Beijing, 28th July 2023, (BISTU)--- Digital Art for Rural Civilization, a social practice team of BISTU School of Instrumentation Science and Opto-Electromechanical Engineering, has completed their social practice at Xiongerying Village, Wangxinzhuang Town, Pinggu District of Beijing. With in-depth exploration of demand of local people and based on their specialty skills and regional features, the Team has successfully combined class learning with social practice in rural areas and made their contributions to rural revitalization.  

 

Taichi and the Beauty of Villages 

As an important part of traditional Chinese culture, Taichi has long been cherished and relished by local villagers of Xiongerying. The social practice team members conducted surveys and interviews with senior villagers who shared their understanding of Taichi-related activities and cultures. Based on the surveys and interviews, students obtained deeper understanding of local Taichi culture, which served as an important part in design on later stage.  

 

The beauty of Taichi shown in designs 

Members of the social practice team researched cultural history of the village and interviews with villagers and then designed logo of the village, landscape at the entrance to the village, label and identification of the village, and cultural elements to be shown on the walls along the high street of the village. Supervising teachers provided support and guidance via video links. The final design was based on Taichi culture: building a Taichi culture-based village to promote Taichi culture.  

  

Incorporating Taichi, farming fields, and Chinese characters, visual identity design of Niu Xiaoli reflected the cultural and industrial features of the village.  

 

Themed on Taichi and auspicious clouds, Mao Xunuo designed identity of the village and landscape for the entrance to the village. Four pillars and four eaves represented the four major surnames in the village. A round flower terrace in the middle in the shape of Taichi worked in concert with the identity of the village.  

 

The mountains below symbolized four major surnames of the village.  

 

Based on diagram of the universe, the Eight Diagrams, and Taichi as martial arts, Zhang Mingche used abstraction of people's actions to highlight Taichi elements in his design.  

 

In Zhang Mingbo's design, the figure rotated all day and all night long, using Taichi sword on one side and Taichi fan on the other. It would be lit up at night to offer a clearer picture to passers-by. Distortion of rectangle at the bottom highlighted four angles, each of which symbolizing one of the four major surnames of the village.  

 

Perfect village history gallery for passing on cultural heritage of the village 

The social practice team also provided due support and assistant with cultural construction of the village history gallery. They interviewed senior citizens of the four major family clans of the village to get a deeper understanding of their history, culture, and past experiences. Based on village history and stories about local celebrities, the team completed visual design for the village history gallery. The village history served as an important carrier for cultural memories of the village. Unique charm and development history of the village would be completely displayed by perfection of the gallery.  

 

Sanitary conditions survey 

 

The social practice team members also provided assistance with a survey on distribution of toilets in the village and analysis of the survey. They obtained an in-depth understanding of grass-root work, trained their data analytical skills, and strengthened inter-personal communication competences. The survey on distribution of toilets would offer great help for improvement of surroundings in the future.  

Mid-term report 

 

The two-week survey and design was concluded with a small-scale exhibition support by the Village Working Committee. The team members introduced their surveys and concrete design thinking. Taichi culture and visual design for the village history gallery were widely accepted by villagers. They commented that students' designs have opened new thinking for future work. These designs would be further perfected and would be put in practice on due course.  

Both the depth and spectrum of social practice have been strengthened and expanded in the process. Academic strengths in industrial design were incorporated in rural development. Cultural design has virtually become a great helper in rural revitalization.