北京2008麻将赛 The 2008 Beijing Mahjong Game
油画:2008-北京 (Oil Painting: 2008-Beijing) 画家：刘溢
多伦多《世界日报》的评论
大家都知道，2008的北京，是奥运会的地方。西方人把奥运会叫成Olympic Games.这幅画中也是Game,却是中国传统的麻将Game。
“2008-北京”巨幅油画·刘溢画的左上角，是一幅标准像，乍看上去，熟悉又不熟悉，那是孙中山的胡子，蒋介石的光头，毛泽东的五官新组合的标准像。它象征着中国上一百年的历史，或者说是旧民主主义和新民主主义的全部。
画的左面，是一个最天真和最聚精会神打麻将的女孩，她为抓了一手好牌而暗中庆幸。
中间背影的女子，开了一个东风明杠，这象征着当前不可无视的事实–中国在崛起。虽然那女子有些不规矩的小动作。
中间正面女子，似乎有些外来血统。她在打牌之余，另有闲心眺望光源，也即将来。她穿着光纤，脸上有一些忧虑。
再就是那个外国女郎了，她也来掺合中国的游戏，信心全无，躺在那里，因为她少抓了一张牌，相公，配打。
右面显然是一个进城打工的农村姑娘，她是使中国掘起的生力军。然而他的脸上有一些不明白，有一些不满意。她手中握着一把亮晃晃的水果刀，这暗示着一种仇富心理，暗示着一种危机。
画的右边，在破旧的建筑的前方，有一条大河，有一些石头，这象征着前景莫测，只是摸着石头过河的现状。
搞搞震的评论
东风还有坐东的意思，意味着色子是由东家开始掷，这也表明这有不同寻常的游戏规则。另外，这个女孩的纹身也间（肩）接表明，在这桌子上坐对了位置很重要。至于背后的小动作，从观众的角度看得真切，那是说，这个游戏规则是赢者通吃。
左面的哪个女孩正专心打牌，象征那些正试图介入中国市场的外国企业，由于不了解中国行情，他们小心翼翼，努力配合。但他身处上家的位置上，有着天时地利优势，所以东家希望与之搞好关系（对外开放）
右面的哪个女孩显然是被游戏规则淘汰的，按照作者的说法是‘信心全无’但注意她的一条腿蹬着西边的那个女孩，这是为什么？是失败后的回归？
西边的女孩，身着华贵，象征代表着市场资源。她姿态端正，表明牌差不到哪里去，但她却无心恋战，却颇为关注麻将以外的东西，不时向旁边的那个小姑娘哪里窥视。显然是更关注市场以外的东西。
至于那个带肚兜的小姑娘，她显然没有学会资本的运作方式（麻将），她的全部只是农产品和水果刀，虽然她很向往那桌牌，但又保持着一定的距离，她的眼神不仅仅是仇富，还有专注，她正在学习这规则。
English Translation from ESWN
2008 – Beijing
The following painting was done by the Toronto-based Chinese painter Liu Yi (刘溢). This post comes from Migratory Fool.
Critical review in World Journal (Toronto), via the 搞搞震 blog:
[in translation]
Everybody knows that 2008 Beijing is where the Olympics will be. Westerners call it the Olympic Games. There is a game in this oil painting, but it is the traditional Chinese game of mahjong.
On the top left corner of “2008-Beijing,” there is a standard head portrait of a man. He seems familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He has Sun Yat-sen’s beard, Chiang Kai-shek’s bald head and Mao Zedong’s facial features. He symbolizes the one hundred years’ of Chinese history and the sum total of the old and new democracies.
To the left of the painting, there is a innocent and focused girl who is probably celebrating because she has a good hand.
The girl in the middle with her back turned to the observer has three “east” tiles, symbolizing the unignorable reality — the emergence of China. But the girl is also trying to cheat with the tiles hidden behind her foot.
The girl in the middle facing the observer seems to be of mixed blood. As she plays the games, she is looking at the source of the light (that is, the future). She is nicely dressed, and she has a slightly worried look.
Then there is that foreign girl. She is playing a Chinese game in which she has no confidence. She is lying there, because she has one tile less than required. She has lost already.
On the right hand side, there is a peasant girl who came to work in the city. She is the fresh labor force that allowed China to rise. On her face, there is a little bit of incomprehension and dissatisfaction. She holds a shining fruit knife in her hand, indicating a resentment against wealthy people and a certain danger.
On the right of the painting, in front of the rundown building, there is a river and some rocks. This symbolizes the uncertain future by which one can only cross the river by stepping on one rock at a time.
Comment in the 搞搞震 blog:
[in translation]
I feel that there is an additional meaning with the East player because the dice is rolled by that player. This means that there are some unusual rules of the game. Also, the tattoo on the shoulder indirectly indicates that it is important to assume the right seat at this table. The little cheating move behind the back implies that the winner takes all in this game.
The girl on the left is concentrating hard to play this game. She symbolizes those foreign capital companies which are trying to enter the Chinese market. They don’t understand Chinese conditions, so they are trying to be cautious and cooperative. But since she is sitting over the East player and enjoys a natural advantage, the latter has to keep on good terms (open up to the outside).
The girl on the right is clearly being eliminated under the rules of the game. According to the critic, she has no confidence left. But you should note that one of her legs is touching the West player. Why is that? Returning home after being defeated?
The girl in the west is elegantly dressed and represents market resources. She has a proper poise, which means that her hand is not bad. But she seems to be disinterested and paying attention to things outside of the mahjong game. She keeps peeking at the little girl on the side. She is obviously paying attention to things outside of the market.
As for the girl on the side, she obviously has not yet learned how to play the capitalist game (mahjong) and she only owns farm produce and a fruit knife. But she is longing for that game while keeping her distance. Her looks is not only about resenting wealthy people, because there is also attention. She is learning the rules.
http://zonaeuropa.com/culture/c20060507_1.htm
