Physical culture, sports and the Olympics

Abstract

The Chinese people's desire to host the Olympic Games is nearly as old as the modern Games (established in 1896) themselves. As early as 1907, patriots in the Chinese YMCA promoted a campaign that linked physical education to national strength, posing three questions: “1. When will China be able to send a winning athlete to the Olympic contests? / 2. When will China be able to send a winning team to the Olympic contests? / 3. When will China be able to invite all the world to come to Peking for an International Olympic contest . . . ?” The first two questions would be answered at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and the third will be answered at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The first member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from the Republic of China, C. T. Wang (Wang Zhengting) was coopted in 1922. China sent its first team to the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Up to three IOC members were allowed from the one country, so in order to maximize China's influence on the IOC, Wang recommended two more members; H. H. Kung (Kong Xianxi) was coopted in 1939 and Shou-yi Tung (Dong Shouyi) was the third member coopted in 1947. It shows the relative strength of China's regional position in international sport that, on the eve of the establishment of the PRC, there were only eight IOC members from Asia, and three of these were Chinese (three were from Japan and two from India).