Intercultural Design Proposal, Data Collection & Final Project

5.2.2024 - 25.3.2024 / Week 1-Week7

Wang Zilong (0361141)

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Proposal, Data Collection & Final Project

Instruction

Proposal

- Based on the requirement provided on the overviewing document The definition was shown on the browser expressed the meaning of the various aspects of human culture that are studied and analyzed in disciplines such as sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, and education. What ’s more, several paper works indicate cultural phenomena involves the use of methodologies such as analysis, induction, deduction, systematization, Synergetics, dialectics, and phenomenology.

As for our group, when conceiving the first assignment, our team members were still in the running-in stage. After several meetings and discussions, we came to the conclusion that since the first assignment is about cultural sensitivity under the cross-cultural theme, we chose to We are not that unfamiliar with Malaysian Chinese culture. In order for us to better conduct further research, we chose the two themes of Nyonya culture and Malaysian New Year.

Objectives

1.In the process of exploring the localization of Spring Festival culture in Malaysia, looking for the cross-cultural meaning and the reasons for the continuous change of culture

2.Analyze and understand the birth of specific cultural phenomena in the formation of contact culture

3.In accepting cultural changes and differences, holding different ideas but adhering to critical thinking and cultural logic

Question

1.What are the various reasons why Chinese culture has continuously developed and improved in Malaysia away from the mainland?

2.Why is Malaysia's Chinese cultural system so complete, and how Chinese culture forms new cultural characteristics after constantly colliding with other cultures?

3.For foreign cultures similar to those originating from China, in what form do local Chinese inherit them?

As I am the group leader, I divided the parts for my teammates to present their parts. The slide is as below.

Data collection

Since we are in the 2.5th semester, and some of my team members are here in the first semester, collecting data is not an easy task for us, so after discussion, we were divided into two groups. Each group is responsible for two parts respectively. One is what we think is the custom of worshiping ancestors and worshiping gods in the Malaysian New Year, while the other is the traditional Peranakan culture rooted in Malaysian tradition.

A group I led was investigating the customs of Malaysian people worshiping gods during the New Year. The first thing we collected was a Taoist temple, and when we arrived, they were holding a sacrificial ceremony.

However, to our surprise, the staff led us to a museum, which named sin sze si ya temple museum. We take that place as our field visit. 

For the sketches, we select the lion stone for it, preparing for the subsequent final design.

Final Project

Before we consult the lecturer

After the second data collection operation, we chose a theme that can reflect the cross-cultural nature. Among them, Nyonya costumes are the most representative and distinctive theme. Combined with cultural traditions.

pic 1.1 photo taken at the Nyonya clothing shop.

As we know, Nyonya is the Chinese who went to Nanyang in the early years and married Malays. When a man is a wife, the daughter he gives birth to is called Nyonya, which is one of the representatives of Nyonya culture. On the basis of traditional Malay clothing, it is changed into a Western-style low-cut shoulder pad, and added with traditional Chinese lace decoration, it is Nyonya clothing. Most of them are made of light gauze, and the colors include not only the traditional Chinese red and pink, but also the auspicious color of the Malays, turquoise; the embellished patterns are mostly traditional Chinese flowers, birds, fish, insects, dragons and phoenixes.

For color matching in ancient China, blue refers to the blue grass used for indigo in the early days. Due to the mature indigo dyeing technology, blue became one of the colors widely used in the palace and among the people during the Qing Dynasty. "Blue comes from blue and is better than blue." Qing refers to the color of the birth of plants. It is recorded in the classics: "Green is the color of birth, which is the color of things when they are born." In ancient times, cyan was a color between blue and green. The range of colors is wider. In addition, in ancient texts, green can sometimes refer to black, for example: "green is like white silk".

"Green, the color of the East." During the Xia Dynasty, people admired the color cyan and gave it the color of the East. There is such a record in "Book of Rites: Yue Ling": "The moon of Meng Chun...the emperor lives on the left side of Qingyang... Carrying green flags, wearing green clothes, and wearing warehouse jade...". After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial court had a "color-colored uniform" system, but at this time, the blue color represented a lower grade. During the Ming Dynasty, this system continued to exist. Although the official rank represented by blue and green court uniforms had been improved, these two colors were mainly used by civilians and lower-level officials. By the Qing Dynasty, officials from the first to the ninth rank all wore mainly azurite and blue clothing. In addition to formal dresses and auspicious clothes, these two colors were often used in the daily attire of concubines in the harem.

pic 1.2&1.3 the color matching in ancient and modern China

Based on my current understanding of Chinese cultural design and the knowledge collected from our data collection, I drew a line drawing as preparation for the final assessment.

pic 1.4 the sketch for the clothing of initial design

After the consultation 

Mr. Charles let us know that we can use the origin history of Nyonya, from the introduction of Ming and Qing dynasties to the gradual evolution process, from learning clothing patterns to the evolution of overall clothing patterns and styles.

pic 2.1 Representative costumes of the Ming Dynasty on display in the history museum

It reflects the evolution of traditional Chinese colors, and also collects design patterns and color systems that reflect the characteristics of specific dynasties to interpret the blend of different cultures, deeply reflecting the cross-cultural significance, cultural sensitivity, and changes in cultural phenomena.

pic 2.2 A TV series based on Nyonya culture.

Based on our second data collection, we visited a Nyonya clothing store, and our deepening understanding of Nyonya clothing came from a TV series related to Nyonya.

I mobilized my team members to claim that their respective parts were completed, including painting and final output.

Final submission

Youtube link：https://youtu.be/Ce76_EMgSu8

Feedback

week 4 

The content distribution of our team members and the tacit understanding of cooperation between team members need to be further improved. As a team leader, I need stronger leadership skills and clear task planning, and there should be good communication between teachers and team members.

week 6

The internal cooperation of the team has gradually taken shape, and everyone knows each other's strengths and weaknesses, and the work of all team members is more reasonably allocated.

Reflection

In this semester, the main assignment is group cooperation, so according to the evaluation ability of TES, my team cooperation ability has been greatly improved. As a team leader, my level has been significantly improved, and it is a positive process for me to develop into good friends with completely unfamiliar team members.

I successfully transformed my personal learning achievements into group-shared cognitive achievements with my younger classmates, and developed my own self-reflection ability, played a role in self-monitoring and self-regulation, and maximized my subjective initiative.

In this cross-cultural subject, I learned about different cultural phenomena, the history of cultural evolution, and the conflicts and integration between different cultures. I realized the impact of history on cultural changes and evolution and learned the importance of respecting cultural diversity. I enjoyed the entire learning process, and in the communication with the teacher, I could clearly feel the room for improvement and the training of my communication skills. The speeches also trained my critical and logical thinking.