History: The Triumph and Tragedy of China's First World Champion

Grab a ping pong ball, a table tennis racket or any other table tennis equipment and you would probably find one of them is manufactured by Double Happiness (DHS), one of the most well-known brand in the table tennis industry. Yet, have you ever wondered what are the two "happiness"?

In 1959, the same year that DHS was established, the then-Chinese prime minister Zhou Enlai coined two joyful events as "Double Happiness". The first happiness is the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The second is the victory Rong Guotuan (also known as Jung Kuo-tuan) achieved at the World Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund, where he won home the very first world champion in any sports.

Since his World Championships success, Rong Guotuan became a walking piece of propaganda. His motto “How often would you come by a chance to strive for your goals in life? Go for it. If not now, when?” has motivated generations of Chinese athletes. Here is a 2-episode documentary series about Rong Guotuan's table tennis story. The documentary includes rare audio clips of Rong Guotuan's interview, extensive interviews with Rong's childhood friends, teammates and competitors and competition footage with dated Chinese commentary, taking us through Rong's journey from his regional success in Hong Kong to the legacy he left to generations of Chinese athletes. 

Although his death was not elaborated in this Chinese state-owned-media-produced documentary and English subtitles is not available, I still think it is worth-sharing as the historical photos and clips are simply rare gems to many table tennis fans. I hope one day I will write more about this table tennis legend and reveal how was his sports career inextricably linked with Chinese history and the sports development in modern China. As for now, I will leave it to you to learn more about Rong Guotuan. Please feel free to leave a comment or ask questions if you have anything to tell us. 

Episode 1

Episode 2