This research explores the Chinese textile heritage using a design-based research approach to illustrate the novel paradigms that can promote the value of this heritage and empower the related actors and stakeholders. Since the promulgation of the 'Regulations on Protection of Traditional Arts and Crafts' in 1997, China began paying the attention to preserving and reviving traditional craftsmanship. The country released four batches of national intangible cultural heritage lists in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2014, respectively, and officially recognised textile heritage as an individual category of intangible cultural heritage in 2016. At the same time, the value of textile heritage is gradually being realised by the public and has attracted interest in the design field. The emergence of this trend relies upon the notion that tangible evidence of a textile heritage can portray a specific aesthetic characteristic and describe a particular cultural history. Meanwhile, the intangible values of cultural identity and traditional know-how that the craftspeople represent are as important as the heritage artefacts they produce.. In a cultural heritage activation project, design can inject new value and meaning into a heritage and make it more accessible in a contemporary social context. In addition to the artistic and aesthetic contribution of design, using participatory design can strengthen the sustainable development of a heritage community and the activation of traditional craftsmanship. With rising global uncertainties, many textile craftspeople, alongside other traditional artisans and textile heritage communities, have struggled to adapt to globalisation, mass production, environmental and climatic pressures, social conditions, and changes in cultural preferences. In China, despite top-down policy implementations and design interventions, textile heritage and its meaning to the heritage community remain under threat; the likelihood of younger generations inheriting this history is diminishing. Moreover, due to the late recognition of textiles as a heritage category, there is a need to re-organise and evaluate the entire Chinese textile heritage system. Based on this context, this research has applied the concept of uncertain heritage to the example of Chinese textile heritage, using secondary research and a case study as a critical research method to respond to the complexity of the research focus. The primary research methods of interviews and surveys also support the study in collecting and analysing the respondents’ feedback regarding participatory design. The thesis offers a holistic understanding of China’s textile heritage via the eight valuing parameters (cultural, social, geographical, temporal, economic, aesthetic, technical and intellectual) and provides a design-based criterion to identify and alleviate the uncertainties of textile heritage. The primary outcome of the research is a design-driven framework aimed at creating a shared community with different activation strategies and approaches that are capable of catalysing the involved and potential actors and stakeholders. The guide book and online training course are additional research outcomes that demonstrate how knowledge concerning Chinese textile heritage may be disseminated.
Questa ricerca esplora il patrimonio tessile cinese usando un approccio di ricerca basato sul design per illustrare i nuovi paradigmi che possono promuovere il valore di questo patrimonio e responsabilizzare i relativi attori e stakeholder. Dalla promulgazione del 'Regulations on Protection of Traditional Arts and Crafts' nel 1997, la Cina ha iniziato a prestare attenzione alla conservazione e al rilancio dell'artigianato tradizionale. Il paese ha pubblicato quattro lotti di liste del patrimonio culturale immateriale nazionale rispettivamente nel 2006, 2008, 2011 e 2014, e ha riconosciuto ufficialmente il patrimonio tessile come una categoria individuale del patrimonio culturale immateriale nel 2016. Allo stesso tempo, il valore del patrimonio tessile viene gradualmente compreso dal pubblico e ha attirato l'interesse nel campo del design. L'emergere di questa tendenza si basa sulla nozione che le prove tangibili di un patrimonio tessile possono ritrarre una specifica caratteristica estetica e descrivere una particolare storia culturale. Nel frattempo, i valori intangibili dell'identità culturale e del know-how tradizionale che gli artigiani rappresentano sono importanti quanto i manufatti del patrimonio che producono. In un progetto di attivazione del patrimonio culturale, il design può iniettare nuovo valore e significato in un patrimonio e renderlo più accessibile in un contesto sociale contemporaneo. Oltre al contributo artistico ed estetico del design, l'uso del design partecipativo può rafforzare lo sviluppo sostenibile di una comunità del patrimonio e l'attivazione dell'artigianato tradizionale. Con le crescenti incertezze globali, molti artigiani tessili, insieme ad altri artigiani tradizionali e alle comunità del patrimonio tessile, hanno lottato per adattarsi alla globalizzazione, alla produzione di massa, alle pressioni ambientali e climatiche, alle condizioni sociali e ai cambiamenti nelle preferenze culturali. In Cina, nonostante le implementazioni politiche dall'alto e gli interventi progettuali, il patrimonio tessile e il suo significato per la comunità del patrimonio rimangono minacciati; la probabilità che le giovani generazioni ereditino questa storia sta diminuendo. Inoltre, a causa del tardivo riconoscimento del tessile come categoria di patrimonio, c'è la necessità di riorganizzare e valutare l'intero sistema del patrimonio tessile cinese. Sulla base di questo contesto, questa ricerca ha applicato il concetto di ‘uncertain heritage’ all'esempio del patrimonio tessile cinese, utilizzando la ricerca secondaria e un caso di studio come metodo di ricerca critico per rispondere alla complessità del focus di ricerca. I metodi di ricerca primaria delle interviste e dei sondaggi supportano lo studio anche nella raccolta e nell'analisi del feedback degli intervistati riguardo al design partecipativo. La tesi offre una comprensione olistica del patrimonio tessile cinese attraverso gli otto parametri di valutazione (culturale, sociale, geografico, temporale, economico, estetico, tecnico e intellettuale) e fornisce un criterio basato sul design per identificare e alleviare le incertezze del patrimonio tessile. Il risultato principale della ricerca è un quadro di riferimento basato sul design che mira a creare una comunità condivisa con diverse strategie di attivazione e approcci in grado di catalizzare gli attori e gli stakeholder coinvolti e potenziali. Il libro guida e il corso di formazione online sono ulteriori risultati della ricerca che dimostrano come la conoscenza del patrimonio tessile cinese possa essere diffusa.
Unveiling and activating the textile heritage in China. From uncertain heritage to the sharing community
Yang, Yuxin
2020/2021
Abstract
This research explores the Chinese textile heritage using a design-based research approach to illustrate the novel paradigms that can promote the value of this heritage and empower the related actors and stakeholders. Since the promulgation of the 'Regulations on Protection of Traditional Arts and Crafts' in 1997, China began paying the attention to preserving and reviving traditional craftsmanship. The country released four batches of national intangible cultural heritage lists in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2014, respectively, and officially recognised textile heritage as an individual category of intangible cultural heritage in 2016. At the same time, the value of textile heritage is gradually being realised by the public and has attracted interest in the design field. The emergence of this trend relies upon the notion that tangible evidence of a textile heritage can portray a specific aesthetic characteristic and describe a particular cultural history. Meanwhile, the intangible values of cultural identity and traditional know-how that the craftspeople represent are as important as the heritage artefacts they produce.. In a cultural heritage activation project, design can inject new value and meaning into a heritage and make it more accessible in a contemporary social context. In addition to the artistic and aesthetic contribution of design, using participatory design can strengthen the sustainable development of a heritage community and the activation of traditional craftsmanship. With rising global uncertainties, many textile craftspeople, alongside other traditional artisans and textile heritage communities, have struggled to adapt to globalisation, mass production, environmental and climatic pressures, social conditions, and changes in cultural preferences. In China, despite top-down policy implementations and design interventions, textile heritage and its meaning to the heritage community remain under threat; the likelihood of younger generations inheriting this history is diminishing. Moreover, due to the late recognition of textiles as a heritage category, there is a need to re-organise and evaluate the entire Chinese textile heritage system. Based on this context, this research has applied the concept of uncertain heritage to the example of Chinese textile heritage, using secondary research and a case study as a critical research method to respond to the complexity of the research focus. The primary research methods of interviews and surveys also support the study in collecting and analysing the respondents’ feedback regarding participatory design. The thesis offers a holistic understanding of China’s textile heritage via the eight valuing parameters (cultural, social, geographical, temporal, economic, aesthetic, technical and intellectual) and provides a design-based criterion to identify and alleviate the uncertainties of textile heritage. The primary outcome of the research is a design-driven framework aimed at creating a shared community with different activation strategies and approaches that are capable of catalysing the involved and potential actors and stakeholders. The guide book and online training course are additional research outcomes that demonstrate how knowledge concerning Chinese textile heritage may be disseminated.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Doctoral dissertation of Yuxin Yang.pdf
accessibile in internet solo dagli utenti autorizzati
Descrizione: Doctoral dissertation of Yuxin Yang
Dimensione
27.76 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
27.76 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/170511