About Cricket Culture in China
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Cricket culture has existed in China for approximately 2000 years. First, crickets were kept in decorative cages for the purpose of enjoying the “songs” produced by these captivating creatures. Later, they were utilized for sport: cricket fighting. Both aspects have been the popularized in art, songs, and fables. Crickets are also viewed as being lucky.
In the 1970’s, Swedish graduate student, Lars Fredriksson, studied abroad in China. It was during his time there that he first became entranced by the songs Chinese crickets make. Since that time, he has recorded and performed live with his “Chinese Cricket Rosary Ensemble.”
In the Chinese fable, “The Cricket Boy,” a wealthy magistrate hopes to win favor from the emperor by sending him the most formidable crickets for the sport of cricket fighting. In his quest, he uses heavy-handed methods of taking crickets from villages all around the kingdom. One poor villager, after spending a year and all his money on crickets and suffering a harsh beating, receives a hint from a fortune teller on where to find a strong cricket. Unfortunately, before he can test the cricket out, his son accidentally kills it. The boy flees in tears, and is later found dead by his parents. The next day, however, they discover his body is still warm and that he is alive but in a coma. They hear a cricket, and discover the small but nimble creature. The villager pits the cricket against the cricket of a wealthy family, and to everyone’s surprise, the small cricket wins. He further astonishes by defeating a rooster. Once the magistrate becomes witness to this, he sends the cricket to the emperor, where the cricket wins all his matches. Satisfied, the emperor pays and promotes the magistrate, who in turn forgives the poor villager from all debts. A year later, the boy awakens to tells of his dream of turning into a cricket and fighting the emperor’s own champions.
The above two examples are just some of the ways that cricket culture has been captured by popular media. The prominence placed on crickets in China has even reached western audiences through the Disney film, Mulan. Western fairy tales today have their own animated cricket mascot: Jiminy Cricket.
In the 1970’s, Swedish graduate student, Lars Fredriksson, studied abroad in China. It was during his time there that he first became entranced by the songs Chinese crickets make. Since that time, he has recorded and performed live with his “Chinese Cricket Rosary Ensemble.”
In the Chinese fable, “The Cricket Boy,” a wealthy magistrate hopes to win favor from the emperor by sending him the most formidable crickets for the sport of cricket fighting. In his quest, he uses heavy-handed methods of taking crickets from villages all around the kingdom. One poor villager, after spending a year and all his money on crickets and suffering a harsh beating, receives a hint from a fortune teller on where to find a strong cricket. Unfortunately, before he can test the cricket out, his son accidentally kills it. The boy flees in tears, and is later found dead by his parents. The next day, however, they discover his body is still warm and that he is alive but in a coma. They hear a cricket, and discover the small but nimble creature. The villager pits the cricket against the cricket of a wealthy family, and to everyone’s surprise, the small cricket wins. He further astonishes by defeating a rooster. Once the magistrate becomes witness to this, he sends the cricket to the emperor, where the cricket wins all his matches. Satisfied, the emperor pays and promotes the magistrate, who in turn forgives the poor villager from all debts. A year later, the boy awakens to tells of his dream of turning into a cricket and fighting the emperor’s own champions.
The above two examples are just some of the ways that cricket culture has been captured by popular media. The prominence placed on crickets in China has even reached western audiences through the Disney film, Mulan. Western fairy tales today have their own animated cricket mascot: Jiminy Cricket.
Buying and Selling Crickets
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Chinese painting illustrating a Shanghai street vendor selling crickets