On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1999, Chang Hao, the internationally famous "Prince of Go", and Zhang Xuan, a "Go talent" who had just won the world championship, entered the palace of marriage. It is worth mentioning that Chang Hao is eight years younger than Zhang Xuan, and when the two first met, Chang Hao was only 10 years old. For Chang Hao, Zhang Xuan is a person of the same era as his master Nie Weiping, and Zhang Xuan is still Zhang Hao's master. And before marrying Chang Hao, Zhang Xuan also had a failed marriage. When Master Nie Weiping learned that his apprentice was going to marry his junior sister, he strongly objected. But it didn't help, Chang Hao still ignored his mentor's opposition and married his second married aunt, who was 8 years older than him. Now that 23 years have passed since they were married, are they still happy? The most popular character in this issue will take you into the love story of Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan.
Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan
Go genius studied under Nie Weiping
On November 7, 1976, Chang Hao was born in an old-fashioned lane near the City God Temple in Shanghai. His father, Chang Fusen, was originally a carpenter, but later entered the Shanghai Cotton Spinning Factory 15 and became an ordinary worker, and it was here that he met Chang Hao's mother, Zhou Yueyuan.
As the earliest only child, Chang Hao was valued by his parents, especially his mother, who accompanied Chang Hao for almost his entire childhood. Since kindergarten, her mother has been strict with Chang Hao, from reading and writing to her uncle's calculations, her mother has not let Chang Hao idle for almost a moment.
Chang Hao as a child
When he was 6 years old, when he was about to enter elementary school, Chang Hao came into contact with Go when he followed his mother to a friend's house. Chang Hao thought it was fun to play Go, so he told his mother that he also wanted to learn Go. In this way, his mother enrolled Chang Hao in a Go training class, and 6-year-old Chang Hao began to learn Go systematically with the coach, initially, Chang Hao did not want to win the dream of winning the world championship, he just felt that playing Go was fun.
However, his mother did not let Chang Hao relax his studies, and after entering primary school, under the influence of his mother, Chang Hao studied very seriously. Among them, the mathematics results are very top-notch, and almost every time I get a certificate. But he is also a partial child, his language grades are very bad, for Chang Hao, what he hates the most is the writing part. However, this does not affect him from becoming a fan of martial arts novels, and in his spare time, he also likes to take out Jin Yong's novels and read them.
Chang Hao participated in the junior competition
Chang Hao, who was not yet 10 years old at the time, often attended classes in the morning and learned chess in the afternoon. Every time I got home, it was already past 10 p.m. Despite this, Chang Hao never gave up, and while working hard, Chang Hao also achieved some results, and he won many championships in some of the junior competitions he participated in.
Chang Hao's talent had already made the national team notice him, and even Nie Weiping, a brother in the Chinese Go industry at that time, praised him one after another.
On June 9, 1986, Chang Hao, who had not yet celebrated his tenth birthday, defeated Sichuan's 11-year-old Yu Ping in the final of the "Prodigy Cup" and won the championship. In this game, Nie Weiping happened to be on the spot to select talents, and after the game, Nie Weiping deliberately played a game of chess with Chang Hao.
Nie Weiping and Chang Hao competed
For the sake of fairness, Nie Weiping gave up Chang Hao's two sons, who knew that Chang Hao actually defeated Nie Weiping. Nie Weiping, who was convinced, constantly praised the teenager in front of him.
Selected for the national team First meeting Zhang Xuan
In the summer of 1986, Chang Hao was selected to join the national junior training team. For the sake of her son, her mother Zhou Yueyuan quit her job at the iron rice bowl and made a special trip to Beijing to accompany her son. And it was also in the national team that Chang Hao met Zhang Xuan, who had just been promoted to the senior group of the national team.
Chess player Zhang Xuan
Zhang Xuan, born on June 22, 1968 in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, learned chess at the age of 8 and entered the national team at the age of 12. She won the national championship at the age of 22 and the world championship at the age of 30, and ranked first in the Chinese women's Go rating score for 13 consecutive years. She is also one of the few female Go eight-dan chess players in China.
Talking about the first encounter between the two, Zhang Xuan and Chang Hao were not too impressed. At that time, the national team would arrange for the senior chess players and the junior team players to play chess, which can be regarded as a kind of guidance.
Chang Hao as a child
During the period, Chang Hao played a game of chess with Zhang Xuan, at that time, the two felt the gap of the times, and in front of Zhang Xuan, Chang Hao was a child. And Chang Hao also called Teacher Zhang all the time.
When the two played chess, in order to be fair, Zhang Xuan gave Chang Hao three sons, but Chang Hao defeated Zhang Xuan bloodlessly. He was still a little unconvinced in his heart, and felt that Teacher Zhang looked down on him. It's just that this is only one of the few intersections between the two.
After that, in the national junior team, Chang Hao was fortunate to be guided by Go master Nie Weiping and became Nie Weiping's apprentice, according to the generation, Chang Hao wanted to call Zhang Xuan a master.
Left 1 Lu Jian
In 1990, 22-year-old Zhang Xuan married 29-year-old Heilongjiang chess player Lu Jian, but after marriage, the two got together less and separated more, and the marriage lasted less than a year, and the two divorced.
In 1991, Zhang Xuan, feeling lost, left China and resolutely chose to study in Tokyo, Japan. Regarding this experience, Zhang Xuan once said in an interview: "I really want to see the world, see how people outside Go live, I don't want to be affected only by winning or losing, I think I should have something broader." ”
In this way, Zhang Xuan took a break from Go and began to live a new life, and in Japan, he stayed for four years.
Japan meets
In September 1995, Zhang Xuan's old teammate Yu Bin brought Chang Hao and other young chess players to Japan to participate in the 10th Sino-Japanese Go Tournament.
Chang Hao at the 10th Sino-Japanese Go Tournament
In this competition, the 19-year-old Chang Haohao won five consecutive victories to help the Chinese team win. This game made 19-year-old Chang Hao famous in China, of course, Zhang Xuan, who always pays attention to the chess world, also heard the news, and she is really happy for this child.
At that time, Zhang Xuan had finished four years of studying abroad, and she planned to return to China, but there were too many things at home for her to take alone, so she asked her old friend Yu Bin, hoping that Yu Bin would take the chess players to her house as guests, and help bring some things back to China when she left.
Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan
In this way, Yu Bin took Chang Hao and others to Zhang Xuan's home. Seeing Zhang Xuan again at this time, Chang Hao, who had entered adolescence, felt a little love at first sight. At this time, she discovered that Teacher Zhang, who had played chess with him, was so young and beautiful. And Chang Hao, a 19-year-old man, also made Zhang Xuan's eyes bright, Chang Hao is handsome in appearance, 1.8 meters tall, Zhang Xuan is a little appreciative, but love at first sight is not enough.
Later, when Chang Hao left, Zhang Xuan asked Chang Hao to help her bring a heavy CD player.
Zhang Xuan plays chess
At the beginning of 1996, Zhang Xuan finally returned to China, and although he had experienced four years of studying abroad, Zhang Xuan was still very confused about the future. After much deliberation, she decided to return to chess. But at this time, can Zhang Xuan, who has not participated in any competition for four years, return to the top? No one could believe it, so the national team did not invite her back.
Zhang Xuan had to rent a small house near the national team and train alone at home. However, she is often invited to train with the national team. Once, Zhang Xuan appeared on the playground of the national team, walking slowly alone, at this time Chang Hao happened to pass by, he took the initiative to come forward to greet Zhang Xuan.
Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan
At the first sentence, Chang Hao said half-jokingly: "Teacher Zhang's machine is like a pile of bricks, carrying it all the way, and there are blood marks on his shoulders." Zhang Xuan knew that Chang Hao was joking, and the two talked a lot that day and got to know each other. Zhang Xuan knows that Chang Hao has not been in love, and Chang Hao also knows that Zhang Xuan has been divorced once and is still single.
Two duels Secretly affectionate
In April 1996, at the celebrity invitational tournament held in China, Zhang Xuan and Chang Hao finally came to a head-to-head showdown, this time there was no concession, it all depended on strength. What is surprising is that Zhang Xuan, who has not participated in the competition for four years, actually won Chang Hao, who is in the limelight. This defeat made Chang Hao admire Zhang Xuan's strength in Go.
Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan competed in chess
In June 1996, Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan fought another match in Nanjing, this time, Chang Hao made sufficient preparations, and finally defeated Zhang Xuan bloodlessly. Chang Hao's performance made Zhang Xuan full of expectations for the future of this young man.
The two duels made both men feel a sense of sympathy for each other, and at this time, Zhang Xuan returned to the national team and finished second in the women's national individual competition in 1997.
When they were in the national team, Zhang Xuan and Chang Hao had more opportunities to meet, because they were very familiar with each other, and they often trained and chatted together. Although Zhang Xuan is old, she is outgoing, lively and cute. Although Chang Hao is young, he is introverted, mature and stable. The two people complement each other in personality. They are very happy and happy when they are together, and they have been around for a long time.
Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan
The love affair between Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan was reported in the national team, and the teammates talked about it one after another, which made Zhang Xuan a little embarrassed. Zhang Xuan asked himself more than once in his heart: "I am 8 years older than him, and I have been married, is this really appropriate"?
During that time, Zhang Xuan's pressure was very great, and Chang Hao saw Zhang Xuan's thoughts, always comforting Zhang Xuan by his side, and expressing his love for Zhang Xuan.
However, after this feeling was learned by Nie Weiping and Chang Hao's parents, it was opposed by the mentor and parents. Nie Weiping felt that Chang Hao was just in the rising period of his career, and he should not fall in love and miss his future. And parents still feel that the huge age difference is not good.
Zhang Xuan and Chang Hao together
Once his mother asked Chang Hao: "Zhang Xuan is 8 years older than you, do you think this is appropriate?" “
Chang Hao tried his best to enlighten his mother, and he told her that "the wife of Japanese Go master Kobayashi Koichi is 13 years older than him, and their marriage is still very happy." ”
After seeing her son's infatuation, the mother didn't say anything more.
And while Zhang Xuan gained love, her performance in the Go arena was also extremely eye-catching.
Zhang Xuan participates in the competition
In 1997, Zhang Xuan was promoted to 8 dan, and a year later, she won the Baohai Cup World Championship, and for a time, Zhang Xuan became the first female Go player in the world.
Despite his mentor's objections, he married his aunt and had a daughter
In January 1999, Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan proposed, but Chang Hao didn't buy a ring because he was too busy. He said to Zhang Xuan very seriously: "It's good to register, it's justified, and no one else will say anything." ”
However, Chang Hao was not yet 23 years old at this time, and Zhang Xuan felt that Chang Hao would marry too early, and his mind was not yet mature. So she said to Chang Hao, "Do you want to wait another year or two?" You are still too young. ”
Chang Hao insisted on obtaining a certificate with Zhang Xuan.
Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan
A few days later, the two men received a marriage certificate at the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau. After marriage, the two bought a two-bedroom and living room of more than 80 square meters in Beijing. Moving to a new home, the two started a new life. Their unfavored love eventually came to fruition. However, their marriage still failed to be recognized by Chang Hao's mentor Nie Weiping, which also led to a gap between Chang Hao and Nie Weiping.
In 2000, Zhang Xuan gave birth to a daughter in Beijing, and her father Chang Hao named her Chang Yuemin. After having children, Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan both spent more time on their families. This also led to a decrease in Chang Hao's training time on Go.
Chang Hao wins the championship and Zhang Xuan retreats into the background
In 2005, Chang Hao defeated South Korean chess player Choi Chul-han in the final of the fifth Ying's Cup to win his first world championship, and Chang Hao failed many times before winning this world title.
Chang Hao wins the championship
The outside world also talked about the marriage of Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan, and many chess fans accused Zhang Xuan of delaying the "Go genius" Chang Hao. And this time to realize the dream, Chang Hao broke the doubts of the outside world, in his opinion, Zhang Xuan is his driving force, he can't live without Zhang Xuan.
In fact, after getting married, Zhang Xuan rarely participated in competitions, and she almost did not participate in some small competitions, and chose to return to her family more often. In the family, Zhang Xuan has changed a lot, before she rarely cooked, for Chang Hao, she learned a lot of new cuisine. And every time Zhang Xuan cooked, Chang Hao would finish it, and constantly praised his wife's delicious food. After eating, Chang Hao took the initiative to wash dishes and brush pots.
Chang Hao's family of three
Zhang Xuan has put more thought into educating children, and she, like Chang Hao's philosophy, will not force her daughter to learn Go. Will make her daughter do what she likes to do according to her interests. And it turns out that the daughter also has no interest in Go, but likes to go into the water. So every holiday, Chang Hao would take his daughter to swim and play in the water.
Time passed in a hurry, and the love between Zhang Xuan and Chang Hao was still continuing.
How is it now
In 2017, 41-year-old Chang Hao began serving as vice chairman of the Chinese Go Association. After that, Chang Hao took a new generation of chess players around to participate in the competition.
Zhang Xuan and Chang Hao played chess together
On November 28, 2018, in the China Construction Third Game Cup doubles competition, Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan played against the Japanese husband and wife Naoki Hane and Kiko Hane. After more than two hours of fierce battle, Chang Hao / Zhang Xuan defeated their opponents and reached the final. However, in the subsequent final, the four of them fought fiercely until 11 o'clock at night, and the final game was 218 hands, and finally the Japanese chess player Takemiya Sunshine / Masaki Takemiya won the crown.
Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan attended the opening ceremony
In December 2019, the second "Wu Qingyuan Cup" World Women's Go Tournament was held in Zhang Xuan's hometown of Fuzhou. Chang Hao and Zhang Xuan appeared together at the opening ceremony, and it can be seen from the photos that the 43-year-old Chang Hao has gained a lot of weight, and Zhang Xuan, who is 51 years old, can not withstand the traces of the years.
Zhang Xuan at Wu Qingyuan Go Hall in Fuzhou (top row, fourth from left)
On October 19, 2021, Zhang Xuan appeared at the Wu Qingyuan Go Club in Fuzhou, and this time, Zhang Xuan was invited to serve as a senior consultant of the Fuzhou Lady Go Salon. At the meeting, 53-year-old Zhang Xuan wore a red plaid skirt and cut her hair. Zhang Xuan is very happy to be able to contribute to the game of Go in her hometown, she said in an interview: "I am from Fuzhou, I have a special affection for Fuzhou, and I am very happy to have such an opportunity. ”
On June 18, 2022, Chang Hao, vice chairman of the Chinese Go Association and world champion of Go, came to Chengdu Golden Apple Jincheng No. 1 Middle School, facing the booming young chess players, Chang Hao sent a message to the children: "I think interest is the best teacher, if your interest is very positive, such as Go, I think you should stick to it." ”
Today, the 46-year-old Chang Hao is still the vice chairman of the Chinese Go Association, and his wife Zhang Xuan, although she does not hold a key position, has not left the Go arena and often participates in some competitions. Even after more than 20 years, their love is still as strong as it was at the beginning. They often attend events together. As for their only daughter, she is now 22 years old and has also studied in the United States.