從先秦到明清，蹴鞠運動在中國有數千年的歷史，在經歷發展過程中，蹴鞠本身的方法、性質、制度都有所變化，不同時代背景所發展的深度、廣度都不一樣。本文擬在根據現有掌握的史料與文獻及兩岸學者的研究，來對中國古代蹴鞠運動各項發展概況性進行初步探討。如：蹴鞠的起源、漢代軍事練武競技性蹴鞠、唐代充氣的毬、節慶假日中的蹴鞠、文人在唐詩中所描寫的蹴鞠發展、宋代皇室宮廷與下層民間的舉國蹴鞠、元代散曲中表現出的仕女蹴鞠，明代朱元璋的禁止軍人踢球，使得蹴鞠原本已開始走入下坡的同時，又是一大打擊，隨著清兵入主中原，清代滿族喜好冰上運動，至此蹴鞠跌入底谷，終究消失了。本研究旨在領略中國古代蹴鞠文化發展之真正面貌，瞭解蹴鞠發展的軌跡與歷程，使我們對中國古代蹴鞠發展歷程有更清楚的認識。

From the times of early Qin to Ming and Qing dynasty, Tsu-ju developed for thousands of years From time to time, the ways, nature, and system of Tsu-ju have evolved to different depths and widths according to the environment of different times. on Based on historical facts, records, and researches from scholars on both sides of the strait, this article will discuss the profile of ancient Tsu-ju development, including: the origin of Tsu-ju, the Tsu-ju military training and competition of the Han Dynasty, the peneumatic “Qui(毬)”of Tang, the Tsu-ju of festivals and holidays, the Tsu-ju written in verse in tang poems, the Tsu-ju that became a national sport from the royal court down to the slums, the lady’s Tsu-ju that appeared in “san qus(散曲)” of Yuan; with the banning of Tsu-ju for soilders by the emperor of Ming-Zhu Yuan zhang, Tsu-ju started to go down hills; as the ice-sport-apt aristocrats of “Man(滿)” came into rule of China, Tsu-ju died out for good. This research aims at reconstructing the original looks of the ancient Chinese Tsu-ju culture. Only through understanding the evolvements and changes of Tsu-ju are we able to appreciate this ancient heritage of the Chinese people-Tsu-ju.