想象中国:民族认同与中国现代性——2008北京奥运会开幕式的文化研究

National Identification and Chinese Modernity: A Cultural Study of the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games 2008

北京奥运会开幕式所展现的文化意象和象征符号在一定程度上构建了作为整体的中国在漫长历史进程中不断演化的民族文化和民族认同。民族文化是人类的一种存在方式。民族的发展与民族文化的创新不可分割。在表演中折射出来的长城的隐喻意义,是当代中国民族主义者对历史的正面想象和对现时的期待:和平、繁荣、昌盛。北京奥运会开幕式上下两篇文艺演出的文化符号表征是对民族的想象以及民族身份的演变和审视。通过对中国传统文化精华的全景式再现,中国不再被想象为一个古老、神秘的东方帝国,更推翻了近代以来被塑造的愚昧落后的形象。这是中国传统民族文化留给当代中国人的宝贵遗产。

The cultural images and symbols demonstrated in Beijing Olympics opening ceremony to some extent construct the evolving national culture and identification in long history of China as a whole. National culture is one of the ways of existence of human beings. National development is closely related to the innovation of national culture. The metaphorical significance of the Great Wall in the performance is Chinese contemporary nationalists＇ imagination of history and present expectation： peace and prosperity. Cultural symbolic representation of the two parts of art performance in Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony is the imagination of a nation and the evolution and examination of national identification. Through panoramic representation of the essence of traditional Chinese culture, the image of China as an old and mysterious oriental empire with its ignorance and backwardness is overthrown. This is the precious heritage Chinese traditional culture leaves to contemporary Chinese.