Kicking ball games arose independently multiple times across multiple cultures. The Chinese competitive game ' (, literally "kickball"; also known as tsu chu) resembles modern association football as well as a mix of basketball, and volleyball. This is the earliest form of a kicking game for which there is historical evidence. The game was first recorded as in exercise in the Zhan Guo Ce, a military history from the Han dynasty. ' players would pass the ball around, having to avoid it touching the ground at any point. It was then passed to a designated player, who attempted to kick it through the fengliu yan, a circular goal atop 10–11 meter poles. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), ' games were standardised and rules were established. The Silk Road facilitated the transmission of cuju outside of China, especially the form of the game popular in the Tang dynasty, the period when the inflatable ball was invented and replaced the stuffed ball. Other East Asian games include ' in Japan and ' in Korea, both influenced by cuju. ' originated after the year 600 during the Asuka period. It was a ceremonial rather than a competitive game, and involved the kicking of a mari, a ball made of animal skin. In North America, was a ball game played by the Algonquians; it was described as "almost identical to the kind of folk football being played in Europe at the same time, in which the ball was kicked through goals".
Kicking ball games arose independently multiple times across multiple cultures. The Chinese competitive game ' (, literally "kickball"; also known as tsu chu) resembles modern association football as well as a mix of basketball, and volleyball. This is the earliest form of a kicking game for which there is historical evidence. The game was first recorded as in exercise in the Zhan Guo Ce, a military history from the Han dynasty. ' players would pass the ball around, having to avoid it touching the ground at any point. It was then passed to a designated player, who attempted to kick it through the fengliu yan a circular goal atop 10–11 meter poles. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), ' games were standardised and rules were established. The Silk Road facilitated the transmission of cuju outside of China, especially the form of the game popular in the Tang dynasty, the period when the inflatable ball was invented and replaced the stuffed ball. Other East Asian games include ' in Japan and ' in Korea, both influenced by cuju. ' originated after the year 600 during the Asuka period. It was a ceremonial rather than a competitive game, and involved the kicking of a mari, a ball made of animal skin. In North America, was a ball game played by the Algonquians; it was described as "almost identical to the kind of folk football being played in Europe at the same time, in which the ball was kicked through goals".