5 Asian Games Gold
Who was the first Chinese woman to earn 5 gold medals in a single Asian Games?
Jiang Shao Yi in 1974! That includes an all-around gold medal. Miss Jiang is now coaching in Australia.
Mo Hui Lan was simply following her hometown compatriot, Jiang, 20 years later for repeating the same level of success.
One-arm Giant
Who was the first Chinese woman to perform a one-arm giant on the uneven bars?
Zhu Min Hong in 1994 Nationals.
Two years later, her teammate from the same club (Hunan), Liu Xuan, debuted the skill at the 1996 World Championships.
Triple Back
Who was the first Chinese to perform a triple back on floor?
Many people only recognize Li Xiao Shuang from the Chinese team to do this skill on floor. However, the first gymnast from China to successfully perform a triple back on floor was Li Chun Yang (who was also a floor finalist in Barcelona).
Right after Lu Li won the bars title in Barcelona, Li Xiao Shuang was told the hold the triple back in the floor finals (because the gymnastic team has won gold already). However, Vitaly Scherbo also qualified for this event. Had Li not thrown the super difficult skill, there was no guarantee that he would win the event. Both Li and his coach Huang Yu Bin decided to do the triple back to secure the gold medal.
Right before Li started his routine, teammate and twin brother Li Da Shuang gave him courage: "It's not just about landing. Make it float!" As we all know, Li Xiao Shuang competed this skill with perfection and won the floor title.
Ethnic background
Have you ever noticed Kui Yuan Yuan and Tabitha Yim are look alikes? Guess what, they are from the same ethnic background! Wait, Kui Yuan Yuan is Chinese, correct? Well, yes, and no.
When we think of Chinese, we think of black hair, brown pupils, yellow skin..., etc. However, these are not necessarily true. China is a country that has undergone countless dispersions, harmonizations, expansions, and contractions. Throughout its recorded history of 4000 years, its popultions have constantly been migrating. In fact, the embryon of the central China today didn't start until the Qin Dynasty (248 B.C. -- 206 B.C.) . Before that, the territory of the current China was a group of large and small countries.
To make a long story short, China has 56 different ethnic backgrounds. The largest and the dominant group is the Han, which comprises 96% of the total populations. Of course, nothing is pure. For a kid born in China, he/she must register for an ethnic background. It could be inherited from the father or the mother. Most parents would choose the father's ethnic background and family name for the kid. However, since it is merely a personal choice, more and more parents choose whichever ethnic background that is a minority group for their children. The reason behind that is minorities receive many special benefits (e.g., one-child policy does not apply, easier to attend a better school..., etc.).The remaining 4% are consisted mainly of Man, Menggu (the Mongolians), Hui (the Muslim's), Zang, and the other minorities. Worth mentioning is that some of these minorities are caucasian, e.g., the Wei'wu'er (the Turkish), the Wu'zi'bie'ke (the Uzbek). As a result, Chinese need not be yellow skin.
One of the two most famous emperors in China, Li Shi Min (626 A.D. -- 649 A.D.) , who helped his father established the Tang Dynasty (618 A.D. -- 907 A.D.) , was half Han and half Xianbei (i.e., Siberian). The top Chinese poet of all times, Li Bai (701 A.D. -- 762 A.D.) , was born in Siberia as well. Some historians believe that Li Bai was the posterity of Li Jian Cheng, who was Li Shi Min's brother and killed by him.
Kui Yuan Yuan's ethnic background is
Chaoxian
, which means Korean. In other words, Kui is from a minority group of the Chinese. She does look somewhat Korean, does she? There are many gymnasts from a minority background: Bai Chun Yue is a
Hui;
Li Ning is a
Zhuang;
He Xue Mei is a
Naxi.
7/11, 2002 Today is 7/11's 75th birthday. It's also Mo Hui Lan's 22nd birthday. Happy birthday to Mo! And congratulations! She just graduated from journalism at university this month. She got a one year contract at Phoenix TV in China.
