Xu Yinsheng, Zheng Minzhi, Shi Zhihao, Ding Song and other table tennis celebrities appeared at the Shanghai Book Fair this morning (14th). Using books to make nets, mobile phones as rackets, readers are eager to try and compete with world champions. The launch ceremony of "The "Cradle" of National Ball: Interview with Shanghai Table Tennis Celebrities" was warm.
"The "Cradle" of the National Ball: Interviews with Famous Shanghai Table Tennis Players" is jointly launched by Shanghai Tongzhiguan and China Table Tennis Academy, and is one of the "Shanghai Geographical Conditions Popularization Series and Oral Interview Series". The book contains oral life stories of Xue Weichu, Yang Ruihua, Xu Yinsheng, Zhang Xielin, Lin Huiqing, Li Furong, Yu Changchun, Li Henan, Yu Yize, Zheng Minzhi, Yao Zhenxu, Li Zhengong, Huang Xiping, Zhang Deying, Lu Yuansheng, Shi Zhihao, Shen Jianping, Cao Yanhua, Ni Xialian, Ding Song, Wang Liqin and other famous Shanghai table tennis players.
Why is Shanghai known as the "cradle" of the table tennis world champion? In the opening chapter of the book, "Shanghai: The "Cradle" of Table Tennis World Champions", Xu Yinsheng's answer is, "Since the founding of New China, we have won a total of 115 world championships (including Olympic champions), and there are more than 20 athletes and coaches from Shanghai, ranking first in the country." ”
Xu Yinsheng believes that the reason for such achievements is closely related to the history, economic development, and traditional culture of Shanghai. Table tennis originated in the United Kingdom, and the birthplace of table tennis in China is in Shanghai. In the 1910s and 1920s, table tennis became popular in Shanghai. It is said that at that time, there was a stationery businessman in Shanghai who saw someone playing ball on both sides of the table in Japan and made a "ping-pong" sound, and he thought it was quite interesting, so he brought it to Shanghai. He got a few people to learn to play and show them in the store. Since then, the sport has gradually become popular in Shanghai and expanded to other cities.
At that time, Shanghainese played table tennis and held the racket straight, similar to the Japanese, and there were few people like Europeans who held the racket horizontally. From this point of analysis, the statement from Japan is more reliable. Shanghainese play table tennis is supposed to be greatly influenced by Japan, but from the perspective of development, Shanghainese people are not on the same path as Japanese. The same is the straight grip of the racket, the Japanese use rectangular racket, the grip method is stiff, limiting the wrist force, backhand hitting the ball is more difficult, can only rely on the forehand attack, so it is called "one-horned dragon". Xu Yinsheng introduced that Shanghainese playing table tennis later evolved into the use of round rackets, the grip method is natural, the wrist is flexible, the forehand and backhand are used freely, the playing style is diverse, and each shows its magic. Chinese smart and wise, accept new things quickly, introduce and learn foreign things, not simply imitate and copy, but according to their own situation, they have discovered and innovated. This innate trait is also reflected in the Shanghainese play table tennis.
Shanghai is the cradle of the main players of the Chinese national table tennis team participating in the previous World Championships. According to incomplete statistics, from the 20th World Table Tennis Championships in 1953 to the 54th World Table Tennis Championships in 2018, there were nearly 60 Shanghai players among the main players of the Chinese national team, accounting for nearly one-third of all team members. Shanghai is also the cradle of well-known table tennis coaches. Yang Kaiyun, Fu Qifang, Sun Meiying, Li Henan, Xu Yinsheng, Zhang Xielin, Li Furong, Lin Huiqing, Lu Yuansheng, Shi Zhihao, etc. who have served as the coaches of the men's and women's teams of the national team, and Li Zhenkan, who has served as the head coach of the Bayi table tennis team, has li Zhengong. Shanghai is also the cradle of table tennis techniques, such as chipping. Shanghai has seen many famous players who are good at cutting the ball: Zhang Xielin, Lin Huiqing, Zheng Minzhi, Yao Zhenxu, Huang Xiping, Lu Yuansheng, Ding Song.
Why has Shanghai become the "cradle" of the national ball? The book analyzes that first of all, because Shanghai is an open city, and secondly, the foundation for the popularization of table tennis is good. Before the founding of new China, table tennis in Shanghai was very common and continued until after the founding of New China. The third is a generation-driven generation, and the teacher-inheritance relationship between Shanghai coaches and Shanghai athletes: Yang Ruihua - Ni Xialian, Li Henan - Shen Jianping, Li Furong - Li Zhengong, Zhang Xielin - Cao Yanhua - Xu Xin, Lin Huiqing - Cao Yanhua, Lin Huiqing - Zhang Deying, Yu Yize - Shi Zhihao - Wang Liqin, Lu Yuansheng - Ding Song, these all reflect the inheritance of table tennis. The fourth reason is that Shanghai has always been at the forefront of technological progress. Table tennis is a sport that pays special attention to technical changes. Every change in technology will bring a new world. From the small table tennis racket rubber from positive glue to reverse glue, the game of pulling arc circles and anti-arc circles, to the change of technical style, Shanghai players have always been at the forefront of change. Shanghai also has the convenience of international exchanges, and the international famous table tennis players and table tennis people who come to Shanghai for exchange are endless, and the exchange competitions held in Shanghai are always continuous.
"There is a city spirit called 'Shanghai Table Tennis.'" Hong Minrong, secretary of the party leading group of the Shanghai Local History Office, said that it is Fang Zhiren's duty to remember the history of Shanghai, tell the story of Shanghai well, and inherit the wonderful shanghai, and the story of Shanghai's ping-pong is the refraction of Shanghai's urban spirit.
Source: Author: Shi Chenlu