ABSTRACT
The early development of the Olympic Movement in China, though sluggish and difficult, was indeed China's first step toward the outer world, laying a solid foundation for its subsequent progress. China descended into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country after being frequently defeated in contests in terms of politics, military, and culture in the late Qing Dynasty and beyond. It was a crucial step to realise the 100-year aspiration to compete in international sports events such as the Olympics, where countries could compete on an equal footing, which was a seemingly available arena for Chinese people to compete fairly with Western powers and showcase themselves. In the early years of the Republic of China, the management of sports and general affairs was seized by Americans from the Young Men's Christian Association. China participated in the Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth Games under the Nanjing government during the Republican period, which was an extraordinary memory of the Olympics filled with passion and bitterness.
