China Business Daily (Reporter Peng Tingting Text/Photo) In the vast cultural river, tradition and modernity often collide with dazzling sparks. As a cultural medium, cultural and creative products are constantly entering people's lives, and they also arouse people's love and thinking about traditional culture. So, how to better combine traditional culture with modern aesthetics, and how to rejuvenate traditional culture through cultural and creative products? Recently, a reporter from China Business Daily interviewed Zhang Yingjie, chief cultural officer of China Qian Bo (Beijing) Coin Culture Co., Ltd., with these questions, and listened to her talk about her understanding of cultural creativity and culture.
Zhang Yingjie believes that cultural and creative products are not only a commodity, but also a kind of emotional transmission and cultural continuation. It can combine the essence of traditional culture with modern aesthetics, so that people can feel the charm of traditional culture in the process of appreciating and using, so as to stimulate thinking, love and inheritance of traditional culture.
It is understood that in the 2023 China Stationery Commodity Fair, cultural and creative products have accounted for 14%, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, and the scale of cultural and creative products continues to expand. From the protection of traditional culture to commercialization, art to digitalization, the development of the cultural and creative industry has shown a diversified trend. Personal hobbies and the popularity of co-branded peripheral products are driving the purchase boom of cultural and creative products. According to the "2024 Cultural and Creative Industry Report" released by Mob Research Institute, 95.5% of the surveyed people are interested in cultural and creative products, and collection and daily use are the main reasons. In particular, post-00s women have become the main force of cultural and creative consumption, and consumers in second- and third-tier cities account for an important proportion.
Zhang Yingjie, Chief Cultural Officer of China Money Bo (Beijing) Coin Culture Co., Ltd
Talking about how to promote traditional culture through cultural and creative products and further stimulate the vitality of cultural consumption, Zhang Yingjie said that cultural and creative products first need to dig deep into the connotation of traditional culture and extract the spiritual identity and cultural essence therein. Then, through innovative design and production, these traditional elements are combined with modern aesthetics to give them a new connotation of the times. The most important thing is to modernize the expression of traditional culture and make it more fun.
Zhang Yingjie believes that in order to make culture more fun, we should first make culture more intimate and interesting, so that people can feel the breath of traditional culture in their daily lives.
"When designing cultural and creative products, we think more about how to make traditional elements more ornamental and interesting, convey the natural and humanistic spirit, and awaken our cultural self-confidence. In particular, it is necessary to make young people feel that cultural creativity is an interesting and culturally rich practical product, and it is no longer a product of 'visiting here'. Zhang Yingjie said that as much as possible, she should find those trendy toys that young people love to play as the focus of design elements, so that everyone can "get high".
A stamped book with the theme of ancient numismatic culture
A three-dimensional paper notebook with the theme of ancient numismatic culture
Zhang Yingjie also mentioned the case she participated in the creation of a three-dimensional paper carving notebook with the theme of ancient numismatic culture.
"It's a good-looking, fun and practical notebook that can be written. Zhang Yingjie introduced that this cultural and creative product is inspired by 3D vertical wood, with ancient coins as elements, and presented in the form of a treasure cash box, showing the appearance and color of ancient coins to the greatest extent. When the user quickly flips through the page, the coins in the cash box also flow and come to life.
"In fact, ancient coins are not far away, more and more people know and inherit traditional culture through cultural and creative products, and we practitioners are more motivated. Zhang Yingjie said.
At the end of the interview, Zhang Yingjie also talked about some of the challenges encountered in the promotion of traditional culture. She believes that at present, the public still lacks a certain understanding of the contemporary value and cognition of traditional culture, and the information received is relatively one-sided and fragmented.
Zhang Yingjie said that in the future, she will continue to devote herself to the development and promotion of cultural and creative products, and present more museum collections through cultural creativity, such as combining coins and auspicious words, pottery fragment frames, clothing and bags, etc., and spreading them in more ways and ways, so that the public, especially young people, can wear traditional culture on their bodies, so that everyone can be a good communicator.
With the continuous development and popularization of cultural and creative products, traditional culture will be better inherited and promoted, and become a beautiful landscape in modern social life.