The Chinese are totally stoked that the Olympics are coming this summer. In fact, they are so excited about the big event they are even learning to cheer! Yup, what you consider second nature, the Chinese population is learning from tutors. Of course, their cheering is a bit more civilized than the typical Joe Six-Pack’s drunken slurs and rants, even if it is rather corny.
Zhongguo, Zhongguo — ha, ha, ha. Zhongguo, Zhongguo bi sheng,” the crowd shouts, simultaneously beating yellow, stick-shaped batons to the rhythm. “Jia you, jia you.” Rough translation: “China, China — ha, ha, ha. China, China must win. Let’s go, let’s go.”
One of about 20 cheers approved by authorities, it’s drilled a half-dozen times, orderly repetitions practiced in a meeting hall darkened by stained gray carpet squares and wood paneling. Thirty red and yellow paper lanterns dangle overhead, casting faint light on government slogans papering the walls.
Welcome to the “Beijing Civilized Workers Cheering Squad,” a public-education program to teach sportsmanship, all part of a larger Olympic etiquette campaign to show off a polite, prosperous and powerful China.
The 2 ½ hour prim and proper pep rally is to ensure that the culture upholds a positive image by continuing a tradition of hospitality when attending sporting events that they are unfamiliar with; which is a great thing in our opinion, even if it is rather corny.
China’s authoritarian government fears any glitches, which could happen with fans attending unfamiliar sports like baseball, sailing or field hockey, which are as foreign in China as a bullfight in Belgium.
Cheering at the wrong moment, taking photos when they’re prohibited or cell phones going off as swimmers teeter on the starting blocks are potential snags that could draw negative coverage.
Not to mention that it’s really distracting for players when fans are yelling gibberish about haggling prices.
At a field hockey test event this summer between Argentina and Australia, hundreds of middle-age women were bused in to add atmosphere — the kind of instant numbers only China can muster. The women tried to imitate cheers in Spanish, but got it wrong.
“Ba mao si fen han de di le,” they chanted, which in Chinese could roughly mean: “Eighty-four cents, you’ve offered a price too low.” Nobody could figure out what this had to do with field hockey.
Links:
[MSNBC]: Chinese getting lesson in cheering for Olympics
