In 1964, the People’s Republic of China did not compete at the Olympic Games, and the Chinese Gymnastics Association withdrew from the FIG. One year later, the country held its Second National Games, and the results make you wonder, “How would the Chinese gymnasts have fared at the Tokyo Games (1964) and the Dortmund World Championships (1966)?”
Let’s dive in.
Source: Wikipedia
Opening Ceremonies
Mass Gymnastics at the opening ceremonies.
At the end of the opening ceremony, more than 16,000 people from dozens of units performed wonderful group gymnastics in the capital. The performance lasted for 70 minutes and was collectively called “Anthem of the Revolution.” The movements were beautiful, and the patterns were magnificent. It reflected the heroic spirit of the Chinese people under the guidance of Mao Zedong Thought, self-reliance, and hard work. The whole performance continued to win applause from the audience.
开幕式最后，首都几十个单位一万六千多人表演了精采的团体操。这个表演历时七十分钟、总名为《革命赞歌》的团体操，动作优美、图案壮丽，反映出我国人民在毛泽东思想指导下，自力更生、奋发图强的英雄气概，整个表演不断博得观众的喝采。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 12, 1965
Compulsories
After compulsories, the Shanghai men’s team was in the lead, as was the Yunnan women’s team.
In the individual all-around, Liao Runtian and Wang Weijian were the leaders.
The compulsory competition for gymnastics in this National Games starting on the 18th ended today. After three days of initial competition, among the 14 men’s teams that participated in the competition, the Shanghai team had the best total score (281.45 points), followed by the People’s Liberation Army (281 points); Among the nine women’s teams, the Yunnan team had the best performance (182.459 points), followed by the Guangdong team (181.759 points). In the men’s individual competition, the first place in the total score of the six compulsory routines was the famous PLA competitor Liao Runtian, who scored 57 points (out of 60 points); Shanghai rookie Yang Mingming scored 56.95 points, taking second place. In the women’s individual competition, Guangxi star Wang Weijian has the highest total score in the four compulsory routines.
从十八日开始的这届全运会体操项目的规定动作比赛，今天全部结束。经过三天的初次较量，参加比赛的十四个男子队中，总分最好的是上海队（二八一点四五分），其次是解放军队（二八一分）；九个女子队中，成绩最好的是云南队（一八二点四五九分），其次是广东队（一八一点七五九分）。在男子个人比赛中，六项规定动作得分总和占第一位的是解放军队著名选手廖润甜，获五十七分（满分六十分）；上海新手杨明明获五十六点九五分，占第二位。女子组个人比赛中，目前四项规定动作总分最高的是广西名将王维俭。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 21, 1965
Results after the Optional Routines
On the men’s side, the People’s Liberation Army came from behind to defeat the Shanghai team.
The gymnastics competition that began on the 18th was even more exciting today.
In the men’s team competition, the Shanghai team that competed today closely followed the People’s Liberation Army, which achieved excellent results in yesterday’s optional competition, but in the end, the Shanghai team was still behind by a difference of 0.20 points and ranked second. The five players in the People’s Liberation Army achieved a total score of 564.15 points for the compulsory and optional routines, taking a leading position. At the end of the compulsory competition a few days ago, the Shanghai team was in first place with 281.45 points, 0.45 points more than the People’s Liberation Army, which was second at the time.
从十八日开始的体操比赛今天赛得更加精彩。
男子团体赛中，今天上场的上海队紧追在昨天自选动作中取得优异成绩的解放军队，但最后仍以○点二○分之差落后，居于第二位。解放军队五名选手规定动作和自选动作的总成绩是五六四点一五分，居于领先的地位。在前几天的规定动作比赛结束时，上海队的总分曾经占第一位，是二八一点四五分，比当时占第二位的解放军队多○点四五分。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 24, 1965
Note: With a 656.85, the People’s Liberation Army won the men’s team title at the first National Games title, as well:
在全运会的体操比赛中，解放军体操队以６５６．８５分的成绩，取得男子团体冠军。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), October 14, 1959
In the men’s all-around, Yu Liefeng was fourth after compulsories but bounced back to finish in second. Liao Runtian held onto his lead after compulsories and finished first.
The men’s individual all-around competition is fiercely contested. Many times national champion Yu Liefeng (Shanghai) only ranked fourth in points at the end of the compulsory competition. He rushed to catch up in the optional competition, and in the end achieved a total score of 114.25 points for the compulsory and optional routines, but he still lags behind the People’s Liberation Army player Liao Runtian and occupies second place. Liao Runtian’s all-around score is only 0.50 points ahead.
男子个人全能比赛争夺得非常激烈。多次全国冠军获得者于烈烽（上海）在规定动作比赛结束时，积分只列第四位。他在自选动作比赛中急起直追，最后使规定动作和自选动作的总分达到了一一四点二五分，但是仍然落后于解放军选手廖润甜而占第二位。廖润甜的全能总分也只领先了○点五○分。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 24, 1965
Note #1: Yu Liefeng was 15th in the all-around at the 1962 World Championships. That was the highest finish for the Chinese men in the all-around in Prague.
Note #2: I recognize that it’s impossible to compare scores across meets. But had Liao scored a 114.75 at the 1966 World Championships, he would have tied for fourth place with Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia.
Wang Weijian also held onto her lead from compulsories and dazzled the audience with a full-twisting salto on floor to win the women’s all-around title.
In the women’s optional exercise competition this afternoon, Wang Weijian (Guangxi), the individual all-around champion of women’s gymnastics in the first New National Games, successfully turned 360 in the air in floor exercise, uneven bars and vault. The high skill won warm applause from the audience. Her scores in these three optional routines [floor, bars, and vault] are all above 9.8 points (out of 10). So far, her all-around total for compulsory and optional routines is 76.431 points (maximum score of 80 points), ranking first.
在今天下午的女子自选动作比赛中，第一届新运会女子体操个人全能冠军王维俭（广西）――在自由体操、高低杠和跳马中，都成功地做出了在空中转体三百六十度的难度很高的动作，赢得全场的热烈掌声。她的这三项自选动作的成绩都在九点八分（满分十分）以上。到目前为止，她的规定动作和自选动作的全能总分高达七六点四三一分（满分八十分），列第一位。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 24, 1965
Note #1: Full-twisting saltos on floor exercise were still rare in 1965, and scoring 9.8+ on three routines was fantastic.
Note #2: Again, I recognize that it’s impossible to compare scores across meets. But had Wang scored a 76.431 at the 1966 World Championships, she would have finished 6th, just ahead of Larisa Petrik of the Soviet Union.
On the women’s side, Jiang Shaoyi of the Yunnan team was the runner-up in the all-around. The Yunnan women’s team took first; the Guangdong team finished second.
The team and individual all-around competitions of the gymnastics competition of the Second National Games have ended today. The People’s Liberation Army and the Yunnan team won the men’s and women’s team championships respectively. The Shanghai team and the Guangdong team were the men’s and women’s team runner-ups respectively. Liao Runtian, 24, of the People’s Liberation Army, and Wang Weijian, 19, of the Guangxi team, won the men’s and women’s individual all-around championships respectively. The runner-up of the men’s all-around was Yu Liefeng of the Shanghai team. The runner-up in the women’s all-around was Jiang Shaoyi of the Yunnan team.
第二届全运会体操比赛的团体赛和个人全能比赛已经在今天结束。解放军队的云南队分别获得男子和女子团体冠军。上海队和广东队分别获得男子和女子团体亚军。解放军队二十四岁的廖润甜和广西队十九岁的王维俭分别获得男子和女子个人全能冠军。获得男子全能亚军的是上海队的于烈烽。获得女子全能亚军的是云南队的蒋绍毅。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 25, 1965
By the way, the Yunnan women’s team score was 370.45:
女子团体赛中，到目前为止，规定动作和自选动作总分占第一位的，是包括著名选手蒋绍毅、蒋绍敏和戚玉芳在内的云南队，成绩是三七○点四五五分。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 24, 1965
Note #1: In case you’re unfamiliar with Chinese geography, Yunnan is in the southwest of China. Guangxi is in the south of China. So, both Wang and Jiang had long journies to Beijing (in the north) for this competition.
Perhaps without knowing it, contemporary gymnastics fans are familiar with Guangxi. The region’s current capital is Nanning, which is where the 2014 World Championships were held. Nanning is about 1,270 miles (2,040 km) from Beijing as the crow flies.
Note: Guangxi is romanized as Kwangsi on this map.
Note #2: Jiang Shaoyi would go on to win the women’s all-around title at the 1974 Asian Games, which was one of China’s first major international competitions after a long hiatus. In Tehran, she also won the beam and floor titles and tied with Jo Yoon-hi of North Korea for the bars title.
To synthesize things…
Men’s Team
- People’s Liberation Army: 564.15
- Shanghai: 563.95
Women’s Team
- Yunnan: 370.45
- Guangdong
Men’s All-Around
- Liao Runtian, People’s Liberation Army: 114.75
- Yu Liefeng, Shanghai: 114.25
Women’s All-Around
- Wang Weijian, Guangxi: 76.431
- Jiang Shaoyi, Yunnan
More About Liao Runtian
After Liao’s all-around victory, the newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army printed a profile on him. Here’s a translation…
In the gymnastics competition of the Second National Games, the 23-year-old comrade Liao Runtian of the People’s Liberation Army won the individual all-around championship with an excellent score of 114.75.
Comrade Liao Runtian, a member of the Communist Party, under the cordial guidance of the party organization, has learned and used Chairman Mao’s writings, has practiced hard skills and made rapid progress. He has been named one of the five best athletes for four consecutive years. He has participated in many domestic and foreign competitions. He has won a total of 23 individual and all-around championships, which have been won for the people of the motherland.
Comrade Liao Runtian understood that if you want to be skilled, you must first have clear thinking, so he usually studies Chairman Mao’s works diligently, and whenever he encounters a problem, he consults Chairman Mao’s works. He repeatedly learns and uses Mao Zedong Thought to guide his training and competition.
In order to be truly technically tough, he trained, worked hard, and, with the spirit of a foolish man trying to move mountains, he was solid, not afraid of fatigue, and took the initiative to increase his strength and hardness. When someone else does it once, he does it twice. For example, in the past he used the rings to do an “iron cross,” and his strength was insufficient, so he made up his mind to practice his arm strength. In the morning, braving the cold wind of late autumn, he took off his clothes and “attacked” the cross. In the evening, he moved the barbell to his room for exercise to increase his physical strength.
Another characteristic of Comrade Liao Runtian is that he is eager to learn and progress, and he is never complacent. He firmly remembers Chairman Mao’s teaching “…Humans must constantly sum up experience, discover, invent, create, and advance. During the training process, create your own style according to the characteristics of your physical fitness.” For example, with the help of the trainer, on rings, in addition to maintaining high-intensity strength exercises, he also used straight arms to complete some of the giant swings that are popular in the world, and the final giant swing is connected to a full-twisting dismount. He has reached a new height, and his set of skills has entered the advanced ranks of the world. Comrade Liao Runtian always strives for perfection in every practice and every action, just like a portrait, intricately carved, meticulous, and continuous improvement.
在第二届全运会体操比赛中，解放军队二十三岁的廖润甜同志以一一四点七五分的优良成绩获得了个人全能冠军。
共产党员廖润甜同志，在党组织的亲切教导下，活学活用毛主席著作，苦练过硬本领，进步很快，曾连续四年被评为五好运动员，他多次参加国内外比赛，共获得了二十三个单项和全能冠军，为祖国人民争得了荣誉。
廖润甜同志懂得，要想技术过硬，首先必须思想过硬，所以平时他勤奋学习毛主席著作，一遇到问题，就向毛主席著作请教。反复学反复用，用毛泽东思想来指导训练和比赛。
为了在技术上真正过得硬，训练中，他从实战出发，从严、从难，以愚公移山的精神，扎扎实实，不怕疲劳，主动增加强度和密度。别人练一次，他练两次。譬如他过去吊环做“十字支撑”，力量不足，就下决心练臂力。早晨，他冒着深秋的寒风脱去衣服“冲击”十字，晚上又把杠铃搬到自己的房里练，以增强体力。
廖润甜同志的另一特点是好学上进，永不自满，他牢牢记住毛主席的教导“……人类总得不断地总结经验，有所发现，有所发明，有所创造，有所前进。”在训练过程中，根据自己身体素质的特点，创造自己的风格。如吊环训练他在教练的帮助下，除了保持大强度的力量练习外，还把国际上盛行的一些大回环动作，全部用直臂完成，做出“直臂直体慢起倒立”、“直臂向前向后大回环”、最后大回环接三百六十度跳下的高难动作，达到了更新的高度，他的这套动作已经步入了世界的先进行列。廖润甜同志对待每一次练习、每一个动作总是精益求精，就象画象一样，精雕细刻，一丝不苟，不断改进。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 27, 1965
Note #1: Liao Runtian was part of the Chinese team that won gold at the 1974 Asian Games. He also won silver on rings in Tehran.
Note #2: Doing giants on rings with straight arms was a really big deal in the mid-1960s. When Voronin used that technique one year later, at the 1966 World Championships, it was the talk of the men’s gymnastics community.
Appendix
How the Second National Games Were Characterized in the Newspapers
The second National Games are being held on the basis of the vigorous development of mass sports activities in recent years. Some of the players participating in this Games came from the coast of the East China Sea, some from the Pamirs and the banks of the Yarlung Zangbo River, some from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and the foothills of Changbai Mountain, and some from the subtropical Hainan Island. Among them were workers, peasants, warriors, herdsmen, serfs, teachers, students, and so on. Most of the athletes are ranked athletes, of which there are 1,128 athletes. The average age of the athletes of each delegation is mostly around 22 years old, and most of them are rising stars who emerged after the first National Games.
Compared with the first National Games in 1959, these Games will be held at a higher level. Athletes participating in competitions and performances in recent years have taken Mao Zedong Thought as a guideline. They have studied in the People’s Liberation Army, learned from Daqing (people working in hard labor), and learned from Dazhai (people working in agriculture). They have established great ambitions, have the motherland in their hearts, and look at the world. The level of technical skill has generally improved significantly. In the first eight months of this year, not only have table tennis players won five world championships at the 28th World Table Tennis Championships, but players in other sports have also made outstanding achievements, with 51 people breaking 21 world records 26 times, and 280 people breaking 149 national records 640 times, thus pushing the level of sports in our country to a new height.
Highlighting politics, leading business with politics, and implementing politics in competitions will be one of the characteristics of these Games. Athletes of various delegations participating in the competition generally pay attention to studying Chairman Mao’s writings. In the days of pre-competition training, many athletes are “training during the day and reading Mao’s selection at night.” They carried out a wide range of mutual learning and mutual help and common practice activities, showing a new revolutionary style. Athletes generally expressed that they should further carry out the activities of learning and helping during the Games, and jointly contribute to the improvement of the level of sports in our country.
According to Xinhua News Agency on the 10th, the “Sports Achievement Exhibition,” which reflects the great achievements of my country’s sports in the past 16 years, will be officially exhibited at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing from today. On the first day, more than 4,000 spectators were received.
This is the largest sports exhibition since the founding of New China. The exhibition is divided into six parts. It shows the rapid development of my country’s sports under the leadership of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao through a large number of photos, charts, real objects, and models.
第二届全国运动会是在近年来群众性体育活动蓬勃开展的基础上进行的。参加这届运动会的选手有的来自东海之滨，有的来自帕米尔高原和雅鲁藏布江两岸，有的来自内蒙古草原和长白山麓，还有来自亚热带的海南岛。他们当中有工人、农民、战士、牧民、翻身农奴、教师、学生，等等。运动员中大部分都是等级运动员，其中有一千一百二十八名运动健将。各个代表团运动员的平均年龄多在二十二岁左右，大部分是第一届全国运动会以后涌现出的后起之秀。
同一九五九年第一届全国运动会比较，这届运动会将在更高的水平上进行。参加比赛和表演的运动员近年来以毛泽东思想为指针，大学解放军、学大庆、学大寨，树立雄心壮志，心怀祖国、放眼世界，坚持从难、从严、从实战需要出发的大运动量训练，技术水平有了普遍的显著的提高。今年头八个月内，不仅兵乓球运动员在第二十八届世界乒乓球锦标赛上取得了五项世界冠军，其他运动项目的选手也取得了突出的成就，有五十一人二十六次刷新了二十一项世界纪录，有二百八十人六百四十次打破了一百四十九项全国纪录，从而把我国体育运动的水平推向一个新的高度。
突出政治，以政治统率业务，把政治落实在竞赛中去，将是这届运动会的特点之一。参加比赛的各代表团的运动员普遍注意学习毛主席著作。在赛前训练的日子里，许多运动员都是“白昼训练、夜读毛选”。他们广泛地开展了互学互帮和共同练习活动，显示出新的革命风格。运动员们普遍表示，要在运动会期间进一步开展比学赶帮的活动，共同为提高我国体育运动的水平贡献力量。
据新华社十日讯 反映我国体育运动十六年来巨大成就的“体育运动成就展览会”，从今天起在北京中国美术馆正式展出。第一天就接待了四千多名观众。
这是新中国成立以来规模最大的一次体育展览会。展览会共分六个部分，它通过大量照片、图表、实物和模型等，展示了我国体育事业在党中央和毛主席的领导下迅速发展的图景。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 11, 1965
Note: This article lists his age as 23, but in a previous article, it lists his age as 24.
Mao Zedong on Sports and Physical Culture
In the passage above and in the profile of Liao, Mao Zedong’s writings come up. To give you an idea of what Mao thought about sports and physical fitness, here’s an oft-cited passage. It comes his first article, “A Study of Physical Culture,” which was published in New Youth in April of 1917 — long before he became chairman of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949:
Our country is being drained of its strength. Public interest in martial arts is flagging. The people’s health is declining with each passing day. These phenomena deserve serious concern. Exponents of physical education have over the years failed to accomplish anything because they have never gotten to the root of the problem. Our country will weaken further if things are allowed to continue unchanged for long. It should be noted that athletic feats such as marksmanship and shot-putting are external skills that result from training, whereas muscular strength is something internal that enhances performance. How can a person shoot accurately or make a long-distance throw if he has a poor physique and is afraid of weapons? Muscular strength comes from training, which must be done conscientiously. Physical educators of today have devised a few methods, but they have failed to achieve the desired results. This is because external forces have little appeal to a public that is unaware of the real significance of physical education. What are its effects and how should one go about it? Since people are all at sea with these questions, it is only natural that little result has been attained. To make physical culture effective, it is imperative to activate the minds of the people and make them sports-conscious.
Qtd. in “Sport, Maoism, and the Beijing Olympics”
Sending and Receiving Radio Transmissions
Besides gymnastics, this was my favorite competition to read about from the Second National Games.
In the competition for sending and receiving radio messages that ended today, contestants from all over the country made persistent efforts to achieve good results. As a result, ten more people broke seven national records. Qi Feng of the People’s Liberation Army has created the best results in the country in the women’s automatic key long code, character code, and shortcode sending competition. Her three achievements are: long code sends 217 characters per minute (the national record of 173 characters), character code sends 208.6 characters per minute (national record of 176.8 characters), shortcode sends 232.8 characters per minute (the national record is 203 characters).
Li Ruqin, a competitor from Heilongjiang Province, also achieved the highest results in the country in the women’s hand key long code, short code, and character code sending competition. Among them, the character code transmission result is the most notable, with a score of 152.2 characters per minute (The national record of 141.6 characters), which is an improvement of 1.8 characters from the new result of 150.4 characters created in her first report on the 21st. The result of her long code is 108 characters per minute (the national record is 102.2 characters), and the short code is 142.2 characters (the national record is 133.2 characters).
在今天结束的无线电收发报竞赛中，各地选手再接再厉，争创好成绩，结果又有十人打破了七项全国纪录。解放军的齐凤在女子自动键长码、字码和短码发报比赛中，都创造了目前全国最高成绩。她的这三项成绩分别是：长码每分钟发二一七字（全国纪录一七三字），字码每分钟发二○八点六字（全国纪录一七六点八字），短码每分钟发二三二点八字（全国纪录二○三字）。
黑龙江选手李茹琴在女子手键长码、短码和字码三项发报比赛中，也创造了目前全国最高成绩，其中字码发报成绩最突出，每分钟上一五二点二字（全国纪录一四一点六字），比她二十一日在第一次发报中创造的一五○点四字的新成绩又提高了一点八字。她的长码发报的成绩是每分钟发一○八字（全国纪录一○二点二字），短码是一四二点二字（全国纪录一三三点二字）。
Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 24, 1965
Thanks to Daniel for his help with the translations.
For the diligent readers of this site: You might be wondering why I’m jumping all over the place. Over the holidays, I was able to gain access to a Chinese newspaper archive, so I’m filling in a few details for the years that I’ve already covered on this site while I wait for a document to arrive from overseas. Once the document arrives, we’ll dive into the 1950 World Championships, as promised.