Check out the Olympic Medals for Beijing 2008
March 29, 2007 by Sasha Manuel
Filed under Sports Rumors
If you haven’t heard, they recently unveiled the medals for the upcoming Olympic Games that will be held in Beijing, China. It was done during a ceremony held at the Capital Museum in Beijing last Tuesday, 27 March 2007.
Made of gold and jade
For the first time jade is used for the Beijing Olympic medals. The medals have been designed with inspiration coming from “bi”, China’s ancient jade piece inscribed with a dragon pattern. The medals symbolise nobility and virtue and are the embodiment of traditional Chinese values of ethics and honour, emitting a strong Chinese flavour. The winners’ medal is made of gold weighing not less than six grammes each. The medal for the runner-up is made of pure silver.
I wasn’t an avid follower of the Olympics until last year, so, I’m not aware that this much thought is put in on the medal. I even thought that everything about the Olympics were uniformed.
A blending of traditional Chinese culture and Olympism
Noble and elegant, the medals are a blending of traditional Chinese culture and Olympism. On their obverse side, the medals reflect the Greek character of the Olympic Games: the goddess of victory Nike pictured in the Panathinaikos Stadium. While on their reverse side, the medals are inlaid with jade with the Beijing Games emblem engraved in the metal centrepiece. The design inspiration of the medal hook derives from jade “huang”, a ceremonial jade piece decorated with a double dragon pattern and “Pu”, the reed mat pattern.
Now, it’s quite a novelty for me to learn of such things. It’s always a source of great delight for me whenever I learn more about cultures and countries that’s why this bit of trivia is not wasted on me. :lol:
