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Abstract： 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing in the next year, people of different cultural background will carry out cross-culture communication on this occasion And Fuwa as Olympic Mascot, which is a cross-cultural medium and a good mechanism to develop cross-cultural understanding
Key words：Fuwa；Olympic Mascot；cross-culture communication
Ⅰ A Brief Introduction of Olympic Mascot and Fuwa
Since the first mascot in Olympic history made its appearance at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, mascots have become a main element of the Olympic image As a unique and popular image full of vitality, a mascot is able to materialize the Olympic spirit, communicate the concepts of each Olympic Games, promote the history and culture of the host city and create a festive atmosphere for the Games Mascots act as a significant vehicle for communicating the Olympic spirit to the general public, especially children and youth Whatever shapes they have, they fundamentally share a creative rationale, that is, the mascots must be able to convey the theme of the Olympic Games, the distinctive geographical features, history and culture unique to the host city
The Official Mascot of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is Fuwa, like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, which carrying a message of friendship, peace and blessings from China to children all over the world Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of the most popular animals in China——the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow and the Olympic Flame When you put their names together——Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni——they say ‘Beijing welcomes you’, offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic GamesFuwa as the Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, reflects the cross-culture communication awareness of our Chinese is continually strengthened in the process of international communication The cultural phenomenon which is reflected by Fuwa could be explained thoroughly from the aspect of cross-culture communication
Ⅱ Fuwa Reflects the Cultural Differences Between China and West
1 The Individual Features of Fuwa Reflect Concrete Thinking Mode of Chinese
Chinese thinking mode is different from the west, which is consisted of analogy, similie, metaphor, etc Taking Fuwa as an example, under the whole framework of ‘Beijing welcomes you’, each of them has their own name and representation Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name, it is a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow
In China's traditional culture and art, the fish and water designs are symbols of prosperity and harvest And Beibei carries the blessing of prosperity A fish is also a symbol of surplus in Chinese culture, another measure of a good year and a good lifeThe ornamental lines of the water-wave designs are taken from well-known Chinese paintings of the past Among Fuwa, Beibei is known to be gentle and pure Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring
Jingjing makes children smile and that's why he brings the blessing of happiness wherever he goes We can see his joy in the charming naivety of his dancing pose and the lovely wave of his black and white fur As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere The lotus designs in Jingjing's headdress, which are inspired by the porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (AD960-1234), symbolize the lush forest and the harmonious relationship between man and nature Jingjing was chosen to represent our desire to protect nature's gifts and to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations Jingjing is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring
In the intimate circle of Fuwa, Huanhuan is the big brother He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport Huanhuan stands in the center of Fuwa as the core embodiment of the Olympic spirit And he inspires all with the passion to run faster, jump higher and be stronger, he is also open and inviting The firery designs of his head ornament are drawn from the famed Dunhuang murals Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring
Like all antelopes, Yingying is fast and agile and can swiftly cover great stretches of land as he races across the earth A symbol of the vastness of China's landscape, the antelope carries the blessing of health, the strength of body that comes from harmony with nature Yingying's flying pose captures the essence of a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the first animals put under protection in China His head ornament incorporates several decorative styles from the Qinghai-Tibet and the ethnic design traditions of Western China Strong in track and field events, Yingying is a quick-witted and agile boy who represents the yellow Olympic ring
Every spring and summer, the children of Beijing have flown beautiful kites on the currents of wind that blow through the capital Nini's figure is drawn from this grand tradition of flying designs Her golden wings symbolize the infinite sky and spread good-luck as a blessing wherever she flies Swallow is also pronounced ‘yan’ in Chinese, and Yanjing is what Beijing was called as an ancient capital city Among Fuwa, Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring
From this point, we could know that each Fuwa has its own characteristics The design of Fuwa is correspond to the concrete thinking mode of Chinese, ie from the whole to details, from abstract to concrete, from the overall consideration to each aspect This kind of thinking mode is applied to the Chinese culture comprehensively
2 The Reasons That Other Animals Fail to be Chosen as the Mascot
When people communicate, they want their messages and meanings to be understood by others The difficulty is that much of what people do when they communicate comes from their subjective culture, it is part of the cultural iceberg submerged beneath the sea of awareness The cultural of each country is different, so people of different cultures would consider the same sign differently People often evaluate others from different cultures from their own cultural and social standard, then the effective communication is hard to realize in cross-culture communication As the 2008 Olympic Games is on her counting down term, the collection of mascots has already been ended Up to now, people from all over the world have made proposals like the dragon, Monkey King and something like that to be suggested as 2008 Olympic Mascots, but they all failed to be chosen as the mascot
The design of Olympic Mascot should not only consider our own cultural features, but also consider the acceptability around world wide Considering the acceptability of the other countries, ‘dragon’ and ‘the monkey king’ are fail to be chosen as the Olympic Mascot because of the huge cultural differences in the cross-culture communication
Dragon cultures exit in both the eastern and western world The Chinese dragon is one of the most recognized symbols in the world Dragon is adivine and my sterious animal in China Dragonis the famoussymbol of Chinese nation to day aswellasthesymbolof ancient Chinaforthousandsofyeasinthepast Dragons are deeply rooted in Chinese culture, our Chinese often consider themselves, ‘the descendants of the dragon’Inthepast,all the emperorsinold China considered themselves the‘RealSonoftheDragon’
However in the west, ‘dragon’hasatotallydifferentmeaning, dragons can be found in many literatures and they look significantly different from the Chinese dragon The version of dragon in English poses a colossus or a huge monster with an air of belligerency and domineering In Bible, Satan is the adversary of God, which is also named ‘the great dragon’, which has the same meaning of ‘evil’ and is disliked by English speaking nations Such an image would possibly fill any aliens who do not an adequate understanding of the Chinese history or culture, with some undue implications
The Chinese dragon is failed to be chosen as the official mascots of the 29th Olympic Games The reason for its failure is that its implications vary widely around the world, and there is a world of difference between the dragon in English and its true meaning in Chinese And in?translation, there have all along differences in the academic field to translate ‘Long’ in Chinese into ‘Dragon’ in English And now, ‘亚洲四小龙’ is translated as ‘ four Asian tigers’ in many English newspapers
The image of Monkey King Sun Wukong is everywhere in Chinese drama He is the protagonist of Journey to the West, one of the four famous Chinese classic novels Wu Cheng'en (1510-1582) of the Ming Dynasty was author of the 100-chapter novel based on the Tang Monk Xuanzang’s journey He imbued it with the colorful, fantastic adventures of Sun Wukong, a monkey that springs into existence out of one stray stone of many earmarked by Goddess Nuwa to patch a hole in the heavens Born from a stone that is the essence of Heaven and Earth rather than of a mother and father, Sun Wukong is unbound by the fetters of temporal human relationships Neither impressed nor intimidated by order, ritual or hierarchy, he causes havoc in Heaven, the Dragon King's Palace, and Hell His refusal to collude with evil forces makes him a hero and embodiment of righteousness in the eyes of the Chinese people Sun Wukong symbolizes the worldly desire for the ideal human life that is free from constraint He is eventually brought to heel and contained within the power of Buddhism This indicates the true human condition wherein the desire for personal freedom and dignity is always curbed by the confines of reality
However Monkey King Sun Wukong is fail to be chosen as the 2008 Olympic Mascot for the reason of cross-cultural communication Sun Wukong is not only famous in china, but it is also a well-known figure in Japan, Vietnam and many other Asian countriesIt is difficult to protect the intellectual property right as the related products development of Sun Wukong is rather universal in many different fields Sun Wukong and his stories are well known to every family, so it is an obstacle for the connotation defining and marketing development as Olympic Mascot The trademark registration of Sun Wukong involves in almost every field, the space of further development is rather limited
3 Individualism vs Collectivism
Individualism refers to the doctrine that the rights of the individual are the most important ones in a society Most westerners believe that each person has his own separate identity and personality, which should be recognized and reinforced The core of individualism is the pursuit of personal and achievements It is highly valued, earnestly believed and well appreciated as a fundamental social virtue Therefore, to westerners, individualism is not selfishness but rather virtue
This virtue is reflected in the mascot, for example, the mascot of 1972 Olympic Summer Games in Munich, Germany is Waldi--- the dachshund, the mascot of the 1976 Olympic Summer Games in Montreal, Canada is Amik--- a beaver, the mascot of the 1980 Olympic Summer Games in Moscow is Misha--- a bear All these three Olympic Games are held in west, and the Olympic Mascot of these games are all a single animal, this could be explained from the reason of individualism spirit of western people
However to Chinese people, the word ‘individualism’ is related to the derogatory meaning as egoism, with represents selfishness in quality and looseness in discipline In traditional Chinese beliefs, esp in Confucianism, collectivism is appreciated It emphasizes cooperation among group members and individual success is due to the collective effort of the staff in a unit, an organization or a community The sacrifice of individual interest for that of the collective is a noble quality eulogized so much by Chinese people that being modest and thoughtful of others are highly praised
There are five Fuwa, which could fully reflect Chinese collectivism spirit The five Fuwa together stand for the unity of Chinese, the determination of hold a great success Olympic Games
4 The Number ‘5’ Reflects Chinese Culture
There are five Fuwa, as ‘5’ is a very important, unique and mysterious number in Chinese culture, which reflects Chinese philosophy ideology ‘5’ means ‘five elements’, ie the fundamental components of the Universe, the five components are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water These elements were used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena Ancient Chinese philosophers thought that all things on the earth were composed of these five elements In the period of Warring States, the idea pervaded that the five elements were interdependent, yet at the same time mutually exclusive Later, the five elements theory provided a theoretical basis for people in their study on both natural and social phenomena The quantity of Fuwa is five reflects Chinese philosophy ideology
‘5’ also means goodness, right, ritual, wisdom and faith（仁，义，礼，智，信），which are the superb morality in Confucian ethics Therefore we could show our polite, credit and responsibility through five Fuwa
Growing up in the environment strongly influenced by Confucianism, the Chinese people long for a happy life which can be typically described with the words felicity, fortune, longevity, good luck and as one wishes（福，禄，寿，吉祥，如意） Each Fuwa symbolizes a different blessing ---prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck respectively All the Chinese cultural content of ‘5’ is peculiar, and is totally different from the western culture
Ⅲ Fuwa Reflects the Similarities Between China and West
The concepts of ‘Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and Humanistic Olympics’ are of great significance to the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Humanistic Olympics is the soul of Beijing Olympics, which will be made to carry forward the Olympic spirit, promote the Chinese cultural traditions, present to the world the fine cultural heritage of the city and the friendliness of its people, to increase cultural exchanges between the east and the west for better understanding, trust and friendship among people from different parts of the world
The transmission process of Fuwa is actually the process of cross-cultural communication and the mutual impact of different cultures Each culture has its own values, which is accumulated through thousands or hundreds of years Therefore when the people of different cultures communicate with each other, the different values and thinking mode would conflict with each other, or the cognition of the same sign would be different From this we could know that, when different cultures communicate, the decode of the same sign would be different due to the different values and thinking mode If we want carry out the cross-cultural communication effectively, we should find the same basis between China and west ie the common ground of communication
Beijing will uphold Olympic spirit at the basis of its rich humanistic resources, realize the communication and integration of Chinese and western culture and instill its unique oriental wisdom into the Olympic sports The Humanistic Olympics are intended to facilitate cross-cultural understanding between China and the world As far as Fuwa concerned the common ground mainly reflect in color, syllable, the Olympic rings and the blessing transmission
1 Color
The colors of Fuwa are the same with the Olympic rings, ie green, red, yellow, black and blue, which stand for the spirit of loving Olympics and taking part in Olympics The colors of Fuwa are also the same with the ‘five elements’ ie Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water
2 The Olympic Rings
Each Fuwa stands for each Olympic ring, which is coincident with the Chinese ‘five elements’ theory Fuwa is the most splendid combination of Chinese philosophy and Olympic spirit, which embodies the extensive and profound Chinese culture.
3 Syllable
From the aspect of syllable, each Fuwa has an easy-remembering name, ie Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini The combination of these names is ‘Beijing welcomes you’, ie is an international slogan, which expresses the intention of participating the global and international communication of China and transmits the signal of cross-cultural communication
4 The Blessing Transmission
Each culture has its own special way of blessing transmission China without exception, Fuwa is the signal of blessing transmission, each Fuwa stands for different blessing ie prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck respectively Each of Fuwa symbolizes a different blessing and will honor this tradition by carrying their blessings to the children of the world Prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck will be spread to every continent as Fuwa carry their invitation to Beijing 2008 to every part of the globe
Ⅳ Conclusion
It is always difficult for ordinary people in different cultural settings to know each other, especially when their cultural backgrounds are very different Too often our attitudes towards our neighbors are shaped by politicians and elites and their
views have strengthened, consciously or unconsciously, our own cultural biases So it
is important for ordinary people to get to know each other directly The Olympics provide such an opportunity since they are largest international gathering for ordinary
people such as athletes, referees, journalists, and spectators The Beijing Olympics
will be a good chance for China to meet the world and world to meet China With Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games, cross-cultural communication has become a fact of daily life in China The Beijing Olympic Games will be hold in the next year, a deeper and more comprehensive cross-cultural communication of different cultures through Fuwa will emerge in the near future Due to the different culture background, social environment and thinking mode, people round the world will have different understanding toward Fuwa So Fuwa is a cross-cultural medium and a good mechanism by which to develop cross-cultural understanding
References：
［1］贾玉新跨文化交际学［M］上海:上海外语教育出版社, 1997
［2］顾曰国跨文化交际［M］北京:外语教学与研究出版社, 2001
［3］胡文仲跨文化交际面面观［M］北京:外语教学与研究出版社, 1999
［4］庄恩平跨文化商务沟通案例教程［M］上海:上海外语教育出版社, 2004
［5］刘淇北京奥运经济研究［M］北京:北京出版社, 2003年
［6］Linell Davis中西文化之鉴［M］北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2001
［7］严佳,钟庆伦从福娃看国民的跨文化交际意识［J］郑州航空工业管理学院学,第五期
Key words：Fuwa；Olympic Mascot；cross-culture communication
Ⅰ A Brief Introduction of Olympic Mascot and Fuwa
Since the first mascot in Olympic history made its appearance at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, mascots have become a main element of the Olympic image As a unique and popular image full of vitality, a mascot is able to materialize the Olympic spirit, communicate the concepts of each Olympic Games, promote the history and culture of the host city and create a festive atmosphere for the Games Mascots act as a significant vehicle for communicating the Olympic spirit to the general public, especially children and youth Whatever shapes they have, they fundamentally share a creative rationale, that is, the mascots must be able to convey the theme of the Olympic Games, the distinctive geographical features, history and culture unique to the host city
The Official Mascot of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is Fuwa, like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, which carrying a message of friendship, peace and blessings from China to children all over the world Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of the most popular animals in China——the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow and the Olympic Flame When you put their names together——Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni——they say ‘Beijing welcomes you’, offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic GamesFuwa as the Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, reflects the cross-culture communication awareness of our Chinese is continually strengthened in the process of international communication The cultural phenomenon which is reflected by Fuwa could be explained thoroughly from the aspect of cross-culture communication
Ⅱ Fuwa Reflects the Cultural Differences Between China and West
1 The Individual Features of Fuwa Reflect Concrete Thinking Mode of Chinese
Chinese thinking mode is different from the west, which is consisted of analogy, similie, metaphor, etc Taking Fuwa as an example, under the whole framework of ‘Beijing welcomes you’, each of them has their own name and representation Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name, it is a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow
In China's traditional culture and art, the fish and water designs are symbols of prosperity and harvest And Beibei carries the blessing of prosperity A fish is also a symbol of surplus in Chinese culture, another measure of a good year and a good lifeThe ornamental lines of the water-wave designs are taken from well-known Chinese paintings of the past Among Fuwa, Beibei is known to be gentle and pure Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring
Jingjing makes children smile and that's why he brings the blessing of happiness wherever he goes We can see his joy in the charming naivety of his dancing pose and the lovely wave of his black and white fur As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere The lotus designs in Jingjing's headdress, which are inspired by the porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (AD960-1234), symbolize the lush forest and the harmonious relationship between man and nature Jingjing was chosen to represent our desire to protect nature's gifts and to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations Jingjing is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring
In the intimate circle of Fuwa, Huanhuan is the big brother He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport Huanhuan stands in the center of Fuwa as the core embodiment of the Olympic spirit And he inspires all with the passion to run faster, jump higher and be stronger, he is also open and inviting The firery designs of his head ornament are drawn from the famed Dunhuang murals Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring
Like all antelopes, Yingying is fast and agile and can swiftly cover great stretches of land as he races across the earth A symbol of the vastness of China's landscape, the antelope carries the blessing of health, the strength of body that comes from harmony with nature Yingying's flying pose captures the essence of a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the first animals put under protection in China His head ornament incorporates several decorative styles from the Qinghai-Tibet and the ethnic design traditions of Western China Strong in track and field events, Yingying is a quick-witted and agile boy who represents the yellow Olympic ring
Every spring and summer, the children of Beijing have flown beautiful kites on the currents of wind that blow through the capital Nini's figure is drawn from this grand tradition of flying designs Her golden wings symbolize the infinite sky and spread good-luck as a blessing wherever she flies Swallow is also pronounced ‘yan’ in Chinese, and Yanjing is what Beijing was called as an ancient capital city Among Fuwa, Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring
From this point, we could know that each Fuwa has its own characteristics The design of Fuwa is correspond to the concrete thinking mode of Chinese, ie from the whole to details, from abstract to concrete, from the overall consideration to each aspect This kind of thinking mode is applied to the Chinese culture comprehensively
2 The Reasons That Other Animals Fail to be Chosen as the Mascot
When people communicate, they want their messages and meanings to be understood by others The difficulty is that much of what people do when they communicate comes from their subjective culture, it is part of the cultural iceberg submerged beneath the sea of awareness The cultural of each country is different, so people of different cultures would consider the same sign differently People often evaluate others from different cultures from their own cultural and social standard, then the effective communication is hard to realize in cross-culture communication As the 2008 Olympic Games is on her counting down term, the collection of mascots has already been ended Up to now, people from all over the world have made proposals like the dragon, Monkey King and something like that to be suggested as 2008 Olympic Mascots, but they all failed to be chosen as the mascot
The design of Olympic Mascot should not only consider our own cultural features, but also consider the acceptability around world wide Considering the acceptability of the other countries, ‘dragon’ and ‘the monkey king’ are fail to be chosen as the Olympic Mascot because of the huge cultural differences in the cross-culture communication
Dragon cultures exit in both the eastern and western world The Chinese dragon is one of the most recognized symbols in the world Dragon is adivine and my sterious animal in China Dragonis the famoussymbol of Chinese nation to day aswellasthesymbolof ancient Chinaforthousandsofyeasinthepast Dragons are deeply rooted in Chinese culture, our Chinese often consider themselves, ‘the descendants of the dragon’Inthepast,all the emperorsinold China considered themselves the‘RealSonoftheDragon’
However in the west, ‘dragon’hasatotallydifferentmeaning, dragons can be found in many literatures and they look significantly different from the Chinese dragon The version of dragon in English poses a colossus or a huge monster with an air of belligerency and domineering In Bible, Satan is the adversary of God, which is also named ‘the great dragon’, which has the same meaning of ‘evil’ and is disliked by English speaking nations Such an image would possibly fill any aliens who do not an adequate understanding of the Chinese history or culture, with some undue implications
The Chinese dragon is failed to be chosen as the official mascots of the 29th Olympic Games The reason for its failure is that its implications vary widely around the world, and there is a world of difference between the dragon in English and its true meaning in Chinese And in?translation, there have all along differences in the academic field to translate ‘Long’ in Chinese into ‘Dragon’ in English And now, ‘亚洲四小龙’ is translated as ‘ four Asian tigers’ in many English newspapers
The image of Monkey King Sun Wukong is everywhere in Chinese drama He is the protagonist of Journey to the West, one of the four famous Chinese classic novels Wu Cheng'en (1510-1582) of the Ming Dynasty was author of the 100-chapter novel based on the Tang Monk Xuanzang’s journey He imbued it with the colorful, fantastic adventures of Sun Wukong, a monkey that springs into existence out of one stray stone of many earmarked by Goddess Nuwa to patch a hole in the heavens Born from a stone that is the essence of Heaven and Earth rather than of a mother and father, Sun Wukong is unbound by the fetters of temporal human relationships Neither impressed nor intimidated by order, ritual or hierarchy, he causes havoc in Heaven, the Dragon King's Palace, and Hell His refusal to collude with evil forces makes him a hero and embodiment of righteousness in the eyes of the Chinese people Sun Wukong symbolizes the worldly desire for the ideal human life that is free from constraint He is eventually brought to heel and contained within the power of Buddhism This indicates the true human condition wherein the desire for personal freedom and dignity is always curbed by the confines of reality
However Monkey King Sun Wukong is fail to be chosen as the 2008 Olympic Mascot for the reason of cross-cultural communication Sun Wukong is not only famous in china, but it is also a well-known figure in Japan, Vietnam and many other Asian countriesIt is difficult to protect the intellectual property right as the related products development of Sun Wukong is rather universal in many different fields Sun Wukong and his stories are well known to every family, so it is an obstacle for the connotation defining and marketing development as Olympic Mascot The trademark registration of Sun Wukong involves in almost every field, the space of further development is rather limited
3 Individualism vs Collectivism
Individualism refers to the doctrine that the rights of the individual are the most important ones in a society Most westerners believe that each person has his own separate identity and personality, which should be recognized and reinforced The core of individualism is the pursuit of personal and achievements It is highly valued, earnestly believed and well appreciated as a fundamental social virtue Therefore, to westerners, individualism is not selfishness but rather virtue
This virtue is reflected in the mascot, for example, the mascot of 1972 Olympic Summer Games in Munich, Germany is Waldi--- the dachshund, the mascot of the 1976 Olympic Summer Games in Montreal, Canada is Amik--- a beaver, the mascot of the 1980 Olympic Summer Games in Moscow is Misha--- a bear All these three Olympic Games are held in west, and the Olympic Mascot of these games are all a single animal, this could be explained from the reason of individualism spirit of western people
However to Chinese people, the word ‘individualism’ is related to the derogatory meaning as egoism, with represents selfishness in quality and looseness in discipline In traditional Chinese beliefs, esp in Confucianism, collectivism is appreciated It emphasizes cooperation among group members and individual success is due to the collective effort of the staff in a unit, an organization or a community The sacrifice of individual interest for that of the collective is a noble quality eulogized so much by Chinese people that being modest and thoughtful of others are highly praised
There are five Fuwa, which could fully reflect Chinese collectivism spirit The five Fuwa together stand for the unity of Chinese, the determination of hold a great success Olympic Games
4 The Number ‘5’ Reflects Chinese Culture
There are five Fuwa, as ‘5’ is a very important, unique and mysterious number in Chinese culture, which reflects Chinese philosophy ideology ‘5’ means ‘five elements’, ie the fundamental components of the Universe, the five components are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water These elements were used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena Ancient Chinese philosophers thought that all things on the earth were composed of these five elements In the period of Warring States, the idea pervaded that the five elements were interdependent, yet at the same time mutually exclusive Later, the five elements theory provided a theoretical basis for people in their study on both natural and social phenomena The quantity of Fuwa is five reflects Chinese philosophy ideology
‘5’ also means goodness, right, ritual, wisdom and faith（仁，义，礼，智，信），which are the superb morality in Confucian ethics Therefore we could show our polite, credit and responsibility through five Fuwa
Growing up in the environment strongly influenced by Confucianism, the Chinese people long for a happy life which can be typically described with the words felicity, fortune, longevity, good luck and as one wishes（福，禄，寿，吉祥，如意） Each Fuwa symbolizes a different blessing ---prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck respectively All the Chinese cultural content of ‘5’ is peculiar, and is totally different from the western culture
Ⅲ Fuwa Reflects the Similarities Between China and West
The concepts of ‘Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and Humanistic Olympics’ are of great significance to the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Humanistic Olympics is the soul of Beijing Olympics, which will be made to carry forward the Olympic spirit, promote the Chinese cultural traditions, present to the world the fine cultural heritage of the city and the friendliness of its people, to increase cultural exchanges between the east and the west for better understanding, trust and friendship among people from different parts of the world
The transmission process of Fuwa is actually the process of cross-cultural communication and the mutual impact of different cultures Each culture has its own values, which is accumulated through thousands or hundreds of years Therefore when the people of different cultures communicate with each other, the different values and thinking mode would conflict with each other, or the cognition of the same sign would be different From this we could know that, when different cultures communicate, the decode of the same sign would be different due to the different values and thinking mode If we want carry out the cross-cultural communication effectively, we should find the same basis between China and west ie the common ground of communication
Beijing will uphold Olympic spirit at the basis of its rich humanistic resources, realize the communication and integration of Chinese and western culture and instill its unique oriental wisdom into the Olympic sports The Humanistic Olympics are intended to facilitate cross-cultural understanding between China and the world As far as Fuwa concerned the common ground mainly reflect in color, syllable, the Olympic rings and the blessing transmission
1 Color
The colors of Fuwa are the same with the Olympic rings, ie green, red, yellow, black and blue, which stand for the spirit of loving Olympics and taking part in Olympics The colors of Fuwa are also the same with the ‘five elements’ ie Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water
2 The Olympic Rings
Each Fuwa stands for each Olympic ring, which is coincident with the Chinese ‘five elements’ theory Fuwa is the most splendid combination of Chinese philosophy and Olympic spirit, which embodies the extensive and profound Chinese culture.
3 Syllable
From the aspect of syllable, each Fuwa has an easy-remembering name, ie Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini The combination of these names is ‘Beijing welcomes you’, ie is an international slogan, which expresses the intention of participating the global and international communication of China and transmits the signal of cross-cultural communication
4 The Blessing Transmission
Each culture has its own special way of blessing transmission China without exception, Fuwa is the signal of blessing transmission, each Fuwa stands for different blessing ie prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck respectively Each of Fuwa symbolizes a different blessing and will honor this tradition by carrying their blessings to the children of the world Prosperity, happiness, passion, health and good luck will be spread to every continent as Fuwa carry their invitation to Beijing 2008 to every part of the globe
Ⅳ Conclusion
It is always difficult for ordinary people in different cultural settings to know each other, especially when their cultural backgrounds are very different Too often our attitudes towards our neighbors are shaped by politicians and elites and their
views have strengthened, consciously or unconsciously, our own cultural biases So it
is important for ordinary people to get to know each other directly The Olympics provide such an opportunity since they are largest international gathering for ordinary
people such as athletes, referees, journalists, and spectators The Beijing Olympics
will be a good chance for China to meet the world and world to meet China With Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games, cross-cultural communication has become a fact of daily life in China The Beijing Olympic Games will be hold in the next year, a deeper and more comprehensive cross-cultural communication of different cultures through Fuwa will emerge in the near future Due to the different culture background, social environment and thinking mode, people round the world will have different understanding toward Fuwa So Fuwa is a cross-cultural medium and a good mechanism by which to develop cross-cultural understanding
References：
［1］贾玉新跨文化交际学［M］上海:上海外语教育出版社, 1997
［2］顾曰国跨文化交际［M］北京:外语教学与研究出版社, 2001
［3］胡文仲跨文化交际面面观［M］北京:外语教学与研究出版社, 1999
［4］庄恩平跨文化商务沟通案例教程［M］上海:上海外语教育出版社, 2004
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