How Did a Hemp Rope Divide the Playground into Two Teams?

In the 1970s and early 1980s, some Chinese schools included tug-of-war in sports days or after-school activities. The equipment did not belong to any child. A thick hemp rope was kept in the sports storeroom and brought onto the playground for the occasion. A strip of red cloth marked its middle, while chalk or lime made a centre line on the ground. At a signal from a teacher or pupil, the loose rope suddenly became taut.

The game appeared to be a simple test of strength, but timing often mattered as much as muscle. Someone called “one, two” while the team leant back, drove through the feet and pulled together. If everyone strained independently, their effort was lost in uneven movement. Classmates outside the line also took part by watching the red marker, calling the rhythm and cheering. The result was decided in public, so the rules were more visible than in many informal street games.

Ropes, surfaces and team arrangements differed between schools, so this was never one uniform national memory. It nevertheless represents a common kind of school activity from the period: scarce equipment was shared rather than individually owned. What endured was not the rope itself, but the brief experience of making many different bodies act to one beat. Once the rope returned to the storeroom, that temporary team dissolved with it.