ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a brief introduction to the development of mainstream social ideas in 'ancient' China and considers the role 'sport' had played in this traditional Chinese society; the development of Christianity in China before 1840; the relationship between sport, the 'Muscular Christianity Movement' and Christian missions; and relationship between sport and Young Men's Christian Associations (YMCA). The introduction of the idea of muscular Christianity in nineteenth-century Anglo-American schools became one of the most significant instruments in the development of sport and physical training in the modern educational system. Muscular Christianity emphasized both physical and spiritual development and was influential within both Catholicism and Protestantism. It stressed the need for 'energetic Christian activism in combination with ideal of vigorous masculinity'. The basic premise of Victorian muscular Christianity was that taking part in sport could contribute to 'the development of Christian morality, physical fitness and "manly" character'. The doctrine of muscular Christianity thus stipulates that one's physical condition has religious significance.
