In the world of international politics, breakthroughs usually happen in mahogany-paneled rooms during high-stakes summits. But in 1971, the most significant diplomatic breakthrough of the 20th century happened because a 19-year-old American "hippie" missed his bus.This is the story of Ping-Pong Diplomacy—the moment table tennis literally changed the course of world history.
During the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Japan, the U.S. and Chinese teams were under strict orders not to interact. At the time, the two nations had no diplomatic ties and had been bitter rivals since 1949.One afternoon, Glenn Cowan, a long-haired American player, missed the U.S. team bus after practice. In a moment of pure chance, he hopped onto the Chinese team bus instead.While the other Chinese players were hesitant to speak to an "imperialist" American, the team's star, Zhuang Zedong, stepped forward. He shook Cowan’s hand and gifted him a silk-screened tapestry of the Huangshan Mountains. Cowan, in return, gave Zhuang a T-shirt with a peace sign and the Beatles' lyrics: "Let It Be."
When journalists captured photos of the two players smiling together, Chairman Mao Zedong saw a unique opportunity. He famously remarked, "The little ball moved the big ball," and extended an official, all-expenses-paid invitation to the U.S. team to visit China.On April 10, 1971, nine American players and two spouses stepped across the bridge from Hong Kong into mainland China. They were the first group of Americans allowed in since the Communist takeover in 1949.
The visit was a media sensation. The Americans played "friendship matches" (where the superior Chinese players often "took it easy" on their guests to maintain a spirit of goodwill) and toured the Great Wall.The success of this sports exchange acted as a "icebreaker" for serious politics:
Ping-Pong Diplomacy is the ultimate proof that sports transcend politics. It humanized "the enemy" in the eyes of the public and showed that common ground can be found over a 9-foot table. Today, the term is still used whenever sports are used to bridge a gap between rival nations.
"I was as surprised as I was pleased. I had never expected that the China initiative would come to fruition in the form of a ping-pong team." > — Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon