Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the green grass... At the moment of remembrance, accompanied by a song of "Farewell", the actors held glowing wicker branches in their hands and slowly walked into the main venue of the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. They converged to the center of the venue, and in today's way, they interpreted the Chinese", "farewell to the distant future" and "folding willows", which have been passed down for thousands of years.
[Photo/Xinhua]
In ancient China, send-offs would often fold a willow branch to give to relatives and friends who traveled far away, expressing the meaning of farewell and hope for return. Folding willow has also become a way to send off with a unique oriental cultural charm. At the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, "folding willows to send affection", this Chinese farewell surprised the world.
This Chinese romance has aroused the attention of foreign media. NBC described in detail the "Folding Willows" session and did popular science for foreign audiences.
The actor interacts perfectly with the screen image on the ground, showing the virtual willow branch, showing the emotional sustenance of "bitter and sweet parting". 365 ordinary people holding willow branches gathered in the center of the venue, representing the thoughts of 365 days a year, and vividly expressing the theme of "world unity, one family under the world". The stage then changed into a beautiful green space, and the earth was rejuvenated, full of life. ”
NBC also explained that "liu" is homophonous with "stay" in Chinese, expressing the sadness of separation.
"Willow branches are the branches of a willow tree. In Chinese, "willow" is homophonous with "stay", which means to retain each other at the time of parting. Therefore, the "willow branch" has become a symbol of "sad parting". In ancient China, when friends separated, the departing party was often given wicker as a parting gift. ”
The official Twitter account of the Olympic Games also explained the meaning of "folding willows to send farewells", "In traditional Chinese culture, willow branches are parting gifts to friends. It's not a 'goodbye', it's a 'goodbye'."
Official Olympic Games Twitter
After understanding the cultural meaning of "folding willows to send affection", some foreign netizens can't help but sigh its aesthetic conception:
Since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the remembrance session has become a fixed part of the closing ceremony. "How to present the concept of 'remembrance' is understood differently by each country. What we want to express is that while deeply commemorating, there is hope and strength to continue to move forward. Huang Hui, director of the closing ceremony, said, "After countless draft changes, we have found such a subtle, aesthetic and freehand way - 'folding willow to send affection', with a song, a group of people, a bunch of wicker, a beam of light, in a green shade of the spring back to the land, expressing together to face spring and the future."
Source: NBC, China Daily bilingual news WeChat, The Paper
Editor: Dong Jing