In some classic Chinese novels and period dramas, women of ancient times would throw an embroidered ball from a balcony to the street to randomly choose whoever caught it as their husband.

In the classic novel Journey to the West, published in the 16th century, the father of the main character, Buddhist monk Xuanzang, was chosen by his mother by throwing an embroidered ball.

In the 1998 Chinese drama My Fair Princess, adapted from Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao’s novel set in the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the protagonists also encounter a wealthy family’s daughter, whose father tried to deny their marriage after her embroidered ball hit a poor young man.

The plot has appeared in so many classic works that many believe it to be an old marriage tradition without a shadow of doubt. However, studies have revealed that it is a literary adaptation of a custom that is, fortunately, less random.

The tradition of throwing embroidered balls to each other is a popular practice among young Zhuang people in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.