Ancient Chinese Designs and Motifs

This book is an informative and exploratory guide to the designs and patterns of ancient China, from the Neolithic era. It covers basic knowledge, general conditions, research methods, and the current state of the field. In a relatively systematic way, it surveys and interprets representative and typical designs, as well as distinctive archaeological remains, from archaeological cultures across different regions. It also classifies and discusses them from three perspectives: pictorial language, science, and art. The book aims to be comprehensive, systematic, and concise. It broadly explains that ancient designs and patterns were the primary vehicles for prehistoric people’s knowledge and culture, including mathematics, astronomy and calendars, and the I Ching; their ideas and beliefs; and their religions. Worship of the stars and celestial bodies, together with calendar-making, formed their core, source, and essence. Artistic qualities, aesthetic features, and design techniques all served these purposes. The book thus reveals that ancient designs and patterns were in fact a means of cultural transmission and a symbolic System. They remained relatively stable and highly structured, were in use for thousands of years before the advent of oracle bone script, and continued to be used into the Qin and Han dynasties and even later. This book is intended primarily for readers with at least a university-level education. It can serve as a textbook or teaching reference for relevant university courses, general education, or traditional culture studies, and may also be useful to researchers and enthusiasts.