Beating eggs with bamboo strips is one of the traditional sports widely spread among the Gelao people in Guizhou Province. It is mainly spread in Daozhen, Pingba County and other counties. The Gelao people in Pingba County mainly beat eggs with bamboo strips in Dagouchang Village, Gaofeng Town, Dagouchang Group. Dagouchang Group is 25 kilometers away from Pingba County. It is located in the middle of the slope of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the northwest side of the Miaoling Mountains. To the north is Baiyan Village in Gaofeng Town. It is located at the southern end of Gaofeng Mountain Range in Pingba County. The mountain range is mainly limestone. It belongs to the dissolved peak valley. The mountain strata are gently folded and the peak slope is greater than 25 degrees. Dagouchang Village is surrounded by mountains. There are large fields in front of the village. The Maxian River, which originates in Changshun County, enters the country beside Huolong Bridge in Pingba. It flows from west to north through Dagouchang to Qingzhen Dairy Farm and flows into Hongfeng Lake. The geographical location of Dagouchang Village belongs to the northern subtropical monsoon humid climate. Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County is located in the northernmost part of Guizhou Province, straddling the main road between Guizhou and Sichuan. It has a total area of 2,156 square kilometers, and has jurisdiction over 10 towns, 4 townships (including 1 ethnic township), and 98 villages (communities). The total population of the county is about 340,000, of which about 150,000 are Gelao people. Due to the high mountains and deep valleys, the overlapping peaks, the blocked transportation, the inconvenience of travel, and the coexistence of multiple ethnic groups, it has formed a special geographical environment for the growth and inheritance of ethnic folk culture. It belongs to the mid-subtropical humid plateau mountainous area, with lush bamboo and wood, and the Gelao people's worship of bamboo, which eventually gave birth to the traditional sports competitive sport "beating bamboo eggs" with profound cultural connotations of the root bamboo of the Gelao. No one knows when the Gelao people's "beating bamboo eggs" competitive game began. Some Gelao people believe that it originated in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is said that beating bamboo eggs may have been created together with the earliest folk entertainment activity "goose holding eggs" (using stones as eggs, and then participants snatch them from each other). The difference is that the Gelao people improved the stone eggs into bamboo eggs, and later the martial Gelao people combined it with traditional martial arts, stick techniques and entertainment activities to form various ways of playing bamboo eggs. There is a folk story that a shy Gelao boy mistakenly gave a bamboo egg with copper coins to the most beautiful girl in the village after drinking. Unexpectedly, he won the girl's heart and they lived together from then on, becoming a good story. Since then, giving bamboo eggs to your sweetheart has become a very important part of the bamboo egg beating competition game. Beating "bamboo eggs" is an ancient folk entertainment activity of the Gelao people. This activity is generally carried out during the slack season, and is most grand from the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The production method of "bamboo eggs" is: cut the bamboo, remove the yellow bamboo strips, and weave the green bamboo strips. The size varies, generally as big as a fist or a small bowl. After weaving, put some things that can make a sound when thrown inside, some put copper coins, some put sand and stones, and some put soybeans. Its shape is like an egg, so it is named "bamboo eggs". It means many children and grandchildren, and prosperity. This kind of "bamboo eggs" with copper coins is also a gift from Gelao young men to young women. The engagement at this time is often more solemn than other occasions, and it has the meaning of engagement. On the first day of the first lunar month every year, the village elders start to organize a team to play "bamboo eggs". There are several ways to play it, each of which is different. They are mainly divided into holding, kicking, throwing, and hitting. Playing method 1: Choose a spacious courtyard and draw a dividing line in the middle. Team A and Team B, with different numbers of people, stand on one side, or throw the ball with their hands, or kick it with their feet. The bamboo ball flies in the air, high or low, near or far, straight or oblique. At the same time, the things inside the bamboo ball make a rustling sound, and the side in the territory touched or landed by the bamboo ball loses. Ball method 2: It is carried out in the wilderness of barren mountains, with no limit on the number of people and no grouping. During the game, one person throws the "bamboo egg" into the air at will, and the others run to the place where the "bamboo egg" falls. The one who grabs the "bamboo egg" first will then throw it out. The side with the most throws wins. Playing method 3: "Change nests". In the courtyard or on flat ground, dig a round pit larger than the "bamboo egg" as a big nest, and dig a small nest around it according to the number of participants. The distance between the small nest and the big nest should be about 2 meters. One person stands in each small nest. One person is chosen by drawing lots as the attacker. Each person holds a wooden stick or bamboo stick. The attacker drives the ball into the big nest. The one who drives it in wins. The people guarding the small nests on all sides use sticks to block the attack. They must not throw, kick or touch the human body. When the blocker leaves the nest to block, the attacker can seize the nest. The one who hits the nest wins. The one who loses the nest is punished to chase "bamboo eggs". When chasing the ball, if you break through the blocker and drive the ball into the big nest, you shout "Change nests", and the blocker loses first. When everyone shouts to change nests, you have to fight for a new nest. Those who fail to grab a new nest are punished to chase "bamboo eggs", and a new round begins. Playing method 4: There are more than two participants. The location can be in the courtyard or on the flat ground in the wild. When playing, you must draw lots first. Whoever draws the right one will hold the "bamboo egg", also known as goose holding eggs. The method is to put the "bamboo egg" on the flat ground. The person holding the egg bends down and puts his hands on the ground and protects the egg with his body. Others start to grab the egg around him. The person holding the egg grabs and kicks with his hands. Whoever grabs or kicks first will hold the egg. Whoever holds the egg less times wins, and so on and so forth. Through this activity, the body is exercised. At the same time, young men and women of the Gelao nationality can take this opportunity to make friends, talk about love, and enhance friendship. Beating bamboo eggs is a unique sports competition of the Gelao nationality. It can be carried out as long as there is a relatively flat open space. The most distinctive feature is that it combines traditional martial arts with entertainment activities. Its gameplay includes kicking, holding, throwing, hitting and other skills. The Gelao people's "beating bamboo eggs" is a colorful and distinctive folk competitive entertainment activity that reflects the Gelao people's love of life, positive attitude, and courage to fight. It allows Gelao people of all ages and genders to participate in it. It is a sport that includes a variety of sports skills and a folk entertainment activity that carries a lot of Gelao folk culture. In recent years, due to the rapid economic development, people's material and cultural living standards have continued to improve, and cultural and entertainment methods have gradually diversified. Especially now that many young people are working and studying outside, there are many cultural and entertainment activities. According to the survey, most young people nowadays don't know about this ancient competitive activity. Instead, they will be replaced by entertainment and sports such as poker, mahjong, singing, dancing, basketball, and football. Now only a few elderly people over the age of 60 know about this competitive activity, and only one or two elderly people can make bamboo eggs. Some of the difficult skills no longer exist. The traditional competitive entertainment activity of "beating bamboo eggs" is on the verge of extinction. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)