Organisers of the 2008 Games recently announced a standard, four-part Olympic Cheer. It is a series of hand motions and slogans that’s being promoted as THE way to cheer. See the video clip and illustration for reference. This doesn’t mean spectators’ can’t cheer in their own ways, but the authorities hope to rally a uniform, powerful and 文明/wen2 ming2/’civilised’ audience to showcase China’s image to the world.
This might seem ridiculous. And many of us in China think it is. But China is used to such ‘engineering’. Much like the idea of making peasants into Frenchmen in Post Revolution France, the authorities have always been concerned with the issue of 文明/wen2 ming2/’civilised’ or ‘proper conduct’ in post 1949 China. And there is indeed a lot of 不文明/improper conduct around. Spitting, littering and flamboyantly speaking on the phone in cinema are starters. The Shanghai government even has a七不/qi1 bu4/seven don’ts for its residents. Amongst them are ‘don’t spit’ and ‘don’t litter’.
You can imagine how the organisers feel about those entrenched behaviours during the Olympics. Therefore, a national ‘be a civilised spectator’ campaign/文明观众/wen2 ming2 guan1 zhong4/ was launched. It features basic rules like ’switch off phone during the match’ to specific rules of the sports and how to watch and cheer appropriately.
How do people respond to the authoritarian ‘do’s and don’ts’? Well, for a people so accustomed to and almost immune to rules and regulations, we take whatever we deem to be useful or make sense and shrug off the rest. This is how a lot of poeple feel about the official cheer: the idea is a bit absurd, but the actual practice is fun and energising. Besides, when you are immersed in the collective hype, why not?
But of course uniform action and thinking conjure up rather negative associations in the rest of the world. A subtlety which we’ve yet to learn to handle. The slogan of the Beijing Games is ‘one world, one dream’/同一个世界，同一个梦想/tong2 yi1 ge4 shi4 jie4, tong2 yi1 ge4 meng4 xiang3, which resonates with the talk of harmony, a theme of this administration. But I guess what would be even more valuable is the recognition and respect for ‘one world, different dreams’, 同一个世界，不同的梦想／tong2 yi1 ge4 shi4 jie4, bu4 tong2 de meng4 xiang3.
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June 10, 2008 3:56 am
Thank you Jenny for this enlightening and excellent blog.
When I first saw the Olympic motto in Beijing two years ago, I thought it was a terrific and catchy phrase. But I like your “同一个世界， 不同的梦想“ better. Since I think in English, I just now thought of “One World, Many Dreams”.
There were two things that came to mind after reading today’s entry. The first one was the Chinese proverb: “The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.” I have no idea how this stream of thought entered my mind. The second one was a trip down memory lane. After thinking about Shanghai’s 七不，I was transported to a conversation that my father had with his two Singaporean friends during my childhood. They spoke in Mandarin and even though I understood little, I remembered the Singaporean say that their government started giving “behavior reminders” like “你要有礼貌”to people who were put on wait while on the phone.
June 10, 2008 10:14 am
Hi Art,
You provided the inspiration for this post. And will be a continued source of inspiration.
I often wonder if I had the most tightly governed upbringing. Having lived in China and Singapore, 2 of the most regulated countries in the world and at home, a even more thorough mom. But l’ve never even rebelled! I’d probably be utterly unquipped to deal with my teenage kids in the future.
June 12, 2008 8:29 am
“One world, many dreams.” How quaintly subversive!
June 12, 2008 10:38 am
Hey Jenny, I actually find it cute that China has its own national cheer. Shows unity, although a bit contrived, but doesn’t unity always have a little amount of the contrived? Hehehe.
Your blog reminded me of the World Cup held in Japan/Korea in 2002. I had a chance to watch a game of Japan and I was pleasantly surprised that the Japanese had their own national cheer. Basically, they were just shouting “Nip-pon!”. It was actually amazing to see everyone so unified!
Interesting to see a Japan vs China game where the two national cheers would be heard. Hopefully, the chance comes up in Beijing.
June 12, 2008 11:56 am
Hi Mickey,
Come to think of it, fans have self organised unified cheers all the time. It’s all about perception I guess.
June 12, 2008 11:56 am
Naruwan,
‘Quaintly subversive’. No compliment higher than that!
Cheers!
June 26, 2008 9:18 pm
One world, many dreams, I like it. Respect for everybodies dreams and rights to self determination.
Fabulous blog, keep up the good work!
June 26, 2008 10:58 pm
Hi Nick,
Thanks a lot! I feel intensely lucky to be able to write about these and be heard and encouraged.
August 3, 2008 3:12 pm
Check out the Two Chinese Characters’ version of the Official Olympic Cheer on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7uJ_ExULDw