“乒乓外交”50周年，专访当年访华的美国乒乓球队员

美国乒乓球队游览长城，1971年，北京。诺曼·韦伯斯特摄影，国家档案馆马里兰学院公园分馆借出，马里兰州，静止图像部，306-PSD-169-S-71-592

The American table tennis team visits the Great Wall, 1971, Beijing

Photograph by Norman Webster

Courtesy of the National Archives at College Park, MD, Still Picture Unit, 306-PSD-169-S-71-592

今天是美国和中国之间著名的“乒乓外交”50周年纪念日。

美中两国外交关系的解冻得益于一个出乎意料的起因——乒乓球。1971年在日本名古屋举行的世界乒乓球锦标赛期间，美国乒乓球运动员格伦·考恩与中国队同乘一辆巴士。中国顶尖球员庄则栋开始了与这位美国人的交谈，并送给他一件礼物。第二天，考恩赠予这位中国球员一件带有红、白、蓝色和平符号的T恤。这些友好交流促使毛泽东邀请美国乒乓球队访问中国大陆。《时代》杂志将这次旅行描述为“乒的一声，响彻世界”（The ping heard round the world）。

1971年4月10日，15名美国乒乓球员、球队官员和配偶经香港抵达中国大陆，是20多年来第一支进入中国大陆的美国代表团。他们访问了广州、北京和上海。隔年，中国队回访美国，到访八个城市。“乒乓外交”为尼克松1972年访问中国大陆及美国正式承认中华人民共和国奠定了基础。

在这段视频中，美国驻上海总领事馆很荣幸采访到了Judy Hoarfrost, Connie Sweeris 和Dell Sweeris。Judy和Connie都是1971年访华的美国乒乓球队员。Dell在1972年作为美国乒乓球国家队一员接待了访美的中国乒乓球队。

50th Anniversary of “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” 

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the famous “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” engagement between the United States and China.

The thaw of American and Chinese diplomatic relations was aided by an unlikely source – ping pong.  During the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, U.S. table tennis player Glenn Cowan shared a bus with the Chinese team.  China’s top player, Zhuang Zedong, began a conversation with the American and gave him a gift.  The next day Cowan gave the Chinese player a t-shirt with a red, white, and blue peace symbol.  These friendly exchanges prompted an invitation from Mao Zedong for American table tennis team.  The trip was described by Time magazine as "The ping heard round the world." 

On April 10, 1971, 15 American table tennis players, team officials, and spouses arrived in Mainland China via Hong Kong as the first American delegation to set foot on the Chinese Mainland in over 20 years. The team traveled to Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. The following year, the Chinese table tennis team traveled to the United States on an eight-city tour. This “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” set the foundation for President Nixon’s visit to the Chinese mainland in 1972 and led to the formal recognition of the People’s Republic of China by the United States.

In this video, U.S. Consulate Shanghai is honored to interview Judy Hoarfrost, Connie Sweeris and Dell Sweeris. Both Judy and Connie were American table tennis players who visited China in 1971. Dell hosted the Chinese table tennis team visiting the United States as a member of the US national table tennis team in 1972.