Ancient paintings which allegedly prove that the Chinese invented the game of golf up to 1 000 years ago are to go on display in Hong Kong in February, a news report said on Monday.
The pictures from the 13th and 14th centuries show Chinese noblemen hitting balls into holes with clubs that look remarkably similar to modern golf clubs.
The paintings will go on display in an exhibition titled Ancient Chinese Pastimes in Hong Kong’s Heritage Museum from March to June, the South China Morning Post reported.
Golf is widely believed to have been invented by the Scots in the 15th century but some Chinese historians argue that the game was being played in China by the year 945.
They point to evidence of a game called ”chuiwan” — ”chui” meaning to hit and ”wan” meaning ball — and say the game was taken to Europe by Mongolian travellers.
Chief curator of the Hong Kong museum Tom Ming said: ”The game shown in these drawings is very similar to modern day golf. [This is] very strong evidence that we invented the game.” – Sapa-DPA