This national table tennis player was relieved of his wife before his death, just because his wife gave up her Japanese nationality for him.
At the beginning of 2013, when mainland table tennis star Zhuang Zedong was at the end of his life, the person who worried him the most was his other half.
Zhuang Zedong looked at his wife who was crying for himself in front of the hospital bed, and he also felt sad. Because after he left, his Japanese wife had no medical insurance and no salary, and even her daily life was very difficult.
In desperation, he could only ask a friend to sell his work, which could be regarded as his last heart for his wife's future.
Who is Zhuang Zedong's wife, why did she give up her nationality for him? And what kind of status does Zhuang Zedong have in the field of table tennis in the mainland?
Difficult love in a special era
In 1985, Zhuang Zedong, who had just returned to normal life after the turmoil, divorced his first wife Bao Huiqiao. The son and daughter born to the two were also sentenced to Bao Huiqiao to raise, and Zhuang Zedong gave his wife 70 yuan per month in child support.
At that time, Zhuang Zedong's salary was not very high, and child support basically accounted for more than half. But there is no way, from a legal point of view, it is his biological children, and he has to pay this money.
On the other hand, Zhuang Zedong also has to take care of his elderly mother, so his life is relatively poor.
It was also in this year that Zhuang Zedong's later wife, Atsuko Sasaki, came to China from Japan for work, and was also preparing to meet her idol Zhuang Zedong.
Atsuko Sasaki was born in China and has lived with her parents in the northwestern region, so she can speak Chinese. Later, after returning to Japan with his parents, he accidentally saw Zhuang Zedong playing table tennis in a game, and became his fan ever since.
This time, Atsuko Sasaki was sent by the company to Beijing as a resident salesman. After she found Zhuang Zedong, she expressed her thoughts to the other party, and said very straightly, "I've always wanted to see you".
So, Zhuang Zedong and Atsuko soon fell in love.
However, in that environment at that time, Zhuang Zedong, as a national-level athlete, although he no longer played for the national team, he still could not marry a foreign woman.
But Zhuang Zedong didn't want to break up with Atsuko, so he thought about it and decided to write an application for his own affairs and hand it in. At that time, Deng Gong carefully reviewed his application letter and approved his marriage request.
However, there is still one condition for the two to get married, that is, Atsuko must give up his Japanese nationality, and Atsuko agreed without hesitation and dropped his hukou to Beijing.
In addition, at that time, the state also demanded that if he wanted to go back to Japan to visit his relatives in the future, he could only go back by Atsuko alone, and Zhuang Zedong could not go abroad.
The two accepted the above conditions and finally got married.
After getting married, Atsuko lost her job due to the adjustment of her nationality. She can only be a housewife, living with Zhuang Zedong in an old alley in Beijing, as an ordinary couple.
At that time, Zhuang Zedong's salary in the Children's Palace, plus the subsidies he once received from the world champion, were all posted to his children and mothers, and there was almost no money left in his hands.
But the relationship between the two is very good, they have never quarreled because of anything, and they have taken care of each other and lived in harmony for more than 20 years.
In Atsuko's impression, Zhuang Zedong is normal both for eating and resting, so she thinks that her husband will definitely not suffer from any serious illness. But there were unforeseen circumstances, and Zhuang Zedong was suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer.
This bad news was unacceptable to Atsuko, but she could only take care of her husband who was sick until February 2013, when Zhuang Zedong died in a hospital in Beijing.
On his deathbed, Zhuang Zedong talked about Atsuko the most. Because she has not had a job since she came to China, and has not had social security and medical insurance, if Zhuang Zedong is gone, I really don't know what to do with Atsuko's life.
So, Zhuang Zedong wanted to auction his calligraphy and leave all the money to Atsuko, but Atsuko did not agree. Zhuang Zedong could only quietly entrust an old friend to help him do this, which could be regarded as leaving a guarantee for his wife.
Looking back on Zhuang Zedong's life, it is very dramatic and legendary.
"Little Tiger" gallops in the table tennis arena
Zhuang Zedong was a thin child since he was a child, so his father sent him to learn Xi martial arts early.
When he was 11 years old, Zhuang Zedong was arranged to Xi learn table tennis again, and at the age of 14, he joined the amateur group of table tennis in the Beijing Children's Palace, and the next year he won the championship in the city youth competition.
In 1957, Zhuang Zedong joined the Beijing table tennis team, and two years later was selected for the national youth team, and then began his winning streak - more than 100 consecutive victories in domestic competitions, which have not been broken so far.
Because of Zhuang Zedong's unique fast attack skills, he was also nicknamed "Little Tiger" in the domestic table tennis world, which is enough to see how strong his strength is.
At the end of the year, Zhuang Zedong participated in the Vienna International Table Tennis Tournament and not only won the singles championship, but also won the doubles championship with his partner. Since then, his fame has grown.
How popular was Zhuang Zedong at the time?
In a national competition, an athlete from Guangxi was beaten 3-0 by Zhuang Zedong, and his first reaction was "very lucky to be able to compete with the world champion".
After all, at that time, New China's international sports achievements were not impressive, and no international sports organization was willing to recognize the mainland. Except, of course, table tennis.
At that time, Zhuang Zedong had won the world championship three times in a row, and he was also the national champion, a record that could not be surpassed.
Because of Zhuang Zedong's absolute strength in table tennis, New China at that time added a lot of national confidence in sports competition, so many people regarded him as a "national hero".
At the same time, Zhuang Zedong also met his first wife, Bao Huiqiao.
Bao Huiqiao also made a name for herself in the international piano world at this time, and at the age of 21, she won the fifth place in the international competition. World champion and international pianist, the status of these two seems to be very compatible, so after being introduced, Zhuang and Bao soon fell in love, and soon reached the point of talking about marriage.
However, not long after the happy life of these two people began, Zhuang Zedong encountered a turmoil, but fortunately, with the help of Premier Zhou, Zhuang Zedong resumed normal sports training.
It is a pity that the relationship between Zhuang Zedong and Bao Huiqiao began to crack, and after a few years of difficult walking, they finally chose to divorce.
During this period, a major event occurred in China, that is, the ice-breaking of Sino-US relations and the gradual establishment of diplomatic relations. Among them, Zhuang Zedong played an important role.
A key figure in ping-pong diplomacy
As early as the end of the 50s of the last century, due to the deterioration of relations between the mainland and the Soviet Union, the state also began to adjust its policy in foreign affairs.
In 1971, Zhuang Zedong happened to go to Japan to participate in the World Table Tennis Championships.
One day, when the athletes were preparing to go to training, Cohen, a player from the United States at the time, got on the wrong bus and boarded the bus from the mainland athlete's residence to the training ground.
When Cohen found out that he was on the wrong bus, he was very embarrassed and stood there not knowing what to do. At this time, Zhuang Zedong happened to be sitting in the first row, he stood up and shook hands with Cohen, greeted Cohen, and welcomed Cohen through an interpreter.
Immediately, Zhuang Zedong gave Cohen a Hangzhou brocade, which was embroidered with the beautiful scenery of Huangshan Mountain in the mainland.
The next day, in order to return the gift, Cohen bought a sports T-shirt and gave it to Zhuang Zedong, and the two shook hands and had a conversation.
The incident was soon learned by the media, who rushed to report it. At that time, Zhuang Zedong's teammates and coaches all sweated for Zhuang Zedong, after all, the international situation at that time was still unclear.
However, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou were very happy when they learned about this. Precisely before that, the mainland had been seeking a diplomatic breakthrough.
On the other hand, the United States at that time was actually interested in improving relations with China, and China thought the same, but the two sides had not found a suitable opportunity until then.
Zhuang Zedong's move is the first signal for China and the United States to go further.
Not long after, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou unanimously agreed to invite the US table tennis team to visit China, and the US side readily agreed.
After the U.S. table tennis team arrived on the mainland, the mainland table tennis team was also invited to the United States for a return visit, and Zhuang Zedong was appointed by Premier Zhou as the head of the delegation.
After returning to China, Zhuang Zedong not only entered the post of deputy director of the National Sports Commission, but also received praise from Chairman Mao: "Not only does he play well to win glory for the country, but he also engages in diplomacy, and this person is a bit politically minded." ”
Soon, 34-year-old Zhuang Zedong was promoted to director of the National Sports Commission. Although his position became higher, Zhuang Zedong himself did not float, and the state wanted to give him a house at that time, but he refused and lived in a small house of only a dozen square meters.
His own sister asked him to use his connections to transfer him back to Beijing, but Zhuang Zedong did not agree. It can be said that when he was in a high position, he was still relatively fair and selfless.
However, he did not stay in this position for long, and was dismissed due to turmoil. He was first transferred to the Shanxi table tennis team, and then transferred back to the Beijing Children's Palace as a coach.
Since then, Zhuang Zedong has been serving in the Children's Palace, which can be regarded as a complete withdrawal from politics.
Because of the key role he played in Sino-US relations, the United States also had a good impression of him at that time. Later, when Kissinger visited China, he specifically mentioned Zhuang Zedong.
Although Zhuang Zedong in the later period is no longer in the national team, many people have always missed him.
After Zhuang Zedong's death in 2013, the then honorary president of the International Table Tennis Federation, as well as Liu Guoliang, the head coach of the mainland men's table tennis team, and others all issued messages to express their condolences to Zhuang Zedong.
epilogue
After Zhuang Zedong's death, a will he left before his death was also announced.
In this will, Zhuang Zedong first thanked the country, the people and the medical staff who treated him one by one.
Among them, he especially wrote about his wife Atsuko, Zhuang Zedong is very grateful to Atsuko for his care and care for him for decades. At the end of the will, Zhuang Zedong wrote that he hoped not to cause trouble to everyone, and decided not to say goodbye to the body.
In the end, Zhuang Zedong's future affairs were handled by his wife Atsuko and son Zhuang Biao.
Although more and more people no longer remember the name "Zhuang Zedong", the honor he brought to the mainland table tennis world will never be erased.
In that era when the country was just established and was not recognized by international sports organizations, it was Zhuang Zedong who made the world pay attention to China with the title of world champion.
It was also his friendly gesture that promoted the ping-pong diplomacy between China and the United States, and he was one of the important figures in the history of the mainland.
- Author: Canghai
- Edit: Canghai
- Bibliography:
- Cui Mian. The ups and downs of Zhuang Zedong [J]. Lantai Neiwai, 2013, (02): 63-64.