Based on the Shanghai Declaration on Rural Design (released in September 2024) and the Dingshan Declaration on Rural Design (released in October 2020), this paper systematically explores the definition, necessity of construction and practical paths of rural design studies with Chinese characteristics. The paper points out that rural areas have the characteristics of integrity and complexity; even around international metropolises, high-quality rural environments remain scarce resources. Promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas requires the holistic design of all elements and interactive design between urban and rural areas. Currently, the design system serving cities is relatively complete, while rural design faces problems such as disconnected theories, confused thinking and lack of talents. Therefore, it is urgent to construct rural design studies centered on agricultural industry and farming culture and emphasizing urban-rural integration. In terms of construction paths, it is necessary to strengthen theoretical research to form an interdisciplinary theoretical system, build a rural design education system to cultivate professional talents who "love rural areas, understand farmers and master agriculture", establish industry associations, formulate laws, regulations and standard systems, and set up a registered rural designer system to provide institutional guarantees. Meanwhile, practical innovation should be promoted through pilot demonstration projects, and the main role of farmers should be fully exerted. This paper aims to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for rural revitalization and promote in-depth integration and shared development between urban and rural areas.
Against the backdrop of the comprehensive advancement of the rural revitalization strategy and the rapid development of AI technology, rural construction is confronted with the dual propositions of protecting traditional styles and integrating modern elements. Based on the concept of “Infinite Design” and with scientific design as the core guidance, this paper systematically explores the cognitive framework and implementation path of future rural construction by combining international experience and domestic practice. Firstly, it defines the core connotations of “Infinite Design” and “Future Countryside”, and clarifies that scientific design needs to take into account both hardware development and software guidance. Secondly, from the perspective of tourism development, it analyzes the existing problems in rural areas, compares the common laws of Japan's “One Village, One Product” policy and China's rural revitalization strategy, and reveals the core contradictions such as rural hollowing and aging after the rapid economic development. Thirdly, it proposes that rural revitalization should take “revitalizing culture and developing industries” as the key, adhere to the three principles of “tranquility, cleanliness, and ambiance”, and construct a design system around the three core axes of rural tourism: “culture, life, and environment”. Finally, taking the Xiaomeixi Project in Longgong Village, Shangping Township, Yong'an City, Fujian Province as an example, it expounds on the specific practices of rural ecological protection, architectural transformation, homestay development, and five-sense experience design, providing a referenceable operational model for future rural construction. The research shows that future rural construction needs to be supported by scientific design, integrate modern elements on the basis of protecting the authenticity of rural areas, realize sustainable development through cultural inheritance and industrial innovation, and finally achieve the rural tourism development goal of “letting tourists come happily and return touched”.
This paper takes the 3rd “Model of Small Town Aesthetics” released at the 6th Anren Forum in Anren Ancient Town, Chengdu in October 2021 as the research object. Firstly, it introduces the background, establishment time, initiators, purposes and influence of the “Model of Small Town Aesthetics” collection and release activity. Founded in 2019, this activity is jointly initiated by the China Cultural Promotion Association and other parties in response to the rural revitalization strategy, and has produced 20 aesthetic models. With the theme of “Beauty for Common Prosperity”, the 3rd session has attracted wide attention from the public.Next, the paper elaborates on the selection process of the 3rd session, including the number of collected cases, the selection procedure, the core indicators, as well as the characteristics, details and evaluations of 10 award-winning small towns (such as Nanling New Village in Henan Province and Chuanjiang Town in Sichuan Province), demonstrating their construction achievements in ecology, culture, industry and other aspects. At the same time, it mentions that the activity has carried out publicity in collaboration with social media platforms and compares the theme and concept of the 2nd session.Furthermore, the paper analyzes the achievements and problems in the current transformation of rural towns, points out the problems such as industrialized transformation and cultural displacement in some areas and their causes, and introduces the evaluation system of the “Model of Small Town Aesthetics” selection. It clarifies the weight and specific indicators from four major sectors: culture, planning, industry and media, and emphasizes the aesthetic concepts of “small yet beautiful” and “integration of three aspects (life, ecology and production)”.Finally, the paper proposes that rural areas should realize the transformation from “beautiful villages” and “pleasant villages” to “aesthetic villages”, focus on cultural preservation and modernization, and contribute to the construction of “Aesthetic China”.
This paper interprets the cultural spirit of Zhou Wuzhong's "On the Five-Star Sacred Lotus". As the 29th-generation descendant of Zhou Dunyi, Zhou Wuzhong wrote this article imitating the style of "On the Love of Lotus", shaping the "Tai-chi Lotus" into a cultural carrier. The article first describes the form of the sacred lotus, such as "straight stems, green leaves, bright flowers and fresh fragrance", highlighting its "difference from other flowers"; then explains the connotation of "sacred", pointing out that it inherits Zhou Dunyi's gentlemanly tenet of "growing out of mud without being stained", conforms to the five-element theory in "Taiji Diagram Explanation", traces the old traces of "Five-Star Mound" and inherits the cultural context of 29 generations; finally elevates the meaning, stating that the sacred lotus is "not only a gentleman, but also a carrier of cultural context", and calls on viewers to think about its origin. Its core cultural spirit is adhering to the gentleman culture, respecting the historical roots and consciously continuing the cultural context.
Under the impetus of the rural revitalization strategy, the recreational spaces for children in rural areas are constantly being updated. The caring design of these spaces has a profound impact on children's development. Taking Huzi Town as an example, this study explores the influence of caring design in recreational spaces on children's development and the construction of social capital in the community. The research results show that caring design helps to enhance children's recreational experience, strengthen their social interaction skills, and promote interaction between families and the community. Caring design is not only of great significance to children's healthy development but also provides new ideas and directions for the future construction of recreational spaces for rural children.
“Memory” plays an important role in human psychology and behavior. In its sociological sense, memory links people, places and time, and collective memory has become an important turning point in the current interdisciplinary research of design studies. Currently, the emphasis placed by the design discipline on regional cultural diversity and the humanistic concern spirit of emotions has increasingly highlighted the important manifestations of social collective memory. This study starts from the perspective of collective memory, analyzes the principle mechanism of evoking emotions through collective memory, builds a collective memory construction model of culture-locality, emotion-restoration, and media-selectivity, and based on the planning scheme of “Xin'an County Yushan Town Rural Revitalization Integration and Promotion Area” of Shandong University, establishes cooperation with township government units and enterprise departments, focuses on the spatial media design of Yushan Town in Xin'an County, and based on the field investigation method mainly based on oral history records, extracts design factors that can evoke interpersonal emotions, and explores the memory practice strategies of wall painting design in Yushan Town. The rural art construction work in Yushan Town, Xin'an County has just started, and the lack of regional cultural connotation and the lack of credibility of the organization of art rural construction by people are the problems that need to be urgently solved at present. The artistic practice of exploring collective memory has unique value in reconciling the tension between tradition and modernity and will be conducive to reshaping the cultural subjectivity of rural areas. It provides an innovative path with both theoretical depth and practical significance for contemporary rural art construction and life-oriented and emotional art design practice.
The Jiangxia Husi kilns in the Song Dynasty, as a large-scale and technologically distinctive folk porcelain kiln system in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, their porcelain-making techniques and modeling art are not only the crystallization of material production, but also carry the deep connotations of Jingchu regional culture and ceramic aesthetics during the Two Song Dynasties. Based on archaeological data, combined with historical documents and relevant research results, this paper systematically deconstructs the complete technological chain from raw material mining to finished product firing, and deeply analyzes the formal language and cultural genes of utensil modeling. Studies have shown that the ancient porcelain-making craftsmanship of the Husihu Kiln, which mainly used dragon kilns as its firing equipment, achieved an innovative balance between production efficiency and the expression of craftsmanship quality. The styling systems of blue-and-white porcelain and celadon not only met the daily needs of the people but also embodied the artistic genes of Jingchu culture, providing important material evidence for the study of ceramic history in the Song Dynasty.
Through multiple field investigations and research in Sangyuanpu Village, Lishui District, this study reveals that the elderly and children constitute one-third of the village's total population. The mass migration of young laborers has led to idle resources, resulting in dual economic and educational stagnation. Extensive literature review uncovers that Sangyuanpu Village traces its origins to the Southern Song Dynasty. However, current architectural disorganization and inconsistent landscape presentation have marginalized its cultural value, causing the gradual disappearance of distinctive cultural features. Against the backdrop of rural revitalization strategies, this paper re-examines Sangyuanpu Village's cultural heritage and proposes a spatial planning and design solution for its cultural district.
Centered around the core concept of “dual perspectives,” this paper introduces two rural design practices—the Villagers' Menu in Yaoli Village and the Life Atlas in Xiayang Village—exploring design as a medium to connect people with place, and stories with reality. In Yaoli Village, Shanzhen Town, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the Villagers' Menu originated from the renovation project of Grandma Qiu's Noodle Shop. Addressing issues such as the difficulty of choice and lack of emotional connection in traditional text-based menus, it employs a dynamic collage narrative centered on “people + life scenarios + stories.” By incorporating the profiles, life scenes, recommended dishes, and colloquial recommendations of three types of villagers—native villagers (born and raised), long-term residents (settled due to marriage or work), and new villagers (artistic rural builders and entrepreneurs)—the design breaks the flat and monotonous nature of traditional menus. It allows diners to experience the warmth of local culture while selecting dishes, thereby deepening their identification with and sense of belonging to the village culture.In Xiayang Village, Xiaofeng Town, Anji County, Zhejiang Province, the Life Atlas focuses on rural individuals, using collage to depict their connections with their living environment, personal stories, and other people. Printed on acrylic and embedded in wooden installations, these portable and “inconspicuous” structures blend into the rural landscape. Viewers, from an observational standpoint, witness the overlay effect of collage photographs and the actual environment, prompting reflection on rural life and fostering an emotional connection with the locale. Simultaneously, it stimulates thoughts on the future involvement of diverse actors in rural development.The two designs represent complementary approaches: one “internally-focused” on personal stories and emotions, the other “externally-oriented” emphasizing the multidimensional relationships between people and their environment. Together, they reshape the visibility and possibilities of rural spaces.
