International Association of Societies of Manchester School of Art Design Research Conference 2019 Manchester Metropolitan University DESIGN REVOLUTIONS 02-05 September 2019

The Taxonomy of Chinese Traditional Revival Interior Design

Jun Ding*a, b; Weimin Guoa a School of Design at Jiangnan University, Wuxi, b Suzhou Art and Design Technology Institute, Suzhou, China * [email protected]

The traditional revival phenomenon has appeared in Chinese interior design throughout its history. Although academics have discussed it widely, the main research focus is usually on describing style changes. However, such descriptions cannot reveal the nontemporal relationship between the different styles or the design logic beneath them. With this background, this study aims to explore how and why the traditional revival phenomenon continuously appears in Chinese interior design history through categorising and subdividing the style based on a literature review, sample collection, classification, and site visit. The research found that reiteration, as a design logic, traverses different times and moves from foreign duplication to self-duplication, although various factors have played roles at different times, such as political definition in the 1950s, cultural influence in the 1980s and commercial considerations since the 1990s. Duplication was used as a method to search for national identity while responding to overseas influences.

Keywords: interior design, taxonomy, traditional revival, reiteration

1 Introduction The exploration of national traditions in interior design has frequently occurred in modern Chinese design history because the development of contemporary Chinese culture always seems to swing between tradition and modernity as well as between national identity and international influences (Yang, 2006). According to Paul Ricoeur (as cited in Frampton, 1983), there is a paradox between universal civilisation and world cultures; thus, the challenge for third world countries is to modernise under the influence of developed countries while preserving their traditions. This paradox keeps affecting the modern Chinese interior design landscape, which makes the traditional revival, together with the recapturing of the regional culture, an eternal topic. Even though relevant design practices emerged in China as early as the 1930s, this paper focuses on discussing Chinese traditional revival interior design since the1950s while keeping in mind that interior decoration, which gradually developed into interior design, formally separated itself from architecture design in China in the 1950s.

Although traditional revival interior design is one of the most widely discussed topics in China, the leading academics, as shown in Table 1, is prone to focus on style analysis, which leads to only a description of the phenomenon. The disadvantage of style analysis is

Copyright © 2019. Copyright of this paper is the property of the author(s). Permission is granted to reproduce copies of the works for purposes relevant to the IASDR conference, provided that the author(s), source and copyright notice are included on each copy. For other uses, please contact the author(s). its focus on the artist's personality and their design works' artistic features, which leads to a focus on grand designs because they are seen as having more artistic value (Fallan, 2010). Thus, interiors, as temporary arrangements for people's daily life trajectories, are ignored by the taxonomy of styles which dominate the history of art and architecture (Hollis, 2010). However, generally speaking, style analysis can be used as a starting point to explore the design logic beneath each style, as it showcases a coherent design appearance for understanding the perplexing design phenomenon. In order to overcome these disadvantages of style analysis, this paper is not going to discuss aesthetic value, the stories of famous designers or the relationship between form and function. Instead, the research is going to explore the design approach, the underlying design logic and the relationship between different subdivisions of the style. Theoretically, the subdivisions of the traditional revival style exist due to the reiteration phenomenon. As Kubler (1962) pointed out, the design of continuous duplication exists, as it traverses time and space forming a continuity. This paper aims to explore the reiteration variations of Chinese traditional revival style; it starts from classifying the style's subdivisions and their design approaches and then analyses the underlying similarities and the design logic behind them.

Table 1 Literature review on Chinese traditional revival interior design.

Authors Research Research Topic Conclusion Methods

Zhang（ Historical The development of From 1977 to 1999, the combination of 2004） research Chinese interior design in traditional culture and modern form was the the 20th century primary concern of Chinese interior designers.

Yang Style The development of designers take different approaches at analysis modern Chinese interior different times, such as the eclecticism in （2006） design style the 1930s; the inheritance and adoption of national forms in the 1950s; new national patterns and regional exploration in the 1980s.

Huo Style Chinese interior design This development was mainly reflected in analysis history style changes. (2017)

Dong（2 Style Interior design art This development reflected the gradual 010） analysis development in the 30 dominance of aesthetic values. years following the opening up policy

2 Research design The research begins with a literature review of books and dissertations concerning Chinese interior design history to search for clues about the traditional revival style. These books include 'Chinese Interior Design History' (Huo & Huo, 2003), 'The Style of Interior Design and its Development' (Zhang, 1999), 'Chinese Modern Interior Design Style Evolution' (Yang, 2006). The dissertations are from Zhang Qingping, Dongchi and Zhu Zhongcui. Almost all of them are style-focused research, which acted as a starting point to get a general view of the revival style. 2

The review then continues by exploring design magazines to collect design samples mainly from 'The Journal of Architecture', 'Decoration', 'Interior Design and Construction' and 'Interior Design'. These magazines, except the last one, have a continuous publishing history on interior design and have influenced the industry to a large extent due to their high status in China. 'The Journal of Architecture', founded in 1954, was the first professional architectural magazine published in China; it has recorded China's architecture and interior design development. 'Decoration', founded in 1958 by Central Academy of Arts and Crafts which set up China's first interior decoration department, was the only academic publication of arts and crafts in China at that time. 'Interior Design and construction', founded in 1986 and later chosen as the journal for the Chinese Interior Decoration Association, has an enduring and wide-spread influence in the Chinese interior design industry (Zeng, 2002). Among all the periodicals, the journal most specialises in reporting and promoting China's interior design development. It assisted the setup of traditional revival conferences in the 1980s and 1990s and published articles about the conferences for coverage and discussion. 'Interior Design', founded in 1986, was one of the earliest magazines focusing on interior design. It documented the Chinese interior design industry until 2013, when it was renamed the 'Journal of Western Living Environment' and shifted its focus to architecture. Additionally, some major design competitions are examined for references, such as the interior design competitions sponsored by the New Zealand Wool Bureau (1995–2001), the Chinese Interior Design Competition, the National Art Exhibition, and the Asia-Pacific Interior Design Awards.

Next, after the sample collection, the research creates a taxonomy of traditional revival interior design. The taxonomy starts by sorting out three main branches of traditions derived from international, national and regional factors, which are based on the previously collected samples. It then subdivides the variations of the traditions according to the similarities and differences between the observed variables. The sorting of categories seeks to minimise intragroup differences while maximising intergroup differences. As shown in Figure 1, the features that distinguish one tradition from another and the hierarchy behind the classification are the core issues.

Moreover, to compare documentation with real works, researchers select typical samples from each division to take site surveys when categorisations and their sub-divisions begin to take shape, as interior spaces bring spatial experiences which are far more complex than two-dimensional images could reflect.

3 Results and Analysis 3.1 Classification of traditional revival interior design 3.1.1 Style classification

People generally use style as a starting point to understand form features. Walker (1989) argued that style, which, results from a visual representation of artistic creation, emphasises and expresses form. Therefore, some scholars refer to style as visual ideology. This paper is not limited to defining a style; it mainly analyses the style's particular characteristics based on the classification.

The traditional revival, as one of the significant styles in modern Chinese interior design history, is a relatively broad field. It appears in different forms, namely as, international,

3 national, and regional traditions. Generally, the international tradition refers to overseas influences. The national one displays the self-reflection attitude facing the influx of overseas impacts. The regional one, which is relatively a flexible and inclusive concept, shows a more in-depth development of the self-reflection process.

Figure 1 Classification of the traditional revival style.

( & influence was classified within the international category because it worked as introductory variants of the Western classical style)

As shown in Figure 1, each category has a subdivision, which reveals a diversified state. Each group and subdivision share similar design motivations and appearances, whereas differences exist among the internal categories and divisions. Through the analysis of the similarities, differences and the relationship between the categories and divisions, the features of the traditional revival style can be better understood.

The international tradition represents the acceptance of relatively more advanced overseas civilisations. Among these civilisations, the Soviet Union was the first foreign influence in socialist China. In the 1950s, the Stalinist style or socialist classicism, which utilised eclecticism to reflect the Soviet Union's greatness, influenced socialist countries' architecture beyond the borders of Eastern Europe all the way to the Far East. At that time, China accepted Soviet Union's proposal and constructed four Soviet exhibition centres(Figures 3– 5); the Soviet Union's architects helped to design the centres to showcase USSR's achievements in agriculture, industry, science and education (Li, 2017). These buildings' interior and exterior decorations, based on socialist realism, used sculptures of workers, peasants, scientists and students, as well as motifs of wheat, sunflower, fruit and cotton to

4 reflect socialist life (Zheng, 2018). In the 1980s, with the reform and opening-up policy, Hong Kong and Taiwan's influence — including modernism, postmodernism, classicism and neoclassicism — entered China, which helped form a complicated mixture of influences in China. During the initial stage, Hong Kong and Taiwan acted as a tunnel to translate European classical decoration languages into a style that became popular in the mainland. Through Hong Kong and Taiwan's introduction and interpretation, interior designers on the mainland began to realise the concept of interior decoration, which is mainly focused on moulding, veneer and Western patterns. Then, the designers began to seek the prototype of the Hong Kong and Taiwan style — the European classical style. With increased openness and more Chinese people going abroad, the European classical style, which in China generally refers to a mixture of different European traditional styles for decoration, become more popular. In the late 1990s, with an emerging affluent society, aesthetic simplicity, which was inherited from modernism, became a new trend. However, simplicity created a tedious and an emotionless environment, which made some people feel uncomfortable. At the same time, postmodernism, which utilises a collage of historical elements to showcase context, was wide-spread. Since 2000, Art Deco, which reflects historical details and a sense of craft, has become popular in China, as balances the need to show off not only wealth or social status but also the restraint of modern fashion.

National tradition shows the awakening of discourse on Chinese identity, which successively experienced political, cultural, and commercial context as responses to overseas influences. In the 1950s, Chinese neoclassicism emerged and expanded as a response to the Soviet Union style, especially after the political split between the two socialist superpowers in 1959. This style, which diverged from the Soviet one, retains socialist design ideas but replaces the Soviet decorative elements with traditional Chinese motifs. Since the reform and opening-up policy, after the imitation and digestion of the Hong Kong, Taiwan and European classical influences, interior designers in Chinese mainland began to return to their own classicism, no matter its imperial or vernacular traditions. In response to Western postmodernism, China sought to develop its own postmodernism by drawing inspirations from Chinese history by replacing the decorative elements with national symbols. Also, it is relatively more contradictory and complex than the 1950s neo-classicism which respects harmonious proportions and solemn compositions. Since 2000, parametric design, which represents the new development of technology and aesthetics, has emerged in China, notably after Zaha demonstrated its charm through her completed projects. Schumacher (2008) further proposed parametricism to resist modernism, as if the suffix with 'ism' strengthened his manifestation. However, the demonstration and manifestation have prompted Chinese designers to explore their parametric design either as a low-tech parametric strategy (Yuan, 2012) or as a context strategy (Xu, & Li, 2016), (Gao, 2016). The low-tech approach artificially constructs the parametric form while compromising on the parametric design's technological performance. The method moves to a tendency of mannerism, as its form oriented strategy leads to superficiality. Context strategy, on the other hand, tries to avoid formalism but fails to achieve conformity between tectonic and form.

The regional tradition reflects the rise of nativism. Regionalism is a relatively flexible concept. If compared with the West, China's exploration of national identity can be regarded as regionalism. In terms of approach, the emphasis on the local environment and the adoption of local materials can be regarded as regionalism as well. Thus, nationalism and regionalism 5 intersect with each other. In the 1990s, nationalism and regionalism were often discussed together. Lai (1991) regarded the historical context and folk customs as the inspiration for the creation of architectural design and the interior environment with national or regional characteristics. Shi (1996) believed that nationalism is the sum of regionalism. However, regionalism does not present a coherent image, as it changes due to different defining factors at different times. In the 1950s, China's participation in globalisation was relatively low and had a low level of industrialisation; the country had a less developed interior design profession. As a result of these factors, the regional interior design mainly stayed at the vernacular level inspired from traditional residential houses. As for the limited number of public buildings, the regional design used local motifs for architectural and interior decoration, such as the Xiamen University building complex and the Genghis Khan Mausoleum. In the 1980s and 1990s, regionalism began to serve commercial purposes, with emphasis on creating local landscapes. For example, the White Swan Hotel, built in 1983, created a Lingnan garden landscape, which reflected typical local characteristics (She, 1983). Wuyi Mountain Resort, also built in 1983, used local materials and crafts to reflect the characteristics of the northern Fujian province. Presently, critical regionalism in architecture, which has gradually gained influence in the field of interior design, shows new possibilities for interiors, as it tries to achieve a balance between universal rationality and national emotions. However, China is an exogenously developing country, and it started its modernisation and civilisation process relatively late (Shao, 2014). Thus, its traditional culture inevitably conflicts with modern civilisation, which has been dominated by Western developed countries. Critical regionalism transcends the vernacular architecture that emerges from the synthesis of climate, culture, myth and craft (Frampton, 1985). Compared with the design explorations in the 1950s, 1980s and 1990s, critical regionalism is undoubtedly a progression of ideas. As a matter of fact, the attention towards critical regionalism appeared quite early in the Chinese interior design field, although the design practices cannot match the theory of advancement. As early as in 2005, 'Interior Design and Decoration' magazine put forward a discussion on this topic.

To sum up, although the traditional revival style takes different forms, they have all acted as a response to overseas influences. During the responding process, revival reflects an exploration of Chinese national identity by adopting design ideologies and approaches learned from overseas and transforming them into the Chinese way of design based on inspirations from Chinese culture and tradition.

3.1.2 Design methods classification

The case studies found that the traditional revival interior design is reflected in four categories in terms of design approach: surface decoration, space scenery, artistic conception and space transformation. Among them, the surface decoration is the most common one, which appears repeatedly. Space scenery, mainly came about in the 1980s, first appeared in hotels authorised to accommodate international guests. Artistic conception appeared around the 2000s with cultural spaces as its main stage. Space transformation became prevalent as the profession absorbed designers with an architecture background. These four categories are shown in table 2.

Table 2 the classification of the traditional revival interior design according to the design methods.

Category Design Design elements Typical sample focus 6

Surface Surface Gypsum flower, wood The Cultural Palace of decoration lattice, moulding, relief Nationalities, China Grand wall, etc. Hotel Space Shared Garden, landscape Baiyun Hotel, White Swan scenery space structure, miniature Hotel mountain, waterfall, etc. The creation Artistic motif The transformation of Changzhou Grand Hotel of artistic cultural relics and abstract conception motifs Space Space Chinese traditional space Chinese Embassy in transformation arrangements

Each of these four design methods has its own characteristics, but they do not entirely correspond to the style categories and their subdivisions. For example, as shown in table 2, Soviet-style and Chinese neoclassicism both employ surface decoration; postmodernism uses either surface decoration or spatial scenery; Hong Kong and Taiwan influences and European classical ones adopt surface decoration or sometimes spatial transformation.

Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the relationship between style and design method.

The practice of surface decoration has continued from the 1950s to the present day. It follows the Soviet-style of decoration, with the building's interior and exterior surfaces as the main design focus, such as the entrance facade, ceiling, columns and background wall. Its design method utilises pattern configuration for decoration. The patterns are generally 7 arranged according to the central and suitable corner patterns, whereas they are arrayed in two consecutive and four consecutive directions. Chinese neoclassicism continued to decorate in this way, but it replaced the decorative symbols with national ones; the People's Great Hall's decoration design is a typical example (Figure 7).

Figure 3. Images side by side showing Facade decoration of Beijing Exhibition Hall (left) and its motif details (right) (1954). Source: Beijing architectural design and research institute co. LTD, 20th century heritage committee of Chinese Society of Cultural Relics (2018). China's 20th century architectural heritage canon: Beijing volume. Tianjin: Tianjin University Press.

Figure 4. Images side by side showing Facade decoration of Shanghai Exhibition Hall (left) and its motif details (right) (1955) Source: Photo taken by author

Figure 5. Images side by side showing Interior decoration of Shanghai Exhibition Hall (left) and its ceiling motif details (right) (1955). Source:Photo taken by author

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Figure 6. Facade design of The Cultural Palace of Nationalities (1958). Source: Wang, H. (2015). Chinese Contemporary Design Collection Series. Beijing: Commercial Press.

Figure 7. Images side by side showing interior decoration of Shanxi Province Meeting Room of People’s Grand Hall (left) and its ceiling motif details (right) 2001). Source: Wang, H. (2015). Chinese Contemporary Design Collection Series. Beijing: Commercial Press.

Spatial scenery, as a popular design method, appeared in the 1980s. it responds to the contextual needs of the interior environment. However, it varies in different ways. Postmodernism, for example, which reflects mixture and ambiguity, differs from regional and vernacular styles, which maintain authenticity. Zhuhai Jinyi Hotel showcases postmodernism characteristics by using brass palm trees together with stones and gravels for a collage of seaside scenery. Postmodernism focuses on patterns, cultural meanings and historical imagination, whereas regionalism advocates for the expression of local culture by showcasing local landscapes, materials and crafts. As for regional exploration, it tends to be consistent with the modern environment. Vernacular, on the other hand, does not seriously consider the surroundings, as it makes the context itself. For example, the atrium of White Swan Hotel creates a waterfall landscape, which can be traced back to the southern traditional gardens but in a relatively modern way, as it is compatible with the quite modern architectural background. As for the Wuyi Mountain Resort, the architecture is constructed in a countryside image. The interior utilised local materials to make the scenery, which strengthened the vernacular context.

Figure 8. Images side by side showing Guangzhou White Swan Hotel (1983). Source: Wang, H. (2015). Chinese Contemporary Design Collection Series. Beijing: Commercial Press.

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Artistic concept creation began to appear mainly in the late 20th and 21st early century. It uses the techniques of traditional Chinese painting and enthusiastically expresses a space theme. For example, in the lobby bar design of Changzhou Grand Hotel, the designer placed dry tree branches in the light panel after treatment, which formed an effect of light and shadow that echoed through light irradiation. This kind of design emphasises the designer's understanding of an art theme, as he or she hopes to bring artistic feeling to visitors.

Figure 9. Changzhou Grand Hotel（2001). Source: provided by Wang Qiong. The method of spatial transformation emerged in the 1980s and became popular in the 21st century. It either refers to the application of modern spatial orders or traditional Chinese methods of arranging spaces. Modernism in architecture put importance to flowing space and to minimalising decoration, whereas, classicism in Western architecture emphasises facade and vertical decoration. Traditional Chinese buildings attach importance to the space arrangements in the horizontal direction, which makes it share similarities with modernism in architecture. To this end, the interior space of traditional Chinese buildings is relatively restrained in decoration, and they try to create rich experiences through space communication. For example, traditional Chinese buildings utilise the methods of opposite scenery, side views and borrowed scenery to enrich the space experiences.

Figure 10. Chinese embassy in Germany (1984). Source: Zhang, Q. M. (1994) Interior design classics. Beijing: China Building Industry Press.

3.2 Form reiteration within categories Why do certain types of interior decoration have similarities? According to social construction theory, knowledge is comprised of cultural tools. These tools exist in society before being internalised, and Individuals realise the internalisation of knowledge through their interaction

10 with the social environment. In design practices, designers frequently refer to precedents or existing design cases for help. Meanwhile, the clients might be influenced by their shared knowledge and understanding of interior space. Thus, the clients coordinate with the designers, resulting in a specific type of architecture and interior decoration similarly used before. However, it is worth noting that in typology, duplication does not merely relate to plagiarism. Steadman (2014) distinguished between duplication and modelling. That is to say, the model is a complete copy, whereas the duplication reflected in the building types is not a simple copy of the overall shape and layout. Duplication also does not mean merely copying parts and assembling them according to a standard set of rules. Therefore, duplication refers to a repetition of the basic features in architectural and interior decoration rather than the exact replication of specific decorative patterns. In the field of interior design, due to the complex details of interiors, even plagiarised replication has the topological features of a prototype and variant. At the same time, as technology develops, the variant changes of prototypes would be more intentional. In the manual era, hand printing produces roughly similar copying; in the machine age, mechanical printing created reproduction; and in the digital time, direct control of digital equipment creates accurate replication. Obviously, before the digital replication era, due to the uncontrollable factors during the transfer process, morphs are unavoidable.

This kind of duplication is similar to biological evolution. The theory of natural evolution provides a reference for understanding architectural reproduction. The change of physical form, based on specific rules, mainly comes from the shift in biological structure. Every turn of the biological system results from the previous change of form. Darwin's theory of evolution is primarily based on three points: mutation theory (as well as the theory of inheritance); variation theory (which we now know leads to gene mutations); and selection theory (Darwin's most lasting impact theory, which says each generation is based on adaptive genetic variation). In the late 19th century, biologists focused on how variation arose. The German biologist Ernst Haeckel tried to find clues in embryonic development (Kirschner, 2009).

Relatively speaking, interior design also has characteristics similar to biological duplication. All the new variants come from the adaptation to the new context with a balance between inheritance and mutation of the prototype.

Figure 11. Austrian Travel Agency by Hans Hollein using brass palm tree for decoration(1970s). Source: Mi, J. R. (1991). Exploration of the overseas - On the interior design of Austrian Travel Agency and Plaza Hotel. Interior,1, 18-19 and 27.

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Figure 12. Zhuhai Jinyi hotel using brass palm tree for decoration (1992). Source: Zhang, Q. M. (1994) Interior design classics. Beijing: China Building Industry Press.

Figure 13. self-duplication approach traverse different times. Source: Wang, H. (2015). Chinese Contemporary Design Collection Series. Beijing: Commercial Press.

Moreover, the loose connection between function and form in interior decoration makes duplication have fewer constraints. Mostly, function plays a leading role, but it does not have a decisive significance. Patterns reflect the influences of many different elements, including politics, culture, economy and technology. Before the reform and opening-up policy in China, political factors had a significant impact on architecture and interior decoration. Decorative symbols reflecting socialist ideology can be seen in buildings with different functions. After these policies symbols indicating economic factors were widely used in buildings with different functions.

Besides, architectural and interior decoration patterns have disseminated more widely through such medias as publications, magazines, conferences, seminars and competitions. During the early years of the opening-up policy, these medias gained deep recognition. Examples include the ‘Interior Design Knowledge Collection’, edited by the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts; the annual conferences by the Chinese Architectural Society's interior design branch (founded in 1986); interior design competitions sponsored by New Zealand Wool Bureau, and the ‘Interior Design and construction’ magazine. At that time, because of the limited information pathways, these medias became the primary knowledge reference for many interior designers.

In terms of implementation, duplication includes external duplication and self-duplication. External duplication represents an international influence, whereas self-duplication stands

12 for the assimilation and the transformation of the original resulting in changes. When China isolated itself to the world except for the Soviet Union and its socialist counterparts, it allowed the Soviet Union’s architects to design exhibition centres in both Beijing and Shanghai, which created a model for Chinese interior designers to learn from. Then China began to advocate the Chinese national socialist style, which mimicked the Soviet Union’s way of arranging decoration with a Chinese motif as a replacement. And this kind of decoration method has left an enduring effect on Chinese interior decoration method to this day. When China began to learn from the West, Hong Kong and Taiwan played a role in translating the classic Western style. Later the European classical, modernist and postmodern styles influenced Chinese interior landscape greatly. As a response, traditional and national identity were discussed and practised frequently.

Figure 14. Relationship between Internationalism and the exploration of traditional revival for national identity. Duplication exists in other circumstances as well. In architecture history, reiteration happens in various forms. During the period of neoclassicism, the Palladian motif was regarded as the basic rule for design. During the modernist period, Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, which embodied the six principles of modernist architecture, became the typical paradigm followed by many designers. In the internationalist period, the 'uniform order' and 'clear construction' styles developed by Mies became the basic models for modernism and internationalism. His design of the Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Farnsworth House, the apartments on Chicago Lake Shore Drive and the Seagram Building all reflect the consistency of the self-duplication style. In the postmodernist period, the ironic treatment of a pediment on Venturi's Mother's House became a classic example of postmodernism, which inspired other designers later on; Philip Johnson's AT&T Tower is a case in point. As for the 13 digital period, self-duplication and duplication from others become easier to be realised, although parametric design opposes uniformity and advocates innovation.

4 Conclusion The prototype of national and regional traditional revival explorations came from the introduction, digestion, absorption and transformation of overseas design influences. In the 1950s, the Chinese socialist design, which was advocated by the authorities, reflected the exploration of national identity which was led by political ideology. It tried to separate itself from the Soviet Union’s socialism, hoping to realise socialist content in a nationalist form, although its design method kept following the path established by Soviet architects, including the Beijing and Shanghai exhibition centres. In the early 1980s, the traditional revival became connected with political objectives in the hotels which were authorised to receive foreigners, as they needed to showcase the positive images of Chinese culture and achievements to these visitors. Later, after opening up the country's door to the West, the notion of a national identity faced intensified discrepancy because of the influx of various Western styles. In the 1990s, under the influence of Western postmodernism, the political factors gradually faded away, and the traditional revival style began to become more relaxed and flexible, with scenic landscapes and collages of historical motifs becoming the standard ways to reflect the context. For the traditional revival style and its design approaches, design reiteration is the primary strategy, which traverses time and makes each subdivision of the style appear with a coherent characteristic. However, as shown above, classification can define the natural attributes of different categories, but it cannot explain the variations within the same type. Therefore, it needs to be further analysed from the perspective of typology, which focuses on the study of transformation and variation features within the same category. Take the Soviet-style for example: the primary image of the 'Moscow Cake' (also known as the 'Stalin's high-rise') is highly consistent in , Poland and China, but its variations in different countries cannot be analysed by employing taxonomy. Therefore, typology helps to explain variants within a category.

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About the Authors:

Jun Ding is a PhD candidate from School of Design at Jiangnan University. He also works as an associate professor at Suzhou Art and Design Technology Institute. His research interests include interior design that relates to history and regionalism as well as its design methods. His latest book concerning interior design, Chinese Contemporary Design Collection Series- Interior Design, was published by Commerce Press on March 2015.

Weimin Guo is a PhD supervisor from the School of Design at Jiangnan University. His research focuses on the preservation and renovation of cultural heritage in architecture.

Acknowledgment: This work is funded by University Philosophy and Social Science Foundation Project of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education (2017SJB1423); Jiangsu Qinglan Teachers Project (Su teacher-2018, no.12)；Jiangsu Graduate Research Innovation Project(KYCX17_1427).

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