Decoding the Cross-Cultural Symbolism of “Han Dynasty Nanyang Picture Stone Bactrian Camel” in the Design of Chinese Characters-Implications for Chinese Poster Design Research

AbstractThe present study explores the cross-cultural symbolism of the bactrian camel image in Chinese character design through a multidisciplinary approach that combines historical artefacts with artificial intelligence to generate design experiments. Utilising camel images from the Nanyang pictorial stones of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) as the iconology baseline, Pannowsky’s three-layer iconolgy analysis was employed to decode the camel’s biomorphology and cultural encoding mechanism. As demonstrated in the relevant literature, there is a correlation between the biological characteristics of the camel, such as the S-shaped curve of the neck and the Z-shaped joints of the legs, and the strokes of Chinese characters (e.g., ” (”, “?”). This correlation has been verified through AI fusion experiments, which have shown a similarity of 92% in the alignment of the neck curves. The proposed “structural metaphor” methodology reveals the possibility of integrating biomorphic forms of non-hieroglyphic Chinese characters (e.g., “?” camel) in accordance with the principles of calligraphic aesthetics, which reflects the transformation of the camel from a practical means of transport along the Silk Road to a cultural symbol. The study provides an innovative approach to negative space dynamics and biomechanical simulation in Chinese poster design, and advocates interdisciplinary collaboration to promote the narrative dimension and cultural carrying capacity of Chinese character design.