The old man diving in Tianjin is all over the news. Archaeological evidence shows that people have been diving there at least 2,500 years ago!

Recently, the Tianjin diving grandpa has become popular on the Internet, and the diving location, Lion Grove Bridge, has become a popular check-in spot. As the number of onlookers increased, on September 4, the topic #天津大爷已沒空跳水了# became a hot search!

Diving is a human activity with a very long history. Let us learn about the origin and development history of diving!

Tomb of the Diver: Archaeological Evidence of Diving in Ancient Western Times

Many historians believe that diving, a modern water sport, actually has a very long history. It was born along with the skill of swimming. Since humans learned to swim, they have started simple diving activities. This view has been confirmed in Western archaeology - the traces of diving have been found in many relics or cultural relics of ancient Greece and Rome.

Archaeologists discovered an Etruscan cemetery in the ruins of the ancient city of Tarquinia on the Apennine Peninsula. A mural in a tomb in the cemetery clearly depicts a scene of ancient Etruscans fishing - the boy in the painting is jumping from a high rock into the water. The painting dates back to 500 BC, at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period in China.

Mural in a tomb at the ruins of the ancient city of Tarquinia, depicting the ancient Etruscans diving to catch fish, BC500 (Source: Penn Museum)

The Mediterranean is such a vast sea, and it is not only the Etruscans who enjoy diving. The "neighbors" next door - the ancient Greeks are not to be outdone. An ancient Greek vase now in the British Museum depicts a scene of several ancient Greek boys playing on the beach: two boys are swimming in the sea, and another boy is diving from a cliff. The vase is dated around 400 BC, but don't think that the ancient Greeks were behind the Etruscans in diving.

A boy diving scene in an ancient Greek vase painting, dating back to about 400 BC, now in the British Museum (Source: Penn Museum)

The most famous archaeological evidence of diving is known as the "Divers' Tomb". It is a small cemetery about 1.5 kilometers south of the ancient Greek city of Paestum. There is a tomb consisting of five limestone slabs, all of which are painted with murals. Among them, on the limestone slab on the top of the tomb, a young man jumped into a pool with a tree on each side of the pool. The slab dates back to 500 BC and is now in the Paestum Museum.

Fresco on the top of the Tomb of the Diver, 500BC, now in the Paestum Museum in Italy (Source: WIKI)

Although we have found archaeological clues for diving, we still have no way of knowing what the diving regulations were at that time, whether it was spontaneous or there were already some established rules, until new archaeological evidence is available. But in any case, not long after Westerners started diving for fun, Easterners, whose diving conditions were not as good as those of Westerners, were not idle either, and they also began to try diving into the water!

Write a Diving Poem: Ancient Chinese Diving in Poetry

There are very few documents about diving in China during the pre-Qin period. The earliest record of diving-like sports is in the Book of Jin. In the story of "Zhou Chu Eliminating Three Evils" in the Book of Jin, there is a record of "Chu throwing himself into the water to fight the dragon", which means that this man named Zhou Chu jumped into the water and fought with the dragon. The "throwing himself into the water" here should refer to diving. Although it is a legend, it can reflect the earliest observation of diving by the people of the pre-Qin period.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, as society prospered and entertainment activities became popular, diving had a chance to show itself. In the Yin Yu Lu written by Zhao Lin of the Tang Dynasty, it is said: "Cao Zan, a Hu performer in Hongzhou, was also good at playing with water. He jumped into the water from a hundred-foot-high mast without taking off his clothes and sat on the water." He jumped into the water from a height of more than a hundred feet, but was able to sit still on the water. This is obviously an artistic technique, but we can see from it that there was a popular sport similar to diving at that time.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the influence of poetry that was chanted across the country was still there, and naturally diving would not be missed. The "Palace Poems" written by Lady Huarui of the Former Shu Dynasty said: "The ladies rarely see the water swing, and they rush to open the pearl curtain in front of the palace." This means that when the palace ladies heard that someone was playing on the "water swing" on the lake in the palace, they rushed to open the pearl curtain and compete to watch. What is a water swing? Lady Huarui did not give a specific introduction. However, according to research, this is the folk diving sport that was popular in the Song Dynasty - water swing.

The national diving sport in the Song Dynasty - water swing

The notes and essays written by Meng Yuanlao in the Song Dynasty, "Dongjing Menghualu", give a very detailed introduction to the playing methods and forms of water swings. "Dongjing Menghualu" records: "There are two painted boats with swings on them. At the stern of the boat, performers climb up poles. The military courts on the left and right supervise the drums and flutes. Another person climbs up and kicks the swings, swings the swings flat, and throws himself into the water with somersaults. This is called 'water swings'". We can get the following information:

1. The overall shape of the water swing: place a swing, divide it into two parts and fix it on a large boat with bright colors using a wooden frame.

2. Specific ways to play the water swing: The performer swings hard, relying on the swing force to raise the body higher and higher. When the body is almost level with the crossbar of the top frame of the swing, the performer jumps into the air, performs difficult somersaults and other fancy moves in the air, and then jumps into the water.

This gives us a clear picture: the swing is similar to the springboard of modern diving, and the wooden frame plays the role of a ladder. The difference is that modern springboard diving uses the elastic force of the springboard, while the water swing uses the swing force of the swing.

Water swing (Photo from the Internet)

Song Huizong himself loved water swing very much and promoted it. He issued an edict stipulating that a national "water swing" performance competition be held every year, and all the funds would be paid by the court. After selecting water swing masters from all over the country, they were selected into the palace to prepare to participate in the water swing competition held by the royal family. After the performance, Song Huizong Zhao Ji would give certain rewards to the outstanding ones as an encouragement. Unfortunately, the Southern Song Dynasty did not pay much attention to this sport. After the Song Dynasty, water swing gradually disappeared from historical records.

Unexpectedly, hundreds of years later, Westerners who had been practicing cliff diving on the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea for thousands of years gradually evolved this sport into a competitive game.

The stylized diving in ancient China gradually died out. On the other hand, in the major seas of Europe, the "diving" activity has been common since ancient times. By the 17th century, people were no longer limited to cliff diving. In the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as ports on the Red Sea and some Mediterranean coasts, the activity of climbing up to the mast and then diving gradually became popular. Gradually, people who played diving began to compete, but don't get me wrong, at the beginning they didn't compete in air postures or splashes, but who could jump farther.

The prototype of modern diving: long-distance diving

Looking through European historical documents, you will find a sport that is the prototype of diving called "plunge for distance", which can be translated into Chinese as long-distance diving, diving diving, or simply and figuratively called "water long jump".

The earliest origin of long-distance diving is unknown, but according to the book "Ralph Thomas Swimming" published in the UK in 1904, long-distance diving competitions were already held in the UK in the 1860s. This statement was confirmed in 19th-century documents. In the book "British Country Sports" published by John Henry Walsh in 1877, it was written that a man named "Young" jumped to a distance of 56 feet (about 17.06 meters) in 1870. It also pointed out that as early as 1852, a swimmer could jump to 53 feet (about 16.15 meters).

In 1904, the Olympic swimming team from the New York Athletic Club of the United States won the top three places in the long-distance diving competition of that Olympic Games (Source: Wikipedia)

The popularity of long-distance diving was keenly captured by relevant associations. In 1883, the British Amateur Swimming Association held the first "Long-Distance Diving Championship" and initially determined the competition system for long-distance diving: long-distance diving is a sport of jumping into the water in a standing position. By taking off, rushing into the water from various heights, and then the person who can naturally glide underwater to the farthest distance is the winner. In addition, since the contestants cannot control their drifting position in a natural state after jumping into the water, it is stipulated that they jump one by one and record the results in sequence.

The take-off phase of a long-distance dive, drawn in 1893 (Source: Wikipedia)

The diving phases of a long-distance dive, drawn in 1893 (Source: Wikipedia)

The floating phase of a long-distance dive, drawn in 1893 (Source: Wikipedia)

Entering the Olympics, the era of long-distance diving

Soon, long-distance diving had another great opportunity. The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, but it was not immediately included in the Olympics. Eight years later, at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, long-distance diving was listed as an official event (and the only time it was included). That year, William Dickey of the United States won the gold medal with a score of 62 feet 6 inches (about 19.05 meters).

The first half of the 20th century was a carnival era for long-distance diving. It was not only popular in Europe, but also became a standard sport in the United States. In 1933, British long-distance diver Francis Parrington set an unprecedented world record with a score of 86 feet 8 inches (about 26.4 meters). However, after the 1920s, long-distance diving gradually lost its charm. Not only was it successively eliminated from the Olympics, but even the long-standing "Long-Diving Championship" came to an end in 1937.

An unexpected inspiration from the gymnastics team: creating new things on the high platform

So how come diving is still in our Olympics today? Today’s diving is about various fancy postures in the air and the effect of entering the water. In fact, while diving and diving are developing, gymnasts have begun to use their "little ideas".

Gymnastics has a very long history. As early as the Middle Ages in Europe, competitive gymnastics was subdivided. However, we know that gymnastics is actually a very risky sport. Whether in official competitions or in daily training, gymnasts have to face hard ground as the final landing point. If there is a mistake, it may cause a fracture or even death. In this way, the safety of daily training is particularly important. Gymnastics coaches and athletes are thinking: In addition to standardizing movements, what other ways can be used to reduce training risks and thus escort official competitions?

In the mid-to-late 19th century, they watched the long-distance diving that was becoming a national craze, and excitedly thought: Yes, water! German and Swedish gymnasts first tried it. In summer, they set up some diving platforms of a certain height on the coast, and then from leaving the diving platform to entering the water, they completed various fine gymnastic movements in the air, such as twisting the body, somersaults, etc., and finally used the water as a relatively safe "landing point". As a result, diving was integrated with various graceful movement elements, which was praised as "fancy diving".

This ingenious training method of high diving attracted a large number of fans. Soon, this new training method was introduced to Britain. In 1893, the British built the world's first diving platform designed for high diving training in Gaomen Pond, with a height of nearly 5 meters.

Two years later, the Royal Life Saving Society held the first high diving championship. The competition was divided into two high diving platforms, 5 meters and 10 meters, and the take-off methods were standing jump and running jump. It was in this event that Otto Hagborg and CF Mauritzi, two athletes from Sweden, showed the world various fancy moves on the diving platform, thus officially introducing the concept of fancy diving into competitive competitions. In the early 20th century, the first fancy diving championship was held in London, England.

Double jump from platform to platform, women’s entry into the sport: the final form of modern diving

While long-distance diving was a flash in the pan at the 1904 Olympics and gradually declined, fancy diving ushered in its spring. At the 1908 London Olympics, fancy diving was listed as an official Olympic event. At the same time, as the competitiveness of diving events increased, divers had higher and higher requirements for reserving sufficient take-off heights. The rigidity of the diving platform could no longer fully meet the requirements of diving events at lower heights, so the springboard was born.

Swedish diving star Arvid Spångberg competes in the high diving competition at the 1908 London Olympics (Source: Wikipedia)

During the 1908 London Olympics, the International Aquatics Federation was established, and the Federation re-established the rules of diving competitions: 10-meter and 5-meter heights were set as platform diving, and springboard diving was added. This event can be said to have laid the foundation for modern diving competitions. It is worth mentioning that the springboards at that time were made of wood, and they were used for nearly half a century until the 1960s, when fiberglass springboards were developed and put into use.

If we carefully sort out the diving competition list of the 1908 London Olympics, we will find that all the participating athletes are men, and there are no women. In fact, women were not allowed to participate in diving competitions at that time. However, in the following 1912 Stockholm Olympics, women were allowed to participate in diving competitions for the first time. At that time, there was a special rule that women could not do various fancy moves in diving.

Strange, if they can't do fancy moves, how can women jump? Could it be that they are reviving the "long-distance diving" in the 1904 Olympics? In fact, the soul of the sport of plunge for distance is still there. Around the same year as the Stockholm Olympics, in order to warm up for women to participate in the diving competition, a sport called plain dive was introduced into the competition. Its characteristic is that there is no fancy moves, and you dive directly from the platform.

In the 1912 Olympics, women were only allowed to participate in high platform diving. In the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, women added the springboard event, but they could only do ordinary diving. In 1928, high platform diving and high platform fancy diving were combined into "high diving", and women were allowed to participate. In this way, high platform diving and springboard diving have gone through nearly a hundred years of ups and downs together until today.

Comprehensive sources: People's Daily Online, Tadpole Musical Notation