The meaning of "Chinese seal"

This story is full of enthusiasm and expectation from China and Beijing. This emblem records China's commitment to the world. This is "Dancing Beijing"-"The emblem of Beijing Olympic Games".

designer

Guo Chunning

milestone

"Dancing Beijing" is a milestone of the Olympics. It is a classic China chapter in the Olympic epic, which engraves the spirit of the Chinese nation, writes the meaning of ancient civilization and casts the character of Chinese people. It is concise and profound, showing the evolution and development of a city; It is dignified and romantic, reflecting the thoughts and feelings of a nation. On the way to the "Beijing 2008 Olympic Games", people will meet in Beijing, get together in China and meet people here.

promise

"Dancing Beijing" is the symbol of China. This "China Seal" is engraved with the oath of a country with a population of1300 million and 56 nationalities to the Olympic Movement; Witness a nation with ancient civilization and modern style's admiration for the Olympic spirit; It represents the aspiration of a future-oriented city for the Olympic ideal. It is a symbol of honesty; This is a sign of self-confidence; This is a solemn and sacred commitment made by Beijing, the host city of the 29th Olympic Games, to the whole world and mankind. The emblem is based on the creativity of the sages and the image of lithograph, with the theme of "Sincerity, stone opens the door", expressing the respect and sincerity of the people of China for the Olympic Games. When we solemnly print this "Chinese Seal", it means that China in 2008 will show the world a magnificent picture of "peace, friendship and progress" and will play a passionate movement of "swifter, higher and stronger" for all mankind.

picture

"Dancing Beijing" is the face of this city. It is an image, showing the oriental thought and national charm presented by Chinese characters; It is an expression that conveys the unique humanistic characteristics and elegant character of Chinese civilization. Inspired by China's calligraphy, the word "Jing" in Beijing has evolved into a dancing human body, which embodies the concept of "New Olympics" in one fell swoop. The calligraphy "Beijing 2008" condensed thousands of expressions of China people about the Olympic Games into simple strokes with the charm of Chinese characters. When people savor the profound connotation and charm of Chinese character engraving, a "new Beijing" is born.

beautiful

"Dancing Beijing" is the color that China people advocate. In this sign, red is interpreted particularly strongly, and passion is publicized particularly unrestrained. This is China people's praise for auspiciousness and beauty, and this is China people's interpretation of life. Red is the color of the sun, red is the color of the flame, and red represents life and a new beginning. Red is a happy mood, a symbol of vitality, and China's blessing and goodwill to the world.

hero

"Dancing Beijing" calls for heroes. The Olympic Games is a stage for heroes, miracles and glory. On this stage, every participant is an indispensable role. This powerful and dynamic shape is a life poem written by all participants with enthusiasm, emotion and passion, and an oath of every participant to contribute strength and wisdom to the Olympic Games. Olympic heroes have inherited the essence of combining sports and culture in the Olympic movement. They cheered for Olympic athletes and art.

spirit

Dancing Beijing is an extension of Chinese totem. The running "human" shape represents the beauty and glory of life. Beautiful curves, like the winding body of a dragon, tell the past and future of a civilization; It is like a river, bearing a long history and national glory; It is like blood, surging with the vitality of life. In his dance, the sports connotation of "athlete-centered" and "people-oriented" has been artistically analyzed and sublimated. Sing if you don't say enough; Lack of songs and dances. Vibrant Beijing is looking forward to the carnival in 2008, and the Olympic Games is looking forward to all mankind dancing with it.

invite

"Dancing Beijing" is a kind invitation. The open arms in the emblem show that China is opening its mind and welcoming people from all countries and regions to join the Olympic Games, which is a grand ceremony of "peace, friendship and progress" for mankind. "It's a great pleasure to have friends coming from afar", which is a portrayal of the friendly and hospitable China people's mood and a sincere expression of Beijing. Come to Beijing to learn about the historical features of this city and feel the modern atmosphere of this country. When I came to Beijing, * * * enjoyed every joy of this city and experienced the vitality of this country. Come to Beijing, let's weave a peaceful and beautiful dream together in 2008.

The emblem of "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" organically combines the seal script, Chinese characters and the five-ring symbol, and is full of profound vitality. The scale of the land reflects the charm of the East and the West; Between strokes, the Olympic spirit sublimates.

purpose

"Dancing Beijing with Chinese Seal" is not an ordinary symbol. She is the biggest blank in the list of host cities in the nearly 100-year history of Olympic Games! She is the first step in the history of the Chinese nation hosting the Olympic Games! She is the first interpretation of the Olympic Charter by Chinese civilization! She is still the greatest commitment to the Olympic movement!

The French sculptor Rodin once said, "Beauty is everywhere. For our eyes, it is not the lack of beauty, but the lack of discovery. " Next, from the perspective of culture and aesthetics, taste her beauty and explore her profound connotation.

I. Seal of China

In ancient times, China's seals were called seal, seal, treasure and seal, as well as seal, seal, contract, customs, seal, symbol, contract, pawn and seal, all of which were established names in history. Ancient seal script was very popular in ancient times, and its simple and naive characteristics reflected people's understanding and pursuit of beauty in different times, and it was saturated with the profound and mysterious aesthetic feeling of history. Among them, there is a kind of seal that prints pictures, called Xiao Zhuan.

Xiao Zhuan is a form of seal that existed in the pre-Qin period in China. The Han Dynasty was the heyday of ancient Xiao Zhuan. At that time, there appeared seal patterns such as "Four Spirits Seal", "Tiger Seal", "Deer Seal", "Phoenix Seal", "Fuxi Seal" and "Goddess Holding Snake Seal" depicting national worship and myths and legends. There are also various small seal scripts that reflect real social life, such as "encouraging seal scripts", "playing seal scripts with drums and instruments" and "dancing seal scripts with long sleeves". There are "Niu Geng seal", "juggling seal" and "animal training seal", which reflect the life and entertainment scenes of the Han people from different aspects.

According to relics and historical records, seals were widely used in China at the latest during the Warring States Period. At first, the seal was used as a voucher for commercial exchange of goods and a symbol of credibility. After Qin Shihuang unified China, the use of seals was expanded to represent the rights and interests of those in power, and it was a symbol of the power of those in power.

After learning about the seals in our country, if there is another product, "Dancing Beijing with Chinese Seal", we will find her even cuter. The strokes on her body are like words instead of words, like painting instead of painting; Blend words with paintings, and draw with words; Between strokes, the dance is graceful; In the rhyme, pen and ink indulge; "Beijing 2008" written with bamboo slips and Chinese characters is even more saturated with the profoundness of China's calligraphy art, which not only condenses the development track described by words in ancient seal script in China, but also interprets the mainstream doctrine of the mean in ancient philosophy in China. Together with the red inkpad and the giant square seal symbolizing China, the "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" has accumulated a lot of historical information and rich cultural essence. No wonder 1996 Brad Copland, the design director of Atlanta Olympic Games and one of the participants in the emblem of the 2008 Olympic Games, immediately excused himself when he saw "Beijing with Chinese seal dancing" from many emblem design schemes: she was from China.

2. Dancing Beijing

"Dancing Beijing with Chinese Seal" symbolizes China's credibility and composure. As the emblem of the sports meeting, she also shows the vitality and charm of Beijing. Beijing is dancing, dancing with the rhythm of the times; Beijing is not only a famous ancient city with rich cultural traditions, but also a modern city with innovative spirit ―― this is another meaning of "Dancing Beijing with China and India".

According to the investigation, the painted pottery basin with dance patterns about 5,000 years ago unearthed in Shangsunzhai, Datong County, Qinghai Province is the oldest original dance image in China. There are three groups of dancers on the inner wall of the pottery basin, and five people in each group dance hand in hand.

In ancient China, there were nine music and dances in the summer. During the performance, the actors wore fur hats and plain clothes, and their styles were quaint. Witchcraft dance in Shang Dynasty was widely used in various sacrificial occasions. There is a dance of "Eight Shu" in Zhou Dynasty, and there are special music and dance institutions in Qin and Han Dynasties. Zhao was a famous dancer in the late Western Han Dynasty. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the gentry enjoyed singing and dancing all day long. Sui and Tang Dynasties were a very prosperous dance era, among which costume dance and Hu Xuan dance were the best. Folk songs and dances in the Ming and Qing Dynasties are also very rich. Only Han people have various names, such as yangko, flower drum, tea picking, lantern, Lianxiang, dry boat and bamboo horse. In modern times, Chinese traditional dance was full of vitality and produced many excellent works, such as Lotus Lantern, Knife Meeting and Rain on Silk Road.

It can be seen that dance has formed an indissoluble bond with life in various times in China. Ancient ancestors in China held various ceremonies to express their feelings by dancing and offering sacrifices. We will hold the Olympic Games for the first time. For such a worldwide event, of course, it can also be expressed in dance language. Moore, a famous British abstract sculptor, said: "The most prominent feature of all primitive arts is their vitality." It is this kind of vitality that we see from "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing".

The humanoid picture in Dancing Beijing with Chinese Seal is familiar, and it is a dance in the same strain as Rain on Silk Road in Dunhuang murals. Exaggerated body proportions and postures, stretched brushstrokes and simple composition fully show the enthusiasm and heroism of Beijingers, and unrestrained dancing fully foretells the future of Beijing. We seem to see a dancer full of enthusiasm and hope, passion and vitality, and cheer for those who cheer for him. Of course, he danced not only with people's enthusiasm, but also with the idea of "swifter, higher and stronger" in the Olympic Games.

Three. Monument in the emblem

In order to better understand the reason why "Chinese seal dancing Beijing" became the Olympic emblem, it is necessary for us to make a general investigation of the Olympic emblems in previous years.

Including "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing", there are 46 emblems in Olympic history. In the nearly 100-year history of the Olympic Games, the design of the Olympic emblem has gone from concrete to abstract, from complexity to simplicity. In previous Olympic Games, the emblem has not yet appeared, and the visual image representing the image of the Olympic Games is often carried by posters. Most of the original emblem patterns represent the regional symbols or sports image of the host country; Later, the emblem combining regional and sports patterns came into being; Later, abstract patterns appeared.

The above changes in the design of the emblem are completely consistent with the imprint of the western painting school. Aside from the older realistic academic school and religious painting school, from romanticism (including symbolism), realism (including naturalism) to impressionism to fauvism, expressionism, abstract art painting, surrealism and post-modern painting in the 9th century, the history of western art has experienced a process from realism to abstraction and then to ". No matter from aesthetic theory or artistic practice, abstract patterns are the patterns that can best express meaning and ideas.

If "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" is regarded as a Chinese character "Jing", it is the first time in the history of the Olympic emblem that Chinese characters have been introduced. Chinese characters are ideographic characters and a symbol system. Every stroke in Chinese characters is full of contrast to the atmosphere of life and metaphor for the meaning of life. If "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" is regarded as a "human"-shaped painting, it is an outstanding application of oriental painting expression. Compared with western strict realistic methods, oriental painting is more flexible and general in space requirements, allowing virtuality and ellipsis. But it is this kind of virtuality and ellipsis that creates a real and infinite imagination space for the viewer. "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" is a successful artistic practice, which combines China's calligraphy, seal, dance, painting and western modern artistic ideas. She expressed the ideas that people wanted to express, and also entrusted her with the ideals that people would give her. She belongs to China and the world. She will be a well-deserved artistic monument in the history of Olympic visual image.

"Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" is a stroke by stroke, and each component carries the dignified cultural tradition of China and the strong Olympic spirit, showing the advanced aesthetic concept and high-spirited passion of the times. What she brings to people is not only an unprecedented emblem in the history of the Olympic Games, but also another development of Chinese civilization in the history of world civilization.

The font design of the emblem adopts the style of Han bamboo slips in China, with unique design.

The font of the emblem work "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" adopts the style of Han bamboo slips (bamboo slips of Han Dynasty), which organically integrates the strokes and charm of Han bamboo slips into the font of "Beijing 2008", which is natural, concise and fluent, and integrates with the emblem graphics and the Olympic rings. Font not only conforms to the purpose of market development, but also coordinates with the pattern style of the main body of the logo, so as to avoid being used in the overall logo registration and standard font registration in the future.

trait

After repeated scrutiny and revision by experts, the layout and proportion of the three parts of "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing", namely, Chinese Seal, Simplified Chinese Version, "Beijing 2008" and the Olympic rings are almost perfect, especially the Chinese seal part. At the same time, when each part is used independently, the proportion is still reasonable without losing coordination.

1. The design of the emblem skillfully combines the characteristics of China and Beijing with the elements of the Olympic Movement.

"Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" takes seals as the main form of expression, and combines traditional China art forms such as seals and calligraphy with sports characteristics. After artistic exaggeration and deformation, he skillfully turned into a human figure running forward and dancing to meet victory. At the same time, people's modeling looks like the charm of the modern word "Jing", which contains a strong China charm.

This work conveys and shows four layers of information and significance:

(1) China culture.

Taking the seal (Xiao Zhuan), the symbol of China traditional culture, as the expression of the main pattern, the seal appeared in China as early as four or five thousand years ago. It is a traditional cultural and artistic form with a long history in China, and it is still a widely used expression of social integrity, which means that Beijing will realize its solemn promise of "hosting the best Olympic Games in history".

(2) red.

Red is a traditional festival color in China, and it has been chosen as the benchmark color of main patterns. Red has always been regarded as the representative color of China, the color of our national flag and the great people and country of China. Therefore, the main color of the logo is red, which represents the country, celebration and traditional culture.

(3) Welcome friends from all over the world to China.

The work represents that Beijing is welcoming athletes and people from all over the world to gather in Beijing with the attitude of reform and opening up, vividly expressing Beijing's enthusiasm and sincerity in welcoming visitors from all directions and conveying the Olympic concept and spirit. The works are rich in connotation, which shows that China welcomes people all over the world with open arms.

(4) Sprint to the limit, create brilliance and carry forward the Olympic spirit of "Faster, Higher and Stronger".

The modern Olympic movement has always emphasized athletes as the core, and the emblem "China Seal Dancing Beijing" embodies this principle. The image of the athletes in the seal is both rigid and flexible, friendly, full of China culture and dynamic.

2. The font design of the emblem adopts the style of Han bamboo slips in China, with unique design.

The font of the emblem work "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing" adopts the style of Han bamboo slips (bamboo slips of Han Dynasty), which organically integrates the strokes and charm of Han bamboo slips into the font of "Beijing 2008", which is natural, concise and fluent, and integrates with the emblem graphics and the Olympic rings. Font not only conforms to the purpose of market development, but also coordinates with the pattern style of the main body of the logo, so as to avoid being used in the overall logo registration and standard font registration in the future.

3. The overall structure of the emblem is proportional to the independent structure.

After repeated scrutiny and revision by experts, the layout and proportion of the three parts of "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing", namely, Chinese Seal, Simplified Chinese Version, "Beijing 2008" and the Olympic rings are almost perfect, especially the Chinese seal part. At the same time, when each part is used independently, the proportion is still reasonable without losing coordination.

4. It is beneficial to the application and market development of the future image landscape.

From the extended design of "Chinese Seal Dancing Beijing", it can be seen that it contains good and great potential in urban landscape layout and venue environment layout. China Seal-This is the emblem of the 29th Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008. She seems to be printed, like "Beijing" instead of "Beijing", chic and elegant, full of tension, meaning dancing Beijing; She is a symbol of Han culture in China, with China spirit, China style and Chinese charm, symbolizing the open, energetic and hopeful image of China. She embodies the concept of New Beijing and Great Olympics and the connotation of Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics, and reproduces the Olympic friendship spirit of peace, progress, faster, higher and stronger. China Seal-This is1300 million China people's commitment to the whole world. With this seal, it means that we once again solemnly promise to the world with the most solemn and sacred etiquette in China to make the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games the best in history, which is the integrity and dignity of the people of China. From this moment on, dancing Beijing opens its arms and presents an open posture; From this moment on, dancing Beijing welcomes friends from all over the world with open arms; From this moment on, dancing Beijing opens its arms and dances with the world.