Qiang Costumes in Mao Xian, Sichuan Provinces: The Revival of Chinese Minority Identities for Application in Design

Abstract

This research is qualitative and quantitative. The researcher has 3 objectives: 1) To study the characteristics, connotation and reflected history and social development of Qiang costumes.2) Study and analysis of the cultural identity of Qiang Costumes,souvenir product market and consumer behavior. and 3) Design process of souvenir products inspired by Qiang Costumes in Maoxian County, Sichuan. The population and samples used in this research were divided into 2 groups: 1) The group used for studying Qiang costumes information, including Qiang people in Maoxian County, Sichuan Province and Local government workers.2) The group used for analyzing data for design and evaluating satisfaction is souvenir product sellers, Designers Expert, and target consumers (Young tourists Gen Y 18 - 32 year) The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. The tool used in the research was a Surveys, interviews, observations and questionnaires. the statistics used were the means () and standard deviations.

For the research results, Qiang, as one of the ancient ethnic groups in China, the Qiang people have a long history, with records of their existence dating back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Nowadays, the Qiang people are mainly distributed in Maoxian, Wenchuan, Lixian, Heishui, Songpan, and Beichuan County in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, with some scattered in Danba County of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qionglai City of Chengdu, and Jiangkou County and Shiqian County in Tongren District, Guizhou Province.

How about the development of Qiang costumes? The researchers have carried out the following tasks: 1) Research and analysis of the characteristics of Qiang clothing, in the city of Maoxian County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, these characteristics can be used for innovative design, forming a certain number of patterns, such as Huizi patterns, auspicious clouds, Flowers, etc. and 2) transform them into souvenirs that match market demand and target consumer groups (18-32-year-old young tourists Gen Y), a total of 5 projects, namely 1) keychain, 2) tableware, 3) bookmark, 4) refrigerator sticker, and 5) phone case, by using a questionnaire to assess the target group’s satisfaction with the design of souvenirs inspired by Qiang costumes, it was found that:number one is Souvenir 5 (Tableware 2)within the level Very good (=4.89),the second place is Souvenir 7 ( Bookmark 1)within the level Very good (=4.87),followed by Souvenir 2 (Keychain 2)within the level Very good (=4.86),Souvenir 4 (Tableware 1)within the level Very good (=4.85),Souvenir 1 (Keychain 1)within the level Very good (=4.84),Souvenir 15 ( phone case 3)within the level Very good (=4.83),Souvenir 10 ( Refrigerator sticker 1)within the level Very good (=4.82),Souvenir 13 ( phone case 1)within the level Very good (=4.8),Souvenir 8 ( Bookmark 2)within the level Very good (=4.78),last place is Souvenir 12 ( Refrigerator sticker 3)within the level Very good (=4.74)，In general，within the level Very good (=4.83)，Each project has different suggestions for improvement。

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