmony and cooperation. In ancient Greece, whenever the Olympic Games were held, the city-states would suspend the wars they were waging. And in modern times, although sports are no longer religious ritual, the sacred meaning they contain has not disappeared!
Late night, May 7, 2006
Plato Café
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Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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