Beijing 2022 and China’s National Image

As one of the most important global sporting spectacle， cultural ceremony and media event， the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games is bound to create a unique， beautiful historical memory in the development of human civilization. Looking through wide-angle lens of history， it is held in multiply complex historical context as the COVID-19 pandemic has been raging across the globe for two years and more， the wave of globalization encounters estrangement and interruption， and the technological revolution continues to build on uncertainties for modern civilization. A successful and splendid Winter Olympics will provide no less than the best opportunity on this special cycle of history of civilization to lead people away from COVID-19 grievances， global risks and changing uncertainties. It happens at the period when China’s Two Centenary Goals converge and the country’s key juncture in its process of building a strong socialist country in all respects and achieving national rejuvenation， coming as a precious gift presented by China to the whole world. This gift shines with the Olympic spirit and comes to life by a Chinese heart. A heart that swells with the Winter Olympics， attaches to the people， is intimate with the way of nature， and cares about the common values and destiny of humanity. It is necessary to introduce to the wider world this heart-to-heart gift， doing a good job in telling China stories.

Let Sport Be Sport， Tell Stories of Sporting Events

As the Winter Olympics is an international snow and ice sports event， sport is its bottom-level framework of narration. Legend goes that Plato took part in an Olympic Games and won a gold medal， who believed that sports could create man’s primary wealth， namely health. Not only bodily health， the ancient Greeks also consigned to the Olympics approaching transcendental value such as “the will of Greek gods” then or “pure idea” ， and achieving life’s ideal that gives the same weight to the strength of physical constitution and that of personality. Such a grand event carries the possibilities of life value， that by rising up can transcend mediocre life and integrate supreme value， and by moving downward can guide secular spirit and call for individual and group courage to dauntlessly advance towards the unity of soul and flesh， towards life’s path featuring higher， faster， stronger and together.

As the Winter Olympic flame is ignited once more in Beijing， the first city in the world ever to host both the summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games， it is necessary for us， first of all， to hand in an answer sheet of sport itself that satisfies the people of the world on snow and ice facilities， event management， general service and sports level. As there are stories in the event， and sport carries values， let lens and pens focus on athletes and sports venues， let stories unfold in full， and let values of sport itself show in a natural way. The athletes， and possibilities displayed in their competitive process， conditions and level are in fact precisely the possibilities given to life by sport. In this regard， in presenting excellent sporting events with advanced communication technology and outstanding communication ability lies the axle of Winter Olympics communication， and indeed the construction of China’s national image.

“Let sport be sport” speaks volumes for confidence of a major country and demeanor of China’s millennium ancient capital. From the 2008 Summer Olympics to the 2022 Winter Olympics， an ascending transferal has happened to China’s value expectations in hosting the Olympics： the Socialism with Chinese Characteristics has entered a new era， and the construction of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics has entered a new stage， having created a historic miracle in human history of eliminating absolute poverty and completed the construction of a moderately prosperous society in all respects， and moving towards the goal of fully building a strong， modernized socialist country; China is reconstructing its relations with the wider world， building a community with a shared future for mankind having become a common pursuit of a pluralistic civilization. As a modern， culturally advanced and progressive major country， China has the confidence， the aspirations and the capacity to overcome the impact of complex factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and to hold a grand Winter Olympics that raises high the banner of humanism and humanitarianism， calls for athleticism， sports passion and health awareness， and directly invokes human subsistence， freedom， and all round development.

To let the sporting events speak for themselves and to reduce burden for Winter Olympics communication is also a basic stratagem to counter the biased narrative and malicious rendition by some of the Western countries. As the Beijing Winter Olympics approaches， some of the politicians and media in the West use the same old playbook to apply their constant biased narrative framework of ideological antagonism， national interest competition， and the issues of human rights， ethnicity， environment， and gender and to come up with defaming and boycotting interpretation of things. It is necessary to maintain strategic focus， do a good job in telling stories of the Olympic sporting events， and let sports values lead communication values so as to eliminate and deconstruct value prejudice as held by such malicious interpretation. In fact， since its establishment， the modern Olympic Games has been carried forward in spite of over a century’s political， diplomatic and war winds and storms， the source of its driving force resting with the enchantment of sporting events and their latent life’s spirit and values of endeavoring， enterprising and surpassing.

Be People-Centered， Tell the People’s Olympic Stories

As General Secretary Xi Jinping observed， the popularization of national fitness program and the degree of participation in international sports cooperation are also an important yardstick of a country’s degree of modernization. Sport is the face of a country and its people， the popularity and development of sports activities being an intuitive ruler for the degree of a country’s modernization. Modernization pertains to innovation and creation in the material world and， more important， to modernization of people， for instance balanced development of sound personality and healthy physical constitution， that is， integrated construction of moral and soul world and life of a better world. At the early stage of bidding for the Beijing Winter Olympics， the Chinese government had solemnly committed to engaging 300 million Chinese in sport on snow and ice by preparing for the Olympics. By now， this target has been achieved， and the figure still being on the rise. A historical sporting event that is people-centered， with people’s common participation， endeavors and sharing， and extensively learning knowledge and skills of the sport on snow and ice， is on show in a China on the journey to modernization in the new era.

In this context， it is necessary for the principal of Winter Olympics communication to be more colorful and pluralistic， with field of reporting preferably “submerging” to ordinary people’s “Olympic moment”. The people’s Olympic stories should be told on the basis of pluralistic rendition of individual cognition and experience in order to construct a public communication field featuring equal， open and dialogue-oriented. In regard to field of reporting， it is necessary to encourage domestic and international media to cast their eyes on the ordinary people’s life-world in the Olympic scene. Through Winter Olympic stories of personal immersion， one does well in telling China stories of simultaneously developing athletic sports and popular sports， of coordinating state mobilization and public participation， of mutual advancement of the country’s sports and modernization.

Successful preparations and organization of the Winter Olympics， especially ordinary people’s individual and group involvement， connection， common construction and sharing of the Olympics are indeed an epitome or metaphor of governance of China and process of its modernization. It fits right into the country’s vision of a strong， modern socialist country to popularize sport on snow and ice， to build up people’s health， and to promote people’s well-rounded development. Through a streamlined， safe and splendid games， the world can observe in microcosm and relative concentration China’s independent choice of path， institutional design， and value arrangements so as to better understand Chinese-style modernization’s case value and world significance.

Moreover， it is necessary for the historical lens of Winter Olympics to focus on the volunteers， particularly young ones， and give emphasis to the latter’s feelings of family-country， sense of responsibility， hard-work and devotion， and coming of age. The young volunteer represent Chinese youth in the new era， who in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and freezing weather are mindful of what is important for the country， merge themselves into something bigger than themselves， and shoulder the great cause of the times with tireless dedication of the young. Winter Olympics youth and young China are just true heroes of the stories of common efforts for a shared future.

Connect the Ancient and modern， Tell a Story of Chinese Culture

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that it is necessary for the renovation and development of the Winter Olympics venues to reflect cultural self confidence， be professional and with Chinese characteristics， capture Chinese elements and local features， be strict with energy-saving and conservation standards， and protect ecological environment so as to allow modern architect， natural scenery and historical culture to complement each other in creating high-quality assets worthy of inheritance and enhancing people’s welfare and forging the cities’ new calling card. As a result， the Beijing Winter Olympics provides a window of history to tell stories of Chinese culture and to creatively transform traditional humanistic values.

IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi once observed that in order to increase the influence of Winter Olympics， it is necessary to have countries without winter sports tradition to host the Games， of which the Beijing Winter Olympics is a good practice. This is basically the view on China’s sport on snow and ice shared by many people at home and abroad. In fact， China has a long history of sport on snow and ice， for which clear historical records can be traced to the Middle Ages some 1，400 years ago. Group and organized sport on snow and ice gradually gained traction and popularity in the Song and Ming Dynasties， and become more popular and took shape by the Qing Dynasty in two schools of “folklore” and “national customs”. The folklore sport of snow and ice came from folk production and life， some of which was already of high technical skills and rich value implications， and the national customs one is official dominated， featuring strict regulation， grand scene， intense competition， and spectacular sight， with internal functions of trooping parade， ceremonial protocol and entertainment and external effect of showing off good government， prosperity and military might， and grand diplomatic protocol.

In the succession of Chinese cultural tradition， natural world and humanistic world have always been of one homology and harmonious symbiosis. Sport on snow and ice came from people’s subsistence， in the bygone times in severe cold place as a means of productive labor braving snow and ice， and when later becoming a recreational and competitive sport， it turned to develop physical fitness， delight the mind and continue to improve human endowment， value and agency. To speed around between heaven and earth and over snow and ice gratifying the body and mind is to show human strength in face of nature， and also integrate man into nature. It is also humanization of nature， or naturalization of humanity， which by the spirit of nourishing the mind can lead to the realm where universe and human are in unity. In the modern sport of snow and ice， people get free of the torrent of industrialization and urbanization， gaining romance and self confidence to transcend themselves and come into the same being as nature. By exerting extraordinary speed and intensity， by performing both dashing and standstill， and by combining thrill and affability， it can bring participants ultimate sense of beauty as well as peaking experience of body and mind. This is precisely the conceptual source that makes one embrace sport on snow and ice， and provides a value base for telling the wider world stories of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In humanistic perspective， the Winter Olympic story is one about co-existence and mutualism of human， self， others， all beings and nature. Western narrative orientation tends to describe co-existence relationship in a tension structure of binary separation whereas Chinese traditional values are more concerned about possibilities of achieving symbiosis by actualizing the mean and harmony. In human of flesh and blood driving on snow and ice， the West sees conquest， but China considers it integration. Integration is integrative reconciliation of human and nature， whereby human becomes part of nature and nature in turn becomes extension of the mind. A suggestion for media narrative of the Winter Olympics would be that not only should it merely adopt traditional mode such as “pains-honor” or “striving for excellence- success”， it needs also get to a higher level by connecting the ancient and modern， the level of transcendental values such as how life becomes self-sufficient， how human and nature co-exist， and how one’s own mind connects with that of others. To do so would inject soul of value and eternal flame of life to the Winter Olympics stories.

Together for a Shared Future， Tell the Story of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind

The Beijing Winter Olympics is a story about opening. From “One World， One Dream” to “Together for a Shared Future”， China has once more extended an invitation to the wider world to open the path toward a community with a shared future for mankind. In complicated communication of modern civilization， sport is a common language that comes across different forms of civilization. Because of sport， pluralistic civilizations converge， come to unity， illuminate one another， and turn into radiant embrace of integrality. Furthermore， the Olympic Games carries Utopian dreams of human civilization， such as to promise fairness and justice， encourage competition while promoting cooperation， respect plurality while pursuing sameness， and follow the rules while daring to make breakthrough. Sport is accumulative and full of unity of human civilization， renewed vitality， passion and creativity.

To persist with opening in organizing the games is a salient feature of the preparation and organization of the Beijing Winter Olympics， which includes not only mutual learning in running-Olympics experience， and coordination and cooperation in project construction and process settings， but also making strategic choice of facing the world， the future， and modernization， and through organizing the Winter Olympics， boosting open-up to the world and facilitating fusion of Eastern and Western cultures. Opening is the ethos of Beijing as the world’s first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games， and also the value presetting for China to organize the Olympics. Opening means dialogue on equal-footing， acceptance of the Olympic Spirit， and commitment to mutual compatibility， interconnection of pluralistic civilizations and their harmonious pair creation.

The Beijing Winter Olympics is held against the combined impact of both profound changes and a pandemic unseen in a century. The worrying situation includes， a new round of global COVID-19 pandemic risks continue to spread about; big power relations undergo violent restructuring; regional conflicts flare up one after another; economic globalization encounters backlash; global governance is in face of various kinds of surprising uncertainties; and the theory of clash of civilizations has once more caused a great clamour. At the horn of dilemma， the world wants a warm and bright sporting event and cultural ceremony to build confidence in working together for a shared future. China makes good on its solemn promise and invites the people from various countries in the world to bear witness to athletes performing ultimate sportsmanship and life’s tension， underscoring human spirit of enterprising in overcoming risks， difficulties and uncertainties， and igniting the hope of harmonious coexistence between human and nature and between one civilization and another.

According to Ernst Bloch’s thought on the philosophy of future hope， humanity need not be constrained by the limits of themselves or that of the objective world but answer the call of “expectation， hope and aspirations” to actively achieve self-realization and build a better world. The ideal， though difficult to realize， is an indispensable source of driving force for human nature and civilization to move on. The Beijing Winter Olympics’ motto “Together for a shared future” is indeed a classical interpretation of the philosophy of hope. In the name of Olympics， China calls for， in a world full of uncertainties， common action to open the future and advance the construction of a new form of human civilization and a community with a shard future for mankind.

Stories of sporting events based on sport itself， people-centered stories of ordinary people， stories of Chinese culture that face the history， stories that reach afar to a community with a shared future for mankind， all synergize into the stories of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Such stories are grand， carrying macro and major themes of the Olympic Spirit， the people-centered theory， China’s modernization， and a community with a shared future for mankind. At the same time， they are concrete and detailed， referring to faces lighted up by medals， elves flying over snow and ice， volunteers keeping you company day and night， and outcries within the venues and without for trying and making wonder. Such a mixture of grandeur and subtlety also reflects the spectacular， epoch-making and historic achievements made by China in national modernization and rejuvenation as well as the life posture of everyone who strives for the new era. This is the image of China presented by the Beijing Winter Olympics to the wider world.

Hu Baijing is Vice President and Professor of Renmin University of China