A Brief Talk on the Relationship Between National Culture and Design

周晉司

Abstract： The Chinese nation has a long history and excellent traditional culture. And these excellent culture are composed of various ethnic groups and different regional cultures. In today’s world of rapid economic development， we must inherit our culture， rather than blindly introduce Western culture without integration. Only by combining Western culture with Chinese culture can both cultures interact with each other， influence and prompt each other. In this way， we can better promote our excellent traditional culture and national culture to the world.

Keywords： Chinese culture; National culture; Design; Influence

Throughout the five thousand years’ history of China， no matter it’s in Shang and Zhou Dynasties or today， culture has always played a pivotal role in the development of society， politics as well as the development of national economy. If we analyze Chinese culture layer by layer， we will find that the traditional culture is composed of different regional culture which is composed of various culture of various ethnic groups from different regions， and culture of each ethnic group is unique. In our lives， the most intuitive expression of culture is the way people live. It can be said that lifestyle is the best and most intuitive expression of culture.

China is an ancient country. It is home to many ancient nationalities and it continues many ancient cultures， while the creation of these cultural elements is neither a symbolic representation， nor a concrete connotation of totem， but a comprehensive manifestation of the national spirit and national temperament under the totem symbol.

The most striking feature of culture is that its distinctive nature of the times， which is mainly reflected in its organizational system and material level. But for culture， we cannot formulate a standard to measure， because culture has regional difference in addition to the times. Different cultures needs to be analyzed from different perspectives， which cannot be generalized. The formation of each culture has its own unique historical development form， and also has corresponding limitations. When we understand a culture， we must interpret it from different dimensions and heights.

Every culture has its own unique spiritual feature， temperament and character， and unique psychological logic， which are so real that can be touched with our hands， meantime so invisible that can only be felt with heart. And culture is diverse， how to reflect the inheritance of different ethnic cultures in design is not as simple as adopting its symbols directly， nor imposing corresponding symbols on the products. In the practice of design activities， what we first understand is the symbols which are associated with them， and then further understand the ethnic characteristics of the symbol， then carefully analyze and organize the culture of the nationality， fully understand its characteristics of the times and symbolic meanings， go deep into the spiritual connotation behind the symbols， and finally combine with the corresponding products， and carry out the integration between things and ideas through fully consideration of its rationality， harmony， unity， etc. Only by this way can we design a good product， taking cheongsam culture for example， it promotes the kind of female femininity， if the designer applies its elements to a strong and well-defined product design， its corresponding effect won’t be achieved. What the elements embodied in design is not only to express its shape， but also to express its artistic conception; only a good combination of both can produce something that resonates with the vision and the mind.

There are many cultures worthy of our inheritance in our lives， it is not that we have to deliberately remember a certain symbol of these cultures， nor deliberately remember the rise and fall of a certain nationalities， Example is the Miao’s Witchcraft technique， what it preaches is not the magic and greatness of witchcraft， but how to master the balance of skills， just like a knife it can be used to kill as well as save， what the Miao people actually advocates is a rational spiritual power and how to use the relevant medical skills to save people rather than deceive people. Among diverse and complex ethnic groups in China， we must be good at discovering those great spirits which are worthy of inheritance， instead of deliberately emphasizing the magical power of symbols.

Reference：

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[3]Tian Lianggang， Zhao Peng. Multivariate Symbiosis and Different --- Reflections on the Status of Minority Culture in the Chinese Cultural Pattern [J]. Journal of Central South University for Nationalities （Humanities and Social Sciences Edition），2015，35（01）：1-6.（in Chinese.）