'Water book' sculptures

2017/2018 / Final Year Project

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Focusing on the ‘Water Book’, my project investigates the meaning and the elements of the pictograms, and how these elements may be constructed. The ‘Water Book’ pictograms would reflect the Water clan’s way of life, values or attitudes toward the universe, with the pictograms forging cultural symbols that resonate with their identity which previously only a few would understand. As a young designer in this modern society, my project seeks to bridge the past and present by facilitating the audience’s understanding of the pictograms of ‘Water Book’ through the lens of design.

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The ‘Water Book’ communicates the rich cultural heritage of the ‘Water Clan’ (水族) during the Shang/Zhou Dynasty (c.1175-1160 BC) and is one of the scripts which belongs to one of the 56 ethnic groups in China on the brinks of dissolution. The ‘Water Book’, also known as “Le Sui” (泐虽), is the maiden language of the ‘Water Clan’. The ‘Water Book’ topic has not been widely explored due to difficulties in comprehending the meaning of characters, along with deep superstitions held against it as being an inauspicious book, also known as the ‘Black Water Book’.

The characters in the ‘Water Book’ are categorized under four categories:

“Le Duo” (泐多) meaning auspicious and blessings.

“Le Gan” (泐敢) meaning it is open for all to use.

“Le Xiong” (泐凶) meaning ominous disasters and unlucky incidents. 

“Le Nong” (泐弄) which means hidden consequences.

The characters of the ‘Water Book’ are related to the characters of Hanzi, but the script can be written transversely, upside down way or modifying the way Hanzi was written. One of the reasons that explain the difference in the way the characters are written is founded on its historical counterpart. In the past, original ancestors who created the ‘Water Book’ were harmed due to the oppressive rulings of the governor, and as such, Lu Duo Gong (陆铎公) created the ‘Water Book’ with intent to defy and curse the governor. 

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This study will contribute to the research of ‘Water Book’ based on how the pictogram was created. It will also contribute to the study of historical aspects of ‘Water Book’ based on its pictographic scripts, for future researchers to consider expanding the elements list of the ‘Water Book’ which I shall propose. It also provides a new angle towards understanding pictograms, with an innovative form of presentation for the ‘Water Book’ revealing the four categories through involved user interaction. Ultimately, the research is a study of the pictograms but focused on translating the categories of the ‘Water Book’ into a visual form, as the proposed categories were only previously known to be ‘books’ but without any comprehensive form or structure. The formal creation of these sculptural books translates properly, the idea of ‘open’, ‘secret’, ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ from the past to bridge the gaps between the past and present society.