'Go China! Go!': Running Fan and Debating Success During China's Olympic Summer

摘要

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing were carefully scripted to signal the emergence of a modern China on the global scene, with multiple levels reflecting the robustness of China's emerging economic, cultural and political power. At a time when the rapid transformations of Chinese society have resulted in dramatic disparity between social classes and across regions, the celebration of athletic success at the first Chinese Olympics offered valuable narratives of national unity. Global sports celebrities such as the Liu Xiang offer powerful images of the 'spirit' of a united China ascendant. Only months before the games' opening, however, the catastrophic Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan opened up an unscripted moment where an unlikely 'athlete' appeared and became the centre of a wide-ranging social debate. In opposition to mainstream narratives that extolled the virtuous sacrifices of those who died to save others during the Sichuan earthquake, Mr Fan Meizhong, a bookish teacher at a high school in the quake zone, had sprinted to save his own skin. This essay examines media depictions and Internet discussions of the figure of 'running Fan' and the contours of the national debate, which took place on the eve of the Olympics. By examining the case of the man who ran, this essay provides a glimpse into the tensions between visions of national success and the individual successes produced by the market economy - tensions that will have national and regional implications after the games.