China Daily today runs a Reuters story on the embarrassment caused by the recently-completed National Games, a nation-wide sports competition and run-up to the 2008 Olympics.  The headline: "China puts glory before honour at National Games."  The critique:

From doping to thrown matches to biased judging, the domestic "mini-Olympics"
that ended on Sunday in eastern Jiangsu province was riddled with embarrassments
blamed by some on a government-sponsored athletic culture that stresses greater
glory over love of sport.

    As  someone who has been reading Chinese newspapers for over 25 years, I must say that I am struck by the willingness to confront, or at least acknowledge, such problems.  Although the state still restricts the media in important ways, there is more openness than the "bad old days."  But that is not my main point.  Rather, I am interested in this quote:

"Competition under that kind of pressure goes against the Olympic spirit,"
the state-run China Youth Daily said in a commentary.

    It also goes against the Confucian spirit.

    Here is the venerable sage on archery:

The Master said: "The noble-minded never contend.  It’s true that archery is a kind of contention.  But even then, they bow and yield to each other when stepping up to the range.  And when they step down, they toast each other.  Even in contention, they retain their nobility. (3.7)

So, athletic competition is fine, but good sportsmanship is the prime directive.  Of course, this idea comes through in various modern cliches ("it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, but how you play the game"…), but I bet Confucius is among the first (anyone have relevant Greek quotes?) to define sportsmanship. 

    I especially like the bit  about having a toast afterward (and I imagine this will go down well with our Australian friends…).  But maybe the Chinese sports authorities should put that final line in every locker room in the country: "Even in contention, they retain their nobility."  Indeed, they could kill two birds with one stone – encouraging good sporting behavior and bringing back Confucius at the same time! – by making it the motto of their Olympics.  And what would the logo be?  Confucius in track suit?   It  wouldn’t be much worse than this: