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Visualizing the effects of cultural communication on the individual: Confucianism and new family structure

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Visualizing the effects of cultural communication on the individual: Confucianism and new family structure

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VISUALIZING THE EFFECTS OF CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ON THE
INDIVIDUAL: CONFUCIANISM AND NEW FAMILY STRUCTURE

by

Ziyun Weng

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSKI SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
DESIGN

May 2023

Copyright 2022 Ziyun Weng

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... iii
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... v
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1
Chapter One: One Year and Two Months ................................................................................ 4
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4
Cultural Research ............................................................................................. 7
Format Research .................................................................................................. 8
Process ............................................................................................................... 11
Chapter Two: Unlike .............................................................................................................. 20
Introduction........................................................................................................ 20
Cultural Research .............................................................................................. 21
Format Research ................................................................................................ 23
Process ............................................................................................................... 24
Chapter Three: For Your Own Good ...................................................................................... 34
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 34
Cultural Research .............................................................................................. 35
Format Research ................................................................................................ 36
Process ............................................................................................................... 39
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 43
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 44
iii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Picture of My Life .................................................................................................. 4
Figure 1.2: A Handwritten Letter ............................................................................................. 6
Figure 1.3: Black and White ..................................................................................................... 9
Figure 1.4: Daddy’s ................................................................................................................ 10
Figure 1.5: Religions of Eastern Asia ..................................................................................... 12
Figure 1.6: Picture of My Life ................................................................................................ 13
Figure 1.7: Time from Different Source .................................................................................. 13
Figure 1.8: The book Cover of One Year and Two Months..................................................... 14
Figure 1.9: The back Cover of One Year and Two Months : Genealogy ................................ 15
Figure 1.10: Picture of My Life .............................................................................................. 16
Figure 1.11: Crying ................................................................................................................ 17
Figure 1.12: Apple .................................................................................................................. 17
Figure 1.13: One Year and Two Months ................................................................................. 18
Figure 2.1: Mind Map ............................................................................................................. 21
Figure 2.2: A Research Model on Confucian Ethics, Governance and Corporate Social
Responsibility: Implication for Labour ........................................................................... 22
Figure 2.3: Anna Atkins Algae Cyanotype ................................................................................ 25
Figure 2.4: Jungbauern (Young farmers), Westerwald (1914 ）................................................. 25
Figure 2.5: Control in Chinese ................................................................................................. 27
Figure 2.6: Unlike .................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 2.7: The Composite Pictures ......................................................................................... 29
iv
Figure 2.8: Nickolas Wilder Studying Picasso （Los Angeles ） ............................................... 30
Figure 2.9: A Weaving Skill .............................................................................................. 30
Figure 2.10: The Detail of Weaving ....................................................................................... 31
Figure 2.11: Color Contrast ..................................................................................................... 33
Figure 3.1: The Distribution of Children’s Negative Characters .......................................... 36
Figure 3.2: Understanding Typography ............................................................................ 37
Figure 3.3: Bergen Mono ....................................................................................................... 40
Figure 3.4: For Your Own Good ..................................................................................... 41
v
Abstract
The concept of "the individual" within families is a topic of interest to me and is similar
to the issue of identity differentiation in child psychology. This paper focuses on exploring
what the role of a child can be within the family. I have designed a series of artworks
including handmade books, photos, and videos that examine this issue. Based on my personal
experience, my design projects explore common conflicts between a child’s self-recognition
of what an individual is and their parents' recognition of how children should behave. I use
my lessons with my parents as the foundation for these projects to demonstrate the conflicts
between my parents and me. One of my projects uses a handbook as the medium to tell my
story since the relationship between family members is personal, and the handbook also
shares this quality. The handbook is small to stress the "personal" identity which often
conflicts with grand family expectations.
Also, in a related project, I research the commonality of a lack of basic respect for the
individual in Asian families. Daily exchanges between my family and me were collected and
then used to design a series of posters. I did this work to show the kinds of pain children
suffer so that we could realize the power of words.
Another series of works utilizes large-scale hand-woven photos to present the identity
issue caused by cultural conflicts. In China where I was raised, the younger generation is
heavily influenced by what they read and see on the Internet. This context is created by
Western culture. The older generation is not exposed to these technologies and as a result,
their opinions do not change. I contrast the younger generation grows up in an environment
that exposes them to a variety of ideas. To illustrate this cultural conflict between
vi
generations, I designed a series of weavings that use two pictures that represent ideas from
two different perspectives, this illustrates the mixed-minded environment that many young
Asians experience.
1
Introduction
I was raised in a traditional Chinese family, and my parents accepted Confucian
education which is a traditional Chinese education system. This system requires that males
have more power than females, and parents have the greater authority to control their
children. The basic standard of Confucianism is “Filial Piety” including respecting the elder
and pampering of the younger (Qu, 2013). I have been required to show respect to my
younger brother’s opinion, even though there is only a fifteen-month age gap between us.
According to my mother, as a girl, I should work to be beautiful, have a skinny body shape
and light-colored skin. She never said the same things to my younger brother. As I was
growing up Western culture influenced me more and more, I looked at articles on the Internet
and as a result my world view expanded. Currently many young women in China are asking
why women are subject to body shaming, and why men do not face type of scrutiny.
After two years of study in the United States I returned home to China and began to have
frequent arguments with my family. This was due to the fact that I did not recognize how
living in Western culture had deeply affected me. My way of dressing, makeup, and body
shape along with my new behaviors now resulted in conflicts and arguments with my mother
and family. My mother thought I had lost the basic respect, filial piety, to her because I would
present different opinions in opposition to her requirements. The most aggressive conflict was
from a small event, I bought a pair of the popular shoes, Nike Air 1, for my younger brother,
but my mother disliked the style and said that they were very ugly. I wanted to demonstrate
my aesthetic, but she felt that my explanation challenged her power as a mother. She, then,
asked “Are these the things you learned from America?” and questioned her decision to give
2
me financial support to study aboard. During these struggles, I recognized that my whole life
was an example of the conflicts between the values of two cultures. Contemporary Western
family is more egalitarian, particularly, in the United States, even though it is relatively new.
The traditional Western family structure is also rigid, like the traditional Asian family. The
nuclear American family stresses individuality that ironically imposes a different form of
control, so many Western children growing up with two educational backgrounds have the
same issue as me. Due to my experience in the United States, in thesis, Western culture only
indicates the relative education in average American families. It is a common dilemma for us
to select if we should follow tradition or respect ourselves. These conflicts have led me to use
my graphic design skills to investigate how the issues I have faced and the mental struggles I
have experienced can enlighten people in similar situations.
As a designer and artist, it is important for me to convert an abstract idea directly to
communicate with people. I use the language of design and visual imagery to examine my
experience. The usage of images can affect people’s emotions and decisions, so inappropriate
methods can transmit negative effects, and using images should be careful. Guo, a Chinese
artist, who studied for two years in Great Britain, when interviewed about her work in 2016,
The Bliss of Conformity, discussed the issue of traditional marriage views in China. She said
that the standard of traditional marriage is determined by a female's age and her marriage
history. These traditional views represented the conflicts between Western and Eastern
cultures. In Western culture, the value of people should be comprehensively considered by
their contribution to society, while in Eastern culture, as female, women will be valued by
how they look. Inspired by Guo’s work, I became interested in using visual language to show
3
the families’ experience of the conflicts between two opposite cultural values.
4
Chapter One: One Year and Two Months
Introduction
The title of my first project is One Year and Two Months which refers to the age gap
between my younger brother and myself. The project is an A5 sized handmade book. The
concept of the book demonstrates the types of obligations the eldest child within a family
hold. I selected this book format for my experience because it represents strong sense of
privacy, like a diary. Before I made the final decision about which design format would best
to capture my experience, I researched other designers’ creative works, including Picture of
My Life by Junpei Ueda, a Japanese artist (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1: “Picture of My Life”. A spread page with a margin from Picture of My Life. From Junpei Ueda, by J.U. Ueda,
2017 (http://junpei-u photo.com/mylife_sale/index.html).

Ueda’s book is handmade and provided me with many possibilities of ideas for my book. It
also reminded me to narrow down my narrative and focus further on the topic of my story. As
5
a result of my research, I focused on the unequal treatment received by the oldest child within
the family. The project, One Year and Two Months, was born from a letter my mother wrote
(Figure 1.2), when I was 13 years old. This was an unusual communication method between a
daughter and her mother, who normally have the closest relationship in the world. The
subjects of the letter included instructions to care for my younger brother and to study hard
and get good grades. Twelve years later, I reviewed the letter. However, I was still unable to
understand why taking care of my younger brother was my obligation. I have asked my
parents why this is my responsibility, but the only reason I have received is that I am the
older sister.
China has two calculations for how age is determined. One is that the age of children is
determined from date of birth, which Chinese refer to as “full age”. The second is that when a
baby is born, they are already one year old because they existed in the mother's body for nine
months. When babies experience a new year, one more year is added, which is called
“nominal age”. This age is not connected to the specific date of birth. For example, if a baby
is born at the end of the year, they will quickly become two years old. Due to this nominal
age calculation, my parents always count the age gap between my brother and I as two years,
but it is actually one year, two months, and eight days. The book's title, One Year and Two
Months shows that when people consider a younger child as a child, they should notice that
the older child is also a child.
6

Figure1.2 “A Handwritten Letter”. The handwritten letter from my mother in my handmade book.

7
Cultural Research
My research can be divided into two parts. The first part analyses the relationship
between birth order and obligation within families. The second part studied various formats
for book design about my story. I started by investigating the traditional value that the eldest
children must take care of the younger children. This idea comes from Confucianism which
has strong influences in Eastern Asia, including China, Singapore, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan
(Yi, 2021). The relation between birth order and obligation is described by the following
quote, "The eldest brother should be like a father and the eldest sister should be like a
mother". According to the allusion, the quote is “The elder sister-in-law is like a mother,”
(Yangcheng Evening News, 2010). Originally, the story indicated that the wife of the eldest
brother has an obligation to be like a mother and to take care of the younger children because
their parents passed away. Gradually, people began to believe that the eldest sister should
also be like a mother. Wangyidingwei (2021), a Chinese news website, stated that based on
data analysis of 500 hundred questionnaires, more than 60 percent of respondents have
siblings, while 80 percent of the respondents had an age gap between them and the youngest
child in the family of less than ten years. Thus, when children become 18 years old, most of
the eldest brothers and sisters are not more than 20 to 28 years old and they do not have the
ability to individually raise their siblings. Also, due to the stereotyping of females and
propaganda about motherhood, people with a traditional Confucianism education have more
expectations for the eldest sister, such as helping their sibling under any conditions. The
relationship between the sibling becomes a common theme in TV dramas, such as My Older
Sister, the Oldest Sister Like a Mother. In the TV drama, the director described a dilemma the
8
eldest sister faced to choose if she sacrifices the chance of a better life to hold the moral
responsibilities of raising her siblings. Also, in Asian American families, the eldest child has
more pressure than in European American families because of Confucian values (Wu et al.,
2018). Thus, it is a common phenomenon for Asian families with a Confucian education to
require the eldest child to take care of the younger children.

Format Research
I selected the format for my project to be a handmade book, based on a classic Confucian
book, Li Ji by Mencius, which is also handmade. The book contains the quote that inspired
my project "The eldest sister should be like a mother and the oldest brother should be like a
father”. My research of book design led me to study editorial layout design, and various
forms of binding. Huang (2017), an art writer, wrote that when designers create books, they
should pay attention to fonts, color, and images to create a holistic visual experience for
audience. During the process of layout design, information design plays a vital role because it
selects the key points of the text and visualizes them so the audience can have a more logical
reading experience. An example of how content can be transferred to visual design is the
novel, Black and White, by Sally Morgen. The book is the story of how Australians look for
their history. The book’s cover was designed by Lv, a famous Chinese book designer, who
divided the cover to be black and white with a triangle and the shadow of kangaroos (Figure
1.3).
9

Figure 1.3: “Black and White”. The book cover of Black and White was designed to stress the topic and title of the novel.
From China News, n.d. (https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2012/10-25/4277442.shtml).

The way a book is packaged and bound, along with the cover design can directly impact
the reader's initial imagination. A books cover should create a connection to the audience
through the visual language it uses and should reflects the book’s content. Dodson, an
American book designer, designed the cover for Daddy’s in 2018, a novel about the relation
between sex, love, and violence, with a photo of a dirty tackle box because this novel began
with daddy’s tackle box (Figure 1.4). In my opinion, innovation is central to excellent book
package design and can improve the reading experience of audience.

10

Figure 1.4: “Daddy’s”. The book cover of Daddy’s was designed to appear like a tackle box. From Zach Dodson, by Z.D,
2018, (http://zachdodson.com/daddys). Copyright 2017 by Zach Dodson.

Moreover, the selection of paper materials is an important step in bookbinding.
According to On Lv Jingren's Overall Design Concept in Modern book design (Huang,
2017), book design had to consider five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste because
reading a physical book is the process of creating a multisensory experience by the
11
stimulation of paper materials. Thus, when people choose the materials to be used in the
book, they should consider the color, tactile feel, smell, weight, and size.

Process
The topic of my handmade book focuses on the birth order within a multi-child family in
Eastern Asia. However, gender also is a topic in this conversation. Narrowing the focus of my
book makes a concise story. For example, the artist, Mayumi Hosokura (2017) showed the
relationship between color, nature, and body in her work Jubilee. Junpei Ueda (2017) stated
how he is against the negative effects of his parents' death in the Picture of My Life. Both
artists are creating specific narrative work. I adopted the method Ueda selected to review my
memory and collect connected information. I recorded the words my parents used to persuade
me to give in to my younger brother and I collected family photos.
Then I began to think about typography. Microsoft San Serif is a system software font
and doesn't reflect very strong typographic research. The font should represent authority
because people who grow up under traditional Confucianism believe that parental rules are
true, so no extra explanation is provided. Finally, children who suffer from unequal treatment
feel that these words are ruthless, so a font selection should reflect a natural voice.
Also, according to the five relationships of traditional Confucianism (Figure 1.5), parents
have a higher rank than children, so I used large, bold font to type "mother" and "father", and
type "older child" and "younger child" on the second and third lines. The words were
collected from daily conversations between my mother and myself, so these do not fit in with

12

Figure 1.5: “Religions of Eastern Asia”.Confucianism requires five relationships in society. From google site, n.d.
(https://sites.google.com/site/religionsofeastasia/home/confucianism). CC-By 0

large font. When the type is too small, the audience will focus only on how to read clearly. To
ensure that the size of the fonts was being represented correctly, I printed each page several
times, because of the difference between in an appearance of the font on the computer screen
compared to the printed form. Subsequently, 11-point font was selected as the most readable
size.
During the process of organizing pictures, Chen’s book (Figure 1.7), Time from
Different Sources, and Ueda’s project (Figure1.6), Picture of My Life, showed that different
photography typesetting will stress different senses. Both artists' projects pay attention to the
rear of the book covers which act as a clue to the whole project so the audience could follow
it to better understand the context.
13

Figure 1.6: “Picture of My Life”. The rear cover page of the Picture of My Life. From Junpei Ueda, by J.U, 2017,
(http://junpei-u-photo.com/mylife_sale/index.html). Copyright 2017 by Junpei Ueda.

Figure 1.7: “Time from Different Source”. The rear cover page of Time from Different Source. From Xinhao Chen, by X.C,
2017. (https://www.chengxinhao.me/book-time-from different-sources-1). Copyright 2017 by Junpei Ueda.

Thus, in my project, I plan to put a picture of genealogy that represents Confucianism
because it stresses the importance of knowing ancestors. Also, in the past, women are not
14
allowed to read and write genealogy, so genealogy also represents the limitation of females.
Thus, I adopt genealogy as the back cover (Figure 1.9). As Figure 1.8, I fulfill the book cover
with my handwriting which is a Chinese character, Xiang. This character means imitation and
portrait which is a keyword in Confucianism that traditional parents educate their children.
For example, whenever my mother feels unsatisfied with my scores or my behaviors, she
would say that I was not like her daughter or ask me why I cannot be a better child like our
neighbor's kid. I indispose to follow my parents’ requirement to be someone, but my parents
educate me with this word, Xiang, again and again. Therefore, I choose the scribbled
handwriting to transmit the sense of upset.

Figure 1.8: “The book Cover of One Year and Two Months”. It adopted my handwriting of Chinese character “Like”.

15

Figure 1.9: “The back Cover of One Year and Two Months : Genealogy”. Confucianism encouraged collectivism, and the
existence of genealogy represents this view

In addition, according to Figure 1.10, keeping the margin of a formal family picture
stresses rituals because it invokes the relationships within this family. In one Year and Two
Months, I keep the margin of my formal family picture and used the old letter my mother
wrote to me as the background (Figure 1.2). It is beneficial to stress the special atmosphere of
a traditional Confucian family. In Confucian society, filial piety, the core value of
Confucianism, require that the elder generation are superior to the younger generations
(China - Regulations of Family Relationships, n.d.). Thus, even though it is a family, the rank
of Confucianism is still emphasized. Furthermore, the spread pictures also have different
typesetting. When a picture is without any margin but has strong contrast (Figure1.8), people
will get more visual impact.
16

Figure 1.10: “Picture of My Life”. A spread page without margin. From Junpei Ueda, by J.U, 2017, (http://junpei-u-
photo.com/mylife_sale/index.html). Copyright 2017 by Junpei Ueda.

In One year and Two Months, I use this typesetting to present a pair of crying eyes to
strengthen the visual effect, so it can better convey the eldest child being wronged
(Figure1.11). Except for these spread pages, most of the photos which are used to describe
the relationship between the elder and younger children include two subjects to stress the
unbalanced relationship. For example, in one of the pictures my project includes two trees
grown together, but one is bending because the other tree is laying on it. It uses symbolic
imagery to indicate the link between siblings and shows the pressure on the eldest child
(Figure 1.13). I choose the image of an apple to represent the parents’ attention and love in
Figure 1.12. “Apple” in the bible indicates the fault and I am jealous of my brother because
after my younger brother is born, everything I have is required to share. I should take care of
his behaviors and safety and not have any negative emotions. Thus, in Figure1.12, I design
the image of an apple with folded pages to show the process of sharing and my jealousy.
17

Figure 1.11: “Crying”. A pair of eyes after crying in One year and Two Months.

18

Figure1.12: “Apple”. The cross-page in One year and Two Month.

19

Figure1.13: “One year and Two Months”. These pages show the relationship between me and my sibling in One Year and
Two Months.
20
Chapter Two: Unlike
Introduction
Unlike is a series of woven 24 x 36 inches photos collages. This project explores what
types of identities children play with. The name Unlike is against my mother's accusation,
“you are not like my daughter.” In the traditional Chinese culture, children are considered as
the continuation of parents' lives rather than their own people as individuals, so parents have
high expectations of their children's lives. Thus, the words, “you are not like my daughter,”
indicates extreme disappointment from parents because parents are the authority in Confucian
family, they believe that compared to them, the child is a failure. Due to the transfer between
these high expectations and disappointments, the family atmosphere is always serious and
stressful. The pictures represent these conflicts between my mother's expectations and my
development.
This work is done after One year and Two Months. Due to the collection of material for
the handmade book, I began recollected words from my parents. When I organized the words
by context, such as money, character, and relationship, I found that the words "you are not
like my daughter" cannot be categorized, so I began researching the real meaning of these
words (Figure 2.1). Why did my mother use herself as a judgment criterion for my behaviors?
What kind of situations did she scold me with these words? Why do Chinese parents believe
that their children should be like them? Why does she consider me to be a failure?

21

Figure 2.1: “Mind Map”. A mind map of One Year and Two Months to organise materials.

Culture Research
If an Eastern Asia family follows the rules of Confucianism, the family’s conflicts arise
not only from the link between birth order and obligation, but also around when children
should follow all their parents’ orders (Figure 2.2). First, Confucianism requires five
relationship adherences: sovereign and people, father and children, husband and wife, the
eldest brother and siblings, senior friend, and junior friend. With the development of gender
equality, the relationship between the father and the children is extended to parents and
children. Second, according to Xiao Jing (Zeng, 2014.), one of the important beliefs of
Confucianism is “filial piety” because Confucius held that human behaviors is ultimately
motivated by “filial piety” (Qu, 2013). During the Han dynasty, many filial stories were
recorded in Hou Hanshu (Holzman, 1998). In the Yuan dynasty, Jujin Guo collected 24 filial
22
stories to advocate for the devotion of sons and daughters. The most extraordinary story was
that Ju Guo tried to bury his living son who was an infant to save food for his mother because
he was worried that his son would reduce the living standards of his mother. This extreme
behavior shows how ancient Chinese respected and followed “filial piety”.

Figure 2.2: “A research model on Confucian ethics, governance, and corporate social responsibility: implications for
labour”. The key values of Confucianism build the moral structure of the society of ancient China and influenced self-
awareness. From Semantic Scholar, by Kim, Low, and Ang (2013) (https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Confucian-
Ethics%2C-Governance-and-Corporate-Social-Kim-Low/e961ccc5bac2e5047abdcf2258d1e24a77ea6546). Copyright 2013
by Patrick Kim.

Nowadays, people do not adopt this extreme behavior, but they still are required to
service and follow their parents. In modern society, some scholars believe that propagating
filial value is beneficial to support good intergenerational relationships, but some people
believe that filial piety obligations have harmful effects on cultivating children's creative
characters (Yang et al, 2003). Filial piety, the submission of parents’ authority, means that
23
children cannot go against their parents, so they do not have the right to freely select their life
paths. Therefore, parents consider that their child is a continuation of themselves, and not an
individual.

Formats Research
Illustration design or image-making is a type of graphic design. In both the digital and
print field, image-making is a key discipline. Images are used to improve the audience's
understanding of the content. The practice of image-making: charts, photos, illustrations, and
drawings, often uses image libraries of graphic design to visualize information. Images have
a strong ability to solve the issue of understanding. Burn, Biswas, and Babin (1993)
mentioned that the function of images in advertising can shape the customers’ minds because
images could guide an audiences’ reading process. Also, research reveals that even though
fine art, psychology, and engineering students prefer different styles of pictures, they like
images more than verbal processing (Pérez-Fabello et al, 2018). Moreover, beyond visual
attraction, images can transfer ideas and feelings. In the Power of Visual Political
Communication: Pictorial Politics Through the Lens of Communication Psychology (2019),
because visual images refer to the cognitive shortcut in the process of deciding and aroused
emotional resonance, inappropriate usage of images would cause some negative effects.
Therefore, when people use visual pictures to tell stories, they should pay attention to the
layout and form of the images.

24
Process
After comparing the different mediums in design, I selected photography because
compared with the other methods of illustration design, photography represents more
accurately the “truth”. In daily life, people often use photos as evidence in newspapers and
legal actions. In art history, photography has played an important role in recording,
particularly documentary photography. Before introducing documentary photography, I want
to talk about cyanotype, a printing type of photography (Figure 2.3). Experiment Station
(2012) mentioned that cyanotype, a 170-year-old photographic printing method, was created
to reproduce notes. A botanist named Anna Atkins, used these skills to print objects on
photosensitive paper such as plants. The book of cyanotype paper by Atkins is the first
photograph. Thus, we can find that early photography is considered a recording process.
As shown in Figure 2.4, the German photographer, August Sander took 431
photographs to record people's real lives because he witnessed thousands of deaths while in
the military during the First World War (The MIT Press, n.d.). At present, these photographs
are considered as references when people study 1900s German occupations and dressing
styles. Thus, using photographs to create imagery can stress the realness of the story I tell in
my project.

25

Figure 2.3: “Anna Atkins algae cyanotype”.Anna Atkins put the plants on photosensitive paper to make botanic notes.
From The New York Public library, by A.A, 1843 (http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?419608). CC-By 0

Figure 2.4: “Jungbauern (Young farmers), Westerwald, 1914”.Three German farmers wearing suits standing on the.
From Artnet ，bY A.S, 1970 (http://www.artnet.com/artists/august-sander/jungbauern-young-farmers-westerwald-a-
UTNxA-MZD4RqkP1cEpxXTg2). Copyright 1970 by Gunther Sander.

26
Before collecting and selecting photographs, I list what types of messages I want to
convey. The topic of the project, Unlike, is the cognitive conflicts of children's identity
between two generations with different educational backgrounds. The root of these cognitive
conflicts is the definition of the relationship between parents and children in Western culture
and Confucianism. In traditional Confucianism, children must follow their parents'
requirements. Due to this concept, people cannot find terms: freedom, autonomy, and liberty
in traditional Chinese culture (Kwan, 2021). When parents dislike their children's dress,
makeup, or body shape, they will scold their children because they think their behavior is a
challenge to their authority. If children do not follow their orders, they will get more
seriously reprimanded. This behavior is against the "individual" concept in Western culture.
The younger generation has been educated by Western culture, so in this atmosphere they try
to go against their parents' behaviors and want to be respected as an individual. When I
experienced these issues, the tense atmosphere filled my home and I felt that I could not
breathe. The sense reminds me of an accident in which I almost drowned, so I took photos
underwater to simulate the tense atmosphere. Also, as Figure 2.5 shows, “control” in
Chinese writing is formed by the "hand" radical, so I took gesture photos underwater to
express the sense of control (Figure 2.6).
27

Figure 2.5: “Control in Chinese”.The picture is how "control" is written in Chinese, with the left part of the first
Chinese character representing the hand. From Baidu, by Baidu Baike, n.d. (https://baike.baidu.com/item/ 控制
/948703.). Copyright 2022 by Baidu.

Figure 2.6: “Unlike”. A weaving project with a hand and body.

Moreover, the gender stereotype is also part of the conflict, which is not only in
Confucianism but also in the western culture, so some of the older generations give
28
standards to measure children's behaviors, including personality, outlook, and life goals.
People can find these standards in Chinese poems because the Chinese prefer to apply
ancient poems with flowers to describe girls. For example, my parents believed that girls
should have a scholarly style with a simple outlook and boys should be successful. To
respond to these standards, I chose images with modern skyscrapers and flowers as the
symbol of the gender stereotypes.
The other problem in the family is linked to children's identity. Due to the concept of
Confucianism, parents consider that children are the continuation of their life, so the
individual identities of children are ignored in most east Asian families. The different minds
of the two generations represent the conflicts between the collective and the individual. In
Chinese culture, people use the word "Zhifanyesheng” to describe a family with many
generations. In English, people name a map of family relationships as a family tree, so I
collected photos with tree branches to represent the collective.
Finally, the composing method of the photo is also important. Besides considering the
context of photos, how to organize pictures to perform the contrast also influences the
effects of the project. First, even though the inspiration for my project, Unlike, is from my
personal experience, the phenomenon projects mentioned is a common issue in a family with
traditional Confucianism values. For this reason, my work should not have strong personal
symbols, like clear faces. I used computer skills to look for a better-composed way.
However, as Figure 2.6 shows, the effects of the work done by the computer cannot provide
the sense of shock I want. Thus, I began to look for more forms.

29

Figure 2.7: “The Composite Pictures”. The work consists of three pictures made in Photoshop.

As shown in Figure 2.7, two examples done by photoshop try to perform the conflicts of
family relationships between two generations, but it cannot show the close communication
between different images. Then, the work done by David Hockney gave me a new idea of
how to deal with the pictures. The collages art reminds me of the word “weave”. Weaving is
one of the oldest human life skills, so the vertical and horizon materials are interspersed in
the same plane (Figure 2.8). This skill can express the process of communication between
two opposite subjects. The collective and the individual opinions are represented by the
vertical and horizon line of weaves and their communication is the same as the weaving
process. Also, the weave can transfer the vivid sense of touch, so it can enrich the audience's
experience (Figure 2.10).

30

Figure 2.8: “Nickolas Wilder Studying Picasso. Los Angeles”. College projects use various photos from different
perspectives to create a new portrait image. From David Hockney, by D.H, 1982
(https://www.hockney.com/works/photos/composite-polaroids). Copyright 2022 by David Hockney.

Figure 2.9: “A Weaving Skill”. A basic weaving method is to intersperse with vertical and horizon lines. From Love to
Know, by the Department of Fashion, n.d. (https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fabrics-fibers/weaving). Copyright
2022 by Love to Know Media.
31

32

Figure 2.10: “The Detail of Weaving”. The picture shows the sample of Unlike.

Moreover, according to 17 Tips for Designing with Type on a Photo (2020), adding a
strong contrast in my imagery design is beneficial to absorb the audience's attention. The
contrast can be the color, subject, and motion. As shown in Figure 2.8, better color contrast
helps the audience read efficiently. To show the different concepts between the two
generations, the pictures I adopt should have strong color contrast. Finally, I selected two
images with strong color contrast to be a group. After ensuring the performance and contrast,
I began to compare the effects of different sizes. The first size I choose was 11 x 17 inches
because of the limitation of the trimmer's size. The final visual effects transferred the visual
shock, but it was not enough. Thus, after comparing the effects of different sizes, I choose
the 24 x 36 size to print the photo.
33

Figure 2.11: “Colour Contrast”. The stronger colour between text and pictures can improve the effectiveness of images. From
Unsplash, by K.M, 2020 (https://uxplanet.org/how-to-use-images-effectively-in-your-design-
34
Chapter Three: For Your Own Good
Introduction
For Your Own Good is a project of typography posters with the dimensions 18 x 24
inches. For Your Own Good aims to show the power of “pressure education”. Chinese
define “pressure education" as an education style that parents react to children's
behaviors and question with negative words. It affects children's psychological health
and ability to control their emotions. However, as executors of "pressure education”,
parents always ignore the energy of verbal oppression. When children get a negative
reaction from their parents, they will doubt if their behaviors are meaningful, so they
gradually come to lack confidence and motivation.
Education is an important part of human society because it is the key element in the
development of personality and moral values. Nowadays, one educational method has
become a controversial topic in China. In a television show, Things about Youth, the
oldest actress kept denying the suggestions of the younger generations. She suggested an
idea and forced all younger attendants to support her. When a younger actor tried to relax
the atmosphere, she told him that he had no strengths. Finally, the atmosphere of this
show became depressing and stressful. This behavior caused thousands of people to post
the similar conversation with their parents on the Internet. Then, someone named it
"repressive education" or "pressure education". In my experience, many people have
gone through this. My mother also adopted "repressive education" because she believed
that it is good way to avoid raising conceited children. When I was in primary school, I
received good scores in math. I told my parents about this good news and wanted to get
35
encouragement. My mother only asked me why I was not the top of the class because
she did not want me to feel arrogant.

Culture Research
First, Confucianism requires the power of parents in a family. I have already
mentioned the cultural background in project two in which Confucianism requires that
children cannot argue with their parents because of filial piety. If not, children will be
judged immoral by Chinese social standards. Second, Confucianism defines that seniors
should be respected by the young. This is why the younger generations did not go
against the older actress in the television show. If they did, many people would think that
they are impolite or worse immoral. Thus, it causes an issue with children's
psychological health by being over-suppressed. There are two causes why “pressure
education” is popular in modern Chinese families.
Above all, parents believe that “pressure education” can push children to work hard.
They support a Chinese phrase, “Modesty makes people progress, but pride makes
people fall back". Thus, they ignore the progress and strengths of their children and
instead focus on their children’s weaknesses. To keep children’s modesty, the older
generation is accustomed to being sarcastic with their children (Eight Babies, 2020).
Thus, children have doubt about their abilities.
In addition, parents ignore the harm through sarcasm. The negative effect of this
approach is expressed in both the English phrase “words are sharper than knives” and the
Chinese phrase "An abusive language leads to people feeling cold in summer". Negative
36
words cause children psychological issues. "Strike education" prevails? Data analysis
analyzes the "suppressive education" of "Chinese parents" (2020) conducted research
with1,000 teenagers and found that children who are often scolded at home have character
issues, including being self-abasing, anxious, and indifferece (Figure3.1).

Figure 3.1: “The Distribution of Children’s Negative Characters”. In the pie chart, blue represents “self-abased”, orange
represents "anxiety", and grey represents indifference. From Proginn, by Shujushenran, 2020
(https://jishuin.proginn.com/p/763bfbd34340).

Formats Research
In order to convey a clear message in my work, I focused on typographic design. An
important step in book design is choosing a suitable typeface. According to Understanding
Typography (n.d.), when a designer chooses a typeface they should consider the style,
legibility, and readability which is decided by aperture, ascender, baseline, cap height,
37
descender, leading, letter-spacing, sans serif, serif, stem, stroke, and x- height (Figure 3.2).
For example, the larger type size with a wider letter spacing can improve readability.

Figure 3.2: “Understanding Typography”.Names of letterform parts: aperture, ascender, baseline, cap height, descender,
leading, letter-spacing, sans serif, serif, stem, stroke, and x-height. From Material Design, by Material Design, n.d.
(https://material.io/design/typography/understanding-typography.html#type-properties).

The narrow letter space will bring the reader the sense of crowding, like being squeezed
tightly. A proper lettering space brings a comfortable reading experience.
Fonts can be divided into five basic types: script, monospaced, display, sans serif, and
serif. Many typefaces may be neither or both. Typefaces have different personalities. Serif
fonts often represent elegance and are classic, so it is not suited for exaggeration and
humorous contexts. The unsuitable typeface will disrupt readers. Certain fonts will bring
certain feelings, like the mood and tone of information. Typographic design not only
considers typefaces but also organizes the context, so the audience's reading efficiency is
improved. color, legible context, layout, size, and hierarchy should be carefully considered by
38
a graphic designer (Carton, 2020). For example, designers use a different color or larger size
to highlight the keywords of content so that the project can grab viewers’ attention and get the
most important information immediately. Moreover, Text hierarchy indicates the way placing
text which uses appropriate weight, size, and color to build up a visual order or visual
hierarchy. The hierarchy of the content is decided where the audiences read first, so designers
pay attention to the use or design of the different fonts. For example, the thesis commonly
requires using bold and 14-point subtitles to divide the context and improve the reading
experience. To avoid any disruption, the thesis requires that content should be 12-point and
the explanations under images adopt a 9-point size. It is because of text hierarchy.
Those points also can be used in poster design. Typography can be used to make
keywords stand out by changing size, color, and weight, so viewers can catch keywords.
Also, the different alignments and fonts can help posters to be more unique, but the alignment
should match the majority reading custom. It improves the legibility of text on posters. Both
typography and poster design are aimed at communication and the transfer of information.
Thus, according to content, choosing the right font and building up the basic tone and mood
of the poster is an important step. I have mentioned that different typefaces have different
personalities. When designers use more than one typeface, they should consider the link
between the two fonts and ensure the second one would not have conflicts with the first one.
If fonts are the tone novelist used, and text is the content of the novel, it will be like the
example I choose. In this case, the content of the novel is a sad story, but the tone is
humorous, and sometimes, mixed with a formal tone. Readers cannot immerse themselves in
the story because of the tone.
39

Process
After I completed the research, the first step of creating my project was to choose the
typeface. Ellen Lupton who wrote Thinking with Type categorizes type into Serif, Sans Serif,
Monospace, Script, and Display typefaces. First, I excluded serif fonts because it is not suited
for the exaggerated layout of the poster. Also, the text is from daily communication which
conflicts with the "formal" and "elegant" characters of serif fonts. The large font makes the
reader feel like someone is yelling. Due to this reason, the final font should not be a large
point size. Also, the handwriting style has a strong personality. The project discusses a
common phenomenon, so the fonts should avoid personal symbols. Then, display typography
works best with a larger point size. Thus, I wanted to choose a font that uses monospaced and
sans-serif styles. According to the Chinese phrase "An abusive language leads to people
feeling cold in summer”, I wanted to choose Bergen Mono which is a computer programming
font (Figure3.3).
The words, “For your own good”, always exist in pressure education. It is a popular
reason in Chinese families to answer children’s questions and show parents’ devotion. Parents
often stress on “own”. It puts a child in an awkward position. If children do not follow their
parents’ orders, the public, particularly, the older generation, will consider they are ungrateful
people. Meanwhile, as a child, I will feel guilty about resisting my parents’ requirements.
Sometimes, this sentence will switch a little bit. For example, when my parents broke out a
violent quarrel, my mother would talk to me that because you and my brother need a
complete family, I did not divorce. Thus, I named this project, For Your Own Good.
40

Figure3.3: “Bergen Mono”. Bergen Mono is a monospaced sans serif font. From Envato Tutsplus, by N.B, 2019
(https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/29-best-monospace-fonts--cms-34062). Copyright 2022 by Envato Pty Ltd.

My purpose in creating a series of typography posters is to show the strong effect of
negative language. There are two reasons why I adopted red and circle to be part of the
posters (Figure 3.4). First, as a female, I received more body shaming and slut-shaming.
These memories accompany me throughout my puberty, like acne. Second, when children
grow up under “pressure education”, they are surrounded by sarcasm, so I designed
typographic posters to transfer the sense of asphyxia and bondage. Pressure education hurts
children’s confidence and character, like a constant wound. The red circle on posters also
indicates a drop of blood. Because parents prefer to stress the word “own” when they say it is
“for your own good,” I use small red circles to replace the “O” (Figure 3.4).
The whole context of this project is from daily communication between my mother and
me. While I consider “for your own good” as a potential pressure education, the other words
41
in this education system are to deny and insult. However, according to Confucianism, parents
are the authority in the family. Children should follow the older generation, so they cannot
ask why. If I did so, my mother would have accused me of rebellious behavior by “talking
back.” The only way to endure pressure education was to keep silent. For Your Own Good
is the rebuttal of this antiquated education.

42

Figure 3.4: “For Your Own Good”. Posters display the daily communication in my family.
43
Conclusion
The design projects included in my thesis are means to analyze and visualize the
conflicts between two education systems, Confucianism and Western family culture. I am
deeply rooted in Confucianism but pursue my individuality. It is also the situation of many
young generations growing up in traditional Eastern Asian families. In One Year and Two
Months, I stand on the perspective of the eldest child, particularly, the eldest sister, and show
the dilemmas of growing up within a traditional Chinese family. My work aims to illuminate
what it’s like to experience both worlds. When I design Unlike, I represent a child who wants
to be respected as an individual after feeling the freedom of by Western individualism. The
last project, For Your Own Good, is created for daughters who are growing up with pressure
education. These various issues I treated with different visual identities but all with one
unifying the conflict of traditional Eastern rearing and the challenge of becoming independent
and living as one wish to live. I selected the most common one to be the topic of my projects.
I have witnessed the development of feminism in Eastern Asia and considered that my
work represents thousands of East Asian women who have similar experiences to mine. From
my own experience I have witnessed how feminism in Eastern Asia (China), continues to
evolve often conflicting with our traditional rearing.
44
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract The concept of "the individual" within families is a topic of interest to me and is similar to the issue of identity differentiation in child psychology. This paper focuses on exploring what the role of a child can be within the family. I have designed a series of artworks including handmade books, photos, and videos that examine this issue. Based on my personal experience, my design projects explore common conflicts between a child’s self-recognition of what an individual is and their parents' recognition of how children should behave. I use my lessons with my parents as the foundation for these projects to demonstrate the conflicts between my parents and me. One of my projects uses a handbook as the medium to tell my story since the relationship between family members is personal, and the handbook also shares this quality. The handbook is small to stress the "personal" identity which often conflicts with grand family expectations.
Also, in a related project, I research the commonality of a lack of basic respect for the individual in Asian families. Daily exchanges between my family and me were collected and then used to design a series of posters. I did this work to show the kinds of pain children suffer so that we could realize the power of words.
Another series of works utilizes large-scale hand-woven photos to present the identity issue caused by cultural conflicts. In China where I was raised, the younger generation is heavily influenced by what they read and see on the Internet. This context is created by Western culture. The older generation is not exposed to these technologies and as a result, their opinions do not change. I contrast the younger generation grows up in an environment that exposes them to a variety of ideas. To illustrate this cultural conflict between
generations, I designed a series of weavings that use two pictures that represent ideas from two different perspectives, this illustrates the mixed-minded environment that many young Asians experience.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Weng, Ziyun (author)

Core Title Visualizing the effects of cultural communication on the individual: Confucianism and new family structure

School Roski School of Art and Design

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Design

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 01/20/2023

Defense Date 01/20/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag birth order,Confucianism,identity,individual,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Wojciak, Ewa (committee chair), Ellenburg, Jason (committee member), O'Connell, Brian (committee member)

Creator Email ziyunwen@usc.edu,zoeweng900@gmail.com

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