Bryant holds grand opening for Confucius Institute

Zhuang Zedong, the Chinese athlete credited with launching “Ping Pong diplomacy,” is the keynote speaker for the opening event.

On September 14, Bryant welcomed Zhuang Zedong, the Chinese table tennis player who helped start what became known as “Ping Pong diplomacy.” Zhuang retold how a simple act of friendship toward an American competitor in 1971 opened the door for improved relations between China and the United States, and, in his mind, paved the way for Beijing to host the 2008 Summer Olympic games.

His talk was part of the official grand opening of the Confucius Institute at Bryant, one of 20 centers around the country dedicated to the promotion of Chinese language and culture that are named after the revered Chinese thinker, educator, and philosopher.

Zhuang, who was also awarded an honorary professorship by the Confucius Institute, recalled the fateful day back in April 1971 as if it was yesterday. He was sitting in the back of the bus with the rest of his teammates on the Chinese national team in Japan where they were competing in the world championships.

Just before the door closed, a boy with long hair, who turned out to be American table tennis player Glenn Cowan, got on the bus.

Everyone was afraid to talk to him, Zhuang remembered, adding the team was told they could shake hands, exchange gifts, or take pictures with everyone except Americans during competitions.

“He stood there for 10 minutes and no one came to talk to him,” Zhuang said. He knew that his teammates did not want to get in trouble or be viewed as traitors.

“But I was born in a well-educated family and Confucianism had a big impression on me,” he said, noting that friendship is an important principle. “I decided I would not only talk to Cowan I would give him a gift.” As Zhuang approached Cowan, some of Zhuang’s teammates urged him to stop.

“He’s just an American player, not a decision maker or policymaker,” he told them. With the help of a translator, he asked Cowan his name and told him, “Although the American government is not friendly toward China, American people are all friends of Chinese people.” Zhuang presented Cowan with a silk-screen picture of Huangshan Mountains.

“He accepted my gift and he said ‘we wish you great success in the game,’” Zhuang said.

The next day, the headlines reported the new friendship to the world, much to the dismay of the Chinese team officials. “You shouldn’t talk with him anymore,” he was told. Though he didn’t agree, Zhuang said he would oblige.

Still, Cowan approached him the next day, showed his gift to the other players, and gave Zhuang a gift of his own, which caught the attention of American officials who sought to visit China.

Reversing an earlier decision he made, and against the wishes of other Chinese leaders, Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party, relented and invited the American team to visit China. They were the first Americans to visit China since the Communist party takeover in 1949.

China joined the United Nations by the end of 1971 and is now preparing to host the 2008 Olympic Summer games.

Following the talk at Bryant, Zhuang took part in a table tennis demonstration with Richard Bowling, the top ranked player in Rhode Island. The pair wowed the crowd with a dazzling display of speed and skill.

The Confucius Institute is part of the mission of Bryant University to educate the community and prepare students to succeed in a global environment.

“This is a wonderful transformational opportunity for us to be the leaders in helping people in the United States to learn the language, understand the culture, and be able to communicate in ways that have not historically been possible,” said President Ronald K. Machtley.