Chinese calligraphy once again became part of the Beijing
Olympics when the organizers released pictograms evolving from
Chinese seal characters Monday.
The set of 35 icons, representing all the Beijing Olympics
official events, use the structure of the Chinese seal script as
the basic form while incorporating the pictographic charm of the
oracle bone writing and the bronze ware script with the
simplification of modern graphics.
"Designers referred to experience of past Olympic Games and were
inspired by Chinese traditional culture to work out the
pictograms," said Beijing Olympic organizing committee official
Zhang Ming, referring to the pictograms entitled "Beauty of Seal
Characters".
"These pictograms are very clear in terms of the sports they
represent, simple and of Chinese characteristic," she said at the
release, which doubled as one of the activities to mark the
two-year counting down of the Beijing Olympic Games.
These little icons were co-designed by professors and students
from the Chinese Central Academy of Fine Arts and Fine Arts School
of Qinghua University.
Associate professor from the Academy said the pictograms came
from the same art form as the Beijing Olympic emblem.
"The pictograms and the logo are of the same art form. The two
are closely related," Hang Hai said. He was one of the
designers.
The emblem, entitled "Chinese Seal -- Dancing Beijing", features
a single Chinese character on a traditional red Chinese seal with
the words "Beijing 2008" written in an eastern-style brush
stroke.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2006)
