Beijing, 20 Feb (Xinhua) -- At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Number of Gold Medals and Medals of the Chinese Delegation recorded the best in history, but in Lou Xiaoqi's heart, there is still a "gold medal", and the Chinese delegation has almost no competitors.
"If we add a gold medal for Olympic cultural dissemination, it must be china." He laughed.
Lou Xiaoqi is the president of Civilization magazine, and the team he leads has worked with the International Olympic Committee for 20 years to focus on the integration, innovation and communication interaction of Olympic culture, and strive to make China the center of Olympic cultural communication. Samaranch, Logue, and Bach, who have served three successive terms of IOC presidents, have praised China for enriching and developing Olympic culture.
Associated with the Olympics
Lou Xiaoqi's relationship with the Olympics began in the 1990s.
In 1993, Beijing failed to bid for the Olympic Games for the first time, and all sectors of society began to reflect on the reasons for the defeat, some said that China's strength was not enough, and some said that China lacked bidding skills... They all look for problems from their own perspectives, while Lou Xiaoqi looks at problems from the perspective of the West.
"The logic of the West is that you're going to be involved in my group or system, what's your contribution?" What do you have to do with me or are you complementary? ”
Therefore, he began to study the evolution of the world, the inheritance of culture, to find the connection between Eastern and Western civilizations, to study the movement of ancient China, and to think about where the Olympics came from and where they went.
In 2003, Lou Xiaoqi learned that the Olympic torch of Athens would be relayed around the world and would come to Beijing for the first time. He felt that this was an opportunity to approach and integrate into the Olympic Games, so he wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee in the name of the president of Civilization magazine, the main content of which was actually "provoking", directly stating the Olympic crisis, believing that the Olympic Games can not only be sports competitions, but more importantly, the Olympic spirit and culture; the Olympic Games should not be just elite sports, but should promote and promote the development of school sports and community sports in more developing countries, so that more young people like and participate in it, and feel the beauty of Olympic culture.
Lou Xiaoqi did not wait for a direct response from the IOC to the question, but he was determined to do work related to the research and promotion of Olympic culture. The first thing is to launch a series of Olympic culture readers, the special issue of "New Beijing, New Olympic Games", and the first issue is "Olympic Flame Illuminates Beijing". Unexpectedly, the then IOC President Rogge wrote an article for this special issue on behalf of the IOC entitled "The Flame Burns in the Hearts of the World". Logue said the torch relay brought the Olympics closer to society and created opportunities for the public to participate.
Later, the content of the special issue was gradually extended and enriched, and "Olympics and China", "Olympics and Culture", "Olympics and Science and Technology", "Beijing Olympic Flame Spread to the World" and so on were successively launched, a total of ten issues.
"The influence of this batch of books is getting bigger and bigger, and our work has gradually been recognized, guided and participated in by relevant departments, especially the International Olympic Committee. At the Beijing Olympic Games, the IOC presented the set of books as a gift to members of the Olympic family and guests. Lou Xiaoqi said.
Through continuous communication and contact with the IOC, the two sides have established trust in the process of jointly exploring and building an Olympic cultural dissemination system, and even formed a dependence to some extent.
"Regarding the exploration, thinking and dissemination of Olympic culture, as long as we communicate with the IOC, they will give guidance and reply to specific opinions, and even open a 'green channel' for us to contact the President's Office directly and communicate directly with the President." Lou Xiaoqi said that at present, Civilization magazine is the only strategic partner of the International Olympic Committee in the world for the dissemination of Olympic culture.
Innovative communication models
The Olympic Declaration is considered to be the earliest and most authoritative document of the modern Olympic movement. However, due to the war and other reasons, the manuscript of the Olympic Declaration was not discovered until the early 1990s.
On January 1, 2008, Civilization magazine, with the consent of the International Olympic Committee and the copyright holder, the Marquis de Damma of France, published the Olympic Declaration in chinese, French and English for the first time in the world.
Samaranch, honorary president of the International Olympic Committee for life, expressed his appreciation for this, writing at the time: "Civilization magazine published for the first time the text of the Olympic Declaration not only in English and French, but also in Chinese, as a way to remind us of the true meaning of the Olympic Games and to disseminate the Olympic ideals and values, namely friendship, peace and universality, among the people of China and the world. ”
On International Olympic Day 2012, the world's first "Olympic Declaration Square" was built in Beijing Olympic Forest Park. The design of this square, which was exclusively authorized by the International Olympic Committee and approved by the Beijing Municipal Government, is inspired by the concept of "heaven and round place" in traditional Chinese culture, and the three curved bronze tablets with a total length of 29 meters are engraved with the Olympic Declaration in French, Chinese and English.
At the same time as the completion of the square, the global dissemination of the Olympic Declaration was officially launched, and the Olympic Declaration was transmitted from Beijing to the world.
In this regard, Rogge, then president of the International Olympic Committee, said that Civilization magazine let the Olympic Declaration remain in Beijing forever in the fixed way of "Olympic Declaration Square", and at the same time spread to the world in a way rich in Chinese cultural characteristics. The transmission of the Olympic Declaration from Beijing to London and to every city hosting the Olympic Games in the future is undoubtedly an important carrier and way to spread the Olympic concept.
The subsequent series of "Olympic Declaration - Beautiful Olympic Culture Scrolls" further innovated the mode of Olympic culture dissemination. The long-scroll series connects all members of the Olympic family, especially the Olympic city, to share the beauty of Olympic culture with the world.
In his preface to Volume III, IOC President Bach said that the Olympic spirit will continue to spread in China and around the world with the help of the beautiful Olympic culture volume. It allows people around the world, especially young people, to better understand the Olympic movement and, through the spread of the Olympic spirit, to realize that today's sport and its values are more important than ever.
To become the Center for the Dissemination of Olympic Culture
"As China has more and more exchanges with the Olympic family and the deeper and deeper fate of civilization, China's status and influence in the Olympic family have also become greater and greater." Lou Xiaoqi said that in the 130-year history of the modern Olympic movement, three important cities for the innovative development of Olympic culture have been born, including Beijing.
Athens, Greece, is the birthplace of the ancient Olympics, the spiritual source of the modern Olympic movement and the gathering place of the Olympic flame. Paris, France, is the birthplace of the Olympic Declaration, the starting point of the modern Olympic movement, and the source of drafting and planning of the Olympic Charter and other rule systems.
Beijing, the world's first "city of two Olympic Games", organically combines the two parallel Olympic Games of the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games. "In addition, Beijing and the International Olympic Committee have cooperated to explore and build an Olympic culture dissemination system, through the launch of the first set of Olympic culture readings, the first launch of the Olympic Declaration, the establishment of the 'Olympic Declaration Plaza', the launch of the Olympic Culture Volume, and the launch of the global dissemination tour of the Olympic Declaration, etc., with Beijing as the starting point and center, the Olympic family is closely linked by cultural ties." Lou Xiaoqi said.
In his view, Athens is the source of the Olympic spirit, Paris is the starting point of the modern Olympic movement, and Beijing is the center of modern Olympic culture dissemination.
These three cities have greatly enriched the historical connotation of the inheritance of the modern Olympic movement, expanded the cultural content disseminated by the modern Olympic movement, and made the modern Olympic movement a cultural bond that makes the world more inclusive and united.
Tell the "China Story" Well
After 130 years of the modern Olympic Movement, exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations and dialogue among civilizations have promoted the convergence of diverse cultures, and different civilizations have integrated and developed in the Olympic Movement. China, which is moving closer to the center of the world stage, needs more and more platforms such as the Olympic Games to showcase Chinese culture and tell the "Chinese story".
Lou Xiaoqi said: "The Olympic culture volume III that we launched before the Beijing Winter Olympic Games is a classic of the intersection of Olympic culture and Chinese culture. ”
Based on the human festival of "Olympic + Spring Festival", based on the festivals of 23 countries and 43 cities that have hosted the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, the long volume III shows the unique festival cultures of different ethnic groups on five continents of the world, including the traditional Chinese Spring Festival.
"Although these festivals and cultures have their own characteristics due to the different geographies and cultural environments of their respective countries, they all invariably contain the aspirations of people of different countries and nationalities for a happy life, which is completely in line with the spirit of the Olympic Movement to make the world a better place." Lou Xiaoqi said.
Li Jidong, a professor at the Communication University of China, believes that the long volume III is undoubtedly a pioneering achievement in combing, interpreting and displaying the Olympic Games and related festival culture, and its value lies in explaining the important civilizational rituals of mankind from the Chinese perspective, embedding Chinese cultural symbols in the Olympic culture, and constructing a common human discourse system that advocates the Olympic spirit.