Imagine if the panda would make friends, then the latest news of "Fu Bao" is estimated to be one: "Say goodbye to Korean fried chicken and kimchi, I'm going to conquer the bamboo of Sichuan!"
The monarch of the country makes a Fu Bao emoji. Screenshot of the bottom map/Xinhua News Agency video number ""Goodbye Princess Fu!" - South Korean people say goodbye to the giant panda "Fu Bao" in the rain".
In South Korea, fans' love for "Fu Bao" can simply be described as "obsessive". Hearing that "Fu Bao" was going back to China, fans had more tears than in Korean dramas. They lined up in the rain, holding slogans that read "Fu Bao, you are our little luck", and the scene was as touching as the farewell concert of the idol group. And "Fu Bao" also seems to know how to make an atmosphere, and its way back to China is comparable to a large-scale reality show. Private car transfer, charter service, this treatment is estimated to make other pandas envious and jealous.
Xinhua News Agency, Zan 1788
The Korean people said goodbye to the giant panda "Fu Bao" in the rain, and the touching scene was close to the farewell concert of the idol group. Source/Xinhua News Agency
In short, the return trip of "Fu Bao" is not only a major event related to animals, but also a hot news of cultural exchanges between China and South Korea. Not only Fu Bao, but now the "Panda Ambassadors" all over the world have become dazzling "friendship messengers", bringing joy to the people of the world everywhere they go, and are one of the favorite Chinese symbols of overseas people.
Was there panda diplomacy in the Tang Dynasty?
Giant pandas were the first to "go overseas" as ambassadors of peace, and the most widely circulated theory is that according to the "Japanese Imperial Yearbook", in 685, Emperor Jimmu of Japan received a pair of giant pandas and 70 furs from the Tang Dynasty government. Some scholars believe that this is the earliest panda diplomacy. However, scholar Zhang Xuyan researched in the article "Changes and Challenges of Panda Diplomacy in New China" that this statement did not first appear in Chinese and Japanese historical sources, but came from the German scholar Herbert Wendt (1914-1979), who mentioned in an article that "on October 22, 685, the emperor of China presented two white bears and seventy white bear skins to the emperor of Japan". Desmond Morris quoted this statement in his book The Giant Panda (published in 1981) and speculated that the "white bear" here may refer to the panda. The book "Japanese Imperial Yearbook" should be the English name of "Japanese Imperial annals" or the German translation of the "Japanese Shoki" into Chinese. The year 685 is the twelfth year of Emperor Tenmu, but there is no record of anything related to bears in the Nihon Shoki, and there is a similar record in the so-called historical records in 658, that is, the fourth year of Emperor Saimei:
"It's the year old, the Yue country shou Abe led Tianchen Hirafu to be cautious, and sacrificed two and seventy skins. ”
The term "罴" refers to brown bears rather than white bears, and the place where the bears were captured was in "Sushen" in northeastern China, where pandas would certainly not be produced.
Pandas are very popular in Japan, and aside from the ethereal ancient legends, when pandas first arrived in Japan in 1972, they aroused the fanatical love of three generations of Japanese people. The story that pandas went to Japan during the Tang Dynasty has also attracted the attention of Japanese scholars, who, in addition to historical materials, have also looked through animal books from the Asuka period (592-710), but have not found a single giant panda in either pictures or records. On April 19, 1985, the Asahi Shimbun published an article titled "The Giant Panda Ship Sunk? Asuka Times Didn't Reach Japan: An Independent Investigation by Ms. Kuroyanagi." In the article, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, who has been concerned about this matter for a long time, wrote unwillingly:
"It is unknown whether the ship carrying the pandas sank or the pandas died during the journey, but it is probably not until they reached Japan. ”
In the early 20th century, with the enthusiasm of Europeans and Americans for pandas, it also attracted greedy poachers, which seriously threatened the survival and reproduction of giant pandas. In 1939, the Nationalist Government issued a ban on the transportation and export of giant pandas on the basis of the fact that the chaos of large-scale hunting might cause the giant panda to suffer an endangered predicament. In this way, the already rare panda becomes even more precious. Western countries have had to hope that the Chinese government will satisfy their people's panda cravings through official channels, after hoping that their hopes for self-reproduction have failed. In the 40s of the 20th century, in the face of the rising "panda fever", China's "panda diplomacy" came into being.
"Goodwill Ambassador" during the Anti-Japanese War
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the American people set up many organizations to aid China to support China's war of resistance. Among them, the U.S. Joint Committee for the Relief of Chinese Refugees launched a $5 million campaign. The proceeds will be used directly to purchase clothing, utensils, or medicines for the relief of refugees, or remitted to funds for childcare and industrial development, refugees' livelihood and education. The enthusiastic assistance of various non-governmental organizations in the United States gave strong support to China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. In 1941, sisters Soong Ailing and Soong Meiling, who were engaged in Chinese refugee relief work, learned of the death of Pandora, the only giant panda in the Bronx Zoo in New York. In order to express their gratitude to the United States for its aid to China, the two Song sisters proposed to give the American people a giant panda. The Nationalist Government believed that it could use the panda gift to the United States to consolidate the wartime alliance with the United States, which had just been established.
When the US side learned that China would give pandas away, it was very excited. To accept a precious gift from China, the Bronx Zoo in New York sent John TeeVan to war-torn China. In order to avoid the sensitive area in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he started from New York, detoured to Australia, New Zealand, the East Indies, Singapore, passed through Bangkok, Yangon, and traveled to Kunming through the Yunnan-Burma Highway, then to Chongqing, and finally to Chengdu, covering a distance of more than 34,000 kilometers.
In 1941, sisters Soong Ailing (standing) and Soong Meiling took American guests to visit the giant pandas that were about to be given to the United States.
At 3 p.m. on November 14, 1941, U.S. Special Envoy Tivin flew out of Chongqing with a pair of pandas presented by the two Soong sisters on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and arrived in New York on December 30 via Hong Kong, Manila, and Hawaii.
In 1947, the photographer photographed the giant panda "Panda" eating bamboo shoots and leaves at the Bronx Zoo in New York. "Panda" came to New York on December 30, 1941.
On Christmas Eve 1944, the London Zoo sadly announced that the panda "Ming", who had shared the hardships of the British in World War II, had passed away suddenly. To fill the vacancy, the British government made a request to the Nationalist Government for a panda in exchange for a full scholarship for Chinese zoologists to study at a British research institute. In May 1946, the Nationalist Government announced that it would give the British government a panda. The 1-year-old female weighed 80 pounds and was named Lien-Ho, a symbol of international solidarity. According to Ta Kung Pao on May 7:
"The panda ...... Together with the food, there are four seats on the plane, and we will send Professor Ma De to escort them. ”
Ma De is a professor of biology at Sichuan University, and this trip is not only a "panda capture guardian", but also a "graduate student of zoology who is about to fly to England to do free treatment". For this purpose, the British side sent a special plane to Chengdu to pick up the transport, passing through Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Marseille and other places. Because the panda is not tolerant of extreme heat, a ventilated room is specially set up in the special plane, and it is full of ice cubes. There are also reports that "there are 'attachés' who fan them all the way". On May 11, the "joint" arrived in Britain and appeared at the London Zoo the next day, and various newspapers enthusiastically captured the camera, "drinking sugar water and eating oranges on a par with diplomats, as if Churchill's every word and action became news."
The panda "Union" at the London Zoo was presented by China in May 1946.
After that, with the gradual defeat of the Kuomintang in the civil war, the Nationalist government had no time to arrange panda delivery, and the "panda diplomacy" led by it also came to an end.
"It has become the audience's favorite animal"
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, as the "cutest diplomat", the giant panda continued to play its unique role. As a "goodwill ambassador" in the field of diplomacy, the giant panda is not only a rare animal, but also a symbol of peace and friendship, a bridge to communicate with the world, and a bridge to convey goodwill. The first "panda diplomacy" of the People's Republic of China took place in 1957, and it was the Soviet Union that received the gift.
In May of the same year, Voroshilov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, visited China. At his request, the Chinese side, in the name of Beijing Mayor Peng Zhen, presented the two giant pandas, "Pingping" and "Moraine", to the Soviet government and people as a "national gift." On April 10, 1957, Peng Zhen, then mayor of Beijing, sent a letter to Pobrovnikov, chairman of the Moscow Soviet Executive Committee, regarding the donation of pandas by the people of Beijing to the people of Moscow, saying:
"In order to express the brotherly greetings of the people of Beijing to the people of Moscow, I would like to present to you the giant pandas we have captured in China...... May the friendship between the people of our two cities prosper and develop from generation to generation. ”
Shortly after the two pandas arrived at the Moscow Central Zoo, the Soviet Union held the 6th World Youth Festival on July 28, and the panda as a special national gift has also become a symbol of youth friendship between China and the Soviet Union.
In 1966, at the Moscow Zoo, a large number of tourists came to see the giant panda "An An". An An is a male giant panda gifted by the Chinese government in 1959, and in 1962, the zoo built a two-room villa for it and named it "Bamboo Garden".
In addition to the Soviet Union, between 1956 and 1980, China successively donated five giant pandas, including "Dandan", "Sanxing" and "Linlin" to another friendly neighbor, North Korea. However, for quite a long time, given the political environment at the time, it was difficult for Western countries to obtain China's giant pandas through official sources. In 1950, the panda "Union" living in the United Kingdom died, and on October 31, 1951, "Panda", who had lived in the Bronx Zoo in New York for nearly ten years, also passed away. At that time, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands and other countries sent letters to China through various channels, and also wanted to buy pandas through purchase, exchange or even capture them themselves, but most of them were rejected by China.
From 1956 to 1957, the Miami Rare Bird Farm in Florida and the Chicago Zoo sent two letters to the Beijing Zoo hoping that:
"Exchange currency or animals for a pair of giant pandas in China. ”
"There are no live pandas left at zoos in the United States, and we are very eager to get a pair of ...... If we can get a pair or more of these animals, we will be glad to accept the price you have offered, and we will be willing to enter into an agreement that is satisfactory to both of us and to the consent of our two Governments. ”
However, at that time, Western countries led by the United States imposed an economic blockade on China, and it was almost impossible for China to agree to the demands of the United States at this time. Eventually, the matter ran aground.
Germany, the Netherlands and other countries have also made requests to China for giant pandas. In 1959, Cross Müller, director of the Hanovert State Zoo in the Federal Republic of Germany, wrote many times, and even proposed to come to China to catch 2 giant pandas and 3 antelopes and buy them in foreign exchange. At that time, such a request was naturally unrealistic, and the Chinese side politely declined on the grounds that "all animals are rare and precious and not easy to catch".
"Oh my God, the Prime Minister is going to send us pandas"
From February 21 to 28, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon and his wife went on an "ice-breaking trip" to China, which was called "the week that changed the world" by international public opinion. This is the first visit by a US president to the People's Republic of China, marking the beginning of a new historical stage in Sino-US relations after a 22-year "freezing" period. After arriving in China, the president's wife made no secret of her love for giant pandas, and although her itinerary was repeatedly revised, she always kept the idea of going to the zoo to see the giant pandas. According to the archives of the Beijing Zoo:
At 3:35 p.m. on February 22, 1972, Mrs. Nixon visited the zoo's panda pavilion, accompanied by dozens of foreign journalists, to visit the giant and red pandas in the zoo and on the sports field, and left at 4:20 p.m. ”
Tang Longbin, then deputy director of the State Guest Reception Division of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was very impressed by Mrs. Nixon's excitement after seeing the giant pandas. While shopping, Mrs. Nixon and her entourage bought a bunch of panda toys.
On February 22, 1972, Mrs. Nixon visited the Panda Pavilion at the Beijing Zoo.
Before Nixon's visit to China, the United States sent five or six advance teams, and the American advance team mentioned each time:
"The American people, especially American children, love pandas so much, if China sends us a pair of pandas, it will be simple, innocent, lively and likable, which is a good integration with the swan sculpture sent by the United States, and it also means that the relationship between China and the United States will usher in a good omen." ”
On the evening of February 22, 1972, Premier Zhou Enlai held a grand banquet in the Great Hall of the People to welcome Nixon and his wife Pat.
Zhou Enlai entertained Nixon with a lavish dinner. Nixon and Pat skillfully picked up the chopsticks and tasted the delicious food with relish, Zhou Enlai smiled and praised Pat and said: "The president and you can use chopsticks skillfully, it's not easy!" Pat proudly raised the chopsticks and said: "In order to come to China, we have learned to use chopsticks in the White House and practiced for nearly half a year!"
The atmosphere of the banquet was very relaxed. During the dinner, Premier Zhou pushed the Panda brand cigarettes to Mrs. Nixon and asked, "Do you like it?"
Mrs. Nixon said, "I don't smoke. ”
The premier pointed to the panda and said, "Do you like this?" You give two musk cows to the Chinese, and the Beijing Zoo will send two pandas to the American people. ”
After hearing this, Mrs. Nixon did not care that Nixon was talking to Marshal Ye Jianying, and screamed at him in surprise: "Oh my God! Richard! What are you listening to the prime minister? Panda! The prime minister is going to send us a panda." ”
When Nixon heard this, his face was also full of surprise. When the reporters in the banquet hall saw that there was a "commotion" here, they immediately gathered to investigate, and hurried back to press the press without taking care of eating. "One of the reporters probably tripped and fell, and before our waiter could come and help him, he got up and ran out. ”
At 9 o'clock, the banquet ended. Premier Zhou accompanied the Nixons out of the Great Hall of the People and got on the bus outside the North Gate. Mrs. Nixon said excitedly as she walked, "It's beautiful, isn't it? Great, isn't it?"
When the news returned to the United States, it immediately caused a national sensation and became a topic of discussion among Americans for a while. The Washington Post article said: "Zhou Enlai conquered the hearts of Americans at once through the cute panda!"
In April 1972, giant pandas "Lingling" and "Xingxing" from Baoxing County, Sichuan Province, crossed the Pacific Ocean on a special plane. When the plane arrived in Washington, more than 8,000 Americans braved the rain to greet them. The debut of "Lingling" and "Xingxing" at the National Zoo in Washington attracted more than 20,000 viewers. In the first month of their meeting, more than 1 million visitors were there, and a wave of "panda fever" swept the United States. 1972 is therefore known as the "Year of the Panda" by the American people. The "panda diplomacy" that witnessed the normalization of Sino-US relations has become a good story in the history of diplomacy.
Mrs. Nixon looks at giant pandas during the opening of the Giant Panda Pavilion at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., April 20, 1972.
A barometer of relations between countries
Following the United States, in the autumn of 1972, then Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China. The Japanese people's love for giant pandas can be described as fanatical, and they have created momentum through various channels to express this strong desire, hoping to take advantage of the Prime Minister's visit to China to fulfill their wish. Before Kakuei Tanaka's visit, the Japanese side had already made various preparations to welcome the giant pandas. To this end, in a report on September 24, the Japanese news agency interviewed Asano Sanyoshi, director of Ueno Zoo, with the title of "Looking forward to the good news of pandas", and bluntly said:
On the 9th of this month, China exchanged animals with the Beijing Zoo and resumed diplomatic relations one step ahead of politics. The children have a crush on storks but still love pandas. At present, there are Chinese (small) pandas with long tails that are related to giant pandas, while black and white giant pandas are only sold in China with cloth sewn toys. I hope that by taking the opportunity of this visit to China, I will make the children's dreams come true. The Tokyo Zoo is ready to welcome and is looking forward to receiving a notification of "Panda to Japan".
During his visit to China, Kakuei Tanaka pleaded with the Chinese side on various occasions to present a pair of giant pandas. On September 29, 1972, the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration was signed. In the afternoon, a delegation from the Japanese government held a press conference to announce the news that China had gifted a pair of giant pandas to Japan.
On November 4, 1972, the ceremony of accepting giant pandas from Chinese was held in Ueno Park, Tokyo.
Among Western countries, France is the first major Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China at the ambassadorial level. In 1964, despite the obstruction of other countries, France resolutely established diplomatic relations with China and took the lead in breaking the blockade imposed by the West on China. Since then, the two countries have cooperated in the fields of diplomacy, economy, trade, and culture, setting an example for China in dealing with major Western powers. Because of the long-standing friendship and cooperation between the two countries, during President Pompidou's visit to China in 1973, he was very eager to get giant pandas. At the farewell banquet, Pompidou expressed to Premier Zhou the wishes of the French government and people. Zhou Enlai said on the spot that he would give France a pair of giant pandas. On April 20, 1974, the Baoxing giant panda "Li Li" (female) and the Pingwu giant panda "Yanyan" (male) took a special plane to the Vincennes Zoo in Paris, which was welcomed by the whole country.
Britain, as the first Western country to recognize New China, was not to be left behind. In May 1974, British Prime Minister Heath took the opportunity of his visit to China to request that the Chinese government agree to give a pair of giant pandas, "Jiajia" and "Jingjing".
In 1975, three years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Mexico, the Chinese government, at the request of Mexican President Luis Echeverria, presented a pair of giant pandas "Yingying" and "Beibei" to the Mexican government. This is the first time that Mexico has its own giant pandas. On September 10, 1975, "Beibei" and "Yingying" crossed the sea and ocean to Mexico, thousands of miles away, not only composing a good story of Sino-Mexican friendship, but also giving birth to an "overseas family" of giant pandas.
In September 1978, King Carlos I of Spain visited China for the first time, and the Chinese government presented them with a pair of giant pandas, Qiang Qiang and Shao Shao.
To a certain extent, the whereabouts of the giant pandas became a barometer of state relations. Before 1982, China's "panda diplomacy" was a gift-giving model. In 1982, in response to a global call to protect endangered animals, China stopped giving away giant pandas to foreign countries free of charge.
In 2007, the spokesperson of the State Forestry Administration officially announced that it would no longer give pandas to other countries, but that it could still conduct relevant Sino-foreign cooperative research. In order to solve the problems caused by the giant pandas going abroad and better protect the giant pandas, the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the China Zoo Association have reached an agreement with the international animal protection agency that China can send a pair of healthy and fertile giant pandas to other countries for 10 years of cooperative research, during which the breeding offspring will be owned by the Chinese side. If a giant panda dies unexpectedly, its body will also belong to the Chinese side. China can send technical personnel to work with foreign parties to conduct research on giant pandas, and the foreign side will pay the Chinese side US$1 million per year, for a total of US$10 million over 10 years. Since then, "the world's cutest diplomat has started a new career".
These "cutest diplomats" continue to carry the mission of enhancing friendly relations between China and foreign countries, spreading China's soft power, and telling China's story.
Giant panda cub "Little Miracle" (right) and his mother "Mei Xiang" enjoy frozen fruit cake at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., April 16, 2022, during an event to celebrate the arrival of giant pandas in the United States and the 50th anniversary of the zoo's giant panda program. The cake is made with panda favourites – diluted apple and pineapple juice frozen into embryos and garnished with sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, sugar cane, bananas and bamboo. Tourists watched this "mother and son eating show" with great interest.