Fuwa

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This article is about 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Mascots. For other uses, see Fuwa District, Gifu.
Fuwa

Mascots on display in Beijing
Chinese: 福娃
Literal meaning: Good-luck dolls

The Fuwa, formerly "Friendlies",[1] are the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The designs were created by Han Meilin, a famous artist in China.[2] The designs were publicly announced by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies on November 11, 2005 at an event marking the 1000th day before the opening of the games.

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[edit] Description

The Fuwa group consists of five members according to the traditional five elements: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. Each of the five names is designed to look like a plausible name for a small child, while also achieving a more complex task: when the first syllable of each name is put together, it sounds nearly identical to the phrase "北京欢迎你", Běijīng huānyíng nǐ which means "Beijing welcomes you".

Two of the five mascots represent members of endangered species – Jingjing the giant panda and Yingying the Tibetan antelope. The other three, Beibei, Huanhuan and Nini, represent the sturgeon, the Olympic Flame and the swallow respectively. Each of the five figures also embodies the color of one of the five Olympic Rings.

[edit] Mascots

Fuwa
Name Bèibei (贝贝) (voiced by Andreana Karollas) Jīngjing (晶晶) (voiced by Vincent Scaglia) Huānhuan (欢欢) (voiced by Briana Gonzalez) Yíngying (迎迎) (voiced by Chris Tsakonas) Nīni (妮妮) (voiced by Andreana Karollas)
Picture
Gender Female Male Male Male Female
Olympic Ring Blue Black Red Yellow Green
Element Water Wood Fire Earth Sky
Design Chinese Sturgeon Giant panda Olympic Flame Tibetan antelope Swallow
Personality gentle, pure honest, optimistic extrovert, enthusiastic lively, vivacious innocent, joyous
Represented ideal prosperity happiness passion health good fortune
Represented sport aquatic sports weightlifting, judo, etc. ball sports track and field gymnastics
Cultural inspiration Chinese sturgeon; Traditional Chinese New Year decorative picture of lotus and fish; fish design from Neolithic artifacts Giant panda; Song Dynasty lotus-shaped porcelain Fire design from the Mogao Grottoes Tibetan antelope, Tibetan and Xinjiang ethnic costumes The swallow; Beijing's shayan kites
Notes The Chinese sturgeon is largely dispersed over the main streams of the Yangtze River and coastal regions of Qiantang River, Minjiang River and Pearl River. It is a precious, but endangered species native to China. In traditional Chinese culture, the fish represents prosperity, as the character for fish (魚) sounds the same as that for surplus (餘 / 余). The "carp leaping over the dragon gate" is a traditional allegory of following one's dreams and achieving them. The patterns from Beibei's headgear comes from artifacts unearthed at Banpo, site of a Neolithic village of the Yangshao culture. As an endangered species, the panda is both a national symbol of China and an international symbol of environmentalism. Jingjing's forest origins also symbolize the harmonious coexistence of humankind and nature. Huanhuan represents the passion of sports, the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger", and the passion of the Beijing Olympics. Huanhuan's headgear comes from a fire design in the Mogao Caves, the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes. The Tibetan antelope is an endangered species native to the Tibetan Plateau, known for its swiftness. Yingying's headgear incorporates elements of Tibetan and Xinjiang ethnic costumes. The swallow is a messenger of spring and happiness in Chinese culture, and is seen as a symbol of good fortune. The Chinese character for swallow (燕) is also used in Yanjing (燕京), an old name for Beijing; thus the swallow alludes to Beijing. Nini's headgear uses the design of Beijing's shayan kites, which are colourful cross-shaped kites modeled after swallows.

[edit] Cultural reference

A 100-episode Olympic-themed cartoon series featuring the Fuwa was released in China on August 8, 2007.[3]

The characters made cameo appearances in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games video game.

[edit] References

  1. ^ F, D (29 November 2006), “Not so friendly anymore”, Time Out (no. November 2006): 6 
  2. ^ CCTV - retrieved 11 September 2007
  3. ^ Olympic cartoon a hit in China

[edit] External links