福娃的含义

李向娜

吉祥物的首次“现身”是在1972年慕尼黑奥运会上，此后吉祥物便成为历届奥运会的重要形象代表。奥运吉祥物以其富有活力的独特形象深入人心，体现了奥林匹克精神、传达当届奥运会的举办理念以及主办城市的历史文化和人文精神，明年的北京奥运会吉祥物“福娃”恐怕是奥运史上象征意义最为丰富的了，那么你知道它们都代表怎样的含义吗？

Fuwa are probably the most meaningful Olympic mascots in the history. Actually, when designers design them, they put many symbolic meanings into these five mascots that represent traditional culture and natural characteristics of China, which might be very difficult for foreigners to understand.

Basically, the names of the five Fuwas: “Beibei”, “Jingjing”, “Huanhuan”, “Yingying” and “Nini” altogether in Chinese means welcome to Beijing. And they represent for five Olympic rings and also the five elements in Chinese philosophy. The five images of Fuwa come from the original shape of Chinese sturgeon, panda, Olympic flame, Tibetan antelope and swallow.

Beibei, passing the wish of flourish and harvest, it represents the blue ring and aquatic sports.

Jingjing is a lovely panda, it brings joy and happiness, Jingjing comes from the forest and symbolizes the harmonious coexistence between man and nature. It represents the black ring and strength sports.

Huanhuan is the eldest in the five, and it symbolized the Olympic sports spirit and the passion people have towards the Olympic Games. It symbolizes the red ring and ball games.

Yingying is an agile Tibetan antelope, it comes from the North-West of China and it is the rare and endangered species. Yingying represents the yellow ring and the athletics sports.

Nini comes from the sky, it is a swallow, and its image comes from the Chinese traditional kite and it is the symbolic image of Beijing. It represents the green ring and gymnastic sports.

Although Fuwas meanings are various and hard for foreigners to understand, it is the feature of splendid Chinese culture and they give the information to the world—Welcome to Beijing!

福娃可能是历史上最有意义的奥运吉祥物。实际上，设计者进行设计时给这五个代表中国传统文化和自然特色的吉祥物赋予了许多象征意义，而外国人可能很难理解这些意义。

五个福娃的名称基本是：“贝贝”、“晶晶”、“欢欢”、“迎迎”、“妮妮”，这五个名称合起来在汉语里就表示“北京欢迎你”。它们代表五个奥运环，也代表中国哲学中的五行。福娃的五个形象来源于中华鲟、大熊猫、奥运火炬、藏羚羊和燕子的原型。

贝贝传递繁荣和丰收之意，它代表奥运的蓝环和水上运动。

晶晶是只可爱的熊猫，它能带来欢乐和幸福。晶晶来自森林，象征人与自然的和谐共处。它代表奥运的黑环和体能运动。

欢欢是五个福娃中资格最老的，象征奥运精神和人们的奥运激情。它代表奥运红环和球类比赛。

迎迎是只敏捷的藏羚羊，来自中国西北部，是珍稀濒危物种。迎迎代表黄环和田径运动。

妮妮来自天空，是只燕子，它的形象来自中国传统的风筝，也是北京的象征意象。它代表奥运绿环和体操运动。

尽管福娃的含义很丰富，外国人理解起来也有些难度，但它是中国光辉文化的特色所在，中国也藉此向世界发出邀请——北京欢迎你！