Purpose: Ethnic traditional sports culture is an important component of Chinese traditional culture, which can enhance Chinese cultural confidence and achieve a cultural powerhouse. This study aimed to (1) explore the progress of research on traditional Chinese sports culture and (2) analyze the future development trends of traditional Chinese sports culture. Methods: This study searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database using the keyword "ethnic traditional sports culture", and a total of 666 related articles were retrieved from 2019 to 2024. By utilizing the co-occurrence chart, timeline chart, and prominent words of keywords in Citespace visualization software, this study analyzed the current research status, research hotspots, and evolutionary trends of traditional Chinese sports culture since 2019. Results: (1) Current research status: Yu Zhenkai, Zhu Yacheng, Wei Xiaokang, and others are prolific authors, and most of their research is focused on individuals. The institutions with many publications from Chengdu Sport University, Jishou University, and Shanghai University of Sport, but they have not yet formed large-scale cooperation. (2) The research hotspots can be summarized into four knowledge groups: promoting traditional ethnic sports culture, creating an ecological environment for traditional ethnic sports culture, promoting traditional ethnic sports in universities, and enhancing confidence in traditional ethnic culture. (3) Future research should focus on three aspects: the traditional sports culture of Chinese ethnic minorities, enhancing the confidence of Chinese traditional culture, and promoting the implementation path of national traditional sports culture. Conclusion: At present, the research on traditional Chinese sports culture is not rich, and there are problems such as insufficient understanding and weak foundation for development, including facing difficulties in promotion. In the future, we should vigorously carry out traditional ethnic sports activities, revitalize traditional ethnic sports culture, enhance national awareness and patriotism, promote national fitness activities, and strengthen cultural confidence.
Read full abstract