In 1921, in a bullring in the town of Tangya, Jindong District, a bull was forced to hide under a rock wall by another bull. No retreat was possible, so he fought back. First he injured his opponent’s horn with his own horn, and then he knocked down the other bull with all his strength. This was his first battle, and from then on this bull became famous and was called “Rockwall.”

In the 1930s, the total property of most low-income Chinese families was worth less than 1,000 RMB. However, a Jinhua bull that won a fight was worth 300 or 400 RMB. The price for a famous bull like Rockwall could be as much as 1000 RMB. In comparison, an ordinary bull was only worth 30 or 40 RMB.

That was the story for the winners. For the losers, however, it was quite another story. Most bulls that were defeated would be killed after the fight. On the one hand, they had been frightened in the arena and would be scared to fight again; on the other hand, because they were grown up with delicate food and had not been raised for farming, they could not bear to plough. As for their owners, some could not bear the loss. They sold their land and went out to find famous bulls to fight again, which caused many disputes and even personal fights sometimes.

After his debut, Rockwall participated in many bullfights in Jindong, Lanxi, and Yiwu. He was known as “Rockwall the Invincible” after defeating many challengers. As for his finale, it was said that one day when he was confronting another famous bull named “Double Swords,” suddenly Double Swords was slammed by Rockwall and ran away in pain. The outcome was obvious. However, enmity developed between the two owners. The owner of Double Swords refused to admit the outcome and insisted on a rematch. Because of this dispute, the bullfight turned into a human fight. In the end each side suffered great casualties, and Rockwall also died in this melee.

Zhang Zuonan, a well-known astronomer from the Qing Dynasty who was born in Jinhua, once wrote a poem to reveal the harm caused by the local custom of bullfighting:

“I return home to urge my son to feed the bull frequently,

and he cried into the empty pot—no rice, no spoon, only tears.

‘How dare you let my bull go hungry!’ I shouted.

‘No wonder the bull next door is bigger than mine!’”

In 1946, the Jinhua Government issued an announcement to ban the traditional custom of bullfighting. All these bulls were castrated and used as farming bulls. After that, bullfighting in Jinhua gradually declined. One of the challenges of modern times is how to properly inherit traditions and customs such as this one. (By Gao Xubin, translated by Li Ziyi, edited by Kendra Fiddler)

A bull dressed up for a fight