History of Polo in China, hand painted on silk laid on board, with a typed extract by Herbert Giles on the history of polo in China, framed, 50.5 x 73

History of Polo in China, hand painted on silk laid on board, with a typed extract by Herbert Giles on the history of polo in China, framed, 50.5 x 73.5 cm The earliest mention of the game dates to 710, when the emperor assembled hi court at a retreat, the Pear Orchard. The T'ang dynasty (618 - 907) encouraged polo, with Ming Huan an avid practitioner. During the Song dynasty (960 - 1279) confucian scholars articulated their concern about the game. Polo went into abeyance until modern times and in the 1920's there were clubs in Hankow, Hong Kong, Peking and Tientsin. With the Japanese invasion in 1937 polo stopped again and was resumed in the 21st century with clubs in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin.