Shuttlecock kicking is a national sports activity with a long history in China. Doing this activity often can exercise muscles and promote health. In the ancient capital Beijing, kicking shuttlecock also has a poetic name-Xiangling. When did shuttlecock kicking originate? Who initiated it? This has always been a matter of great interest to China sports experts. There is such a legend: "Made in the Yellow Emperor". At that time, it was called "Dong", not "Dun". It was an instrument for practicing samurai. "Dong" is interpreted as "fur pill" in Chinese dictionaries. Obviously, "Maowan" and shuttlecock are two different things. Another legend said: "It was created in Yue Wumu, and it has the qualities of an arrow feather and stone. It is played to alleviate the boredom of the army." There is no reliable left evidence for this legend. "Arrow" is different from "needle". This is not credible either.

According to historical documents and unearthed cultural relics, kicking shuttlecock originated in Han Dynasty in China and prevailed in Six Dynasties, Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. There is a record in Volume II of the Biography of Monks in the Tang Dynasty, Biography of Buddhist Zen Master XIX: A man named Batuo went to Luoyang and met 12-year-old Huiguang on the way. He kicked the shuttlecock 500 times in a row at Tianjie well site, and the audience was amazed. Born in the Northern Wei Dynasty (467-499 AD), Barto was the founder of Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan Province. He likes Huiguang very much and accepts him as an apprentice. Huiguang became a young monk in Shaolin Temple.

In the book The Origin of Things in Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng recorded shuttlecock kicking in detail: "Nowadays, children use lead and tin as money to dress chicken feathers, which are called shuttlecocks, in groups of three or five, which are various, including being cheap inside and outside, dragging and grabbing, bending their knees, protruding their stomachs and beads."

Shuttlecock kicking developed further in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and there were more records about shuttlecock kicking. Dong Liu, a scholar in the Ming Dynasty and a famous essayist in the history of China, wrote in "A Brief View of the Imperial Capital": "The willow is green and empty, and the willow kicks the shuttlecock and dies." Kicking shuttlecock has become the content of folk proverbs and developed into a skill sport for several people to kick together. By the end of Qing Dynasty, shuttlecock kicking reached its peak, and more and more people took part in it, not only for physical exercise, but also for calligraphy and painting, playing chess, flying kites, raising flowers and birds, singing Huang Er and so on. Some people are proud of kicking shuttlecock. Therefore, shuttlecock kicking activities are more extensive, especially for young participants. At that time, there was such a nursery rhyme: "A shuttlecock, kicked in half, played a flower drum, wrapped a flower thread, kicked inside and turned outside, and the Eight Immortals crossed the sea, 99, 100." It shows that kicking shuttlecock has reached a quite popular level. Folk shuttlecock lovers practice hard and pass it on by word of mouth. Take Beijing as an example. Every time there is a temple fair in urban and rural areas, experts from all walks of life meet on foot, watch games and train novices. Very lively.