Ancient China meets modern design

It's no news to you that China is a rapidly developing country. As someone living here, it's truly impossible to keep up with. Orange cranes and scaffolding dot the skyline, traffic is continually clotted by construction for new subway lines, and the sound of drills and jackhammers become merely white noise; its the percussion to the honking, clanking symphony that is Modern China.

Yet amongst all of this construction, amongst the repetitive, cheaply constructed blue-and-white-bath-tile buildings, there are subtle intimations of China's ancient culture. Yes, there are new-old buildings and alleys in any given tourist city, readily identifying their "must-see" and "historically rich" status, but I'm not talking about those. What I'm thinking of specifically is how China incorporates its ancient motifs into its modern aesthetic.

The most common example that I've seen is the adaptation of ancient bronzes. Banks, shopping malls, parks, or even roundabouts will occasionally feature a 2000x replica of ritual vessels such as ding (鼎) or gui (簋). 

Replica of a Gui, located in a Beijing roundabout 

More than just that, it's also architecture. Two famous examples include the China pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo and the Shanghai Museum of Art, which are both modeled after ding vessels.

Fang ding at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

(Original source with enlargeable image and additional information)

 

Left: Fang Ding at public part in Luoyang with inflatable model of the China Expo Pavilion in the background

          Right: China Pavilion, Shanghai (October 2010)

Shanghai Museum of Art

Yet perhaps my favorite example is the trash cans that line the city walls in Xi'an, which are modeled to look like zhong (钟), or ancient Chinese bells:

 

Left: Shang Dynasty bronze bells at Shaanxi History Museum

Right: Bell-shaped trash can at Xi'an City Walls

Another common place to catch a glimpse of Ancient China is its many bridges. Examples include motifs from ancient jades, bronzes, and even coins.

Left: Image of Taotie motif on bronze from wikipedia entry 

Right: "Taotie" bridge in Hangzhou

 

Left: Example of Shaman motif on jade from Neolithic Liangzhu Culture (source)

Right: "Liangzhu Jade" bridge in Hangzhou suburbs, located near Liangzhu Culture Museum 

 

Left: Bronze mask from Shang Dynasty Sanxingdui Archaeological site

Right: "Sanxingdui" bronze mask bridge located near Sanxingdui archaeological site, Chengdu suburbs

Bridge with ancient coins in Xi'an

Despite the race towards development and progress, China does seem to have an awareness and respect for its ancient culture. Although I'm unsure of the motives, it does seem to be a unique approach to public art, or even arts education. Here's hoping that it has some sort of enriching impact beyond just the art/history nerds out there.