Brand Value of Cultural Prototype-Shan Hai Jing
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Jun Yu | DIGITAL SCIENCE AND FASHION ART 2018(1):29-36 VOL.1 29 DIGITAL SCIENCE AND FASHION ART Brand Value of Cultural Prototype-Shan Hai Jing Jun Yu Publishing, Printing and Art Design Institute of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology Abstract The oldest mythical book in China, Shan Hai Jing, reflects the ancient people’s exploration of the outside world and becomes the source of the birth and development of Chinese civilization. As a cultural prototype, it contains all the forms and themes of the development of post-modern literature and art, thus opening up various cultural activities and psychological cognition. Studying the Shan Hai Jing, this paper intends to find a deep cultural matrix under the confusing and lacking creativity of today, and use advanced technology and visual expression to activate the ground-breaking interpretation of ancient culture, so that modern people can rediscover the profound cultural value of the tradition that feeds the Chinese nation. Keywords Shan hai jing; Cultural prototype; Myth; Brand value Known as the “origin of history and earth, source of primitive and original Chinese culture, original life the myths”, Shan Hai Jing is an ancient book of pre- form and cultural form. The book is divided into Qin and is the oldest geography book and mysterious eighteen volumes, including a total of 31,000 words. book rich in myths and legends. It reflects the most 5 volumes are Shan Jing, 8 volumes are Hai Jing, and 5 volumes are Da Huang Jing. It preserves a wealth of information on Chinese ancient history, mythology, religion, astronomy, geography, folklore, ethnicity, ARTICLE INFO property, medicine, etc. The cultural phenomena Received: 28 Sep, 2018; Revised: 15 Nov, 2018; Accepted: 22 reflected are all-encompassing. After the 20th century, Nov, 2018. Shan Hai Jing has resumed its vitality in the new First author: Jun Yu, Publishing, Printing and Art Design Institute of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. E-mail: cultural context and became an important book for the [email protected] Chinese to understand myths. The well-known stories 30 Jun Yu | Brand Value of Cultural Prototype-Shan Hai Jing 2018(1):29-36 VOL.1 of Houyi Shooting the Sun, Kuafu Running after the structures. The prototypes connect literature with life Sun, Jingwei Filling up the Sea, and Emperor Yu and become media for them to communicate with each Taming the Flood[1] are all from here. other[4]. As the mother of culture, the cultural prototype Brand value refers to the most ancient originality, carries the spirit and emotion of the nation and initiates scarcity, uniqueness and content of Shan Hai Jing as a various cultural activities and psychological cognition. Pre-Qin ancient book for reference to all subsequent The theoretical basis of cultural archetype is mainly cultural forms. On the contemporary world stage the psychoanalytic theory of the Swiss psychologist where multiple cultures coexist, Shan Hai Jing, which Carl Gustav Jung, the main founder of which is represents Chinese elements, has high cultural brand the Canadian literary critic and thinker, Northrop values. Frye. Frye believed that “literature originated from The contemporary social technologies are various mythology, which contained all forms and themes of and advanced, including the rapid development of new the development of literature in future generations.” technologies such as artificial intelligence, holographic It is in this sense that Frye called myth the prototype projection, augmented reality, virtual reality, and of literature. Myth is “a kind of story about a god naked-eye 3D, and the more advanced visual methods or something more powerful than a human being”. to present the interpretation of Shan Hai Jing, which Prototypes are the initial forms, the manifestation is more easily accepted by modern people. It is easier of collective unconsciousness that has not been to use the contemporary context to activate the huge directly perceived in the long-term psychological imagination of human beings in the ancient times, accumulation of human beings. Therefore, they enter which is of far-reaching significance for the promotion into the creative process as potential unconsciousness. of the current traditional culture, the cognition of But they must also be externalized and initially the maternal culture of Chinese civilization from the presented as a “primitive image”[2]. Jung said that perspective of prototypes, for modern people to absorb prototypes are preserved as “racial memories”, giving the nutrients from creation, for the promotion of the each individual an innate set of images and patterns. confidence of ethnic groups and culture, and for the Prototypes, which are manifested as mythological guidance of cultural and artistic practices. phenomena in ancient times, are then automatically 1. Subjective cognitive model of image activated into artistic images in different times. These prototype original images and prototypes are preserved in art works. After a long history of evolution, they have Through an overview of the context of Shan Hai appeared repeatedly in their original forms[3]. Ye Jing, the images of exaggerated reconstruction are Shuxian, professor of Chinese Academy of Social shaped by the method of “description type” and “note Sciences and expert in anthropology, has made type”. It is divided into three categories: beast, god some researches and summaries on the concept of and human. The root of its essence is human beings. prototypes. He believed that prototypes are those These animals and gods are created from the needs recurring or traditional myths or metaphors, which can of human beings. The animals are created based on be images, symbols, themes, characters, plot motifs or humans. Most of them are animal models with human Jun Yu | DIGITAL SCIENCE AND FASHION ART 2018(1):29-36 VOL.1 31 faces. They usually originate from a prototype of world. The physical structure of the body, the way birds, fishes, dogs, horses, cows, snakes, etc. that can the body moves, the current state of the body, and be seen everywhere in life, and then they are added the experience of the body’s perception movement multiple tails, multiple eyes, multiple bodies, alienated determine the human perception and interpretation facial features, and extraordinary abilities that people of the world.”[6] The ancient people took part in the do not have to reconstitute images. Animals are pursuit, hunting, domestication, cooking and eating actually metaphors of human beings themselves. When of animals with their bodies. Both animals and people productivity and science and technology are both low, took part in the behavior of people to obtain food. the cognition of animals can also reflect the insecurity Therefore, the cognition of human beings to animals of human beings in the early stage and the yearning for is also affected by this uncontrollability. The modeling the realm they can’t reach. Shan Hai Jing records more presentation of the image prototypes were added with than 400 kinds of animals, generally including their exaggerated worship of power and imagination. appearances, features, names, functions, sources and Beasts were established with human-centered so on. On the basis of reality, other specific details are cognitive models, and gods were also established added through romantic imagination, such as the nine- using cognitive models. In essence, all human needs tailed fox, the nine-body fish, the human-face-bird- are generated by the existence of human beings, and face Jumang, the bird-head-snake-tail Xuangui, and so existence is the actual state of being in reality. “To on. This “prototype + feature” creation technique, as a be is to be perceived.” Berkeley said. To be is to typical paradigm, produces a series of intrinsic image continue, to be is the present. No matter in the early prototypes after repeated stimulation in the mind and childhood of ancient human beings or in the mature a fixed cognitive pattern. “Prototypes have certain stage of modern human beings, people feel insecure fixedness and different degrees of inclusiveness. because their individual existence is ignored or even When encountering some odd-shaped foreign objects, threatened. Thus they create gods to complete the the ancients used the prototypes as the base, and then protection of human body and spiritual support, so changed their local characteristics, through splicing, that gods have the appearance and ability that people transplanting, repeating, exaggerating, and removing. do not have. The human-face-dragon-body god, all Finally, strange bodies were formed by naming”5. kinds of mountain gods, the human-head-dragon- As shown in Fig. 1 below, the sheep with tiger teeth body-bird-beak thunder god, the east, west, south and and eyes under oxter is named as Paoxiao, a kind north wind gods, the fire god driving longcan in the of monster that can’t be found in real life, but it can cloud, the human-face-bird-body-bird-wing sea gods appear in the human imaginary world. Just like the with two snakes in ears, one-arm-one-leg strange dragon that we are familiar with in later generations, person and other images in Sha Hai Jing are given the it takes the advantages of various animals such as visual interpretation, leaving precious spiritual wealth camel head, antler, ox ear, snake body, carp whisker, and imagination source for future generations. Beasts eagle claw and fish scales to create a typical image are anthropomorphic animals, tools, food and friends. with incomparable magic power. “Cognition is They participate in the real survival of human beings the perception of the specific body to the outside and mirror the perception of human beings. Gods are 32 Jun Yu | Brand Value of Cultural Prototype-Shan Hai Jing 2018(1):29-36 VOL.1 the idealized gods of humans, and are in charge of the foundation for the compatible and inclusive view uncontrollable laws of humans, such as the sun, the of multi-culture in Chinese traditional culture.