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said that Confucianism has played an unparalleled role in shaping the Chinese spirit
and character.
China Reading Weekly: Does it make sense that the birth of the Olympics in the
Ancient Greece is related to the Ancient Greece being the cradle of philosophy?
Zhao Dunhua: That does make sense. The Greek philosophy serves as the
philosophical foundation of the Ancient Olympic Games and the ancient Greek
Olympic Games also embodies the spirit of Greek philosophy and carries it out in
practice.
The Greek philosophy which proves to be a resplendent gem in human civilization
occupies a significant niche in the history of the Ancient Olympics as precious
heritage. The representative pioneer philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle, all remarked on the importance of physical exercises. Socrates advocated
that ―All Greek citizens should keep fit enough to defend the motherland‖. Plato
personally participated and excelled in the Ancient Greek sacrificial sports
competition; a section in The Ideal State, his representative work is devoted to the
gymnastics which in Plato‘s view constitutes one of the two major components of
civilian education as it can boost health, perfect the build, make one more energetic,
more strong-willed and even tougher. Plato held that the physical health would
influence and be influenced by the morality since the ill morality resulted from the
inappropriate education and unsound health. He proposed that one should build up
his body with a view to defend his motherland and keep up physical exercises so as
to enjoy all-round development. Aristotle also took part in sports. In his work entitled
Politics Aristotle advocated that the physical education should occur prior to
intellectual education. His pedagogical ideology holds that the physical, intellectual
and moral education is linked up and the sound physical health is the basis of the
intellectual development. Aristotle laid special stress upon the all-round education of
the kids including reading, writing, painting, physical education and music; and he
held that physical training in one‘s early childhood was especially important as he
said ―In terms of educating the kids, it is of prime importance to pay sufficient
attention to their habits before something is done about their intellectual capability; it
is essential for a child to have a strong body before he is enlightened with intellectual
input. Thus the children should be trained by the physical education teacher and the
competition coach since the former may help him to develop a good living habit while
the latter may impart to him the skills to survive and thrive in the competitions‖. In
addition Aristotle believed that too great or too small an amount of sport was not
conducive to health. He advocated for organizing gymnastic activities which were in
his opinion the most effective way to build up one‘s body and he supported the view
that physical exercises could do more than boost one‘s health as they better one‘s
build and uplift one‘s morality as well. By applying these tenets to the military affairs,
Alexander, the prominent student of Aristotle, set up the most resourceful and
powerful troops.
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