Waving eyebrows, sword out of the sheath

Author: Li Rui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: A red cross-marked ambulance and two small cars sped out of the Madrid Sports Palace, racing along the highway. It was March 26, 1978, at night. Through the car windows, Madrid, the capital of Spain, was immersed in a deep blue night sky. Hazy buildings, sparkling fountains, and flickering, dizzying lights flashed past the window. The night in early spring in Madrid was cool as water, but the mood inside the car was fiery and anxious. The car stopped in front of a hospital. The silver-haired president of the Spanish Fencing Association and the coach of the Chinese Youth Fencing Team, Zhuang Xindie, surrounded a young Chinese athlete and rushed straight to the emergency room. The president of the fencing association found the doctor and urgently explained what had just happened in Spanish. As he spoke, he gestured with his hands and gave a thumbs-up, shaking it back and forth. The girl had a bandage wrapped around her left arm. Her name was Luan Jujie, and she was not yet twenty. Tall and graceful, she stood like a willow. Her rosy cheeks were as red as a camellia flower. Her eyebrows and eyes were lively, giving her the appearance of a refined young girl from the Jiangnan region—on her, there was not a trace of the characteristics of a martial artist; on the contrary, she seemed quite innocent. The doctor unwrapped the bandage around her left arm and exclaimed in amazement. Two wounds came into view. They were caused by the broken blade of a foil piercing her skin. The wound went through her biceps, and fresh blood flowed downward. The inner wound had opened up, with pink muscle tissue curling upward.
As a sport, fencing has always been beneficial for physical fitness without harming health. The protection of competition rules, the limitation of offensive weapons, and the perfection of protective equipment have ensured the safety of both athletes. Since the International Fencing Federation was established in 1901, such accidents have been extremely rare in competitions. This blood-stained arm seems to tell the story of a fierce battle.
Fencing is considered a traditional European sport. From the gladiatorial battles of Sparta to the chivalrous knights of the Middle Ages, fencing was regarded as a combat technique. After firearms replaced melee weapons, fencing still continued as a sport in Europe across generations. In the 77 years since the International Fencing Federation was established, the top rankings in all world competitions have been dominated by European athletes, with no Asian ever even reaching the finals. In the past decade, Soviet athletes have overshadowed Europe, dominating the fencing arena, nearly winning all medals and cups. While our swordsmanship has a long history and later evolved into a graceful and artistic form of performance, it differs from the competitive fencing of Europe. Competitive fencing was only introduced to China in the mid-1950s. This new sapling in the sports garden faced several storms in its short growth period, being cut down twice, mainly because of its "foreign" nature. In 1973, fencing was restored. Our young protagonist in this true story emerged at that time and stepped onto the fencing stage. However, she had not been practicing fencing for long when a harmful wind swept through the sports world. The "Gang of Four" and their followers twisted the revolutionary slogan "Friendship first, competition second," turning a serious cause into shallow talk, treating the honor of the motherland as a frivolous joke, using revolutionary heroism flags to clean tables, and replacing sweat in training with writing critical articles on blackboards that echoed the Gang's views. Competitions were canceled, rankings abolished, and training camps suspended; "foreign" things were rejected, and "Chinese" things were rejected too. The internal injuries our sports suffered were harder to heal than typical sports physiological traumas.
Luan Jujie was lucky; her team in Jiangsu Province was a hardworking and dedicated one. However, she was alone, with no opportunities to learn or exchange with other provinces and cities. In early 1977, just before Luan Jujie went abroad to compete in the 28th World Youth Fencing Championships in Austria, nearly a year had passed without national-level training or competitions. She was eliminated in the quarterfinals and ended up in 17th place. This result was predictable. The severe winter of Chinese sports had just passed, and vitality had not yet fully recovered, while Luan Jujie was still lacking in experience. However, there was one thing that could not be forgotten. On the training ground where athletes from all over the world gathered, Luan Jujie had once proactively invited a fencer from a European country to practice, but the other party shrugged and showed a clear lack of time. The girl's heart was deeply wounded. We came for friendship. The foundation of friendship is mutual respect, but in this small corner of the world, on that specific fencing stage, we did not earn the respect we deserved or gain more friendship. National sentiment is the blood of sports. The crimson blood must not be desecrated. The numb will sink, but shame will inspire courage. The girl stood with her sword, her lips trembling violently! This is the true background of our story.