The Curse of the Beijing Olympics

If you have watched any news programs or read the newspapers lately you have heard about the claim that there is a curse on the ’08 Beijing Olympics. Recently there has been Internet buzz and claims within the Chinese citizenry itself all relating to the Fuwa’s which literally mean “Dolls of blessing” and the many calamities that have befallen the country within the past few months. Despite the stalwart efforts of the Communist government mind police and their “Great Firewall of China” to delete any online references to the "Curse of the Fuwas", the rumors about the cursed mascots have unrelentingly spread across China by text messages. The problems as you may have read all coincide with the Fuwas and what they represent. Each Fuwa is a mascot for one category of Olymic sport and is a visual icon to the many cultures within China’s empire. They each also have an association with an aspect of nature.

First the Fuwa “YingYing” who represents the Earth is a male and is the mascot for the track and field sports. He is a mixture of the Tibetan antelope and Xinjuang ethnic costumes. This doll of blessing has been connected to the continued uprising by the Tibetan populace against the stifling Communist rule within the last year.

The second Fuwa “HuanHuan” represents fire and is also male. It is the mascot for the ball sports. His costume is derived from the the Olympic Flame with a stylistic flare from the Mogao Grottoes. Of course the Fuwa is linked to the constant problems and protests that followed the Olympic flame as it crossed the globe on its way to Beijing.

Next we have the Fuwa “NiNi”, a female who represents Air. Nini is the mascot for gymnastics whose costume is derived from the Swallow and Beijing’s shayan kites. The Swallow is a traditional messenger of spring and happiness in Chinese culture. She has been tied to the horrible train accident in the spring month of April in the city of Weifang whose close connection to the shayan kites has made the city nicknamed the “Kite City”.

Fourth is the Fuwa “JingJing”, a male who represents wood. Jinjing is the mascot for a variety of sports including weightlifting and Judo. He is in the guise of a panda with a lotus around his head to represent the Song Dynasty’s famous lotus porcelain. When severe earthquakes hit Sichuan province in May of 2008 the connection to JinJing was made. Sichuan is the native home of the endangered panda and in Wolong the panda “MoaMoa” was killed as the walls of her enclosure collapsed during the quake.

The fifth and final Fuwa is “BeiBei”, a female who represents water. She is the mascot for aquatic sports and a mixture of a Neolithic fish design mixed with the lotus which is traditional Chinese New Year décor. She has been connected to the worst floods in 50 years that forced the evacuation of almost 2 million people in the provinces of southern China in June of 2008.

With the connection of BeiBei to the severe flooding last month, many have said the curse of the Fuwas has been completed. But now comes a new plague of almost Biblical proportions that plague the Olympic games next month. Within a few weeks the city of Qingdao is suppose to host the Olympic sailing regatta and it has been assaulted with a massive red tide algae bloom off the shores of the Yellow Sea that posses a threat to the sailing competition. The city of Qingdao has employed the help of over 20,000 people and 1,000 boats to try and clean up the mess. BeiBei headgear with patterns from artifacts found at the Neolithic city of Banpo of the Yangshao culture, a culture that existed extensively along the Yellow River.

Perhaps the plague of the Fuwa curse is yet to be resolved. Perhaps the Fuwa Beibei and her connection to the water might have struck again? Striking to me is this blue water motif of this Fuwa with its green lotus accent that seems to float in her wavy hair. Consider that with the picture of the algae bloom in Qingdao.

And now as of this writing on July 5^th 2008 there comes news of a plague of locusts invading the northern province of Inner Mongolia. The Xinhua News agency reports that they have come within 267 miles of Beijing and have so far infected an area of 5,000 square miles. The province has mobilized 33000 people to help combat this latest curse. With a cooler than normal summer so far the locust eggs that are closest to Beijing will now hatch in late July or early August. Just in time for the Olympic Games to begin.

Is there a connection to a Fuwa? Perhaps YingYing the yellow Fuwa that represents the Earth is the origin of this plague? The locusts destroy the fruit of the earth. Or is it the fact that the Wuhai Municipal Industry and Commerce Bureau located in the city of Wuhai Inner Mongolia Province, raided local businesses and found garments beings produced and sold on the black market that infringed the copyrighted Fuwa and Olymic logos.

I may be wrong but I feel the “Curse of the Fuwa” is going to continue to plague the Beijing Olympics. With the connection of these “Dolls of Blessing” to wood, air, water, fire, and earth along with their being mascots to various games and representatives of various aspects and provinces of China there are undoubtedly going to be more “coincidences” to occur.

But are these incidences mere coincidences or is something else going on?

Actually I think there is a spiritual dynamic going on. On many levels.

The Chinese government has long repressed and persecuted religious and spiritual movements, long before the recent uprisings in Tibet. The main reason for this is the Marxist maxim that “religion is the opiate of the people”. I have personally known many former missionaries to China before the Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao Zedong who has recounted the horrors inflicted upon the churches of China in the 1950’s. Pastors were dragged out of their homes in the middle of the night and executed. Whole families were sent to prison. Torture and coercion were implemented to devastate and demoralize the Christian Church in China as a whole, with no division between denomination and sect. But instead of crushing the church this persecution only led to a spiritual revitalization of the underground church and the faith of many grew as they faced harsh repression. Prayers of the faithful are continually offered up to shatter the suppression of religious beliefs in China.

The same is true of Tibetan Buddhism. After the Dalai Lama and 100,000 fled Tibet in 1959 from the Chinese persecution, the dispersion has led to not only a revival in the religion but the Dalai Lama has become an international ambassador of peace and love to the world. And an almost comical attempt at religious control the Chinese Government announced in August of last year that any living Buddah must obtain Chinese permission before they reincarnate. The nonsensical audacity is beyond hilarity and borders insanity.

Things happen when people of faith are oppressed.

You can look at it as negative energy causing a backlash that affects the Earth itself.

You can perceive it as the build up of spiritual power unleashing itself as the Communist Government of China denies the very existence of the citizenries’ spiritual nature.

You can call it God unleashing nature’s wrath to prove His existence to a humanistic totalitarian regime.

No matter what religion or faith when people who believe pray to God while being persecuted, God does answer. Sometimes He answers with wrath upon the oppressors, sometimes in plagues of Biblical proportions.

Now I do not mean to sound like Sharon Stone. There have been innocents hurt by these incidents, and I will bet my bottom dollar that many of them are of the same faiths that have been oppressed. Is that the Will of a God of love? No. But neither were the plagues of Ancient Egypt. Theologically there is a difference between God’s perfect Will and the natural dynamics that He lets happen because of the will and actions of men who rebel against nature. I believe it would be the perfect Will of a loving God to have the people of China freely embrace any faith they wish. I cannot help but think there is a connection to the oppressive Chinese Government’s dreams of global legitimization with the ’08 Olympics and the resulting frustration of those dreams by recurring events.

So what is going on?

Consider these quotes from various world religions:

Nagarjuna the Buddhist Monk, Philosopher and Founder of the Madhyamika school, who lived 150-250 CE. Once said:

“Neither from itself nor from another,
Nor from both,
Nor without a cause,
Does anything whatever, anywhere arise.”

Confucius once said:

"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right."

Job, one of the oldest books in the Bible is quoted:

“The triumph of the wicked is short…though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, and his head reaches the clouds…the heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.”
Job 20:5a,6,27

The Koran’s Book of Jonah 10:101:

“Say: Consider what is it that is in the heavens and the earth; and signs and warnings do not avail a people who would not believe.”

Flower Newhouse once said:

“God consciousness is the need and goal of our existence.”

Is there a supernatural connection to what is happening in China?

I tend to think there is.

And I would venture to gamble that it is not yet over. The Fuwas blend many aspects of nature along with cultural significant icons of Chinese society. They are also mascots for various Olympic sports. I am rashly going to say this imbalance of spirit resulting in the curse will manifest itself in many ways until the end of the Olympics. Fires? Toxic air? Strange occurrences within the games themselves?

I have read a statement lately that wonders why we have no UFO reports from China with the current flap that we are experiencing. I would bet that there are sightings but they are never reported due to fear of government reprisals. I know from letters of those of faith that are smuggled from within China that miracles still happen, even though never reported. Though the strong arm of China would strive to quench it, faith abides in various forms.

Just as the ancient plagues of Egypt were a sign to oppressive government that they should “let my people go” I would modestly speculate that these plagues are a sign to the repressive government of China to stop its persecution of faith and let its people embrace their spirit.

Will the Chinese government hearken to the call that the Earth cries out?

Until next time,

Pastor Swope

Update: Don from 2008 china Olympics has asked us to link to his site.

Please visit it to see updates on what is happening in the games:

http://www.2008chinaolympics.com