Creative cultural products help to bring a landmark era back to life
Print Edition
ALMOST a century on, the Red Mansion, a landmark of China’s New Culture Movement, still attracts hoards of young people.
Built in 1918, the four-story red brick building was once home to Peking University library, school of arts, president’s and dean’s offices. It housed many academic and revolutionary pioneers, including Cai Yuanpei, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu and Lu Xun.
Now, creative cultural products are bringing it back to life.
Peking University was a stronghold of the New Culture Movement during the 1910s and 1920s. The movement tried to address China’s ills through democracy and science, as Marxism rapidly spread.
In 2014, the New Culture Movement Memorial and the Beijing Lu Xun Museum merged and the following year began creative endeavors.
Liu Xin, 31, is a designer in the Red Mansion. In 2014, souvenir sales at the museum made only a few thousand yuan, but the sum grew almost 70 times from that last year.
Liu examined the history of a multitude of objects from museum collections and used their background to develop items that wed artistry and practicality.
In 2010, she noted from the museum’s collections a Japanese caricature of Lu Xun drawn in 1936, which honored his “extraordinary will.”
Lu Xun was a writer who profoundly shaped Chinese literature in the 20th century. Hundreds of millions of people have studied his works, beginning with elementary school textbooks.
Liu used the caricature as inspiration for four new images of Lu — reading a book, delivering a speech, marching, and fighting — which now appear on bookmarks, rulers and pencil cases.
In the fighting image, Lu holds a pen as tall as a person in his hand, using his writing itself as a weapon. There are also products designed around Lu’s proverbs.
“I see the ingenuity in these products,” said Zhang Yi, a visitor to the memorial. “Over the years, I have gradually come to understand the works of Lu Xun which I first learnt at school.”
“The image of Lu Xun here looks approachable and prompted me to read his books again,” he added.
In just one year, the creative experiment has generated unexpected results. Li Zhanqi, head of the project, said that social benefit for everyday consumers was an essential goal. Over 40 percent of the museum’s visitors are students. The collections and exhibitions play a key role in their education.
When she designs new products, Liu often stays in the exhibition area to see the visitors’ reaction to the work. Postcards and stationery are her most popular items.
Products based on the Peking University logo, designed by Lu Xun, are also available at the Red Mansion.
“We strive for good quality, strong cultural resonance and to be affordable.” Li said.
Creative industries are flourishing in China’s cultural sphere. Just in 2015, the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City had over 8,700 branded souvenirs and sold more than 1 billion yuan’s (US$145 million) worth of them.
“The goal of our industry is to promote Chinese culture. It also offers a wonderful opportunity for the museum to present itself to the public,” said Liu.
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