Baoding iron ball, generally 4 ~ 5cm in diameter, is bright and shiny, with balls and soundboards inside. Two of them are a pair, and their voices are high and low, so they are called "a man and a woman". Put two balls in your hand and move them with five fingers to make them turn forward or backward, making them sound high, soft and pleasant. Baoding iron ball has a long history. At first, it was only circulated among the people as a kind of enjoyment or protective equipment. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a kind of stove specially made iron balls. The popularity of iron balls attracted the attention of the imperial court and began to collect tributes from the people. Blacksmith artists with unique skills were called into the palace to make iron balls for the royal family and dignitaries to enjoy.
Baoding iron ball is a solid ball. In Qing Dynasty, a court blacksmith introduced music to make iron balls in order to eliminate his loneliness when playing iron balls, and changed solid balls into hollow iron balls with sound. The craftsman retired in his later years and settled in Ximachi Village in the southern suburbs of Baoding. He still makes iron balls for a living. At first, it was self-produced and sold, and later it was commissioned by the south dry Shiqiao store in Gulou. In order to protect the reputation and patent of the product, the craftsman strictly abides by the secret recipe, makes his own products, does not accept apprentices, and only passes them on to children to prevent this technology from being passed on to people with other surnames. His last descendant gave birth to only one daughter, and she was clever. Out of curiosity, he learned the ball-making technique from his father. Father strictly abides by the ancestral rules and refuses to teach. My daughter is not discouraged and often licks paper outside the window late at night to steal skills. After the old craftsman died, the girl got married and started a new stove to make iron balls. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, several families in Shiqiao, Baoding, Gansu, had made iron balls, which were not only used as fitness equipment, but also as a fresh gift to honor parents or give to relatives and friends.
Baoding iron ball is famous far and wide. 1937 After the Lugouqiao Incident broke out, the Japanese army captured Baoding, and the iron ball artists were forced to stop production due to the environment. 1955, the machine iron production cooperative in Baoding first resumed the production of iron balls. From 65438 to 0966, when the "Cultural Revolution" began, iron balls were regarded as "four old", and production was interrupted again. 1975 10 Shang Zhen, former chairman of the Kuomintang Hebei Province, came to Baoding from Japan to visit relatives, hoping to get a pair of iron balls. Because there was no production unit at that time, the person in charge of reception found a pair of iron balls in the home of an old worker who had produced iron balls through various channels. After being repaired and polished, it was presented to Shang Zhen, which attracted the attention of the local government. 1979, Dingzhou began to develop and produce. 198 1 year, Baoding farm tools factory (later changed to iron ball factory) also resumed the production of iron balls. The iron balls of the two factories are all stainless steel, named Wang Tiejiang. Call it a fitness ball. 1984, Baoding established a fitness ball association to study the traditional skills of fitness balls, and successively sorted out various sports skills such as "double ball rotation", "multi-ball rotation", "throwing into the air", "multi-person docking" and "rolling up and down". 1985, Baoding held the first iron ball performance appraisal meeting, and then established the iron ball technical performance team. He was invited to Beijing and other parts of the country for performances and technical guidance, and introduced Baoding iron ball with a long history to the elderly and foreigners all over the country, which opened up a new road for the popularization of Baoding fitness ball.
Baoding fitness ball is well-known overseas and exported to dozens of countries and regions such as the United States, Japan, Singapore, Poland, Australia and the Philippines. Mr. Pires, the president of American Trade Association and former mayor of Kant, was recommended to exercise with fitness balls for half an hour every day, and publicized the benefits of fitness balls with audio and video recordings. 1982, he personally went to Baoding and ordered 6000 pairs of fitness balls. In April of the same year, American newspapers published photos and articles about fitness balls. In June, Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao published a news report about fitness ball, entitled "As big as an egg, made of metal, Baoding fitness ball benefits American patients". Hong Kong businessman Lu started a fitness ball business in Hong Kong and sold it all over the world. 1On April 27th, 984, Chinese leaders presented two pairs of fitness balls to American President Ronald Reagan in the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People. President Reagan said happily that he must take time out to practice this new sport.