“A Person Must Have Some Spirit” appeared in the People’s Daily on January 2, 1982. It was attributed to Tong Fei, one of China’s pioneering male gymnasts in the early reform era. The essay recounts his performance at the 1981 Grand Prix in Paris, where—competing just days after suffering a concussion in a car accident—he won three gold medals and an all-around silver.
Tong’s account offers a window into Chinese gymnastics culture at a crucial moment: China had only recently rejoined the international gymnastics community after decades of isolation, and athletes like Tong were among the first generation to compete regularly against Western and Soviet opponents. Published in the Communist Party’s official newspaper, the piece follows the conventions of socialist-realist athlete narratives, emphasizing collective duty, national honor, and ideological commitment over individual achievement. Yet beneath the formulaic rhetoric lies a genuine athletic feat and a glimpse of the mentality that would soon propel Chinese gymnastics to world dominance.
The essay also references Li Yuejiu, another pioneering Chinese gymnast who had competed through injury at the 1980 Alternative Games in Hartford, Connecticut. He established a template of athletic sacrifice that Tong explicitly invokes as precedent.
