A table tennis tournament being held June 10-12 is commemorating the historic ping-pong diplomacy that helped open relations between the United States and China in the 1970s. The event at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, will feature a rematch of some of the original players.
为了纪念在上个世纪70年代帮助开启美国和中国关系的具有历史意义的乒乓外交，6月10号到12号在美国加利福尼亚州的约巴林达市尼克松总统图书馆举行一场乒乓球比赛。几位当时参赛的乒乓球运动员参加这次活动，重现当年的比赛。
In April, 1971, the U.S. national table tennis team was playing at the world championship in Nagoya, Japan, when Chinese Premier Zhou En-lai invited the team to China. Four days later, nine players, team officials and two spouses became the first official American visitors to China since 1949, the year the Communists came to power.
1971年4月，美国国家乒乓球队在日本名古屋参加世界锦标赛，当时的中国总理周恩来邀请他们去中国访问。4天以后，9名队员和随队工作人员以及两位家属成为1949年共产党夺取政权以后第一批正式访问中国的美国人。
In February, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon made his historic trip to China. Seven years later, the United States and the People's Republic of China opened diplomatic relations.
1972年2月，美国总统理查德.尼克松对中国进行了历史性访问。7年后，美国和中华人民共和国建立外交关系。
These events are being remembered at the Nixon Library, which this week is hosting ping-pong demonstrations, instructional clinics for players and games between current U.S. and Chinese table tennis stars.
尼克松总统图书馆一一记录了这些事件。这个星期，尼克松图书馆举办乒乓球表演赛，为运动员举办球艺讨论会，还有美中两国现役知名乒乓球选手的比赛。
Richard Nixon Library Executive Director John H. Taylor says Mr. Nixon and Zhou En-lai both had practical goals, while both also hoped for better relations between the two nations.
理查德.尼克松图书馆执行馆长约翰.泰勒说，尼克松和周恩来都有务实的目标，也都期待两国建立良好的关系。
"China pragmatically was looking to deepen its economic and cultural ties with the West, but more emotionally they were looking for acceptance after having been ostracized for a generation or more by the Americans," he explained.
泰勒说：“中国当时从务实的角度考虑，希望增进跟西方的经济和文化关系。但是，中国在被美国孤立了几十年之后，更希望被美国接受。”
He says the American president also had a strategic goal, hoping to counteract the influence of the Soviet Union with closer ties to China. But he says Nixon's motives were tinged with idealism, and that he hoped to end the isolation of the Chinese people.
泰勒说，尼克松总统也有一个战略目标，就是希望通过与中国建立比较密切的关系来抵消当时苏联的影响力。不过泰勒认为，尼克松的动机带有理想主义色彩，他还希望结束中国人民孤立的处境。
The breakthrough began with a personal contact between two athletes. An American player missed his bus at the world table tennis championship in Japan. A Chinese player suggested he ride on the bus of the Chinese team. The two players exchanged gifts, and political leaders seized on the idea of a sports exchange.
美中关系零的突破源于两位运动员的一次私人接触。当时在日本参加世界乒乓球锦标赛的一位美国运动员没有赶上汽车。一位中国运动员建议中国队的车捎上他。两人交换了礼物，当时的政治领导人想到了体育交流的主意。
At one level, the games were merely a symbol of more important diplomacy taking place behind the scenes. Yet Olympic historian David Wallechinsky says it is not unusual for athletes to bridge political barriers. He recalls another incident in 1952, when the Soviet Union took part in its first Olympic games. It was at the height of the Cold War, when the great American pole vaulter Bob Richards led a group of American athletes to visit their Soviet counterparts.
从一个层面上说，比赛只不过是幕后更重要的外交努力的象征。但是奥林匹克历史学家戴维.沃利金斯基说，由运动员克服政治屏障是常见的事情。他回忆起1952年苏联第一次参加奥运会。当时正值冷战高峰，美国优秀的撑杆跳运动员鲍博.理查德斯率领一批美国运动员访问苏联。
Wallechinsky says it helped to break the ice and change the mood at the games.
沃利金斯基说，这次访问帮助打破了坚冰，改变赛场气氛。
"One advantage that athletes have over diplomats is that they do not have to take a stand," he noted. "They can act as individuals. They can represent themselves and make that effort to become friends. One of the great parts of the Olympics, for example, is to go into the Olympic Village and see these athletes from 200 countries just being friendly with each other."
沃利金斯基说：“跟外交人士相比，运动员有一个优势，就是他们不必表明自己的立场。他们可以以个体身份活动，可以只代表自己，通过自己的努力交朋友。奥运会重要看点之一是到奥运村里去，见证来自200个国家的这些运动员相互之间非常友好。”
Often, he says, they are playing ping-pong or video games.
沃利金斯基说，各国运动员之间经常打乒乓球，或者打游戏机。
John Taylor says the California tournament looks back to 1971 and its famous ping-pong diplomacy, but also looks forward to the Olympics, which will be held in Beijing in August.
约翰·泰勒说，在加州举行的乒乓球比赛将重温1971年著名的乒乓外交，同时也放眼8月在北京举行的奥运会。
"We wanted to give our hometown audience in southern California a preview of some of the excitement that attends the Olympics, since the vast majority of us will not be able to journey to Beijing," he added. "But it is also part of the mission of the Nixon Foundation and the Nixon Library to remind people about a great event in the past, as opportunities for reconciliation will present themselves as they often do in the future."
泰勒说：“我们希望让加利福尼亚州南部的观众提前感受置身奥运会的激动场面，因为我们绝大多数人无法前往北京。不过，尼克松基金会和尼克松图书馆的使命还包括让人们记住过去发生的一次重要事件，因为将来一样有这样的和解机会。”
An official with the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, one of the sponsors of the event, says the rematch will remind the Chinese of the importance of relationships they now take for granted.
这次活动的发起方之一、中国人民对外友好协会的一位官员表示，这次纪念比赛将让中国人民不要忘记他们现在认为理所当然的中美关系的重要性。
The highlight of the three-day event is a rematch of players from the original teams. In 1971, the Chinese players were considered the best in the world, and in several days of matches, they trounced the Americans. American George Braithwaite and Chinese star Liang Geliang face off again Thursday.
这次为期3天的纪念活动的亮点是当年球队的队员将再次亮相比赛。1971年，中国乒乓球运动员被认为是世界上最棒的，在几天的比赛中，他们大胜美国队。当年美国队的乔治·布雷斯威特和中国著名队员梁戈亮将于星期四再次交锋。
Braithwaite says he was suspicious in 1971 when he won two out of three matches against Liang, one of world's top players, as they squared off in an auditorium with 18,000 spectators. The Americans soon realized the Chinese players were letting them win some games. Braithwaite, 69, says he has been practicing hard for the rematch.
布雷斯威特说，1971年他在能容纳1万8000名观众的体育馆以二比一战胜了当时的世界尖子选手梁戈亮。他当时就有些怀疑。布雷斯威特很快意识到，中国运动员是故意让他们赢几场比赛。今年69岁的布雷斯威特说，他为这场纪念比赛进行了刻苦训练。 |