Zhuang Zedong
Encyclopedia
((blpsources|date=October 2011}}
Zhuang Zedong ' onMouseout='HidePop("91240")' href="/topics/Pinyin">Pinyin
: Zhuāng Zédòng; Wade-Giles
: Chuang Tsetung) (born 1940) is a Chinese
table tennis
player, three-time world men's singles champion and champion at numerous other table tennis events, a well-known political personality during the tumult of the Cultural Revolution
. His chance meeting with the US table tennis player, Glenn Cowan
, during the 31st World Table Tennis Championship, later referred to as Ping Pong Diplomacy
, was considered in China to have triggered the thawing of the ice in Sino-American relations
since 1949. Zhuang was once married to the pianist Bao Huiqiao, and his second wife is the Chinese-born Japanese Sasaki Atsuko (佐々木敦子).
He also won numerous champion titles at various other regional, national and international table tennis events, and the number of his championship titles exceeds all those won by the other members of the Chinese national team combined. No single player has ever won so many championship titles.
In the fall of 1959, Zhuang Zedong met the pianist, Bao Huiqiao, in Vienna
, Austria
, at the 7th World Youth Peace and Friendship Festival. She was there, along with the pianist Yin Chengzong
, to participate in a piano
competition.
Shortly after Zhuang won his first world men's singles championship in 1961, Bao Huiqiao won the fifth place at the International George Enescu
Piano Competition in Romania
.
At the Spring Festival party given by Peng Zhen
, the mayor
of Beijing
in 1962, Zhuang Zedong met Bao Huiqiao again and sent her a toy model car that he won as an award in a game at the party and they subsequently started dating each other.
On January 20, 1968, two years into the depth of the Cultural Revolution
, they got married in the dormitory
room of Bao Huiqiao at the National Music Conservatory in Beijing
. Since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution
in 1966, Zhuang had not been able to pursue his career as a table tennis player as usual, nor had Bao hers as a pianist. In late 1968, Bao Huiqiao gave birth to a son, and they named him Zhuang Biao.
During the 50s to 60s, the majority of the pen-holding style players lack attacking or counter-attack capabilities on the backhand side, and rely solely on push-blocking. Wang is believed to be among the pioneers of the "Penholding Dual-sided Offense" style that emphasize on offensive backhand strokes and drives.
Zhuang adopted but modified Wang's style by:
1. Shorten the strokes of backhand drives
- sometimes even simply use wrist or finger actions to flick the racket (referred by himself in his book as to "knock" or "snap" the ball).
2. Stand closer to the table than Wang
- but still 2–3 feet away from the table, which is farther away from the table than most push-blocking penholders who are normally within 2 feet.
He did so as a result of his meticulous analysis of the physical differences between him and Wang - Wang was much taller and had a longer arm-coverage which enabled bigger, more powerful swings and strokes.
He had to streamline his strokes and instead attempted to generate a sudden burst of explosive power via a smaller motion, similar to the "one-inch-punch" in Wing Chun
Kung Fu style.
He won and dominated 3 World Championships with this unique style, and encountered almost no match from the Japanese, European and his fellow Chinese players. Table tennis observers generally believe that he could have won one to two more world championships if the Cultural Revolution
had not occurred. (It was evidenced by the fact the next 2 champions both had lopsided losing records against Zhuang when the Chinese team did not participate during the Cultural Revolution.)
Zhou Enlai
, and in 1971, Zhuang Zedong and the Chinese team attended the 31st World Table Tennis Championship. One day during the championship in Nagoya, Japan
, the US team member, Glenn Cowan
, got onto the bus of the Chinese team, and Zhuang Zedong greeted him and presented him with a silk-screen portrait of the Huangshan Mountains
, thus starting the so-called Ping Pong Diplomacy
. Ten months after Zhuang's chance meeting with Cowan, Richard Nixon
, then the president
of the United States
, visited China
in February, 1972. Only two months later, Zhuang led the Chinese table tennis delegation to the United States
from April 18 to 30, as part of an 18-day trip including Canada
, Mexico
and Peru
. The so-called Ping Pong Diplomacy
eventually led to the normalization of Sino-US relationships
in 1979.
, wife of Mao Zedong
and leader of the Cultural Revolution
. He was made, sequentially, to become a representative of the 10th Plenary Session
of the Communist Party of China
, a member of the Central Committee
, vice party secretary
, secretary and director of the National Sports Committee.
In 1975, Bao Huiqiao gave birth to a daughter, Zhuang Lan.
After the downfall in October, 1976 of the Gang of Four
of which Jiang Qing
was a member, Zhuang Zedong was jailed and investigated. In 1980, the investigation ended and he was sent to Taiyuan
, Shanxi
to work as a coach of the provincial table tennis team, which made technical progress in leaps and bounds under the coaching of Zhuang.
Zhuang's relationship with Bao Huiqiao had been reportedly deteriorating during the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution and was not to be repaired. On February 2, 1985, he and Bao Huiqiao were officially divorced.
And about this time, Zhuang Zedong published his book Chuang Yu Chuang (Chinese
: 《闯与创》(Adventure and Creation)).
, Gansu
, China
to Japan
ese parents. Her family did not move back to Japan until 1976. By this time, Sasaki had finished her high-school education in China and her father had died of cancer
in Lanzhou
. Sasaki Atsuko had met Zhuang Zedong previously in Japan in 1971 and 1972 and was a fan of Zhuang. Later Sasaki worked for a Japanese company that often sent her to Beijing to live there for business for long periods of time. This is how she had the opportunity to find Zhuang and start their romantic relationship.
Sasaki told Zhuang that she would be unable to bear his child, because she had had a womb tumor
earlier and had had a hysterectomy
. Zhuang accepted her nonetheless.
When Zhuang and Sasaki decided to get married, both had to go through a difficult political process due to the political environment in China. Zhuang had to write to Jiang Zemin
and Deng Xiaoping
about the matter, and Sasaki had to give up her Japanese citizenship
and apply for Chinese citizenship. Eventually, Zhuang and Sasaki got married on December 19, 1987.
As of 2007, Zhuang and Sasaki have been living together happily for 20 years. Zhuang has written a book about their love story, entitled Deng Xiaoping approved our marriage. Zhuang has opened an international ping-pong club in Beijing. He visited the United States in 2007, speaking at USC and other universities about his role in fostering better relations between China and the United States.
Zhuang Zedong ' onMouseout='HidePop("91240")' href="/topics/Pinyin">Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Zhuāng Zédòng; Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
: Chuang Tsetung) (born 1940) is a Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player, three-time world men's singles champion and champion at numerous other table tennis events, a well-known political personality during the tumult of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. His chance meeting with the US table tennis player, Glenn Cowan
Glenn Cowan
Glenn L. Cowan was an American table tennis player, and arguably one of two critical personalities, the other being the Chinese table tennis player Zhuang Zedong, in the 1971 Ping Pong Diplomacy which served as a prelude to the normalization of the Sino-American relations.Cowan, a former Santa...
, during the 31st World Table Tennis Championship, later referred to as Ping Pong Diplomacy
Ping Pong Diplomacy
Ping pong diplomacy refers to the exchange of ping pong players between the United States and People's Republic of China in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon....
, was considered in China to have triggered the thawing of the ice in Sino-American relations
Sino-American relations
For the article on U.S.-Taiwan relations, see Republic of China – United States relations.Sino-American or People's Republic of China–United States relations refers to international relations between the United States of America and the government of People's Republic of China...
since 1949. Zhuang was once married to the pianist Bao Huiqiao, and his second wife is the Chinese-born Japanese Sasaki Atsuko (佐々木敦子).
Early life
Zhuang was born in 1940 and he joined the Chinese National Table Tennis team as a teenager. His coach was Fu Qifang. In 1961, at the 26th World Table Tennis Championship, he won his first men's singles championship, and at the next two World Table Tennis Championships, the 27th and 28th in 1963 and 1965 respectively, he again won the men's singles championship.He also won numerous champion titles at various other regional, national and international table tennis events, and the number of his championship titles exceeds all those won by the other members of the Chinese national team combined. No single player has ever won so many championship titles.
In the fall of 1959, Zhuang Zedong met the pianist, Bao Huiqiao, in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, at the 7th World Youth Peace and Friendship Festival. She was there, along with the pianist Yin Chengzong
Yin Chengzong
Yin Chengzong is a Chinese pianist and composer.-Biography:Born on the "Piano Island" of Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, Fujian, in the People's Republic of China...
, to participate in a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
competition.
Shortly after Zhuang won his first world men's singles championship in 1961, Bao Huiqiao won the fifth place at the International George Enescu
George Enescu
George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
Piano Competition in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
At the Spring Festival party given by Peng Zhen
Peng Zhen
Peng Zhen was a leading member of the Communist Party of China.-Biography:Born in Houma , Peng was originally named Fu Maogong....
, the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1962, Zhuang Zedong met Bao Huiqiao again and sent her a toy model car that he won as an award in a game at the party and they subsequently started dating each other.
On January 20, 1968, two years into the depth of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, they got married in the dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
room of Bao Huiqiao at the National Music Conservatory in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
in 1966, Zhuang had not been able to pursue his career as a table tennis player as usual, nor had Bao hers as a pianist. In late 1968, Bao Huiqiao gave birth to a son, and they named him Zhuang Biao.
Unique style among penholders
Influenced by a veteran national team member and national champion Wang ChuanYao (王传耀), and encouraged by his coach, Zhuang picked up the "Dual-sided Offense" style in the 1950s when he was a teenager.During the 50s to 60s, the majority of the pen-holding style players lack attacking or counter-attack capabilities on the backhand side, and rely solely on push-blocking. Wang is believed to be among the pioneers of the "Penholding Dual-sided Offense" style that emphasize on offensive backhand strokes and drives.
Zhuang adopted but modified Wang's style by:
1. Shorten the strokes of backhand drives
- sometimes even simply use wrist or finger actions to flick the racket (referred by himself in his book as to "knock" or "snap" the ball).
2. Stand closer to the table than Wang
- but still 2–3 feet away from the table, which is farther away from the table than most push-blocking penholders who are normally within 2 feet.
He did so as a result of his meticulous analysis of the physical differences between him and Wang - Wang was much taller and had a longer arm-coverage which enabled bigger, more powerful swings and strokes.
He had to streamline his strokes and instead attempted to generate a sudden burst of explosive power via a smaller motion, similar to the "one-inch-punch" in Wing Chun
Wing Chun
Wing Chun , also romanised as Ving Tsun or Wing Tsun, ; ; is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.The alternative characters 永春 "eternal spring" are also...
Kung Fu style.
He won and dominated 3 World Championships with this unique style, and encountered almost no match from the Japanese, European and his fellow Chinese players. Table tennis observers generally believe that he could have won one to two more world championships if the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
had not occurred. (It was evidenced by the fact the next 2 champions both had lopsided losing records against Zhuang when the Chinese team did not participate during the Cultural Revolution.)
Actor of the Ping Pong Diplomacy
In late 1969, the training of the National Table Tennis Team resumed as a result of the intervention of PremierPremier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
, and in 1971, Zhuang Zedong and the Chinese team attended the 31st World Table Tennis Championship. One day during the championship in Nagoya, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the US team member, Glenn Cowan
Glenn Cowan
Glenn L. Cowan was an American table tennis player, and arguably one of two critical personalities, the other being the Chinese table tennis player Zhuang Zedong, in the 1971 Ping Pong Diplomacy which served as a prelude to the normalization of the Sino-American relations.Cowan, a former Santa...
, got onto the bus of the Chinese team, and Zhuang Zedong greeted him and presented him with a silk-screen portrait of the Huangshan Mountains
Huangshan Mountains
Huangshan , is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. The range composed of material that was uplifted from an ancient sea during the Mesozoic era, 100 million years ago. The mountains themselves were carved by glaciers during the Quaternary...
, thus starting the so-called Ping Pong Diplomacy
Ping Pong Diplomacy
Ping pong diplomacy refers to the exchange of ping pong players between the United States and People's Republic of China in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon....
. Ten months after Zhuang's chance meeting with Cowan, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, then the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, visited China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in February, 1972. Only two months later, Zhuang led the Chinese table tennis delegation to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from April 18 to 30, as part of an 18-day trip including Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. The so-called Ping Pong Diplomacy
Ping Pong Diplomacy
Ping pong diplomacy refers to the exchange of ping pong players between the United States and People's Republic of China in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon....
eventually led to the normalization of Sino-US relationships
Sino-American relations
For the article on U.S.-Taiwan relations, see Republic of China – United States relations.Sino-American or People's Republic of China–United States relations refers to international relations between the United States of America and the government of People's Republic of China...
in 1979.
Cultural Revolution and consequences
In 1973, Zhuang Zedong became a favorite of Jiang QingJiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
, wife of Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and leader of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. He was made, sequentially, to become a representative of the 10th Plenary Session
Plenary session
Plenary session is a term often used in conferences to define the part of the conference when all members of all parties are to attend.These sessions may contain a broad range of content from keynotes to panel discussions and are not necessarily related to a specific style of delivery.The term has...
of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
, a member of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
, vice party secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
, secretary and director of the National Sports Committee.
In 1975, Bao Huiqiao gave birth to a daughter, Zhuang Lan.
After the downfall in October, 1976 of the Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
of which Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
was a member, Zhuang Zedong was jailed and investigated. In 1980, the investigation ended and he was sent to Taiyuan
Taiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
to work as a coach of the provincial table tennis team, which made technical progress in leaps and bounds under the coaching of Zhuang.
New life in Beijing
In 1985, Zhuang was allowed to return to Beijing again, and it was arranged that he would coach the young table tennis players at the Palace of Youth in Beijing.Zhuang's relationship with Bao Huiqiao had been reportedly deteriorating during the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution and was not to be repaired. On February 2, 1985, he and Bao Huiqiao were officially divorced.
And about this time, Zhuang Zedong published his book Chuang Yu Chuang (Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 《闯与创》(Adventure and Creation)).
Marriage with Sasaki Atsuko
Later in 1985, the Chinese-born Japanese woman, Sasaki Atsuko met Zhuang again in Beijing and started dating him. Sasaki was born in 1944 in ZhangyeZhangye
-Administration:Zhangye has 1 urban district, 4 counties, 1 autonomous county, 97 towns, and 977 villages.-Demographics:Zhangye has a total population of 1,260,000, only 260,000 being urban residents...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese parents. Her family did not move back to Japan until 1976. By this time, Sasaki had finished her high-school education in China and her father had died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
. Sasaki Atsuko had met Zhuang Zedong previously in Japan in 1971 and 1972 and was a fan of Zhuang. Later Sasaki worked for a Japanese company that often sent her to Beijing to live there for business for long periods of time. This is how she had the opportunity to find Zhuang and start their romantic relationship.
Sasaki told Zhuang that she would be unable to bear his child, because she had had a womb tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...
earlier and had had a hysterectomy
Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually performed by a gynecologist. Hysterectomy may be total or partial...
. Zhuang accepted her nonetheless.
When Zhuang and Sasaki decided to get married, both had to go through a difficult political process due to the political environment in China. Zhuang had to write to Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
and Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
about the matter, and Sasaki had to give up her Japanese citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
and apply for Chinese citizenship. Eventually, Zhuang and Sasaki got married on December 19, 1987.
As of 2007, Zhuang and Sasaki have been living together happily for 20 years. Zhuang has written a book about their love story, entitled Deng Xiaoping approved our marriage. Zhuang has opened an international ping-pong club in Beijing. He visited the United States in 2007, speaking at USC and other universities about his role in fostering better relations between China and the United States.