No, Soccer Today Did Not Get Going in China

This post makes the following claim:

Cuju, which literally means “kick the ball with foot,” was a popular game during the Han Dynasty (206 BC- 220 AD). Later, it spread to neighboring countries like Japan, Korea and Vietnam, and eventually led to what we know today as soccer.

Not at all. While historians of soccer are willing to allow that soccer or soccer-like sports were present centuries ago in many different cultures, soccer as we know it today began in England in the nineteenth century. It was there that the rules were formalized, after which the game with those rules spread to Scotland, the rest of Europe, South America, and the rest of the world. China's game was not a part of this.

Comments

[Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY)]

No, soccer has its origin in Central Asia. It is a horseless, goatless Englishman's version of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi

[John Pepple]

Thanks for the link. I had previously known about this sport only from James Michener's book "Caravans," but he makes it seem like it's related to football and rugby in that all that was necessary to score was to carry the "ball" over a line. But it seems there is a "goal" that is involved, according to your link.