| Fuwa | |||||||||||
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| Chinese | 福娃 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | dolls of blessing | ||||||||||
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| Part of a series on |
| 2008 Summer Olympics |
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TheFuwa (Chinese:福娃;pinyin:Fúwá; literally "good-luck dolls", also known as "Friendlies") were themascots of the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing. The designs were created byHan Meilin, a famous Chinese artist.[1] The designs were publicly announced by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies on 11 November 2005 at an event marking the 1000th day before the opening of the games.
There are five Fuwas: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. Together, the names form the sentence "北京欢迎你", or "Beijing huanying ni," which means "Beijing welcomes you". Originally named 'The Friendlies', they were promoted as 'Fuwa' when concerns arose that the name could be misinterpreted.[2][3]
While originally givenartistic licence in his commission,Han Meilin was subsequently requested by officials to include various Chinese designs and fauna in the Fuwa.Han Meilin drew 1,000 models of possible Fuwa (including adragon and ananthropomorphic drum) before settling on the five characters. He has since disowned the Fuwa and did not include them in his museum.[4]
Beibei (Chinese:贝贝) is one of the two female Fuwa who represents the blue Olympic ring ofEurope.
She took her motif from traditionalChinese New Year decorative picture of lotus and fish and thefish design fromNeolithic artifacts. Her element motif are the sea andwater. She is a friendly leader (though the title of leader belongs to Huanhuan) who brings prosperity.
In traditional Chinese culture, the fish represents prosperity, as the character for fish (鱼 / 魚;yú) sounds the same as that for surplus (余 / 餘;yú). The "carp leaping over the dragon gate" is a traditional allegory of following one's dreams and achieving them. The pattern from Beibei's headgear comes from artifacts unearthed atBanpo, site of a Neolithic village of theYangshao culture.
She is an expert ataquatic sports.
Jingjing (Chinese:晶晶) is one of the three male Fuwa who represents the black Olympic ring ofAfrica.
He took his motif from thegiant panda and theSong dynastylotus-shapedporcelain. His element motifs are the forest andwood. He is honest and optimistic Fuwa who always spreads happiness.
As anendangered species, the panda is both anational symbol of China and an international symbol ofenvironmentalism. Jingjing's forest origins also symbolize the harmonious coexistence of humankind and nature.
He is an expert atweightlifting,judo, etc.
Huanhuan (Chinese:欢欢) is one of the three male Fuwa who represents the red Olympic ring ofthe Americas.
He took his motif from theOlympic flame and the fire design from theMogao Grottoes. As such, his elemental motif isfire. He is an enthusiastic extrovert filled with passion.
He represents the passion of sports, the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger", and the passion of the Beijing Olympics. Huanhuan's headgear comes from afire design in theMogao Caves, the best known of the Chinese Buddhistgrottoes.
He is an expert atball sports/racquet sports.
Yingying (Chinese:迎迎) is one of the three male Fuwa who represents the yellow Olympic ring ofAsia.
He took his motif from theTibetan antelope andTibetan andXinjiang ethnic costumes. His elemental motif isearth. He is a lively and independent Fuwa who had an interest in health.
TheTibetan antelope is anendangered species native to theTibetan Plateau, known for its swiftness. Yingying's headgear incorporates elements ofTibetan andXinjiang ethnic costumes.
He is an expert attrack and field.
Nini (Chinese:妮妮) is one of the two female Fuwa who represents the green Olympic ring ofOceania.
She took her motif from the swift bird and Beijing'ssand martinkite. Her elemental motifs are sky andmetal. She is a just but also kind Fuwa who spreads good fortune.
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yàn) 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'ssand martinkites, which are colourful cross-shaped kites modeled after swallows.
She is an expert atgymnastics.
| The Olympic Adventures of Fuwa (福娃奧運漫遊記) | |
| 福娃オリンピック漫遊記 (Fuwa Orinpikku Manyūki) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sports,Comedy,Supernatural |
| Anime television series | |
| Studio | KAKU TV CCTV NHK |
| Original network | BTV NHK |
| Original run | 6 February 2007 – 1 October 2007 |
| Episodes | 100 |
| Anime television series | |
| Fuwa: Beibei's Promise[Note 1] | |
| Studio | CCTV NHK |
| Original network | CCTV NHK |
| Original run | 1 October 2007 – 2008 |
| Anime television series | |
| Fuwa: the Five Rings[Note 2] | |
| Studio | CCTV NHK |
| Original network | CCTV NHK |
| Original run | 2008 |
A 100-episode Olympic-themed anime series featuring the Fuwa was released in China, primarily onBTV (Beijing's municipal television network), on 8 August 2007. TitledThe Olympic Adventures of Fuwa (Chinese:福娃奥运漫游记;pinyin:Fúwá Àoyùn Mànyóujì), it was jointly produced by BTV and Kaku Cartoon. It ran from 8 August to 1 October 2007.[5]
There are also two sequels created by CCTV, Beibei's Promise and the Five Rings.[6][7]
The characters made a cameo appearance in theMario & Sonic at the Olympic Games video game.[citation needed]
The China Environmental Awareness Programme program, started in 2001, has the Fuwa raising public environmental awareness by spreading clean, green messages.[8]
A large-scale fairy-tale drama entitled Friendlies (or Fuwa) has been directed by Beijing Children's Art Theater Cooperative to promote the five mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As ambassadors of peace, the Fuwa would make a world-tour, visiting all sevencontinents.[9]
Groups seeking to raise political issues in tandem with China's hosting of the Olympic Games have used the Fuwa or have created similar mascots.
In addition, Beijing residents have allegedly created their own Fuwa set consisting of a duck, a dragonfly and a taxi. Collectively their names—"Ya", "Ting", "De"—spell out "bastard" in Beijing slang.[4] (Note that among friends, "ni ya ting de", which means "you bastard", is a common term of endearment but is considered crude by many.)
In the months leading up to the Olympics,coincidental similarities between the characters and several events became were noted on the internet blogs under titles such as "Curse of the Fuwa".[13][14] Some Chinese citizens have taken to calling the characters "Wuwa" (巫娃, witch dolls). Online criticism of the dolls has frequently been censored.[4]
Beibei is represented by aChinese sturgeon.[15] Five sturgeons were presented by China to Hong Kong[16] with each fish representing anOlympic ring, in addition to the "motherland's love" for the Hong KongSpecial Administrative Region.[17] The smallest of the five sturgeon (1.1 meters) was bitten by one of thebarracudas housed in the same aquarium, and died the day after being publicly released into the city's theme park aquariumOcean Park.[16][18] Necropsy showed that the bite was not aggressive, but a reflex action from contact between the fish.[19] Ocean Park said no one is at fault since in the almost 10 years the eight barracudas had been with the park, they had never showed any signs of aggression.[19]Feng shui experts were divided about the death of the sturgeon, there were some that said this event may imply misfortune, and there were some that said 'the public did not need to worry too much because all fish die' and 'Can I say it's a bad omen for the Olympic Games if, for example, my five tadpoles—which I say represent the Olympic rings—die at home?'.[20] Beijing's central government replaced the one that died with five more sturgeons.[21]
Han Meilin suffered twoheart attacks while designing the Fuwa.[4]
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| Preceded by | Olympic mascot The Fuwa Beijing 2008 | Succeeded by |