Oracle - Chapter 13

Still doing this after 50 posts...hopefully I'll continue to post prolifically as the year proceeds and my research progresses.

The atmosphere in Beijing during International Olympic Committee selection is the topic of Chapter 13. The (superficial) beautification of Beijing is covered, including how the government has prepared taxi drivers to address the pollution issue should clients strike up a conversation. Beyond that, Hessler gives his account of being in the press pool during I.O.C. functions, complete with accounts of bribery from the past and the lack of democracy among IOC officials.

An interesting aside was the discussion of competitive sports in China's past. Before opening up to Westerners, the closest thing to sport was martial arts. Far from competitive, it stressed discipline and self-improvement while having an element of spirituality (breathing exercises were later appropriated by the Falun Gong movement). When Western ideals were emulated in an attempt to beat the "foreign devils" at their own game, China took the worst of them. The nationalism and extreme competitiveness were adopted, apparently at the expense of understanding the true value of sports as an element of a well-rounded life.

An interesting comment that was made concerned routine-based sports. An interviewee claimed that China isn't good at sports with direct competition (as opposed to net-based sports) and it excelled in routine-based sports that fit perfectly into China's bureaucracy mentality. In other words, athletes can be created by careful organization and training rather than strength. Not that I agree with this statement but it serves as a remarkable tie to the last chapter.