{"id":3633,"date":"2020-09-15T10:39:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T02:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/2020\/09\/15\/li_na_zuo_20200915\/"},"modified":"2020-09-15T10:39:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T02:39:25","slug":"li_na_zuo_20200915","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2020\/09\/15\/li_na_zuo_20200915\/","title":{"rendered":"Author\u2019s Notes for Li Na: Becom\u00ading a Bet\u00adter Self"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before writ\u00ading this sto\u00adry, I vis\u00adit\u00aded Li Na\u2019s home, hop\u00ading to learn more about her upbring\u00ading from her and her moth\u00ader. Before my vis\u00adit, I also asked my col\u00adlege-age daugh\u00adter to sug\u00adgest a ques\u00adtion she want\u00aded to ask Li Na. Her biggest ques\u00adtion was, if Li Na had\u00adn\u2019t known she would achieve what she has today and had the choice to do it all over again, would she have been will\u00ading to put in the same effort? I know it\u2019s a dif\u00adfi\u00adcult ques\u00adtion, since Li Na was indeed coerced into this indus\u00adtry by oth\u00aders (pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly her father).<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nPer\u00adhaps because I\u2019m also the father of a girl, the sto\u00adry that most moved me when read\u00ading Li Na\u2019s auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy, \u201cOn the Field Alone,\u201d was the sto\u00adry of her and her father. It\u2019s hard to imag\u00adine myself being so heart\u00adless as to drag my beloved four-year-old daugh\u00adter from her warm bed into a cold win\u00adter morn\u00ading. I also grew up in Wuhan and know the bru\u00adtal\u00adi\u00adty of the weath\u00ader there: win\u00adters can be so cold your breath turns to frost, and there\u2019s no heat\u00ading; sum\u00admers are relent\u00adless\u00adly hot, mak\u00ading the slight\u00adest move\u00adment a sweaty mess; and the autumn winds sweep\u00ading fall\u00aden leaves can be bone-chill\u00ading. In such con\u00addi\u00adtions, for some\u00adone who per\u00adsis\u00adtent\u00adly took his four-year-old daugh\u00adter for a morn\u00ading run, he might now be dubbed an \u201cEagle Dad\u201d online. How\u00adev\u00ader, the auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy, and the tes\u00adti\u00admo\u00adny from Li Na\u2019s moth\u00ader, demon\u00adstrate the close and tac\u00adit under\u00adstand\u00ading between father and daugh\u00adter. Her moth\u00ader, not with\u00adout envy, says, \u201cHer father is very resource\u00adful, and she just lis\u00adtens to him.\u201d<\/span>
\nI chose to begin this sto\u00adry with her morn\u00ading run with her father. Per\u00adhaps years lat\u00ader, as she lay on the red clay of Roland Gar\u00adros, she would\u00adn\u2019t have had time to recall those ear\u00adly morn\u00adings. But after she holds the Grand Slam tro\u00adphy, she\u2019ll sure\u00adly recall those ear\u00adly morn\u00adings, and she\u2019ll sure\u00adly want her father to see it. To me, this is a sto\u00adry of a dream come true: a daugh\u00adter ful\u00adfill\u00ading her father\u2019s dream, far sur\u00adpass\u00ading any\u00adthing he could have imag\u00adined before his death.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nHow\u00adev\u00ader, if we return to the start\u00ading point and put our\u00adselves in their shoes at a cru\u00adcial moment in their lives, would we, like Li Na\u2019s father, pin our own unful\u00adfilled dreams on them? Now a moth\u00ader of two, Li Na says she wants her chil\u00addren to have as much inde\u00adpen\u00addence as pos\u00adsi\u00adble, allow\u00ading them to pur\u00adsue their own dreams. I half-jok\u00ading\u00adly sug\u00adgest that if her father had thought the same, there would be no Li Na today. Li Na agrees that rais\u00ading chil\u00addren depends on indi\u00advid\u00adual needs.<\/span>
\nLike the father of anoth\u00ader ten\u00adnis super\u00adstar, Andre Agas\u00adsi, Li Na\u2019s father nur\u00adtured his daugh\u00adters ear\u00adly on, cul\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading ath\u00adlet\u00adic tal\u00adent. How\u00adev\u00ader, nei\u00adther Agas\u00adsi nor Li Na actu\u00adal\u00adly loved ten\u00adnis as chil\u00addren. From an aver\u00adage per\u00adson\u00ad\u2019s per\u00adspec\u00adtive, in a sense, Li Na had no child\u00adhood. At least by com\u00adpar\u00adi\u00adson, her child\u00adhood was filled with flaws. Grow\u00ading up, she expe\u00adri\u00adenced many set\u00adbacks and even reached seem\u00ading\u00adly insur\u00admount\u00adable lows. But because this sto\u00adry is for chil\u00addren, she earnest\u00adly hoped it would be a bright and opti\u00admistic one. Yes, I com\u00adplete\u00adly agree. Telling sto\u00adries to chil\u00addren isn\u2019t about delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly obscur\u00ading the shad\u00adows of real\u00adi\u00adty, but about find\u00ading a new per\u00adspec\u00adtive, one that reveals the inter\u00adest\u00ading and hope\u00adful side of life.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nI\u2019m incred\u00adi\u00adbly for\u00adtu\u00adnate to have Yu Rong illus\u00adtra\u00adtor this book. She trans\u00adforms a bio\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal sto\u00adry, span\u00adning a vast time\u00adframe and chal\u00adleng\u00ading to han\u00addle, into a pic\u00adture book with a clear nar\u00adra\u00adtive and strik\u00ading visu\u00adals. From the cov\u00ader, front end\u00adpa\u00adpers, title page, inside pages, to the inner folds, back end\u00adpa\u00adpers, and back cov\u00ader, the book feels seam\u00adless\u00adly com\u00adposed. The small balls and cir\u00adcles through\u00adout seem to sym\u00adbol\u00adize puls\u00ading ener\u00adgy, dreams, and the ful\u00adfill\u00adment of them. The seem\u00ading\u00adly casu\u00adal inser\u00adtion of real-life pho\u00adtos among the hand-drawn illus\u00adtra\u00adtions draws the read\u00ader back from the sto\u00adry to real\u00adi\u00adty, and back through time to Li Na\u2019s child\u00adhood, evok\u00ading a pro\u00adfound sense of life.<\/span>
\nYu Rong\u2019s use of col\u00ador is tru\u00adly admirable. The over\u00adall tone of the book is remark\u00adably sun\u00adny, and to some extent, she \u201cbeau\u00adti\u00adfies\u201d those child\u00adhood mem\u00ado\u00adries. But con\u00adverse\u00adly, amidst the joy of suc\u00adcess, the reward of extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary hard work, per\u00adhaps those dark\u00ader tones in the mem\u00ado\u00adry tru\u00adly fade. Dur\u00ading the cre\u00adative process, we repeat\u00aded\u00adly debat\u00aded the col\u00adors of Li Na\u2019s child\u00adhood play\u00adgrounds. The cor\u00adre\u00adspond\u00ading pages in the book show green or blue back\u00adgrounds, but back then, train\u00ading was done out\u00addoors on prim\u00adi\u00adtive mud and sand courts. The chil\u00addren had to draw the lines them\u00adselves dur\u00ading prac\u00adtice, and their knees often bruised\u2026 So, should\u00adn\u2019t we restore the yel\u00adlow-brown col\u00ador to empha\u00adsize the harsh train\u00ading con\u00addi\u00adtions? The artist opt\u00aded against this choice, osten\u00adsi\u00adbly because it was\u00adn\u2019t aes\u00adthet\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly pleas\u00ading, but a deep\u00ader rea\u00adson was that the book\u2019s images depart from the tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal real\u00adis\u00adtic nar\u00adra\u00adtive of non\u00adfic\u00adtion. Col\u00ador pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly express\u00ades mood and emo\u00adtion, hop\u00ading to res\u00adonate with chil\u00addren today and allow them to expe\u00adri\u00adence the joy of ten\u00adnis.<\/span>
\nPer\u00adhaps the most vivid expres\u00adsion of this artis\u00adtic feel\u00ading is the scene where young Li Na, rest\u00ading at home after an injury, can\u2019t help but miss the train\u00ading ground and her friends. The pink on the left page draws the read\u00ader into the girl\u2019s enchant\u00adi\u00adng spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal world. The straw she uses to drink ice water becomes a thread of thought, extend\u00ading to the vibrant train\u00ading ground on the right page. The enlarged yel\u00adlow-green ball frame cap\u00adtures a unique per\u00adspec\u00adtive that per\u00adhaps only ath\u00adletes like Li Na, who trained in a sports school from a young age, can deeply under\u00adstand. Li Na has said that she belongs to the \u201conly child\u201d gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion, where after school, her class\u00admates gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly went home, leav\u00ading her with lit\u00adtle com\u00adpa\u00adny. On the sports team, despite the gru\u00adel\u00ading train\u00ading, she was always sur\u00adround\u00aded by friends, and the bonds between team\u00admates were often clos\u00ader than those of sib\u00adlings. This may be one of the rea\u00adsons she has been able to per\u00adse\u00advere through years of train\u00ading.<\/span>
\nMany ten\u00adnis fans often imag\u00adine \u201cSis\u00adter Na\u201d as a mus\u00adcu\u00adlar, incred\u00adi\u00adbly pow\u00ader\u00adful ath\u00adlete, a pre\u00adreq\u00adui\u00adsite for her suc\u00adcess\u00adful ascent to the top. How\u00adev\u00ader, Yu Rong, a female artist, per\u00adfect\u00adly cap\u00adtures Li Na\u2019s inher\u00adent fem\u00adi\u00adnine beau\u00adty through del\u00adi\u00adcate col\u00adors and gen\u00adtle lines. This unique blend of beau\u00adty is, in fact, a glob\u00adal trend today. Li Na has graced the cov\u00ader of Time mag\u00ada\u00adzine twice, and the mag\u00ada\u00adzine\u2019s guest com\u00admen\u00adta\u00adtor, for\u00admer world num\u00adber one and ten\u00adnis leg\u00adend Chris Evert, exclaimed, \u201cWhen she smiles, every\u00adone melts. She\u2019s like a breath of fresh air. Her friend\u00adly demeanor on the court and her humor\u00adous post-match con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion puts a smile on every\u00adone\u2019s face.\u201d Per\u00adhaps read\u00aders can sense this inner and out\u00ader beau\u00adty through the artist\u2019s por\u00adtray\u00adal.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nHow\u00adev\u00ader, some read\u00aders may won\u00adder if a love of beau\u00adty was tru\u00adly the pri\u00adma\u00adry moti\u00adva\u00adtion that drew young Li Na into sports. Ini\u00adtial\u00adly, this fac\u00adtor may indeed have played a role. As a child, Li Na had baby fat, and her father took her for morn\u00ading jogs and bad\u00adminton, a move that was cer\u00adtain\u00adly inten\u00adtion\u00adal, lead\u00ading to her moth\u00ader\u2019s strong sup\u00adport. How\u00adev\u00ader, when she was four, her father even spared no expense to buy her a piano. Lat\u00ader, real\u00adiz\u00ading that his daugh\u00adter pre\u00adferred bad\u00adminton to piano prac\u00adtice, he qui\u00adet\u00adly sold the piano. There\u00adfore, this father was\u00adn\u2019t insis\u00adtent on his daugh\u00adter\u2019s ath\u00adlet\u00adic pur\u00adsuits from the out\u00adset; he sim\u00adply loved her deeply and want\u00aded her to become a suc\u00adcess\u00adful per\u00adson. When he real\u00adized his daugh\u00adter\u2019s ath\u00adlet\u00adic tal\u00adent, his dream of becom\u00ading a cham\u00adpi\u00adon was rekin\u00addled. Although he was just an ordi\u00adnary clerk, he had also been a pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal ath\u00adlete. He under\u00adstood that excelling in his sport could change his des\u00adtiny and allow him to become a \u201cbet\u00adter ver\u00adsion of him\u00adself\u201d through con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adous self-improve\u00adment.<\/span>
\nLook\u00ading back, Li Na\u2019s tran\u00adsi\u00adtion to ten\u00adnis was quite serendip\u00adi\u00adtous. Back then, the sport was large\u00adly unknown in Chi\u00adna. Ten\u00adnis was once con\u00adsid\u00adered a \u201csport for the nobil\u00adi\u00adty\u201d due to its high cost. It\u2019s also a rather lone\u00adly sport, requir\u00ading play\u00aders to face their oppo\u00adnents alone on the court, con\u00adstant\u00adly con\u00adfronting and con\u00adquer\u00ading them\u00adselves to ulti\u00admate\u00adly tri\u00adumph. Tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly, play\u00aders have been expect\u00aded to man\u00adage every\u00adthing before and after match\u00ades them\u00adselves, from hir\u00ading coach\u00ades, dai\u00adly train\u00ading, injury treat\u00adment, and phys\u00adi\u00adcal care to tour\u00adna\u00adment man\u00adage\u00adment and com\u00admer\u00adcial activ\u00adi\u00adties, all in order to adapt to the demands of year-round pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adtion. \u201cBecom\u00ading a bet\u00adter ver\u00adsion of your\u00adself\u201d holds very real impli\u00adca\u00adtions for ten\u00adnis play\u00aders.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nLi Na was for\u00adtu\u00adnate to grow up in Chi\u00adna dur\u00ading its best peri\u00adod, with its econ\u00ado\u00admy boom\u00ading and Chi\u00adna grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly inte\u00adgrat\u00ading with the world in all aspects. This gave her the oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to grow into a true inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal ten\u00adnis star.<\/span>
\nIni\u00adtial\u00adly, she did\u00adn\u2019t take up ten\u00adnis entire\u00adly vol\u00adun\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adly. At one point, she dis\u00adliked it and even grew to resent the \u201cten\u00adnis-is-all\u201d lifestyle. Her father\u2019s untime\u00adly death was a pro\u00adfound blow, and it also left her with a more prac\u00adti\u00adcal chal\u00adlenge: repay\u00ading the fam\u00adi\u00adly debt incurred by his med\u00adical treat\u00adment. At four\u00adteen, Li Na began shoul\u00adder\u00ading the respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of sup\u00adport\u00ading her fam\u00adi\u00adly through ten\u00adnis, a moment of rapid growth. At twen\u00adty, she retired for the first time to attend uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty, attempt\u00ading to return to a more nor\u00admal life for near\u00adly two years. Those years were invalu\u00adable for her growth, allow\u00ading her to view ten\u00adnis from a dif\u00adfer\u00adent per\u00adspec\u00adtive and gain a deep\u00ader and more sober per\u00adspec\u00adtive on the sport and her per\u00adson\u00adal des\u00adtiny. She under\u00adstood that ten\u00adnis, like jour\u00adnal\u00adism, lawyers, and doc\u00adtors, was a pro\u00adfes\u00adsion for which she was well suit\u00aded.<\/span>
\nIn her ten\u00adnis career, Li Na has achieved remark\u00adable suc\u00adcess, win\u00adning two Grand Slam titles and ris\u00ading to sec\u00adond in the world rank\u00adings. In addi\u00adtion to reap\u00ading gen\u00ader\u00adous prize mon\u00adey from com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adtions, her par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpa\u00adtion in var\u00adi\u00adous busi\u00adness activ\u00adi\u00adties has also brought in more income.2014<\/span>In the 2016 Forbes World\u2019s Top 100 Ath\u00adletes Income List, she ranked first.41<\/span>Her per\u00adson\u00adal achieve\u00adments have also pro\u00adfound\u00adly influ\u00adenced the world of ten\u00adnis. The myth that \u201cAsians are not suit\u00adable for play\u00ading ten\u00adnis\u201d has been bro\u00adken. In East Asia (espe\u00adcial\u00adly Chi\u00adna), more and more young peo\u00adple are choos\u00ading to par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpate in ten\u00adnis.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nIn the inter\u00adview at her home, Li Na said calm\u00adly, \u201cI grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly came to real\u00adize that I did\u00adn\u2019t hate ten\u00adnis that much. Ten\u00adnis has changed my life.\u201d<\/span>
\nYes, a small yel\u00adlow-green ball brought about such a won\u00adder\u00adful and won\u00adder\u00adful life! If her father knew about this, he would def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly say to her: \u201cNana, you did it!\u201d<\/span>
\nIn fact, whether or not you real\u00adize your dream of becom\u00ading a cham\u00adpi\u00adon is not that impor\u00adtant, but through unremit\u00adting efforts, you can become a bet\u00adter ver\u00adsion of your\u00adself and achieve the best ver\u00adsion of your\u00adself \u2014 this is the com\u00admon expec\u00adta\u00adtion of par\u00adents all over the world for their chil\u00addren.<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Ajia \u2026
\nWrit\u00adten on2019<\/span>Year12<\/span>moon<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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