Chinese philosophy and design identification-contrasting designing : to relate and to create

Moving from the Modernistic thinking in the beginning of this century to the Post-modern situation of today, and from Post-industrial society to Globalization economics, the meaning and value of product design has become an important issue. How can product design react to the trend? How, then, can the meaning of product design be expanded to a broader horizon? Such discussions usually involve factors of different levels: technology vs. humanity, society vs. economy, production vs. consumption, etc. The common mindset of these factors, however, would be how the richness of traditional resources can be used. If we take a close look at the progress of product design, we may ask ourselves a question. In contrast with the progresses of different cultures, does technology work to break the progresses? Or, it may be playing a positive role in connecting modern and traditional cultures? In fact, it has long been recognized that the meaning and value of Chinese artifacts functioned within Chinese culture differ from that within the western cultures. Therefore, if we limit our search for creativity in product design merely within the parameters of western culture, we may lose the chance to establish a contrast between eastern and western cultures. The time has come for us to trace our cultural origins and to establish contrasts between the east and the west so that we may define a proper attitude for design in the new millennium. This is obviously a meaningful and challenging beginning for all of us. This paper tries to apply the method of contrast in philosophical views through the study on the characteristics of traditional Chinese artifacts. Hopefully, it can stimulate our thoughts in design attitudes, design methods and design strategies. Though this paper provides only the outlines of the issue and suggestions of new directions, I hope it can further serve as a reference and an inspiration far the constructions and realizations of design to the next level