This book collects and studies the colourful sports and history of countries along the historical Silk Road from Chang'an to Athens, including a wide range of sports ranging from polo and chess to archery and lion dance. It will examine, research and analyse a large number of sports cultural relics and documentary materials unearthed by archaeology in recent years, and comprehensively collects and classifies these sports materials which belong to different countries along the Silk Road. In doing so, it aims to promote the sports forms of these countries and set the context of sports development, so as to raise awareness about the exchange and dissemination of sports culture between ancient China and Western countries.

Through the use of archaeology, anthropology, sociology, and iconography, this book utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to research Chinese sports. A unique aspect of this book is that it documents the history and culture of Chinese sports through relics of mythology, rock paintings, painted pottery, oracle bones, bronzes, tomb bricks, paintings, porcelain, copper mirrors, and ancient books and literature. Through illustrations and text, the book traces the origin, development, evolution, and dissemination of ancient Chinese sports through various historical periods.