Throughout his life, swimming and bridge were his favorites.
On August 5, 1986, when he met with Nijidojin, the top adviser to Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, he said: "I test my body by two. One is whether you can go to the sea, and the other is whether you can play bridge. Being able to play bridge proves that the mind is still good, and being able to go to the sea proves that the physical strength is good. Not long ago, Hong Kong said that I was sick and the stock fell. In fact, they can easily know if I am in good health. Just know I'm playing bridge and still swimming in the summer. ”
Since childhood, Deng Xiaoping has loved swimming. His cousin once recalled that Deng Xiaoping was very smart and bold when he was a child, often jumping into the canal river to play with the water, and especially liked to swim in the wind and waves on rainy days.
However, when he was young, he studied abroad, the war years were in full swing, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Deng Xiaoping rarely had time to go into the water to show his swimming skills. It was only after the 1980s, when the domestic political situation was stable and reform and opening up gradually entered the right track, that he had the opportunity and mood to regain this childhood hobby.
Deng Xiaoping did not like indoor swimming pools, preferring to swim in nature. He thinks that there is more freedom in the sea, and there is a momentum. Every summer, he will come to the beidaihe seashore, close to the sea, enjoy the swim! Here, he seized every opportunity to go into the water, and even on the day of arrival or departure, he also went to the sea. No matter what the weather conditions, sometimes it is cold, sometimes the wind and waves are very strong, he will not give up easily.
Deng Xiaoping and his family swim on Dalian's Bangchui Island
In the summer of 1983, Deng Xiaoping took his family to Dalian's Bangchui Island for a vacation. For seven days of vacation, except for one day because of oil stains in the sea, the other six days he threw himself into the Yellow Sea to fight. Every day at about 9 a.m., Xiaoping, his wife Zhuo Lin and his two daughters, along with their grandchildren and granddaughters, boarded a van and headed for the seafront. As soon as he got out of the car, he immediately changed into his bathing suit and swam into the deep sea. His head was exposed to the water and he swam sideways. Sometimes the wind and waves are very large, one wave after another, with the help of the wind to pounce on him. The guards urged him to go ashore, but he stubbornly swam forward, insisting on swimming for an hour and a half at a time. After landing on the shore, there is no fatigue, and it is difficult for people to believe that this is a 79-year-old man.
After coming to Bangchui Island, local provincial and municipal leaders came to visit him and invited him to visit or speak. Deng Xiaoping was afraid of delaying his own entry into the sea, and he politely refused one by one. His reasoning was: "I'm on vacation, I'm on vacation." ”
In the summer of 1992, Deng Xiaoping made an important southern tour of Wuchang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shanghai. After returning to Beijing, he came to Beidaihe for the last time.
At this time, he was already eighty-eight years old, and the doctors and staff around him did not agree to let him go into the water again, but he kept demanding like a child. Reluctantly, the medical team had to agree, but gave him a limited swimming environment and time. This summer, Deng Xiaoping went into the water a total of eight times, not exceeding an hour at a time, as the doctor asked. It was also his last intimate contact with the sea during his lifetime.
In 1997, Comrade Xiaoping passed away. According to his last wishes, the ashes were scattered into the sea, and he became one with the sea forever.
In addition to swimming, bridge also accompanied Deng Xiaoping throughout his life.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Deng Xiaoping, who was in charge of the Southwest Bureau, learned to play bridge in Chongqing. Since then, he has formed an indissoluble relationship with bridge. Even if he is busy at work, he will meet a few card friends during the break and play a few bridge games. He once said, "Only when I play bridge do I think about nothing." Focus on the cards and the mind rests adequately. It can be seen that Deng Xiaoping liked to play bridge, and the purpose was to let the brain be regulated so that he could energetically cope with the heavy work.
Players such as Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang played bridge
Deng Xiaoping's card friends mainly included Wan Li, Hu Yaobang, Ding Guangen, Wu Xueqian, Rong Gaotang, nie Weiping, and his daughter Deng Nan and the staff around him were often involved. Deng Xiaoping was highly skilled in playing cards, good at learning, and met many masters. He once said: "Playing cards should be played with the master, and there is a taste when you lose." ”
Chinese-American Yang Xiaoyan is known as the "Queen of Bridge in the World". She had heard that Deng Xiaoping's bridge was played well and had always longed to meet him. In March 1981, she led her first group of American players to Beijing, hoping to meet Deng Xiaoping and play bridge. Deng Xiaoping readily agreed and scheduled to meet them at the Great Hall of the People on the evening of the 4th.
Deng Xiaoping with The Bridge Empress Yang Xiaoyan
This bridge duel was played from eight o'clock in the evening until one o'clock in the evening. For four or five consecutive hours, Deng Xiaoping talked and laughed, was not tired, and was still full of energy at the end of the game. Deng Xiaoping smoked a lot during the game, one after another. Yang Xiaoyan paid attention to observation, found that his cigarette was very short, only an inch long, and asked him curiously. Deng told her humorously; "They don't like me to smoke so much, so they use this method to limit me."
Through a one-night duel, Yang Xiaoyan believes that his bridge skills are extremely exquisite. Defend tightly, attack quickly, whether it is calling cards or playing cards, it has the demeanor of a general who leads thousands of troops and horses, suppresses the other side, and controls the overall situation.
Deng Xiaoping also admired the "queen of bridge" playing cards. Since 1981, Yang Xiaoyan has been invited to Beijing every year to compete with Deng Xiaoping, Wanli, Hu Yaobang, Ding Guangen and other central leaders. In the years of exchanges, she also observed the personality of these central leaders from the art of cards, such as the momentum of Wanli is greater, and Deng Xiaoping is more stable.
Nie Weiping, a national go player, was often invited to play cards with Deng Xiaoping because of his high bridge skills. He said: "Deng Xiaoping's bridge level is very high, much better than my card skills. It's really hard to be his opponent and want to win him. Once, Nie and Deng partnered, and under their fierce attack, the opponents Wan Li and Zhu Shouhe lost particularly badly. Nie Weiping saw the situation and was a little unbearable, so he deliberately "released water" and let the opponent score quickly catch up. Deng Xiaoping saw that the cat was tired and immediately criticized Nie Weiping for "kicking the match-fixing." After seeing Nie Weiping's lover afterwards, Xiaoping also said humorously: "Nie Weiping's Go is nine dan, and bridge is not nine dan." ”
It can be seen that Deng Xiaoping was not only highly skilled in playing cards, but also had a very serious attitude.
Deng Xiaoping played bridge with Nie Weiping
Bridge is an important international competition and is also loved by many people in China. However, during the Cultural Revolution, it was banned as a bourgeois entertainment method, and "liking to play bridge" became a crime for Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" to attack Deng Xiaoping.
After smashing the Gang of Four, with the attention and support of Deng Xiaoping, China's bridge movement resumed. In 1980, the Chinese Bridge Association was founded and joined the World Bridge Federation. In July 1988, Deng Xiaoping became honorary chairman of the China Bridge Association. In June 1993, the World Bridge Federation presented Deng Xiaoping with the "Highest Honor of The President" award to thank him for his contribution to the development of the Chinese bridge movement.
Deng Xiaoping once said to Yang Xiaoyan: "I use swimming to exercise my body and bridge to train my brain." Swimming is a physical exercise, bridge is an intellectual activity, physical exercise and intellectual training interact, which is of great help and promotion to people's physical and mental health.
Deng Xiaoping died in February 1997 at the age of 93. Whether among the party and state leaders or among ordinary people, they can be regarded as a high life expectancy. And until shortly before his death, his mind was still clear and his thinking was still agile, which was not unrelated to his lifelong hobbies of swimming and bridge.