From Athens to Beijing

#07039     130×194 cm     畫布丙烯      2008

Beginning in 1771, European archeologists began to excavate the ancient Olympics site, and a movement began to revive the tradition, especially among the Greek who were eager for national unity and cultural reconstruction.

On October 1st, 1859, King Otto opened the first Pan-Greek Olympic Games in Athens, the capital of Greece, about 300 kilometers from Olympia. They took place again in 1870, 1875, 1887 and 1889; but faltered thereafter, due to their over emphasis on regionalism and their lack of adjusting to modern times.

Nevertheless, after Baron de Coubertin’ s successful revival of the Games in 1896, Athens became the first host-city of the Modern Olympic Games. Now more than one century has passed since that first Modern Olympic Games in Athens and the upcoming one in Beijing in 2008. This exciting, momentous event will advocate the promotion of “a peaceful, more harmonious world” as well as mark a milestone in the manifestation of a new China. As Dr. Jacques Rogge, acting president of the IOC and the chairman for the 29th Olympics, comments on China – she is a nation where things move so quickly and where “modernity and tradition mix in an unique way,” to unfold an exciting manifestation of a “New Beijing and New Olympics.”