Spain has bull fighting, Virginia has pitbull fighting, the Philippines have cock fighting (that’s roosters, if you were wondering), and China has its own, homegrown form of let’s-watch- animals-fight-to-the-death sports: cricket fighting! Cricket fighting, which started as a form of gambling and enjoyed wide popularity during the Tang and Song dynasties, has more than 3,000 years of history in the Middle Kingdom (if you’re counting, that’s ten times the length of American history – take that, pitbulls).

Crickets are known in China for being both naturally aggressive and brave, qualities that have earned them the affectionate nickname the “#1 insect” (天下第一虫). The best part about these insects’ noble disposition, however, is that it means that when two of the little tough-guys are thrown in a box together, the result is a pint-sized brawl. If only we could match a giant genetically modified “#1 insect” with a “man’s best friend” raised in a urban basement, fed on hate…man, that would be a fight.

We’re clearly on the side of blood spillage, but perhaps you think it’s a cruel pastime; either way, it’s alive and well in China. Zhao Boguang, a well-known cricket expert who lives Beijing and has hosted 19 cricket-fighting competitions, explains that the fascination with cricket fighting is a flight above that which accompanies watching more human-scaled throwdowns. The sport is really quite a civilized affair, says Zhao, and he recently described the refined, “most exquisite” tools of the trade in detail: “One cricket-fighting set consist of 18 necessary tools, like a cage, flume, pipe… and they are made of jade, ivory and red sandalwood.”

Crickets bred for fighting can command equally decadent prices, with some of the more formidable critters selling for upwards of RMB 10,000. Many fans even choose to make the trek to Shandong province (the same place that in-the-know emperors went to shop) for a chance to get their hands on one of the province’s mythically strong and short-tempered crickets.

Zhao’s 20th competition will be held in Beijing this coming September and this time, he explains, the rules will be much stricter, with professional monitors supervising the whole process, and crickets divided into different levels by weight. With prizes in past competitions as much as RMB 15,000, the stakes are high. At present, about 100 cricket breeders have registered.

Links and Sources
Tom.com: 2007年全国蟋蟀大赛
Tudou.com: Video of cricket fighting in the raw: 斗蟋蟀
56.com: Cartoon movie about cricket fighting from 1959: 《济公斗蟋蟀》
Bug Bios: Chinese Cricket Culture