ABSTRACT

In both the East and the West, the study of the history of sport has become an academic discipline since the 1980s. Experts are emerging in a steady stream and publications are impressively increasing. Sports historians can claim these accomplishments with pride. Although the sports historians speak different languages, have different focuses and have different methodologies, their fundamental approach remains the same. It consists of (1) documenting large structural changes between society and sport; (2) explaining the evolution of culture and sport; (3) constructing a coherent analysis of social relationships in and through sport; (4) reconstructing the experience of athletes and ordinary people’s sporting lives; and (5) establishing a unique empire in the field of social science. This chapter will focus on the development of the study of sports history in China. It will examine the development of sports history studies in China and the West and provide the readers with an overview.