In June 2002, Abu Lizi, a 3-year-old Uighur child, challenged the Guinness World Record. On the wire rope with a length of about 50 meters, a height of 10 meters and a diameter of 2 cm, Abu Lizi walked back and forth with a 4.5 kg balance bar in his hand. This is Abu Lizi trotting on a 10-meter-high wire rope.
Half a century ago, when an Englishman named Guinness Beaver had a whim to set up the Guinness Book of World Records, he probably didn't expect that he would receive such enthusiastic attention from China people who live on the other side of the globe today.
The Guinness Book of World Records has been sought after by many people in China in recent years. Tang Risong, director of the Guinness World Records (China) Application Center, said: At present, the application center has received more than 300 applications from/kloc-0, and more than 20 new China records are selected into the Guinness World Records every year.
On June 20th, 2005, 10, the Guinness Book of World Records (China) Application Center awarded the Guinness Book of World Records certificate to Confucius' genealogy and women's books exhibited at the Frankfurt International Book Fair. Confucius' genealogy is recognized as the longest in the world. Since the 8th century BC, the genealogy records the ancestors and direct descendants of 86 generations of Confucius. Found in Hunan Province, China, 1000 has been devoted to the emotional communication between women, and is recognized as the most unique female-specific language in the world.
According to Tang Risong, the successful projects in China are mainly divided into four categories:
Guinness World Records Limited announced that China's family tree of Confucius was recognized as the longest family tree in the world.
The first category mainly shows Chinese civilization and a long history. For example, the Great Wall, the main part of which is 3460 kilometers long, is the longest wall in the world; Tiananmen Square, covering an area of 39.6 hectares, is the largest square in the world and so on.
The second category is mainly the construction achievements of China after 1949, especially after the reform and opening up. For example, the "Three North Project" in China has a planned afforestation area of 35.6 million hectares and is listed as the largest afforestation project in the world; China astronaut Yang Liwei's space journey of 2 1 hour and 23 minutes is listed as the longest maiden voyage in space and so on.
The third category is the humanistic grand view of China society today. For example, when Fu Mingxia won the world women's diving championship at 199 1, she became the youngest world champion at 12 years old14/day; The "Longest Collective Karaoke Marathon" held by Guangdong Southern TV Station has 399 participants and lasts 100 hours.
The fourth category is folk wonders. For example, the world's smallest teapot, made by Mr. Chen, a Shanghai micro-sculptor, is 4 mm high and 6.8 mm long. Surprisingly, this teapot can hold 0.03 ml of boiling water and can be poured from the spout.
These are only a small part of the Guinness Book of Records declared by China people. In order to set a record, many groups and individuals in China have come up with various alternative projects.
200 1 1 Xiamen water park, Fujian, where people are trying to break the new Guinness record-human and snake cohabitation. Four little girls from Zhejiang, from June 65438+1 October1day, 2002 to the Lantern Festival, will live with 200 1 snake in a 48-square-meter glass hut, thus breaking their Guinness record of 288 hours of human-snake cohabitation set six years ago.
In September 2005, a 44-year-old man named Liu Shubin arrived in Shenyang by car and train from his hometown of Kedong County, Heilongjiang Province, and stayed for one day with only one purpose: dancing an octagonal handkerchief with a diagonal length of 2.4 meters and applying for Guinness World Records on the spot. There are several people who declare at the same time with Liu Shubin. Among them, a man in Shenyang can write different Chinese characters with his left hand, right hand and mouth. Che Honggui, another citizen of Benxi, can spin 1 minute 100 times, and can also do needlework while spinning.
The Guinness Book of World Records was born out of the inspiration of its founder. 195 1 year, Hughes beaver, executive director of British Guinness Brewery Company, argued with his companions during a hunting activity whether the fastest prey in Europe was golden spot, but they couldn't find the answer to this question in any book. Beaver thinks that if there is a book that can provide answers to such questions, it will be welcomed. Four years later, the world's first "Guinness Book of World Records" came out and topped the British bestseller list that year. At present, the Guinness Book of World Records has been translated into 23 versions, with an annual global sales volume of 3.5 million copies.
China people have only known the Guinness Book of Records for more than ten years, but from the grass-roots government to the general public, the enthusiasm and desire for the Guinness Book of Records certificate far exceeds that of other countries. For example, the record of Wuxi 1064 people playing erhu did not last for a month, but Xuzhou set a new record of 1490 people. Guinness auditor Newport once analyzed this. He said: for the British, breaking and setting records is very casual and there is no special desire. But people in China are different. The people of China have great enthusiasm for creating the Guinness World Record.
Some scholars in the Academy of Social Sciences of China Academy of Social Sciences believe that, in fact, this kind of projects have no practical significance except the accumulation of quantity. The Guinness Book of Records is only an entertaining pastime abroad, but now many people in China regard it as a major event of "winning glory for the country", and its enthusiasm even exceeds the down-to-earth struggle.
Some enterprises declare the Guinness Book of Records in order to improve their popularity. Wang Bin, a consultant of a furniture city in Anshan, made a giant chair with a height of 2.4m, a front width of 1. 1 m and a side width of 1 m, and he said frankly, "We don't think it's fashionable, it's hype, and it's not a waste. We are indeed very competitive, but we hope that by making this first chair in China, we can enhance the visibility of our enterprise and create more business opportunities. Applying for Guinness World Records is just a simple business activity. "
However, some individuals who challenge the Guinness Book of Records are very dangerous and may cause personal injury. For example, in 2004, Chen Jianmin, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in Luzhou, Sichuan, who was praised as "Oriental Superman" by the media, fasted for 49 days in a small glass house, challenging the Guinness World Record of 43 days of fasting set by American magician david brian. Experts believe that a normal person can persist for 3 or 4 days without water. And in the process of hunger strike, it will cause damage to many organs such as kidney, brain and stomach. Even if the hunger strike is terminated, those injuries to the body still need a long recovery period. Many people question the practice of damaging one's health in pursuit of records like this.
In this regard, Dr. Wu Xiaohong, the only Guinness World Records Certification Officer in China, has his own views. She said that the Guinness "craze" in China in recent years reflects the light of strong national strength, social harmony, pursuit of individuality and mutual tolerance, which conforms to the world trend and should be affirmed. Guinness is known as "the Olympics for ordinary people". China people who step into a well-off society will find more fun here. Wu Xiaohong believes that although some government agencies or enterprises are also keen to declare the Guinness Book of World Records, they should not be criticized too much as long as they are conducive to the spread of China's advanced culture and the positive image of the government or enterprises. In China's traditional culture, modesty is a virtue, but today, the publicity of personality has become a fashion, and people should treat it with a normal heart.
Wu Xiaohong said frankly that, of course, the creators and participants of the Guinness Book of Records should have a cool head, pursue their own happiness and let others share it. It is certainly not desirable to waste manpower, material resources and financial resources just to create a record, or to pursue it deliberately, and there is no need to ignore others.