Chinese industrial design from 1949 to 1979: The modernization foundation of Chinese design history

Abstract

Industrial design has been the main direction for the Chinese nation building since 1949, and is the centre of the modernization process of Chinese design history. In order to corroborate the timeline of Chinese modern design history and to reveal the real modernity of design history, this paper provides a perspective from physical evidence to corroborate the modern period of Chinese design history and to clarify the design works that can represent Chinese modern design. Based on this, 27 pieces of modern Chinese design works from the China Industrial Design Museum are selected as the corroborating objects for the case study, and the factors influencing the difference between Chinese and Western modernity are analyzed accordingly. The study concludes that Chinese industrial design from 1949 to 1979 can, to a certain extent, represents the historical direction of Chinese modern design history, and that the Chinese modern design style reflects the national characteristics of developing Asian countries. In addition, the context in which the modernity is located reflects a special modernity different from that of the Western world.

Keywords

• Industrial Design
• China
• Modernization
• Design History
• Modernity