Liu Changchun was the first Chinese to participate in the
Olympics, inspiring many of his countrymen to follow in his
footsteps.
Seventy-five years after Liu competed in the 1932 Los Angeles
Summer Games, and a little more than a year before the 2008 Beijing
Olympics, a movie called The One will be shot to
commemorate him.
His son Liu Hongliang was at the press conference announcing the
movie project. And he had many memories of his athletic father.
"My father passed on his optimism and patriotism to us," Liu
told China Daily website.
Liu senior was a celebrated sprinter from Dalian, in China's
northeastern Liaoning Province.
In 1931, the Japanese began its occupation of northeastern China
and created a puppet state called Manchukuo. The Japanese concocted
a plan to send Liu to the 10th Olympic Games and represent
Manchukuo.
But the patriotic-minded athlete made a statement in the Ta
Kung Pao newspaper, refusing to represent the so-called state
at the Olympics.
"Upon reading about my father's statement, the patriotic General
Zhang Xueliang declared he would financially support my father to
the Olympics to represent China," recalls the younger Liu. "General
Zhang was a tremendous influence on my father. He opposed the
Japanese invaders all his life despite the harsh living
conditions."
With General Zhang's money, Liu set sail from Shanghai to Los
Angeles. "After about a month on the boat, my father had gained a
few kilos. He was not at his best," his son remembers.
Three days after Liu arrived in Los Angeles, he competed in the
Olympics, and was eliminated in the preliminary heats in the 100m
and 200m sprints clocking 11.1 and 22.1 seconds respectively.
"After the Games were over, the money donated by General Zhang,
about US$1,000, had already run out. Liu had to solicit donations
from local Chinese community in Los Angeles to be able to buy a
ticket back home," said the young Liu.
Liu's pioneering way to the Olympics may be of symbolic value to
the Chinese, past and present. But for him, it was a sad
memory.
When asked if his father talked about his Olympic experience,
Liu said, "He rarely talked about it. When he left Shanghai for Los
Angeles, he was very excited. But he was disappointed when he came
back."
The participation to the Olympics was full of twists and turns,
but Liu's life after the Games was even bumpier.
His son recalls: "Because my father refused to represent
Manchukuo, the Japanese wanted to arrest him. Even when were not in
northeastern China, we were monitored for a long time.
"After we came back to Nanjing, my father did not have a job,
and our family were in complete destitution," Liu continued to say,
as he wiped tears from his eyes. "We suffered a lot when I was a
kid."
The difficult situation Liu and his family suffered changed
Liu's attitude towards the athletic career he dedicated his life
to. "My father told me a career in sports is good-for-nothing. The
country at that time did not pay much attention to sports, and he
did not want his children to engage in sports. He told me there was
no future for a man in sports," recalls Liu, who is currently a
member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
"But he always loved sports, and he had a wish that China would
one day hold an Olympic Games," said an emotional Liu. "If he was
here now, he would be amazed to see Beijing host the Games next
year." Liu Changchun died in 1983.
When Liu reflects back on his father's legacy, it's his optimism
that he remembers most.
"When food was a problem, the Olympic Games were the last
concerns on people's minds. But I think it's his high spirits that
navigated his life. And I learned that from him. I guess that's
what the Olympic spirit is about."
(China Daily April 28, 2007)
