This article will examine the relationship between sport, Chinese nationalism and the building of the Republic. It will highlight the role of sport in constructing the modern Chinese nation state in a historical and political context. The Republic of China Era (1912–49) saw the transformation of the modern Chinese nation state from its infancy to maturity. Sport played an important part in this process of change, supporting and facilitating the rise of a Republic from the ashes of the Qing Empire. During this period, sport contributed to the shaping of national conscious among the Chinese people and greatly consolidated the unity of the newly established nation state. It became an essential part of Chinese nationalists, politicians and educationalists’strategy to achieve national salvation and revival.