Inspired from the Five Olympic Rings, five Fuwas, known as the Five Friendlies, will serve as the mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as announced on November 11. The Friendlies -- five lovely and vivid animals native to China -- are designed to carry the message of friendship, peace, and love to rest of the world while also expressing the best wishes for a harmonious relationship between human and nature.

Blending four of China's most popular animals -- the fish, panda, Tibetan antelope, and swallow -- and the Olympic flame in their design patterns, the Five Friendlies look much like five little children holding hands.
Each of the Five Friendlies has a rhythmic two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children. Bei Bei is the fish, Jing Jing the panda, Huan Huan the Olympic Flame, Ying Ying the Tibetan antelope, and Ni Ni the swallow. When put together, their names form the phrase "Beijing huan ying ni (Welcome to Beijing)," a warm invitation that reflects their mission as young ambassadors for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The Five Friendlies, whose origins and headgears imply the five elements in nature (the ocean, forest, fire, earth, and sky), also carry the dreams and aspirations of Chinese people. Their image designs, adopting the traditional way of expression in Chinese folk arts, vividly showcases the brilliant and profound Chinese culture.

A gift from China to the world and the Olympic Games, the Five Friendlies, like the Olympic emblem and slogan, express Chinese people's aspiration for a peaceful, friendly, progressive, and harmonious world. Imbued with a strong Chinese flavor, the mascots embody the multinational characteristics of Chinese culture and the whole nation's recognition of the harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature.

Extending Blessings to the Whole World

The Beijing Olympic Games mascots follow a long tradition of Chinese people delivering blessings through symbols. The Five Friendlies carry with them best wishes for happiness, passion, sound health, and good luck. Carrying the enthusiasm and hospitality of Beijing people, they are spreading the blessings to every corner of the world, inviting people from different countries to join in, enjoy, and celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

In traditional Chinese culture and folk arts, "fish" and "water" designs symbolize prosperity and harvest, and people often compare "A carp leaping over the dragon 's gate" to an accomplished career or the fulfillment of a dream. Besides, a "fish" pattern also implies "year-on-year surplus" or "abundant harvest year on year," which means another good year and a good life. Hence, Bei Bei, the fish among the Five Friendlies, is the incarnation of prosperity.

Ornamental lines of water waves are employed in Bei Bei's headgear. Gentle and pure-hearted, Bei Bei, reflecting the blue ring of the Five Olympic Rings, is believed to be a master at water sports

Jing Jing, a charmingly na?ve and optimistic panda, brings happiness to people wherever he goes. As a national treasure, the panda has always been a favorite of the world.

Having his origin in the vast forest, Jing Jing symbolizes the harmonious co-existence of human beings and nature.

His headgear features the lotus design, which is often seen on the ceramics of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Jing Jing is the symbol of strength, representing the black Olympic ring.

Huan Huan, the big brother among the Five Friendlies, symbolizes the Olympic Flame. As the incarnation of the passion for sports, he is dedicated to spreading passion and enthusiasm as well as the Olympic Spirit -- swifter, higher, and stronger -- to the entire world. Wherever he goes will be overwhelmed with passion and enthusiasm of the 2008 Olympic Games for the world.

Huan Huan's headgear features the flame pattern popular in Dunhuang murals. Extroverted and energetic, he is proficient at any ball sports and represents the red Olympic ring.
Ying Ying, a smart, deft, and galloping Tibetan antelope is from China's vast western regions, spreading the blessings of health to the rest of the world. A rare protected animal special to the Tibetan Plateau, Ying Ying is an embodiment of Green Olympics, a tenet of the Beijing Olympics.

For the decoration of Huan Huan's headgear, the ornamental styles popular in the western regions, such as Tibet and Xinjiang, are incorporated. Cute and agile, Ying Ying is strong at track-and-field competition, representing the yellow Olympic ring.

An envoy from the sky, Ni Ni is a swallow spreading its wings to fly. Designed on the basis of the traditional "shayan (swallow) kites" of Beijing, she is the ambassador of spring and joy, spreading the blessings of "good luck" wherever she flies.

Pure, charmingly na?ve, joyous, and agile, Ni Ni is a gymnastics maestro, representing the green Olympic ring.

Han Meilin: A Loyal Adherent to National Traditions

The surprise unveiling of Beijing Olympic mascots has also brought chief designer Han Meilin into the spotlight. Seemingly overnight, the 69-year-old man has become a household name throughout the world, receiving much praise.

However, during an interview with the Titan Weekly two days after the mascot release, Han kept repeating a sentence: "It was not easy giving birth to my five sons!"

It is true. As the man in charge of the final design of the Olympic mascot, everything Fu Wa has brought -- attention, recognition, ovation, or even the mixed response from the public -- have become an important and irremovable part of his life and will remain so until well after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. For other collaborating artists, the hardships, difficulties, happiness, and pride experienced in the design process might soon become history, but for Han Meilin, they are invaluable treasures that has left him a great aftertaste.

Blending "Chinese Flavor" into Every Cell of "Fu Wa"

"The design of an Olympic mascot is different from other kinds of creation in general. Concerning the Chinese mascots, it is a collective creation by the 1.3 billion Chinese people, carrying with it much responsibility and expectation," said Han when speaking of the design after the unveiling of the mascots. He added that, when appointed team leader of the design team, he felt unprecedented pressure.

Han continued, "I feel it is a mission endowed by the 1.3 billion Chinese people, who will keep an eye on me to see what we have worked out for them. I am the man holding a flag and walking in the forefront of a procession. The flag is the Chinese nation and its culture."

In the circles of fine arts, Han is known for sculpture and craft design - the giant tiger sculpture on Dalian Tiger Beach has been honored as a representative in modern city sculptures, while the emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games vividly portrays the beauty and dynamics of sports with its fluent lines and has won acclaim from both home and abroad. But according to Han, all his past works were individualistic creations, and were given more freedom.

The design of an Olympic mascot, in any country for that matter, however, is different, as it involves a greater responsibility and a more complicated procedure. Amid the various seemingly reasonable ideas, suggestions, and instructions, a chief designer has to boldly and prudently choose, revise, compare, and find the point where he or she can make a breakthrough.

To accomplish such an onerous task, Han often would work till deep in the night when the other artists were asleep.

One night, in an effort to work out the draft design, he suffered two heart attacks, but each time, he continued with his drafts after taking cardio-reliever pills. Strongly inspired and highly excited, he found it hard to stop the inner impulses to create despite his weariness in body and mind. In order to refresh himself, he had a cold shower at four o'clock that winter morning. "Thanks to the cool shower, I felt extremely energetic and went on to finish the draft designs," recalled Han Melin.

On the second day of lunar February 2005 (March 11, 2005 according to Gregorian calendar) a day traditionally known as "dragon raising its head," the design plan of the Five Friendlies finally came out.

Recalling the birth of the Five Friendlies, Han sighed with much emotion, "To create the five little Friendlies, we had five to six staff turnovers, changed over 50 designs, and drafted more than 4,000 designs."

During the strenuous process, Han's enthusiasm and passion for creations was also brought to full play, as he said, "I wanted to design an image, not only exhibiting the long standing Chinese culture but also the hospitality and enthusiasm of Chinese people. On this rare occasion, I wanted to blend 'Chinese flavor' into every cell of the Five Friendlies. "

National Style and Sensibility: The Spiritual Foundation of an Artist's Creation

Han Meilin's art has always been known for its oddity, romance, and liveliness. This time, the highly individualistic artist abandoned his exaggerated and anamorphic style. When asked why the style of the Five Friendlies is more gentle and realistic, Han explained it is for the sake of affinity and for the world as well as all the Chinese people to accept them.

"I figured to incorporate into the mascot a touch of maternal love. In the first place, I especially wanted my mascots to be loved by the world's children and mothers. Certainly, because of their children, the fathers will also like them. "

As a matter of fact, an original artistic concept, if it is to bring the happiness of creation, has to be in line with the artist's disposition, character, and artistic taste. According to Han, after deciding on maternal love as the connotation behind the Five Friendlies, he considered how to blend the excellent elements of Chinese culture and arts into these images.

He thought of the big-head dolls meant to create a festive atmosphere on traditional festivals, and the tiger hats worn by the children. He went through the costumes of China's 55 ethnic groups, and saw that 28 of those ethnic groups' costumes have the three-tile shaped hats. Besides, the combination of dots and lines also provided inspiration for Han.

Concerning the selection of colors, Han employed bright primitive colors and contrast colors, which, as he later said, comply with Chinese people's traditional aesthetic customs, exhibiting their extreme hospitality and a festive atmosphere while also retaining a relationship with the Five Olympic Rings.

It's always been Han's goal to assimilate nutrients from the folk arts and to find the way to mutually blend traditional and modern arts. For him, the national style, sensibility, and character are the spiritual foundation for his creation.

A Brief Introduction of Han Meilin

Born in Jinan of Shandong Province in 1936, Han Meilin graduated from the Central Academy of Arts & Design in 1960 and was elected director of the Chinese Artists Association in 1979. In 1980, Han went to 21 US cities including New York and Boston, to hold personal painting exhibitions.

Han's paintings and sculptures, mainly themed on animals and figures, represent a subtle combination of Eastern and Western arts. The Han Meilin Studio of the Chinese Artists Association is China's first studio to be named after an artist as well as the first of the association to be headed by a single artist.

Han's most famous works include the Phoenix logo of China International Airlines, the Year of the Pig stamps, and so on. One of his sculptures - Five-Dragon Bell Tower -- was listed as a symbolic sculpture of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Han was also one of the designers of the Beijing Olympic Emblem.

Author: Jessie