Cultural and creative products have the charm of thousands of years of traditional Chinese paintings. Milk tea snacks have the feelings of classical classics in their hearts, horse face skirts, new Chinese style simplicity without losing fashion... When tradition and modernity are intertwined, when the ancient style meets the trend, our daily life is being swept by the "national trend".

Speaking of Guochao Cultural and Creative, Pixi, who calls himself a "ten level scholar of Zhen Xue", knows everything about it. His favorite is the floor mat of the "Broken Jade Pavilion". "The stories in the Legend of Zhen Huan always fascinate me. As soon as I step on the floor mat, I seem to pass through the story and become a member of it. That sense of substitution makes me unable to stop. Every time I see it, I can recall the excitement of chasing the drama."

This year's "May Day" holiday, a variety of Guochao markets all over the country. Tianjin's opera themed bazaar not only unites universities and young opera lovers to sing Peking Opera together, but also has activities such as painting facial makeup and dressing up, NPC card punching and stamp collecting; Qingdeng Market in Wenzhou was built along the river. People can experience the entertainment of the ancients in the flower falling show and the flower shed; At the Lingnan Intangible Cultural Heritage theme market, with the performance of Guofeng Dianyin and Guochao Band, young people get close to the intangible cultural heritage masters

The national tide fever continued to rise, but different voices began to appear. Pixie found that recently, many products and even takeout packages frequently appear an image wearing sunglasses and a phoenix crown, which is also defined as the representative of the "new national trend". He was a little worried: "This kind of image spreads all over the world and is stereotyped, which not only lowers the public's aesthetic, but over time people may mistakenly equate this specific visual image with Guochao culture."

How to continue on the road of Guochao?

More tolerance for cultural and creative development under the "national tide"

During the Spring Festival this year, Zhang Jing, who was keen on a museum trip, carefully selected a red dragon shaped refrigerator sticker while wandering around the Forbidden City. This refrigerator sticker not only attracted her attention with its beautiful appearance, but also won her heart because of the culture it carries. "Personally, when choosing cultural and creative products, I prefer those that are both beautiful and have cultural connotations and stories. If they can be used in daily life, it would be better."

Chinese fashion products of oriental aesthetics are gradually gaining the favor of young people. Liu Jingjing, a researcher of the Art Research Institute of Communication University of China, pointed out that the demand for cultural self-confidence and the desire for cultural expression are stronger in the context of the increasingly strong times of China. When they identify with a certain cultural symbol, they hope to easily express and spread this culture in their daily life.

The "Horse Stepping on a Swallow" in Gansu Provincial Museum is a good example. Some time ago, the "ugly and cute style" quietly emerged, and the cultural creation doll "Horse Stepping on Flying Swallows" in Gansu Provincial Museum became popular rapidly. Its unique shape impressed graphic designer Xu Maidong deeply.

Xu Maidong said excitedly, "At that time, the 'Horse Stepping on the Swallow' doll was' hard to find ', and the ugly and funny look was really decompression." Referring to her favorite cultural creation, She was even more pleased: "When I saw the bronze statue in the museum, I found that its expression was the same as that of a doll, which inspired my desire to deeply understand the story behind the cultural relics."

As for the phenomenon of "comparing ugliness" of cultural and creative dolls in museums, Liu Jingjing said that "judging ugliness" is also a part of "aesthetics". Cultural and creative products have different styles, some are bold and unconstrained, some are exquisite and small, which should be based on the cultural form behind them. "I hope that the society can give more tolerance to cultural and creative product development, and the market will give final feedback."

The social nature of Guochao Cultural Creativity also makes it a popular gift choice. Hou Dachen, a 20-year-old college student, shared her experience: on her brother's birthday last month, because he belonged to a tiger, she gave him a set of tiger printed Guochao stationery. She said: "When it is difficult to choose a birthday gift, whether it is for family or friends, choosing Guochao Cultural and Creative is a meaningful and error free way."

"National tide" ebbs? Or is the public aesthetic increasingly high?

The tide like national wind wave has brought about the prosperity of the market and gradually exposed hidden worries. Many enterprises have poured into this field, and the homogenization of market competition has become more and more serious. Hou Dachen had a personal feeling about this, and she said bluntly: "The current national fashion products are somewhat monotonous in variety and not very practical. The national fashion cultural and creative products in many scenic spots are either ice cream, ice lollies, or refrigerator stickers, postcards, etc. The style is also very similar, without highlighting the local characteristics."

In addition to product homogenization, over packaging has also become a problem for Guochao Cultural Innovation. Especially in the traditional festivals such as the Mid Autumn Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, merchants have launched a fierce competition on the packaging of dumplings and moon cakes, and various gorgeous and exquisite packages have emerged one after another. However, this flashy packaging even covers the value of the product itself, making consumers feel worthless after purchase. Feng Xin, a post-90s cultural and creative fan, sighed: "When we buy Guochao cultural and creative products, we are more in pursuit of emotional recognition and satisfaction. If the packaging is too luxurious, the products will lose their true meaning."

Xu Xiuna, a cultural and creative enthusiast of Guochao after 2000, also noticed a similar phenomenon. She found that some cultural and creative stores with national fashion labels were very casual in design and decoration, lacking in intention and creativity. She pointed out that the cultural and creative products in some small stores were placed in a disorderly manner without theme style. "Many products simply copy and splice traditional cultural elements, lacking in in-depth exploration and ingenious integration of cultural connotation, giving people a feeling of 'exquisite soil'."

As for the above phenomenon, Liu Jingjing said that in the early stage of development, its explosive growth often left a deep impression. However, with the gradual saturation of the national fashion market, the good and the bad will inevitably be mixed, but this does not mean that there will be fewer excellent products. When a style gradually becomes the mainstream of society, the negative voices associated with it will also increase.

"On the whole, it is not that the national fashion products have gone out of fashion, but that the aesthetic level of the public is getting higher and higher," said Liu Jingjing.

Let the warm national wind blow into young people's hearts

Driven by the national fashion, young people have higher requirements on quality, design, experience, etc. Xu Xiuna said that she loved the immersive Guochao experience. She said that she once experienced the fun of making lacquer fans in the China Grand Canal Museum in Yangzhou: "There, we put paint into the water tank and draw our favorite patterns on the fan face. The tie dyed blue tone is unique and beautiful. Each fan is unique and full of personal characteristics."

This immersive experience made her deeply feel the charm of traditional culture. More and more young people, like Xu Xiuna, have begun to pursue more high-quality, more designed, and more concrete cultural and creative works of Guochao. Feng Xin hopes that more "cool" intangible cultural heritage crafts can be combined with cultural and creative works to present advanced, exquisite and modern products on the basis of enriching the core.

Wang Ying, the founder of a Guochao brand, believes that any culture and product can only be recognized, recognized and passed on for a longer time if they are commercialized to a certain extent. However, if the creators are too obsessed with commercialization, it will only strengthen the stereotype of the public on the flattening of national trends, "this is a rough form of cultural expression".

For 10 years, Wang Ying has been studying how to express the tradition in a fashionable way. She uses three words "going in" to summarize her creative process. In the first month or two of the production of Dunhuang series, she went deep into Dunhuang and found that the working environment inside the Mogao Grottoes was far from as good as she thought. "Most of the painters here put up a shelf and held the kerosene lamp for a whole day. Culture seems lifeless, but you will be moved by the emotion and temperature behind it when you walk in."

"This understanding and empathy of traditional Chinese culture can not be replaced by AI." Wang Ying said that when she focused on a cultural element, she seemed to have a voice in her heart to guide her, and she could complete all her creations in almost a day or two. "We must be willing to go in," she stressed again.

However, young people's understanding of Chinese traditional culture through we media or film and television works is not always true and accurate. Liu Jingjing called for the dissemination of true and accurate history and culture to young people to help them choose their favorite cultural and creative country based on a comprehensive understanding of the true Chinese history.

So, what key points should Guochao Culture and Innovation grasp to go further? Liu Jingjing suggested that first of all, we should deeply cultivate cultural connotation and inject profound details and long-term vitality into our products with the essence of traditional culture; Secondly, we should focus on product quality, establish a standardized market system, and ensure that every product can withstand the market test; In addition, do a good job in communication. Every rise of Guochao brand is a collective recognition and education of the society. "We have many cultural treasures still sleeping, and we hope that more professional talents and entrepreneurial talents can dig out these treasures and activate them".

"The real rejuvenation of the national tide is a systematic project of the whole society, which is not only related to the inheritance of the material level, but will be more practiced in the spiritual level in the future," said Liu Jingjing.

(At the request of the interviewees, Pi Kexi, Zhang Jing, Xu Maidong, Hou Dachen and Feng Xin are pseudonyms) (intern Zhang Chenlu and Li Xinran)