Author: Xiong Lei
Premier Zhou shakes hands with U.S. table tennis player, 1971 (net photo)
In the year 2021 that just passed, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of ping-pong diplomacy. There is also the 50th anniversary of Kissinger's secret visit to China and the 50th anniversary of the vote of the twenty-sixth session of the UnGame to restore our legitimate seats in the United Nations. Coming soon is the 50th anniversary of US President Richard Nixon's "ice-breaking" visit to China.
In the middle of a series of major historical events, January 8, 2022, marks the 46th anniversary of the death of Premier Zhou Enlai.
In these days, I am reminded of a little story that many people have not mentioned or mentioned when commemorating ping-pong diplomacy, or mentioned it in a vague way, but I am impressed. I would like to use this little story to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the death of the beloved Premier Zhou.
Of course, I have not personally experienced the big event of the small ball turning the earth 50 years ago, which I remember seeing on the reference news at that time. Because I was impressed, I wrote it down. Also because I didn't check the original text, I remembered only roughly.
It was a small "accident" that occurred on April 14, 1971, when Premier Zhou met with an invited U.S. table tennis delegation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Also attending the meeting that day were canadian, British, Colombian and Nigerian table tennis delegations. From the photos flipped through the Internet, it can be seen that the meeting hall is full of people, and the people participating in the meeting sit in several rows and circles.
Scene of Premier Zhou meeting with table tennis delegations from various countries, 1971 (net map)
The format of the meeting was indeed novel. According to the recollection of Tang Wensheng, who was Acting as Premier Zhou's interpreter at the time, Premier Zhou did not sit in a fixed position to speak, but went to the seats of each delegation separately, sat on a sofa chair in front of them, and talked with them.
The U.S. table tennis delegation stands out not only because they were the first official U.S. group to visit China before the united States established diplomatic relations, but also because the U.S. government did not allow its citizens to come to China for a long time. In the 1950s and 1960s, five American pediatricians were even denied permission to leave the country for five years because they planned to come to China. Although the Nixon administration in 1970 issued a rumor to relax the restrictions on Americans visiting China, it does not seem to have entered the operational stage after all. This time, the US table tennis delegation came to China, in addition to being invited by the Chinese official at the last minute, but also specially approved by the US government after receiving the invitation.
U.S. Athlete Passport (Net Image)
An American table tennis player, a member of the U.S. delegation at the time, later gave the media the passport she was using at the time. In the photos found on the Internet, you can see that this passport has a special page in front of it: this passport is invalid for travel to "Communist Party-controlled" areas of China, North Korea, Vietnam, Albania, Cuba, and people traveling to these countries or regions will be prosecuted by law. Before the passport holder travels to China, U.S. officials will black out what is clearly written with the word "China," meaning that China is no longer in these restricted areas.
Chinese and American table tennis player Nagoya "encounter", right is Cohen (net photo)
One of the most popular members of the U.S. delegation was Glenn Kowan, a table tennis player from California. This is the one who missed the shuttle bus of the American team during the Nagoya World Table Tennis Championships and got on the Chinese team's car, and was received by the Chinese table tennis player Zhuang Zedong. At that time, Zhuang Zedong gave him a Hangzhou tapestry and got off the bus with him, which shocked the world media and thus opened the ping-pong diplomacy between China and the United States. Cohen was not yet 20 years old at the time.
From Nagoya to Beijing, Cohen has been out of the limelight. In addition to his interactions with Chinese athletes, his long hair and hippie outfit are also a hot spot for many foreign media. I remember seeing foreign media discussions on the reference news at that time, Cohen's long hair and his outfit were incompatible with the "revolutionary" China at that time, and maybe he would encounter trouble in China. So even though I hadn't met Cohen, I remembered his long hair.
When Cohen arrived in Beijing, he still acted in a high-profile manner. But although he walked from the Xinqiao Hotel to Tiananmen Square on his own, claiming to have attracted 500 onlookers, no one bothered him. Cohen himself felt friendly with the people who were watching him.
U.S. table tennis team tour of the Great Wall (net map)
This young man who seemed uncomfortable without looking for trouble could not be quiet when he arrived at the Great Hall of the People. During the meeting, when Premier Zhou came to the US delegation area to sit down and talk, Cohen glanced at a hole, coldly pointed to his long hair, and asked Premier Zhou what he thought of his long hair. The person recalled this paragraph, saying that he asked the prime minister what he thought of the hippie movement. But in my impression of foreign media reports at the time, Cohen asked about his long hair.
Whether it is long hair or hippie sports, the essence is still the same. In our stereotypes at the time, it was all manifestations of the "decadent bourgeois way of life". Cohen's problem is undoubtedly very challenging, and of course it is not within the scheduled procedure, so it is an "accident". This accident, of course, surprised the Chinese and foreign people at the scene, and the atmosphere was suddenly a little tense.
But the "harsh reprimand" of "Western bourgeois decadent thought" that many people expected did not appear.
Foreign media reports in the impression said that the 73-year-old Chinese premier looked kindly at the American guy who was less than 20 years old, smiled kindly, and said that whether in the East or the West, young people's dissatisfaction with the current state of society seemed to start from hair. It's just that we cut our hair short at that time, and you guys are making your hair long now.
At that time, when I saw this report, I couldn't help but be amazed by the shooting! This statement is too reasonable! And it is a combination of sincerity, wisdom, tolerance, humor, simplicity and elegance, shining a revolutionary with the brilliance of principle and humanity.
This is the classic style of Zhou Enlai. This, of course, is also the charisma of Zhou Enlai's personality.
Premier Zhou and the U.S. table tennis delegation, 1971 (net photo)
Everyone present laughed, and the atmosphere was immediately relaxed.
Therefore, Premier Zhou naturally said through his personal experience that it is not enough to express dissatisfaction in external forms, but also needs to go through long-term exploration and in-depth understanding of society in order to change society.
I don't know if Cohen and the other American youth understood and remembered Premier Zhou's long-winded conversation. But sister Zheng Minzhi, another witness to that ping-pong diplomacy 50 years ago, told me that Cohen's mother later sent flowers to Premier Zhou to thank the prime minister for teaching her son.
Premier Zhou shakes hands with Zheng Minzhi (courtesy of Min's sister)
Whether or not these Americans understand and remember what Premier Zhou said, they will feel premier Zhou's goodwill and understand and remember that China has a good prime minister they can regard as an elder.
A drop of water can refract the sun's brilliance. This little wave in the tide of ping-pong diplomacy also reflects the greatness of Premier Zhou.
Welcome banquet menu reserved by American table tennis players (net image)
I think the article is good, please like it!
Follow us and read more true red stories!
【Author:Xiong Lei】