Fan Hong

The legacy: did the Beijing Olympic Games have a long-term impact on grassroots sport participation in Chinese townships?

By applying Norbert Elias figurational theory, this paper aims to discuss whether the Beijing Olympic Games had any significant long-term impact on grassroots sport participation in townships in China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 140 subjects in selected townships and findings indicate that the Olympic Games fever only existed during the holding of Olympic Games in China and did not play a long-term impact on sport participation at the grassroots level in townships. The sport participation in townships in China is still at a comparatively lower level than that at national level.

Chinese State Sports Policy: Pre- and Post-Beijing 2008

This article provides an overview of Chinese sports policy and practice, the origin, the challenge and continuity, from the 1920s to the 2000s with particular emphasis on the post Beijing Olympics. It states that the development of Chinese sports policy has always been shaped by political, economic and educational requirements. Since the beginning of the reform and open-up in the late 1970s, elite sport received more support from the government while mass sport was hoped to be supported by the market and society. After the Beijing Olympics, it is likely that the government will continue its economic reformation of sport in the areas of mass sport and sports industry. At the same time, elite sport will continue to develop in the traditional form of ‘Juguo Tizhi (whole country support elite sport system) for its political and patriotic purposes.

From Celestial Empire to Nation State: Sport and the Origins of Chinese Nationalism (1840-1927)

The history of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic clearly showed the close relationship between sport, nationalism and politics, and reflected the changes in Chinese society and Chinese peoples view of their identity as well as their way of thinking. Sport had a great importance, not only for the construction of Chinese nationalism and national consciousness, but also for the eventual transformation of China from a celestial empire into a modern nation state. It played an important part in Chinese nationalists strategy of restoring the power of the nation.

Projecting the ‘Chineseness’: Nationalism, Identity and Chinese Martial Arts Films

Wushu, also known as Kung Fu, is a traditional Chinese martial art. It also symbolises the strength of the Chinese and their pride in their history. Wushu came to be associated with Chinese nationalism after Chinas various defeats at the hands of foreign imperialist powers at the turn of the twentieth century. This relationship has been further strengthened through martial arts films. In the first half of the twentieth century, martial arts films helped to construct national identity among the Chinese. They also facilitated the development of Wushu, making it a symbol of indigenous virtue and strength. From the late 1960s, influenced by a defensive strain of nationalism, Chinese film-makers began to adopt a new approach to the portrayal of Wushu. Martial arts films were endowed with political and cultural significance, and evolved as a unique representation of Chinese nationalism. Several decades later, martial arts films still retain at their core a sense of ‘Chineseness. From Bruce Lees Fist of Fury to Donnie Yens IP Man, Chinese martial arts films have demonstrated not only the important place of Wushu in Chinese nationalism, but also the influence of nationalism on Chinese cinema.

Gender, Interculturalism and Discourses on Women's Leadership in the Olympic Movement

This paper addresses Western discourses relating to the role of women in the leadership of Olympic and elite sporting bodies in two contrasting non-western contexts, namely in selected Muslim countries (i.e. Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) and in the Peoples Republic of China. The two cases are selected because they reflect contrasting contexts in which the role of women is seen to be embedded in very different ideologies, often referred to simplistically as a religious, and a political ideology respectively. The data through which we scrutinise these two cases are derived from two separate studies. The first is an evaluation study of IOC policy Women in Leadership in the Olympic Movement. In 1996 the IOC adopted a set of minimum targets in relation to the proportion of executive decision-making positions in National Olympic Committees and International Federations which women should hold (10% by 2000, and 20% by 2004). This paper draws on an evaluation of the achievement of these targets commissioned by the IOC from Loughborough University. We focus here on the representation of Muslim women in NOC Executive Committees. The vehicle for discussing the second case is an on-going study of the role of women in state and Olympic sport organisations in China, which has involved case studies of women in senior positions in the Chinese system.

The development of elite disability sport in China: A critical review

Abstract This paper examines the use of elite disability sport by the Chinese Government to promote disability sport and to establish a disability culture and social environment in the Republic of China from 1983 to 2012. Bearing in mind that earlier Chinese society did not perceive the international disability movement as an educational process, the paper begins with an interpretation of why elite disability sport received the government’s strong support when it was introduced to China, and considers its policies in the context of the government’s possible political motivations. It then examines the elite disability sport system in order to understand operational practices that were used to achieve success. It is concluded that the support of the government is the key to elite disability sport success. This was especially the case when the China Disabled Persons’ Federation underwent intensive development, maximizing the use of resources.

The national games and national identity in the Republic of China, 1910-1948

The significance of sport, especially mega sport events, has been widely acknowledged as contributing to the development of nationalism and national identity.1 The use of the National Games by the nationalist government to promote Chinese nationalism and manage national identity in the Republic of China from 1910 to 1948 is examined in this paper. It begins with an interpretation of how Western sport was introduced to China, how China achieved its sovereignty of sport and how sport aided national salvation and nation-building. It examines the birth and the development of Chinese National Games, and the interplays of National Games and nationalism in the context of political and economic perspectives. It concludes that the promotion of National Games met the demands of Chinas national salvation and the principles of Chinese nationalism such as sovereignty, territorial integrity and patriotic sentiments. The National Games in the Republican China era played a role that was more than that of a sport event but one of shaping Chinese independent nationhood and national identity.

The Professionalisation and Commercialisation of Football in China (1993–2013)

The professionalisation and commercialisation of football in China began in 1993, followed in 1994 by the launch of a league system that was modelled on the systems of Western countries. With the support of the market, football began to become self-sufficient and no longer reliant on government support. State-owned football clubs were replaced by an increasing number of privately owned and collectively owned clubs. Athletes started to play football for their own sakes, pursuing fortune, honour and personal excellence. However, the reform did not touch the most fundamental part of the Chinese sport system as the football league authority was still under the tight control of the government. The Chinese Football Association (CFA), the governing body of the league, is not an independent governing body and, for a long time, football clubs were not involved in high-level policy and decision-making. The football league faced a crisis in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when a series of match fixing scandals turned football fans passion into resentment. The Sports Ministry launched a package of new reforms in the mid-2000s in an attempt to fix the leagues problems. These reforms included anti-gambling and anti-corruption campaigns and introduced a degree of power sharing between the clubs and the CFA. However, further structural changes to government and governance are required for the future of Chinese football.

Epilogue: Branding China: The Beijing Olympics and Beyond

The 13th July 2001 is an unforgettable day in the history of the Chinese Olympic Games. It was the date when China won the bid to host the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Years later, at 8pm on 8th August 2008, regarded in Chinese culture as the lucky number of four 8s, the Beijing Olympics opened its magnificent curtain. Over one billion people watched the spectacular opening ceremony which was regarded as the most watched event in television history. [1] China won 51 gold medals over the USA’s 36 and took first place on the gold medal table. In overall medal terms, it won 100 medals and came second to the USA who had won 110. Liu Qi, the Chairman of the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee, claimed the Beijing Olympics as a ‘great victory of the Chinese people’. [2] Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC praised the Beijing Olympics as a ‘resounding success’ [3] and a ‘historical milestone for the Olympic Movement’. [4] He commented, ‘The Beijing 2008 Games have surely contributed to China’s opening up to the world and becoming more integrated within the international community. Through these Games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world.’ [5] In the ‘ Final Report of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008’, the IOC stated that the Beijing Olympics created ‘a greater degree of cultural openness, along with an increased respect for cultural differences, and, possibly, a less western-oriented approach.’ [6] This legacy reflected ‘the shifting of international sport’s centre of gravity towards the East.’ [7] Hu Jintao, the President of China, claimed, ‘Through hard work, the Chinese people achieved the Chinese nation’s hundred-year dream . . . We have met out commitments to the world and added the Chinese seal to the history of the modern Olympic movement . . . this is another great achievement on the way to national revival.’ [8] Victor Cha’s ‘Politics and the Olympic Transaction: Measuring China’s Accomplishments’ measured success after the Games in 2009 from four metrics: performance; being a good host; clear air; and de-politicization. It seems that the