Red Heart

Last night I had a phone conversation with my dad about the Olympic clothing ceremony.

“It was stunning and unbelievable,” he said.

“No. I thought it was obscure and hard to understand,” I said.

“There is rich historical meaning in the show. I think you should go back to read the book, 'Five Thousand Years of China' again so that you could enjoy the closing ceremony better,” he said.

The book my dad mentioned was the bible of Chinese history. It is as thick as a 1996 edition Merriam-Webster dictionary but with a yellow cover. I finished the book when I was in elementary school. Most stories in the book were about kings shed the blood to build their empires. I don't know how it could possibly be used to explain the underlined meaning of the closing ceremony.

Interestingly, my foreign friends also felt lost in the closing ceremony. It looks like the cultural gap and the generation gap are not so district when comes to understand the closing ceremony.

What are the shows of the ceremony trying to say? What's the message China wants to the world to read?

I thought of a discussion I had with my friend about the opening ceremony. Film director Ann Lee also applied for directing the opening ceremony. Would he do a better job than Zhang Yimou by explaining China clearer to the world? Giving the rich experience working in the west Lee may be able to use a more international language to express China rather than mixing some mysterious Chinese tradition.

However, Lee was denied the chance.

What I found most disappointing is the Beijing Olympics songs. I noticed many songs were produced by Mr Bian Liunian. Mr Bian is in my dad's generation. He's like the godfather of the new folk music in China. By receiving some highest national honor for his music, Bian is widely credited for his ability combining pop songs with the revolutionary music style. Thus, the Olympic songs touched by his hands are just like his other famous revolutionary pop.

I guess when China proudly shows its new image to the world, it hopes people can see its energy, development, and promising future. Why is the out comings usually wrapped with a context of the past, either revolutionary or historical way.

Hope this could be understandable to my dad and Mr Bian's generation that my generation and the rest world look forward to seeing China's tomorrow, after knowing about China's today and yesterday. After all China does not need to wear an old fashioned hat.