Interaction between History and Aesthetics: How to Communicate China Stories Well at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics

Abstract

The successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics has a special significance for China to spread Chinese culture and ideas to the world and enhance the country's image, which is also a key channel for China to carry out international communication in the new era. This study uses multimodal analysis to analyze the historical and aesthetic factors behind the clothing, programs, songs, and commentary in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics from three perspectives: images, sounds, and texts, explaining the Chinese cultural connotations behind them. At the same time, the comparative analysis is used to compare the Beijing Winter Olympics with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the Beijing Olympics, exploring the unique role of historical and aesthetic factors in international communication. The study finds that although the interaction of historical and aesthetic factors in the Beijing Winter Olympics has achieved certain effects in international communication, it has not caused large-scale propaganda and empathy, and there is a certain cultural discount phenomenon. Based on this, this study summarizes the role and future path of historical and aesthetic factors in Chinese culture in international communication.