Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 29 No. 3, 2009.
Original scientific paper
Olympism with Chinese Characteristics: an Intercultural Problem
Helena Motoh
; University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
Abstract
The 100th anniversary of the revival of the Olympic idea questioned the Europeanness of the Olympic ideal in the globalised reality – the 1996 centennial Olympics were given to the hometown of Coca-Cola Company, and it wasn’t until 2004 that Athens got the chance to celebrate the anniversary, while the 2008 Olympics went to China. In Chinese context the Olympic ideology was refurbished into a celebration of the glorious Chinese tradition. The paper analyses the issues brought about by this last Olympic Games and examines them through the perspective of intercultural philosophy. First, the idea of Greek origin of the Olympics is analysed in its immanent late 19th century Eurocentrist context and compared to its Chinese re-interpretation. Secondly, the ideas of cultivation of body are compared in the two traditions (olympism and Chinese thought) with special attention given to the connection between self-cultivation and the interests of the country/nation. Finally, the Olympic ideology is analysed through its attitude towards inter-cultural issues and the Beijing 2008 Olympics are interpreted as an indication of a paradigm shift in the Olympics ideology.
Keywords
olympism; post-olympism; China; Eurocentrism; Olympic movement
Hrčak ID:
46137
URI
Publication date:
22.10.2009.
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