Popularizing sports culture at the "Source of Shanghai Style", this Chinese sports journalist with the most live coverage of top competitions | Culture | Sports

On August 12th, a cultural lecture with the theme of "Stimulating the Inspiration of Sports Culture" was held at Xujiahui Academy. Xu Jiren, former director and senior journalist of the Sports Department of Xinhua News Agency, former vice chairman of the China Sports Journalists Association, and executive committee member of the Chinese Football Association, served as the keynote speaker. From the perspective of sports media professionals, he led more than 100 citizens to understand the diverse sports culture in the "source of Shanghai style" and to unleash the power of sports in the new era.

Sports spirit gathers cultural power

Xu Jiren is one of the Chinese sports journalists who provides the most live coverage of the world's top sports events. He has previously covered major international and domestic events such as the 8th Summer Olympics, 4th Winter Olympics, 8th Asian Games, and the FIFA World Cup in Italy, South Africa, and the United States. He was named one of the first "Double Ten" journalists by Xinhua News Agency and won the highest award in the Chinese news industry - the Special Award of the 2008 China News Award. On the arena, he is a witness and witness, while on the arena, he is also a disseminator and narrator.

What is an opponent? It's about fighting to the death and cherishing each other. In the women's singles badminton quarterfinals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, American player Zhang Beiwen suddenly injured and fell to the ground in the second inning before abandoning the game. Opponent Chinese player He Bingjiao was sad and tearful, expressing her unwillingness to see others injured. "If possible, I want to play this game with her well," she said

What is a legend? It has become the belief of countless people even though it runs the slowest. In the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Tanzanian athlete Ahwari finished last in the marathon, but his statement "My country sent me here from 7000 miles away, not to start the race, but to complete the race" became an eternal classic.

What is honor? It is the most exciting and charming ceremonial feeling in sports. The primary school football team of Xianlin School Affiliated to Nanjing Normal University has set up a "luxury" locker room and posted giant player posters, as well as a "Hall of Fame" and "historical moment", showcasing a strong cultural atmosphere and honor incentives. "These are things that are even more precious than grades.".

What is power? It's a very small possibility, but for the sake of you being able to create miracles. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, German athlete Matthias Steiner worked hard with a desire for a gold medal and won the men's weightlifting championship of over 105 kilograms. At the award ceremony after the competition, he had tears in his eyes and passionately kissed the photo of his beloved wife, saying, "I offer the gold medal to my deceased wife Susan.".

At the lecture, Xu Jiren sighed at the comprehensiveness of sports culture and compared it to the current situation of Chinese sports. He proposed to focus on the construction of sports culture from the aspects of strong culture, clean culture, etiquette culture, totem culture, tolerance culture, etc. The Olympic spirit of "Faster, Higher, Stronger - More Unity" is manifested in athletes daring to compete for first place, never giving up, pursuing excellence, and striving beyond themselves; It is more reflected in their adherence to the spirit of sports and sportsmanship, in their humility, courtesy, and peaceful treatment of others, and in the brilliance of human nature. This spirit has also gathered into a sports and cultural force that inspires and showcases confidence.

Cultural confidence stimulates sports power

During Xu Jiren's more than 30 year career as a sports journalist, he held a dual identity as a sports and media person.

As an executive committee member of the Chinese Football Association, he has been exploring and advancing on the topic of "doing well in Chinese football" for many years. "To do a good job in Chinese football, I believe the key and ultimate goal is to establish a good football cultural atmosphere and advanced football cultural cognition, and to achieve equal emphasis on 'knowledge worship' and 'body worship'. Xu Jiren said that changing the football cultural atmosphere and cognition requires time, and cannot be rushed or waited for. It requires both long-term efforts and striving for the day and night.".

As a media person, he stated that the changes in media formats and communication channels have had a revolutionary impact on the achievements, image, and culture of Chinese sports. "Sports officials, coaches, and athletes are not only the subjects of coverage and information providers, but also the disseminators and 'part-time journalists'. For example, at the Tokyo Olympics, weightlifting coach Zhang Guozheng and team member Li Wenwen provided exclusive videos to Xinhua News Agency."; At the recent Fukuoka World Swimming Championships, the athlete training and life videos provided by the team officials were also widely praised; In addition, athletes spread information, express views and shape images through social media such as Weibo, WeChat, Twitter and Tiktok, which is also conducive to expanding China's sports influence and reputation.

Cultural confidence is the most fundamental, profound, and enduring force in the development of a country or a nation. Sports culture construction is an important component of socialist cultural construction, and sports culture plays an important role in socialist cultural construction and the construction of a strong sports country. In Xu Jiren's view, both sports and media professionals should define a "sports powerhouse" with Chinese characteristics, standards, and culture, sing patriotic themes internally, stimulate national pride, unite and inspire the younger generation; To showcase a good national image and the spiritual outlook of the Chinese people to the outside world, and to spread the appeal of Chinese sports culture.

"Body Gathering Demon City" contributes to the strength of the Shanghai style

In order for sports culture stories to become "hot dramas", they need to be organically combined with urban temperament, starting from the core of sports and closely following urban development. The selection of venue for the "Body Gathering and Magic City" series of cultural lectures is also full of ingenuity.

The Xujiahui Academy, known as the "source of Shanghai style", officially opened to the public this year and has become a popular cultural landmark loved by citizens and tourists. As one of the main birthplaces of modern sports in China, Shanghai carries the mission of blending Chinese and Western cultures. Under the inheritance of Chinese sports spirit, the influence of Shanghai style culture, and the joint efforts of generations of sports people, it has nurtured a unique and charming Shanghai sports culture. The power of spreading sports spirit in places where there is no shortage of traffic, and experiencing the beauty of sports culture in the hustle and bustle of the city, sports and urban culture mutually nourish each other.

Nowadays, the social value of sports culture is becoming increasingly diverse, the connotation of the times is becoming richer, and the demand for sports culture among the people is growing. With its strong cohesion and appeal, sports culture is becoming a hard support for the development of Shanghai's sports industry and will also become the "golden business card" of the city.

The first "Sports Promotion Week" has once again brought "east wind" to the promotion of sports culture. In the future, Shanghai Sports will also tell the story of Shanghai's sports through a series of lectures, themed exhibitions, and cultural salons, creating a "long tail effect" of sports spirit and cultural transmission, and contributing a continuous "Shanghai style power" to the construction of a sports power.