Lu, Zhouxiang and Fan, Hong (2019) China’s Sports Heroes: Nationalism, Patriotism and Gold Medal. International Journal of the History of Sport, 36 (7-8). pp. 748-763. ISSN 0952-3367

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Abstract

Sport has been of great importance to the construction of Chinese national consciousness during the past century. This article examines how China’s sport celebrities have played their part in nation building and identity construction. It points out that Chinese athletes’ participation in international sporting events in the first half of the twentieth century demonstrated China’s motivation to stay engaged with the world, and therefore led to their being regarded as national heroes. From the 1950s, China’s status and relative strength among nations became measured by the country’s success at international sporting events. The nation’s appetite for gold medals resulted in the rapid development of elite sport, but has placed a heavy burden on star athletes.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	China; hero; politics; nationalism; sports patriotism;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Arts,Celtic Studies and Philosophy > School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures > Chinese
Item ID:	13453
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2019.1657839
Depositing User:	Zhouxiang Lu
Date Deposited:	28 Oct 2020 10:39
Journal or Publication Title:	International Journal of the History of Sport
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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