To know why polo was so popular in the Song Dynasty, we have to start from the Tang Dynasty. In ancient China, the Tang Dynasty had a strong national power and an open social atmosphere, which did not restrict women too much. Song Dynasty is a dynasty after Tang Dynasty, and the social atmosphere was influenced by Tang Dynasty. Although they also attached great importance to women's honor and image, women in the Song Dynasty did not go to the point where they could not go out.
In Song Dynasty, women could not only go shopping with their families, but also play polo in public.
At the same time, polo was a favorite entertainment project of princes and nobles as early as the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, polo was no longer confined to nobles and soldiers, but also began to be played by the people. Polo entered its heyday in the Song Dynasty, which was a popular sport at that time.
To say why polo was so popular in the Song Dynasty, the emperor of the Song Dynasty played a very important role. Almost every generation of emperors after Song Taizu liked playing polo very much, and the sport that the son of heaven liked was introduced to the people, so it was deeply loved by the people.
During the period of Song Huizong, as the emperor, he personally formed and trained a court women's polo team, and held polo competitions every year for the monarch and the people to enjoy.
What is commendable is that the women's polo team formed by Song Huizong has excellent skills and does not lose the team composed of defenders. It can be seen that in the Song Dynasty, not only women could play polo, but also society encouraged women to play polo at that time.