From Pattern to Presence: Symbiotic Aesthetics of Tang Dynasty Textile Motifs Across Visual Culture and Contemporary Media

Author Information

Yimeng Shi, Donghua University, China
Menghe Tian, Donghua University, China
Arkadiusz Marcinkowski, SWPS University, Poland

Abstract

This paper examines the Tang dynasty textile known as the Roundel Paired Deer Pattern Brocade (Tuanke Lianzhu Dui Lu Wen Jin), as a case study in cross-cultural visual heritage. Drawing on anthropological theory, visual analysis, and design history, it argues that the textile's ornamental system, built from the interaction of circles and squares, enacts a philosophy of symbiosis: the productive coexistence of distinct cultural forms without the erasure of either. The paper proposes the concept of the “Symbiotic Aesthetic” to describe this logic, and traces its relevance from the early Tang period to contemporary practices of digital heritage and design reinterpretation.

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• Category: Anthropology, Archaeology, Cultural Studies and Humanities

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