Asian Ethnology 83-2 | article Contentious Cantonese Rock Fights and the Culture of Violence in the Early Modern Canton Delta

Robert J. Antony

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This article examines an important but little studied aspect of folk culture in the Canton Delta in the early modern period (roughly 1800s–1940s); namely, ritualized rock fights. The yearly rock fights were popular forms of entertainment and competitive sport not only in China but also in Korea and Japan. They were ritualized annual events occurring during the lunar New Year holidays, and Double Five and Double Nine festivals. Many people regarded the rock fights as necessary for the community’s well-being and good health. For the youthful rock fighters, who came mostly from poor, marginalized families, such blood sports were a necessary preparation and training for martial skills needed in life. These acts of violence and blood rituals were part of a well-established folk tradition deeply embedded in the everyday life and folk customs of southern China.