Speaking of the table tennis world, Zhuang Zedong (hereinafter referred to as "Zhuang Lao") is well-known. As an athlete, he won the men's singles championship at the World Table Tennis Championships for three consecutive years; After retiring, he soon entered politics and became the director of the National Sports Commission. He was a direct participant in "ping-pong diplomacy" and a "great contributor" to breaking the ice in Sino-US relations after the founding of the People's Republic of China. His Japanese wife, who continued to pay for him, abandoned everything for him and came to China and lived a married life with a pure heart and few desires; He was politically implicated, censored, and even imprisoned for several years.
Zhuang Lao's life is a legendary life. There are highlight moments, and there are prison sentences; There are divorces in marriage, and there are also beautiful transnational love stories; There are powerful sports and political careers, as well as civilian life in the alleys.
no.1 Legendary table tennis record
Zhuang Zedong was born in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province in August 1940, he loved table tennis since he was a child, joined the Beijing Children's Palace Amateur Sports School Table Tennis Team at the age of 14 in 1954, and was selected for the Beijing Table Tennis Team at the age of 17 in 1957.
Now that table tennis is the national sport, Zhuang Lao did not dare to say so when he was a teenager, because the men's table tennis competition at that time was first controlled by the Hungarians, and then the Japanese team was the winner, and the women's competition was several years later than the men's.
In the 25th World Table Tennis Championships in 1959, Rong Guotuan took the lead in breaking the monopoly of foreigners and won the first table tennis world championship of the Chinese people. The Chinese people are excited, and what is even more exciting is that Zhuang Zedong and Li Furong, who have been selected for the national team at this time, have seen the hope of reaching the top of the world, and have also increased their confidence and determination to reach the top.
Facts have proved that in the following years, the world table tennis arena is a big stage for their "little brothers" to perform, and they "occupy" this big stage.
Zhuang Lao's style of play is "fast, accurate, and changeable", and there are few opponents at home and abroad, so he has created a number of records, and his legendary sports achievements are unmatched. Since the beginning of the 60s, he has won the national team competition three times in a row; Three consecutive national champions; In the men's singles competition of the first World Table Tennis Championships (1961, 1963, 1965), he met his teammate Li Furong in the final, and also defeated Li Furong to win the championship, creating three consecutive championships in the world's only major in the table tennis world at that time. At the same time, he and his teammates have won many international, domestic team and doubles championships. In his heyday, Zhuang Lao had a winning streak of more than 100 games, and one person won more championships than the rest of the team combined, and the legendary record is still unmatched.
If Rong Guotuan has opened the "window paper" of the world table tennis for Chinese table tennis, then Zhuang Zedong, Li Furong and others have become the solidifiers and founders of national table tennis dominating the world.
no.2A legendary diplomatic tale.
In April 1971, Zhuang Lao participated in the 31st World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan as the main player. At that time, the domestic political atmosphere was extremely high and depressing (some people were excited, some people were depressed), and there was a stalemate between us and the United States in the international arena of "you don't look down on me, and I don't care about you."
There was a "small episode" during the game, when the American athlete Cohen mistakenly got on the bus of the Chinese team, in view of the complex domestic political situation at that time, other athletes did not dare to come forward, Zhuang Zedong took the initiative to greet Cohen, and still gave a gift. It seems like a normal move now, but it was very risky at the time (it turned out later that this was also a mixed "thing" for Zhuang Lao).
This incident happened to be touched by the news of other countries, and as a cordial exchange between people between the two major countries that were completely cut off, it instantly became a major news of the event at that time, and also became the most sensational international news at that time.
After this incident reached China, they all attached great importance to it, and after they understood the situation, they believed that this was a good opportunity for Sino-US relations to "break the ice". Therefore, China's first strike while the iron is hot, let the national table tennis come forward, and take the initiative to invite the American table tennis team to visit China, the American table tennis team was invited to visit that year, and the national team represented by Zhuang Zedong cordially received; In 1972, Zhuang Zedong led a team to visit the United States, which was the famous "ping-pong diplomacy" incident. Since then, there have been more exchanges between China and the United States, ushering in a period of "honeymoon period".
It is absolutely amazing to use the small ball of "ping pong" to shake the "big ball" of the earth to break the deadlock between the two superpowers. It is rumored that ** once praised Zhuang Zedong: not only does he play table tennis well, but also knows how to be diplomatic.
no.3Legendary political career.
In 1964, Zhuang Zedong was elected as a representative of the Third National People's Congress as an athlete representative. After the "table tennis diplomacy" incident and the return visit to the United States in 1972, Zhuang Zedong officially retired and became the leader and head coach of the national youth team, and concurrently served as the deputy secretary of the party group of the National Sports Commission.
In 1973, Zhuang Zedong was sent to study in the "** Reading Class". In 1973, he was elected as a member of the 10th ** of the party, and in 1974, Wang Meng, who was then the director of the sports commission (regarded as the first person), was attacked by the "Gang of Four", and the 34-year-old Zhuang Zedong was recommended by ** and others to become the director of the National Sports Commission. At that time, the National Sports Commission was definitely the most important department in China, and if you think about it, his first two terms were ** and Wang Meng, which is enough to show the importance of the country.
In 1976, the "Gang of Four" collapsed, and Zhuang Zedong was also implicated and imprisoned in the Beijing Garrison for four years. After that, he was sent to Shanxi to continue "introspection", and only returned to Beijing in 1984, which can be regarded as a return to normal life.
Zhuang Zedong's three years of high power are also three years that have more to do with the "Gang of Four", and the merits and demerits are too complicated, and it is not something that our descendants can comment. However, Zhuang Lao himself recalled: I have never rectified people in the three years I have been the director of the sports committee, let alone beaten people. Now that I analyze it, I say that if there is no whole person, the cadres who may be removed will not be recognized, but under the political ecology at that time, it is already commendable that no one has been beaten. The fact that he was able to return to normal life in 1984 shows that there is really no problem.
After Zhuang Zedong returned to Beijing in 1984, he taught at the Municipal Children's Palace and trained young players. Of course, all political activity and honor no longer have anything to do with him. It is rumored that when Kissinger visited China, he was mentioned and the answer he received was "Zhuang Zedong is on a business trip."
no.4Legendary transnational love.
Zhuang Zedong has two marriages. Winning three consecutive championships at the World Table Tennis Championships made him a celebrity embraced by the whole country, coupled with his handsome appearance, which made Zhuang Lao gain love with his first wife Bao Huiqiao (a famous pianist), and they married in Beijing in 1967. After the Cultural Revolution, Zhuang Zedong was first censored for 4 years, and then sent to the Shanxi table tennis team to continue to reflect for 4 years, and his wife Bao Huiqiao's father was also treated unfairly because of the Cultural Revolution. In the past 8 years, Bao Huiqiao has led 2 children alone, and her father's treatment has made her life difficult, and her enthusiasm for life has become more and more depressed, and her mood has become worse and worse. Shortly after Zhuang Zedong returned to Beijing in 1984, they officially divorced in February 1985, and the children followed their ex-wife.
Zhuang Zedong has a Japanese female fan (fan) named Atsuko Sasaki, who is 4 years younger than him, and she admires Zhuang Zedong's superb ball skills and handsomeness to the point of obsession. As early as 1971, when Zhuang Zedong participated in the World Table Tennis Championships in Japan, Atsuko Sasaki often came by car to visit Zhuang Zedong and stayed in a small hotel near the Chinese team's station. Every day, as soon as Zhuang Zedong walked out of the door, Atsuko Sasaki sat in front of the window and watched him. When Atsuko Sasaki knew that Zhuang Zedong had a wife and children, he buried his love for him deep in his heart.
Atsuko Sasaki actually has an indissoluble bond with China, having been born in Shenyang in 1944 to an engineer sent from Japan. Due to his father's work, Atsuko Sasaki's family moved to Yinchuan, Ningxia, in 1954, and later moved to Lanzhou, Gansu. In 1967, Atsuko Sasaki's family returned to Japan.
Atsuko Sasaki, who has a dream in her heart, has never been in love and married. In the early 80s, Atsuko Sasaki was sent to work in Shanghai by a Japanese company with a good salary. In July 1985, Atsuko Sasaki came to Beijing for a tour, and by chance, he met Zhuang Zedong. Knowing that Zhuang Zedong had divorced, Atsuko Sasaki cried. Zhuang Zedong learned that Atsuko Sasaki had never been in love and married because he had never been in love, and Zhuang Zedong was also both guilty and moved, and soon the two fell in love.
At that time, the review of transnational marriages was very strict, not to mention that Zhuang Zedong was not "innocent" during the Cultural Revolution, and there were many obstacles to marrying Atsuko Sasaki. For the sake of love, Zhuang Zedong wrote frequent letters to leaders at all levels, and pursued the leaders' replies relentlessly, from the unit, Beijing Municipality, to the Politburo, which alarmed the national leaders and finally the national leaders. Under the kind care of Deng Gong, on December 19, 1987, Zhuang Zedong and Atsuko Sasaki got married in Beijing, when Zhuang Zedong was 47 years old, and Atsuko Sasaki was 43 years old. However, according to the regulations, Atsuko Sasaki renounced her Japanese nationality and immigrated to China, and her job was gone.
After marriage, Zhuang Zedong and his wife Atsuko Sasaki live the most ordinary life, Zhuang Zedong's income is not high, his wife has not worked, although the two of them live in poverty, but the relationship is mellow, mutual respect and love.
On February 10, 2013, Zhuang Lao died of illness in Beijing You'an Hospital at the age of 73. February** Dynamic Incentive Program