ANDREW JACOBS Big Red Belly,his thick limbs nourished by a strict liver-tofu-ginger diet,should have been a contender. Instead,as his trainer watched in dismay,the young fighter nervously circled his more menacing adversary and then skittered to a corner of the ring. Worthless, his patron,Chang Hongwei,growled as he yanked Big Red Belly from the arena and unceremoniously ended his brief fighting career. Next! Countless members of the Gryllus bimaculatus clan,also known as field crickets,have faced off in the capitals narrow alleys this fall in a uniquely Chinese blood sport whose provenance extends back more than 1,000 years. Nurtured by Tang Dynasty emperors and later popularised by commoners outside the palace gates,cricket fighting was banned as a bourgeois predilection during the decade-long Cultural Revolution,which ended in 1976. Cricket-fighting associations have sprung up across the country,as have more than 20 Web sites devoted to the minutiae of raising critters whose daily needs can rival those of an Arabian steed. Last year,more than 400 million renminbi,or about $63 million,were spent on cricket sales and upkeep,according to the Ningyang Cricket Research Institute in Shandong Province. As living standards go up and people have more time and money to spend,they want hobbies rich in history and meaning, said Wang Suping,the owner of Autumn Delights,a shop packed with all manner of cricket accoutermentfrom elaborately carved cricket houses that sell for hundreds of dollars to hand-painted ceramic bowls fit for a tiny king. There is,though,a nefarious side to the cricket craze: illegal back-room matches that draw legions of gamblers. In late September,the police in Jiangsu Province raided one such parlour,arresting 79 people and seizing 100 prized fighters. According to the police,cricket owners would bet 10,000 renminbi,or nearly $1,600,on each bout. Wagers by spectators exceeded 100,000 renminbi. Liu Yunjiang,60,a self-described cricket connoisseur who stages exhibition matches for tourists in Beijing,said the spread of gambling on cricket fights has raised the stakes for the casual cricket buyer. A really formidable fighter can be worth more than a horse, he said. And they eat better than you and I do. Most aficionados,however,insist that the sport is a wholesome diversion that fosters camaraderie and friendly competition among devotees. It reminds us of our childhoods,when everyone was poor and you could fetch crickets in the fields just outside the city walls, said Chen Huihua,72,a retired schoolteacher. Crickets,both the fighting and singing ilk,are a staple of Chinese poetry,painting and storytelling. A few tales stand out,like the Ming Dynasty emperor who required subjects to include crickets as part of their annual tax burden. There is an elaborate system for feeding,judging matches and categorising fight stylesCreep like a tiger,fight like a snake, describes one particularly effective move. The trained eye can supposedly differentiate 260 different grades and skin tones. Serious trainers often purchase 200 or more males,at roughly 10 renminbi,or $1.60,a pop. Promising candidates might be given names like Yellow Flying Tiger or Big Purple Teeth. Each cricket must be kept in its own clay pot on a bed of sand-and-clay mortar,and diets can include ground shrimp,red beans and goat liver. The truly spoiled might enjoy the occasional herbal bath,and a maggot or two just before the big fight. To stoke its territorial instincts,trainers use a strand of boiled hay or a mouse whisker to cajole the cricket. If youre serious about breeding winners,you never smoke or drink near your crickets, said Liu,the Beijing master. A bit of chili pepper will make them especially ferocious. Before fight night,a succession of females will be dropped into the jar,which experts say amps up the males fighting spirit. Weeding out the meek and the spineless takes place through marathon qualifying sessions. A good fighter will give off a shrill chirp,open its mandibles wide and attack its opponent with moxie. The loser will usually make itself known by backing off. The victor will be swept into a wire net and dumped back into its pot to fight another day.
