Fuwa
The Fuwa ( Chinese 福 娃 , Pinyin Fúwá - "Children of Happiness") or Friendlies were the mascots of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing . These are the five children's characters Bèibei, Jīngjing, Huānhuan, Yíngying and Nīni. They were presented to the public by the Organizing Committee of the Games (BOCOG) on November 11, 2005, 1001 days before the start of the Games.
description
Each of the five names is chosen to match a plausible name for a toddler. If you put the five syllables together, however, they sound almost exactly like the sentence 北京 歡迎 你 / 北京 欢迎 你 , Běijīng huānyíng nǐ , which means something like “Beijing welcomes you”. The selected motifs symbolize the elements of the five-element teaching of Daoism : water, wood, fire, earth and metal. The colors of the figures correspond to the colors of the Olympic rings .
Bèibei
Bèibei ( 貝貝 / 贝贝 ) is a female blue fish who is characterized as gentle and pure, symbolizing the ideal of prosperity and representing swimming sports. Along with the lotus, the fish is a traditional decoration at the Chinese New Year .
In traditional Chinese culture, fish represents prosperity because the character for fish ( 魚 / 鱼 , yú ) sounds the same as that for excess ( 餘 / 余 , yú ). The “carp jumping over the dragon gate” is a traditional allegory for the realization of dreams. The patterns of Beibei's headgear come from objects excavated at Banpo , a village of the Neolithic Yangshao culture .
Jingjing
Jīngjing ( 晶晶 ) is a male, black giant panda . He is described as honest and optimistic, symbolizes the ideal of happiness and represents strength and martial arts such as weightlifting or judo. The inspiration comes from a lotus-shaped porcelain vessel from the Song dynasty .
This endangered species is a national symbol for China as well as a global symbol for the environmental movement. Jingjings living space, the forest, symbolizes the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
Huānhuan
Huānhuan ( 歡歡 / 欢欢 ) is a male Olympic torch in red color. He is described as extroverted and enthusiastic, symbolizes passion and stands for ball sports.
The Huanhuan Flame represents the passion of sport, the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger" and the passion of the Beijing Olympics. The design of the fire is inspired by a wall painting in the Mogao Grottoes , the most famous Buddhist prayer caves.
Yingying
Yíngying ( 迎 迎 ) is a male yellow chiru . He is lively and lively, stands for the ideal of health and the athletics disciplines.
This critically endangered species lives in Tibet and Xinjiang and is known for its agility. Yingying's headgear combines elements of traditional costumes from these regions.
Tibetan groups in exile reject the use of the Tibetan antelope as an Olympic mascot by China. It is used to strengthen Chinese claims to power over Tibet, which they consider to be unjustified.
Nīni
Nīni ( 妮妮 ) is a female green swallow . She is innocent and exuberant, stands for a good fate and represents gymnastics.
In Chinese culture, the swallow is an ambassador of spring and happiness. The Chinese character for swallow ( 燕 , yàn ) is also used in Yanjing ( 燕京 , Yānjīng ), an ancient name for the city of Beijing.
Web links
- Beijing 2008 Mascots - Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini on the official website of the International Olympic Committee (English)