Re-encoding Tradition: Semiotic Strategies of Contemporary Chinese Art

Abstract

In the context of the mutual influence of global artistic trends and national cultural strategies, contemporary Chinese art undergoes a significant transformation of creative paradigms. It consistently departs from both direct borrowing of Western models and formal reproduction of traditional aesthetic canons, striving to develop an independent visual system that organically integrates cultural heritage, individual artistic style, and the potential for intercultural dialogue. Within this process, the mechanisms of coding and meaning-making of visual symbols in contemporary Chinese artistic practice become the focus of the research. A key vector for renewing national artistic identity is not technical perfection, but the deconstruction and reinterpretation of cultural meanings. The work of contemporary art ceases to be merely an object of aesthetic contemplation and acquires the status of a symbolic text, in which the artist captures meaningful layers representing cultural identity, the spirit of the times, and personal existential experience. The study relies on semiotic tools (Peirce, Barthes, Derrida) and a dual coding strategy, allowing for the deconstruction of traditional symbols, updating their cultural content in a contemporary context, and overcoming both interpretative distortions and creative unification, thus forming a nationally rooted artistic symbolism for international dialogue. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the systemic integration of the theoretical models of R. Barthes, C.S. Peirce, and J. Derrida, based on which a three-level analytical structure is developed that distinguishes formal-sign, cultural-symbolic, and contextual-interpretive aspects of the artistic image. Unlike previous works, this study offers a comprehensive operational model applicable to a wide range of visual practices. The analysis of the works of six representative authors (Gu Wenda, Xu Bing, Wang Huaiqing, Lin Tianmiao, Zhang Yanzi, Cai Guoqiang) allowed for the typification of the main strategies for transforming traditional cultural images—from hieroglyphic deconstruction to contextual desacralization. The theoretical significance of the work lies in overcoming stereotypical interpretations of Eastern art, characteristic of the orientalist paradigm, and in justifying an independent sign system of contemporary Chinese art that is not reducible to ethnographic exoticism or adherence to Western models. The proposed structure can serve as a tool for art criticism, curatorial practice, and educational programs.