Striking the Fou to mark the 57th birthday of SCUT

On Nov. 14, to celebrate the 57^th birthday of SCUT, one of the Olympic Games fou (clay musical instruments used in ancient times) which have struck the prelude for the 29^th Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony was presented to the University by alumnus Mr. ZHOU Yifeng. The gift offers teachers and students a perfect opportunity to appreciate the Olympic spirit and Chinese culture.

This Olympic fou numbered as 1144 was bid by Mr. Zhou, CEO of Guangdong Plastic Exchange, at the price of nearly 80,000 yuan at the auction for the 29^th Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony Stage Property Fou and Zhujian (bamboo slips for writing on during ancient times). Its current market price has soared to 500,000 yuan. Mr. Zhou is an EMBA alumnus of Grade 2007 from the School of Business Administration. The Olympic fou is a particular gift for the alma mater.

Originally functioned as a water or alcohol container, fou is said to be one of the oldest Chinese percussion instruments. In ancient times, people usually struck it in rhythm to express their happiness during drinking. It is analogous that a fou-striking performance was made at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony as an expression of happiness to welcome friends from all over the world, which is an advocation of the Olympic spirit as well as Chinese traditional culture and the harmonious development of the society. The Olympic fou is an imitation of Qingtong Bingjian Fou (the bronze basin-like vessel used to hold ice with fou inside) unearthed in Hubei province, therefore it combines both modern and ancient elements, symbolizing the present as well as the past. It is a significant collection of stage property and commodity of major historic events and social cultural activities.

Edited by HU Nanping and CHANG Wei

From SCUT News Network