The "Ware Joint" Container: An Exploration of Chinese Cultural Meaning in Tableware Design

Abstract

The way to eat and the way to serve food is one of the most explicit cultural styles. Chinese food utensils and eating furniture contain the Chinese view of nature and material use. In order to reflect Chinese cultural meaning in the design of Chinese food utensils, the iconic symbols and material design should not be left to the curiosity of formal innovation, but ignore the transmission of cultural meaning in the works, so that the existing works of Chinese meaning tableware design often present Therefore, the existing Chinese tableware design works often show unsatisfactory results. The author believes that if Chinese tableware design products are to go global, they must reflect the demands of Chinese cultural experience in terms of shape, material and combination, and meet the aesthetic needs and practical functions of contemporary design. In this paper, we take the Chinese cultural symbolic element "bamboo" as the theme, and combine wood and traditional metal hammering and forging techniques to create "ware joint", which has been exhibited in many countries. As an example, an exploration is conducted on the creation of Chinese cultural meaning in tableware design by combining wood and traditional metal hammering and forging techniques.