Fuwa: Difference between revisions

The Friendlies (福娃 Fúwá, literally "Good-fortune Children") are the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. They were announced by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies on November 11, 2005 at an event marking the 1000th day before the opening of the games.

The Friendlies consists of five members: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. Each of the five names is designed to look like a plausible name for a small child, but when put together, they sound nearly identical to the phrase "北京欢迎你 Běijīng huānyíng nǐ" which means "Beijing welcomes you". Each of the five figures also represents one of the five Olympic Rings.

Mascots

The Friendlies

Name	Bèibei (贝贝)	Jīngjing (晶晶)	Huānhuan (欢欢)	Yíngying (迎迎)	Nīni (妮妮)
Gender	girl	boy	boy	boy	girl
Olympic Ring	Blue	Black	Red	Yellow	Green
Design	Fish	Giant panda	Olympic flame	Tibetan antelope	Swallow
Personality	gentle, pure	honest, optimistic	extrovert, enthusiastic	lively, vivacious	innocent, joyous
Represented ideal	prosperity	happiness	passion	health	good fortune
Represented sport	aquatic sports	weightlifting, judo, etc.	ball sports	track and field	gymnastics
Cultural inspiration	Traditional Chinese New Year decorative picture of lotus and fish; fish design from Neolithic artifacts	Giant panda; Song Dynasty lotus-shaped porcelain	fire design from the Mogao Grottoes	Tibetan antelope, Tibetan and Xinjiang ethnic costumes	The swallow; Beijing's shayan kites
Notes	In traditional Chinese culture, the fish represents prosperity, as the character for fish (魚 / 鱼) sounds the same as that for surplus (餘 / 余). The "carp leaping over the dragon gate" is a traditional allegory of following one's dreams and achieving them. The patterns from Beibei's headgear comes from artifacts unearthed at Banpo, site of a Neolithic village of the Yangshao culture	As an endangered species, the panda is both a national symbol of China and an international symbol of environmentalism. Jingjing's forest origins also symbolize the harmonious coexistence of humankind and nature.	Huanhuan represents the passion of sports, the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger", and the passion of the Beijing Olympics. Huanhuan's headgear comes from a fire design in the Mogao Caves, the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes.	The Tibetan antelope is an endangered species native to the Tibetan Plateau, known for its swiftness. Yingying's headgear incorporates elements of Tibetan and Xinjiang ethnic costumes.	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) 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's shayan kites, which are colourful cross-shaped kites modeled after swallows.

See also

• Colargol

External links

• The Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (English)
• The Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (Chinese)
• comments on the linguistics of the Friendlies' names