The charm of sumo this year's sumo competition "Summer Field" in Tokyo came to an end today. When I first came to Japan, I was curious about this island country. Since I am full of enthusiasm, I can't be indifferent. Therefore, I watched several live TV games. I have been in Japan for less than two months, and I don't know much about this sports competition. I shouldn't be in a hurry to express my opinion. But there are two reasons why I am not afraid of being ridiculous and generous, so I started writing. First, everything is fresh, and people who know little about it are often new here and feel a lot. After a long time and more knowledge, they learn to ignore and have nothing to say. Secondly, making people laugh is not a bad thing. I advocate that writing articles should not be difficult for readers. It is undoubtedly one of the good purposes to write well and entertain readers. Making a fool of yourself can also make readers smile, which is not a bad thing. Liu Huangshu once said: Don't do small things with good intentions. I think what he said is quite right. After watching the sumo competition, there are still many doubts about this sport. I have asked some Japanese people, but some of them have not been solved and are still confused. The biggest question is where the charm of sumo is. Most sports competitions have evolved from early human labor and are quite practical. In track and field competitions, running fast is conducive to chasing wild animals, or it is easy to escape when being chased by wild animals. Running far can be used to send urgent messages over a long distance. Accurate throwing can improve the efficiency of obtaining wild animals or obtain better wild animal fur. Throwing away is of great benefit to hunting wild animals that are difficult to get close to. Bicycles, motorcycles, cars and other means of transportation are more practical than the speed on the highway in modern society. Good guys, bad guys, police gangsters, they are needed when they are hunted. China's martial arts and western boxing are both practical techniques in the cold weapon era, hand-to-hand combat in the firearms era, and today's street fighting. Of course, there are also sports that show beauty and give people beautiful enjoyment and pleasure, such as rhythmic gymnastics and dancing. On the other hand, it is difficult for me to understand the practicality of sumo. Sumo wrestlers are said to have great strength, but this strength is probably of little use in hunting and fighting. What else can you catch up with when you are so fat? It's easy to be caught up and hit-big, big target. If anyone says that a big fat man with a small leg and nose looks good and can give people beautiful enjoyment and pleasure, I am afraid that there will not be many people who believe it in the world today. The popular fashions in the world today are slim beauty, skinny beauty and feminine beauty. It is said that Japanese sumo originated from the conflict between two tribes in history, and the dispute was solved in this way. We know that tribal disputes in history are all swords and shadows, and the outcome is decided by two unarmed men. This method is almost naive and unbelievable. I asked many Japanese friends, and they all told me that the reason why I like watching sumo is that its rules are simple, the competition time is short, and the outcome is clear at a glance. It sounds a little strange. I used to be worried. Sumo wrestlers are so fat, which is not conducive to the happiness of family life, and their life expectancy is generally not long. It is said that they can only live to be over 60 years old. Can they find someone? I remember before I finished this question, a Japanese female professor laughed. She said that sumo wrestlers are very attractive. She once fell in love with a sumo wrestler who was eight years younger than her. A sumo wrestler is willing to marry, of course she is! She said that in addition to high income, sumo wrestlers also have great personality charm. But I asked many young Japanese girls if they would like to find a sumo wrestlers as a boyfriend and husband, and they basically refused with a smile. They say old women like them. I read an introduction material, which said that fewer and fewer people are willing and qualified to be sumo wrestlers, indicating that there are no successors. In order to change this situation, the Japanese sumo world opened its doors and began to accept foreigners into the sport. Now there are foreign athletes from Mongolia, the United States and China. Recently, the Japanese Sumo Association also organized athletes to hold a "Sumo Show" in China. I don't seem to understand its charm. The sport still has some vitality. The Beauty of Sumo Not long ago, I was puzzled and questioned about the charm of Japanese sumo. But after this stage of investigation and research, especially today, I personally watched the sumo competition for most of the day-"The 83rd Sumo Conference of East Japan University", and got a better understanding of sumo. I found that sumo is actually a sport that looks beautiful. First of all, sumo is simple and beautiful. Let's take a look at the venue first. According to the current development level of sports industry, what advanced equipment, luxurious furnishings and beautiful environment are not available? However, this sumo will not be affected. It is a mud pier about 10 square meter, two or three feet high. Put a circle in it with a straw rope and sprinkle some sand on the soil, and the game can begin. When the competition is fierce, athletes will inevitably make a mess of the sand surface, so take a broom and sweep it. Don't think that this broom has any advantages, that is, an ordinary broom that can no longer be ordinary can be easily seen in the hinterland. During the competition, athletes always sweat, so thirst is inevitable. At this time, unlike other competitions, the organizer never prepared any famous brand drinks such as mineral water, but put a wooden bucket for rural people in the corner of the venue, which was filled with raw water. Anyone who is thirsty will scoop it up with a small wooden spoon and have a drink. Looking at athletes again, it's not that you can't afford YN's hat, Adidas clothes or Nike shoes. However, a wide belt is tied around your waist and hip, your head is barefoot, and you go into battle. The only thing to pay attention to is to comb your hair shiny and tie a small lock on your head, that's all. This is just the enjoyment of professional players. Amateurs don't care about any hairstyle at all. It doesn't matter if they fly like a canopy and shine. At present, Tokyo has built a luxurious national sports museum for sumo, but this house is actually built for the audience. The competition itself doesn't need these, and athletes can't enjoy anything. For this sport and the contestants, there is no difference between playing in the National Sports Museum and playing in rural areas. Luxury and flashiness have become fashionable sports, and sumo is probably the most unpretentious competition. If we pay attention to thrift and oppose extravagance and waste in the future, golf and other sports will bear the brunt, and sumo can be used as a model. Secondly, sumo has classical beauty. What is classical beauty? It's simple, it's fat beauty. Japan once decided to "leave Asia and enter Europe", but at this point, there is no difference between East and West. In the western aesthetics represented by ancient Greece, obesity is beauty, and it is clear at a glance to look at the figure paintings and sculptures of that era; In the oriental classical aesthetics represented by China, being tall and fat is beauty, and the beauty praised in The Book of Songs is "understanding people". In China, not to mention people, a sheep is also fat. The word "sheep is big and beautiful" is a combination of sheep and big. According to eastern and western aesthetic standards, sumo wrestlers are deeply ignorant. It is said that the fattest player has reached more than 340 kilograms. However, it needs to be clear that ancient people have never been so lazy as human beings today. They have to take part in manual labor. So although they have a lot of meat, they are not lazy people who can extract a lot of oily meat. Today's sumo wrestlers are said to be not ordinary meat, but very powerful meat-muscle. Sumo wrestlers and classical beauties have this similarity, which is probably unexpected to most people. However, when I suggested that people like to watch sumo matches, is it the same as watching giant pandas-giant pandas are elegant, leisurely and leisurely-but it was denied by several Japanese female students. Sumo is a humorous sport, and everything needs to be studied to understand. Although Lu Xun's "Madman" once said this, we don't abandon it blindly because of being human, and we have to admit that he does have some truth. My emotion comes from watching Japanese sumo. Soon after I came to Tokyo, I wrote a short article saying that sports competitions usually come from useful things in real life, but I don't see any practicality in sumo. Between the lines, in addition to doubts, there is considerable disdain. However, after a period of research, I found that my point of view needs to be revised: I now find that sumo is a game with a good sense of humor. Sports competitions can be divided into three categories: wits, courage and cruelty. Chess, Go, China Chess, Bridge, Upgrade, Tractor and other chess competitions are brain games, which can be said to be a battle of wits. Jumping head-down into the water from a height, doing somersaults on wooden irons with different thicknesses, driving motorcycles, cars and other fast things on winding roads, it is dangerous to chase after each other. Diving, gymnastics, racing and the like are obviously the games of the brave, which is commendable. Holding a big fist and hitting each other in the face, punching and kicking others with your feet, or simply picking up some hard and sharp guys and stabbing people, is vicious. Boxing, martial arts and other competitions obviously belong to fighting. According to this classification, Japanese sumo has no ownership. You see, thinking about calculating others all day is very brain-consuming and mind-consuming, and the calories chewed in have become a trick that harms others and benefits others. Therefore, people who are brave and resourceful have one common feature, that is, monkeys are thin. Sumo wrestlers are completely different. At the critical moment, they jump forward desperately, either to save their opponents from the circle or to save themselves from the circle, and solve the problem quickly in a few seconds, without too much thinking and no time at all. Because there is no need to ponder and calculate, all sumo wrestlers eat well, sleep soundly, and are broad-minded and fat. Divers, drivers, and brave athletes all have enough courage to rob banks, and enough speed to make well-trained police lag behind and ensure their safe departure. And sumo wrestlers don't have to hang in the air, stop, turn around and play tricks, and rush to compete. They can walk leisurely like ducks and let their meat make waves. Boxing and martial arts pay attention to speed, accuracy and strength, and the purpose is nothing more than "you hurt me" and "you die." Sumo is not like that at all. Its purpose is very simple, that is, to throw the opponent out of the circle or throw himself on the ground, without even the slightest idea of hurting the opponent. At best, push your opponent down or chew sand with your mouth. Anyway, sumo wrestlers's flesh has enough thickness and elasticity, and it is not easy to be damaged. In a word, sumo is as irrelevant as wits and cruelty. I watched a lot of live TV broadcasts and live broadcasts of sumo competitions for most of the day. I think sumo is actually a very humorous sport. The body is huge like that, and regardless of the four seasons, the exposed area of the whole body reaches more than 90%. It is intentional and makes people laugh. After watching the game for half a day, a colleague said with great satisfaction, "I saw more fat people today than all the fat people I saw in previous decades!" " At the beginning of the game, two huge bodies suddenly collided and crackled, which made people feel fun; One of them stood unsteadily, and the other stumbled out of the circle surrounded by straw ropes, which made you feel interesting; After a brief stalemate, two huge bodies fell down one after another, which made people laugh; If one of them chews with his mouth or his feet are upside down, the audience will applaud, which is also kind. You can have a relaxed and happy mood after watching sumo without linking other people's winning or losing with your feelings, honors and interests. So I suggest that people with depression might as well watch more sumo competitions. [Excerpted from my book Beijing and Tokyo Essays]