Games' opening highlights potential for change in China

BEIJING — The curtain rises on China, and it shows the world its ancient soul.

The theme of the Olympics' opening ceremony was designed to appeal both inside and outside China. The message celebrated Chinese traditions with people from around the globe in a spectacularly artistic and captivating style.

Showcasing the achievements of a country with 5,000 years of history — Chinese inventions of paper, printing, gunpowder and compass — inspired a sense of pride among many who watched, including me. Even people new to the history and culture of the country surely absorbed a good deal of it through the performances.

From the Bird's Nest stands, it was a bit like watching the making of a Zhang Yimou film on location in a very large sauna. People looked like they had just taken a shower in their clothes. But even after sweltering in the heat for five hours, journalists around me were still captivated to the end.

Like the layer of Olympic rings lifting gently into the air or the layer of paper rolling from the Chinese scroll, the motif continued to peel layers of mystery from Chinese culture and share its beauty with the world.

But no one can forget the Olympics are a nation-building project for China. Foremost in any cultural display are the 56 ethnic groups unified in a single country. Minorities (those that are not Han Chinese) have always been a central part of Chinese nationalism since Mao, but promoting their unity takes on a new meaning since recent protests in Tibet and Xinjiang.

The minorities are almost always presented dancing in native costumes, looking a bit primitive and incongruous compared with the image of modern China. In the ceremony, the diverse cultures were strung together on center stage, carrying the Chinese flag and handing it over to a military group, followed by a hymn with the words "We love peace. We love our home."

It was interesting to see Confucius quoted more than once. It coincides with a kind of revival of Confucian ideas in China, in the absence of religion or even party ideology.

Also Confucian, the massive scale of the performance made the individual look tiny in the context of group harmony, the vastness of history and the power of nature. It's one alternative vision of the world that differs markedly from the West.

But visions work both ways. The Olympics are a site for negotiation, the push and pull of ideas from all over the world competing along with the athletes.

The opening ceremony presented a strong people and culture that have survived many periods of change. Unfurling the soul of the culture kept alive after so many centuries is a testament to its depth and resilience. While China's leaders may project a confident nationalism, as contention over human rights and freedom of expression suggest, they haven't accepted negotiation.

If it's time to shed its insecurity for good, which is one of the underlying goals of hosting this Olympics, China has to accept and deal with criticism openly and confidently.

At one point the ceremony highlighted China's exchange with the world through the Silk Road, which allowed the free flow of trade and knowledge. The Confucian analects quoted in the ceremony emphasized the value of knowledge and learning.

But true knowledge is gained when information can be questioned, and true global exchange means allowing ideas and opinions to flow both ways.

It might be one world, but it could never be just one dream.

Kristi Heim lived and worked in China for almost two decades. She earned a master's degree in Chinese studies at the University of Washington, learned Mandarin in Beijing and worked for the Asian Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong before coming to The Seattle Times. She can be reached at kheim@seattletimes.com