Chinese Culture - A little less fried rice, a little more Feng Shui

My advertising adventure has brought me to China, since the understanding of other cultures is crucial when advertising, why not start off with one of the worlds oldest? 

As I've just stated, China has one of the oldest cultures on the planet. It covers pretty much most of Eastern Asia, and so naturally a country of that size has varying customs depending on what province, city, or even town they are from. 

Identity

Today there are 56 distinct recognised ethnic groups in China. In terms of population, Han Chinese is the largest group of them all. Throughout the history of China, many groups have merged into neighbouring ethnicities or disappeared. At the same time, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and regional cultural traditions. 

Regional

Traditional Chinese culture spans across large geographical territories, with each region being divided into sub-cultures. Each region is often represented by three ancestral items, however. Guangdong, a province on the south coast - also known as Canton or Kwangtung - had over 79.1 million permanent residents as of 2005, and 31 million migrants living there for at least six months a year. This hugely populated province is represented by chenpi, aged ginger, and hay. 

To the left: a map of china distinguishing all provinces, highlighting Guandong in red.


Colour 

In Chinese culture, colours are associated directly with Elements of earth. The elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. As well as this, five of the main colours are also associated with the following: direction, planets, heavenly creature, heavenly stems, phase, energy, season, climate, development (plants), livestock, fruit, and grain. 

Black
In Chinese culture, Black stands for the North. It corresponds directly with water and is considered a neutral colour. Ancient Chinese considered Black the Emperor of colours, as they believed Tian Di resided in the North Star. 

Red
Red corresponds with Fire, as expected. It symbolises good fortune and joy in Chinese culture. It is found in most places on Chinese New Year, as well as other holidays and family gatherings, on these special occasions a red envelope would be given as a gift, symbolising good luck. It is strictly forbidden at funerals, as it is typically a colour of happiness. 
In modern China, it is frequently associated and used by their communist government. 

Qing
Qing was a word that referred to the spectrum of colour that spanned from Green to Blue. The idea of the word Qing refers to the idea of sprouting plant life, although this was a traditional word used, and Chinese now have a separate word for Blue. 
Green is associated with the element of Wood, represents nature and renewal, and often indicates spring. It is used to imply vigour and vitality. It is also associated with health, prosperity, nausea, and harmony. 
Separately, Green hats are associated with infidelity and used as an idiom for a cuckold. This has caused uneasiness for Chinese Catholic Bishops, who would normally have a green hat above their coat of arms. Due to this, Chinese bishops have changed the colour of the hat to violet. 

White
White corresponds with Metal, representing gold and symbolising brightness, purity, and fulfilment. Despite this, it is also the colour of mourning. It is associated with death and is used predominantly at funerals in Chinese culture. 

Yellow
Yellow, corresponding with Earth, is considered the most beautiful and prestigious colour. The Chinese saying Yellow Generates Ying and Yang implies that yellow is the centre of everything. Associated with, but consequently ranked above brown, it signifies neutrality and good luck. It is sometimes paired with Red in place of Gold. 
It is also the mourning colour of Chinese Buddhists. 


Numbers 

Numbers in China are known to have positive or negative connotations depending largely on how they are pronounced. If a number sounds closely like a positive word, then naturally Chinese believe it is also positive. 

Two
The number 2 is most often considered a positive number, due to the saying Good Things Come in Pairs. It is very common to repeat characters in product brand names, such as double happiness. In Cantonese, two is homophone of characters for easy  and bright. In Northern China, the number, when used as an adjective, can also mean stupid. 

Three
As the number 3 sounds similar to the word used for Birth, it is naturally a positive number. It is also considered lucky. The number 3 is significant since there are three important stages in a man's life: Birth, Marriage, and Death. 

Five
The number 5 is associated with the five elements: Water, Fire, Earth, Wood, and Metal. In turn, it was also associated with the Emperor of China. For example, the Tiananmen gate leading to the Forbidden City, has five arches. 

Six
The number 6 in Cantonese represents wealth. In Mandarin, it is pronounced the same as the character representing flow, which therefore is believed it is good for business. 

Seven
The number 7 symbolises "togetherness". It is a lucky number for relationships. It is also recognised as the luckiest number in the West, and is one of the rare numbers that is great in both Chinese and many Western cultures. It is a lucky number in Chinese culture, because it sounds alike to the Chinese word meaning arise, and also life essence.

Forty Nine 
The number 49, the square of seven, is used in many Chinese Folk, Taoist, and Buddhist rituals. It is believed that a recently deceased person will linger in the living world for 49 days. Therefore a second requiem ritual is often performed at the end of the 49 days. Similarly, many rituals require the performer to undergo a 49 day cleansing and fasting etc. 

Eight
The number eight sounds similar to the word which means prosper, or wealth. There is also a visual resemblance between the digits 88 and the symbol which represents double joy. The number 8 is viewed as such an auspicious number that even being assigned a number with several digits is considered lucky. 
 In Chengdu, a telephone number with all digits being 8 sold for over £300,000. Most airline flights are listed with multiple 8's in their code, with Singapore airlines reserving flight numbers beginning with 8 for China and Korea only. 

Four 
The number four is associated largely with death,. Due to this, many numbered product lines skip out the number 4, some buildings skip out any floor with the number 4 included. 

This is not a post about Surrealist Advertising

And here, we see British Airways pay homage to one of the most iconic pieces of Surrealist art - The Treachery of Images. 

Painted by Belgian artist Rene Magritte, The Treachery of Images displays what appears to be a pipe. Below the pipe, the painting states "Leci n'est pas une pipe." which translates to "This is not a pipe".
Magritte did not shy away from speculation about his painting, and it's seemingly contradictory statement, and simply said the following:

The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture "This is a pipe", I'd have been lying!

 This view on paintings was considered quite odd, and such views turned out to be very positive exposure. This seemingly contradicting painting turned into, and still is, one of the most famous pieces of surrealist art to date. 

But why on earth did they use this as inspiration!? I hear you cry. Well, British Airways used this starting point to make a particular statement. They didn't want to be considered as just an airline, where you paid to ride on just a plane. The plane is simply a factor in your experience with British Airways, as explained in the print ad. Your time with British Airways is an experience, and the plane is what takes you there. 

Was the approach to the message the right approach? It's debatable. I feel that not many will get the reference, especially if you consider the target audience. Do business men have time to research into a Belgian artist from the 20th century? Maybe not. Do their lives cater for such interests? Perhaps no. Many arguments could be made about the suitability of the ad, but what is for sure is that they have referenced a classic piece of Surrealist art effectively and appropriately. 

An introduction to Art Deco

The term "Art Deco" refers to a movement of art that spanned from the Roaring 1920's, right through to the great depression of the 1930's. It presented itself to the world in all forms of design - from Fashion, Film and Photography, through to Product Design, Architecture and most importantly, Advertising.  
Around the world today, influences of the Art Deco era can be seen everywhere. From the skylines of cities such as New York to Shanghai, the nationalistic tendencies of the Art Deco movement helped it spread on a global scale. 

"Art Deco, like its forerunner Art Nouveau, was an eclectic style and drew on many sources. Designers sought to infuse jaded traditions with new life and to create a modern style based on a revitalised decorative language." - Victoria and Albert Museum, 'Art Deco: 1910-1939' Exhibition, 2003

 Art Deco communicates a sophisticated feel by combining both traditional and modern influences. Forms and materials were sourced richly from the arts of Africa and East Asia, where as the rich colours and somewhat exotic themes reflected on the Paris-based Ballet company, Ballets Russes. 
Above Right: Sunray Vase, Clarice Cliff, 1929
Below: Costume Design by Leon Bakst for principle female dancer in The Firebird, by Ballets Russes.
Art Deco allowed the viewers to interpret freely. It allowed people all over the world to adapt their fears, desires, and wildest fantasies into the pieces of art themselves. It embraced everything from hand-crafted items to machine production, exclusive works of art to affordable stylish products.This infinite adaptability is what I believe led the Art Deco movement to be one of the most globally successful and influential movements to date.