"DianShi": DianShiZhai Pictorial And The Design Problem Between 1884-1898

"DianShiZhai"is the lithography publishing house under the system of Shanghai newspaper office established by the British businessman Ernest Major with the purpose of"golden touch to benefit the later generations". DianShiZhai Pictorial is the first Chinese lithography Pictorial created and published by Ernest Major. The name of the Pictorial comes from the name of the publishing house"DIanShiZhai". With"DIanShi"as design value based on the masses, the paper used"DianShi"of"DianShiZhai"as point of penetration to discuss the relationship between the DianShiZhai Pictorial and design problem between 1884 to1898.As a sort of printing culture for the masses, the research of the design of the DianShiZhai Pictorial should be based on its early block-prinited edition so the paper is on the early block-prinited edition of DianShiZhai Pictorial with abundant content and complete form. As case study of modern Chinese design history, the research method of the paper would combine"qualitative research"and"grounded theory"from social science together with material culture research method. The following is the paper's train of thought:First, use Shanghai—the immmigrant city rised in the modern times as representive subject and audience of DianShiZhai Pictorial. Analyse mass media as the technique and popularizing platform of DianShiZhai Pictorial, through which to analyse the population structure of Shanghai and its social condition in the late Qing dynasty, the historical context of the design and living situation at that time.Second, from the view point of the combination of culture and commerce, the author discussed the early block-prinited edition of DianShiZhai Pictorial'transformation from traditional book to modern newspaper under Major's management concept; besides, analyzed its relationship with Major's printing image strategy, management strategy and the Sheng newspaper office system which combined printing, publishing and circulating.Third, through the picture and words in DianShiZhai Pictorial to investigate the design and life of Shanghai, which is a combination of West and East. To discuss the characteristic of fashion design and consumption in the late Qing dynasty; the relationship between consumption and space in public furnishing design; public facility, transportation design and the social problems they confronted; the influence of the interactive reaction of Chinese culture and West culture to modern design of daily goods and how West material culture entered into people's life through modern design.In the end, to make a conclusion of the value of"DianShi", that's to make people's life better through design. Analyze the position of DianShiZhai Pictorial in the modern Chinese design history and Major's contribution. Discuss the influence of the design of DianShiZhai Pictorial. In the appendix, there is a list of content of each issue of DianShiZhai Pictorial, where there is a systematic record of publishing date and the content of the supplement, which will be helpful for the further and deep research.