The word "swimming" can be found in a verse in the "Book of Songs," Chinese earliest collection of poems. It reflects the practice of the sport in ancient times. Ancients swimming against swift currents are also described in books of the pre-Qin periods (prior to 221 BC). Swimmers are seen in an amphibious battle vividly portrayed in the designs of an unearthed bronze pot of the Warring States period (475-221 BC). Four women frolicking in the water are pictured in one mural of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534) in the grottoes of Dunhuang.
The superb swimming skills in ancient China were best demonstrated at aquatic meets on the Oiantang River in Zhejiang Province. Historical records have it that on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month every year, when high tides surged forward with the momentum of an avalanche at the mouth of the Oiantang River, local young people would swim against the mighty waves, some holding up colored flags while "bobbing and swirling ahead with a hundred strokes," some standing on small boats and manoeuvring their way through the mounting waves with perfect ease. This was what was called "playing with the tides."
With abundant rivers and lakes, China boasts many good swimmers. Even today old swimming styles like "goupashi" (dog paddle), "zhamengzi" (head-long diving) and "biandanfu" (treading water) are still quite popular among the people.
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