东方与“他者”:欧文·琼斯的中国纹样观研究

The Orient and the“Other”:A Study of Owen Jones’View of Chinese Patterns

欧文·琼斯作为19世纪英国设计理论的先行者、设计改革的领导者,以世界主义的视野相继出版了《装饰的法则》和《中国纹样》,将东方视为想象的异国田园,在对东方文化的参照和吸纳中探寻应对英国设计危机的方法。本文以琼斯的中国纹样观为主要切入点,将英国设计改革运动放到中西方文化交流的视角下进行考察,辨析琼斯在"他者"视野下的东方图景,分析琼斯学习与借鉴中国纹样的历史动机和设计实践,理解东方"他者"文化是英国在文化交流与融合中探寻与确认自我身份的重要标尺。琼斯对中国纹样的研究和解读,对今天中国以更开放、包容的心态消化吸收他国优秀经验,具有启示作用。

As a pioneer of British design theory and a leader of design reform in the nineteenth century,Owen Jones,with a cosmopolitan vision,published The Grammar of Ornament and Examples of Chinese Ornament one after another,treating the East as an exotic field of imagination and exploring ways to cope with the crisis of British design through reference to and absorption of Eastern culture.This paper takes Jones'view of Chinese patterns as the main entry point,puts British design reform into the perspective of Sino-Western cultural exchange,identifies Jones’s picture of the East under the vision of the"other",analyzes Jones'historical motives and design practices for learning and borrowing Chinese patterns,and understands that the“other”culture of the East is the key to British design crisis in cultural exchange.The“other”culture is an important yardstick for Britain to explore and confirm its self-identity in the midst of cultural exchange and integration.Jones's study and interpretation of Chinese patterns is instructive for China today to digest and absorb the best experiences of other countries with a more open and tolerant mind.