Technology and Cultural Integration: Tianjin Museum's Digital Transformation
Date：2023-07-31
Yao Yang, Director of Tianjin Museum, stated during the third dialogue of the China-Europe-America Museums Cooperation Initiative that museums are one of the most direct and convenient ways for people to understand different cultures, but they still need to use the bonding power of technology to fill "the gaps between objects and objects, as well as between objects and culture". Using the example of Tianjin Museum's "Sound Across Thousands of Years: Selected Ancient Musical Heritage", Dr. Yao explored how museums could employ digital technologies like AR and MR to overcome limitations in cultural communication, thus deepening the audience's understanding of the cultural significance of exhibited artifacts. In recent years, Tianjin Museum has organized several high-level exhibitions on international cultural and historical themes, and Dr. Yao used the "Pompeii: The Infinite Life" exhibition as an example to illustrate the significance of effective communication and mutual sharing of cultural information in promoting cultural integration.
Yao Yang studied at Nanjing University, where he received his bachelor's degree in law, master's and doctoral degrees in history, and a postdoctoral position in Chinese classical literature at the Faculty of Arts. He has served as the director of the Li Shutong Memorial Hall, the deputy director of the Tianjin Museum, the director of the Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center, and is currently the director of the Tianjin Museum. He has a long career in research of art history and cultural heritage conservation, published dozens of academic papers, organized "Danqing on the Wall - Exhibition of Ancient Murals in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei", "Mingsha Legacy - Exhibition of Dunhuang Archive from the Collection of the Tianjin Museum" and other more than 20 exhibitions. At the beginning of 2023, Dr. Yao co-organized with the China Institute Gallery an exhibition in New York, called "Flowers on the River: The Art of Chinese Flower and Bird Painting, 1368-1911". He has led and participated in several academic projects at or above the provincial and ministerial levels. In 2020, he was awarded as an outstanding expert by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the PRC.
Full text of the speech
Tianjin Museum, established in 1918, has a history of 105 years and is one of the earliest museums in China with modern significance. It currently houses a collection of over 210,000 cultural relics, encompassing important categories such as ceramics, calligraphy, painting, jade artifacts, oracle bones, gold and silverware, glassware, and imperial seals. It is also one of the first batch of top-level museums in China.
When it comes to cultural integration and technological innovation, in my opinion, it all starts with establishing knowledge and understanding between different cultures. Museums play a crucial role in this regard by showcasing a wide range of collections that serve as significant cultural and material imprints. Through these collections, museums provide a tangible means to convey certain elements and characteristics of culture to the audience, which represents one of the advantages of museums.
However, museums also have certain limitations when promoting cultural communication and integration. One limitation is that the information conveyed through cultural artifacts is often incomplete, representing only one facet of the overall cultural system. Attempting to interpret the entirety of a culture based on limited artifacts is undoubtedly quite challenging. Especially when it comes to important aspects within the cultural system, such as people’s way of life and production, the social fabric of life, and the process and context of cultural development, obtaining a clear understanding solely through static artifacts is difficult. This is where the power of technology can help us address this issue.
With the help of various digital technologies, we can recreate the process by which specific cultural artifacts were produced, explore their historical and cultural backgrounds, and highlight the historical functions associated with these exhibited artifacts. This aids in deepening the audience's understanding of the cultural significance and intrinsic value of the displayed cultural relics. For instance, Tianjin Museum is currently hosting a significant exhibition called "Sound Across Thousands of Years: Selected Ancient Musical Heritage". In this exhibition, we showcase over 200 representative musical artifacts from different historical periods in China. However, some of these ancient instruments, such as bianzhong (bronze bells) and nao (cymbals), are no longer in use in contemporary society, making it challenging for modern people to grasp their functions and the sounds they produce.
Therefore, utilizing immersive digital technologies, we have created a "Melody Wall". Visitors can not only visually explore the detailed features of these ancient musical artifacts from all angles on this digital wall but also observe them in their entirety. By touching the wall with their hands, they can trigger visual changes that show the functions and the enchanting sounds produced by these ancient musical artifacts in the past. This allows the audience to gain the most direct understanding of the historical functions and cultural value of these artifacts.
The key to cultural integration lies in people, and the reception and transmission of cultural information are rooted in people as well. For museums, young people are a focal group of attention and an essential force in cultural information dissemination. However, traditional exhibition and educational methods employed by museums often lack sufficient appeal for contemporary young individuals. This necessitates harnessing the power of technology to address these shortcomings. For instance, at Tianjin Museum, we extensively utilize various technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR), along with relevant digital imagery, to enhance the sense of immersion for young people in specific cultural environments. This allows them to experience cultural backgrounds as realistically as possible, improving their understanding and fostering their interest in embracing culture.
In addition to understanding and cognition, effective communication between different cultures and the dissemination and sharing of cultural information are another key aspect of cultural integration. Over the years, Tianjin Museum has organized numerous high-level exhibitions on international cultural and historical themes, covering ancient Egyptian civilization, ancient Roman civilization, Mediterranean civilization, African civilization, and more. In these exhibitions, technology has been extensively employed to minimize the sense of geographical barriers between cultures or civilizations.
In 2018, Tianjin Museum, in collaboration with relevant museums in Italy, jointly held the exhibition "Pompeii: The Infinite Life". In this exhibition, visitors had the opportunity to admire the exquisite artifacts from the ancient city of Pompeii. However, some Chinese visitors might not fully understand the disappearance of this ancient city and the associated civilization. To address this, in a specific space within the exhibition, we not only recreated the historical life of Pompeii but also used digital means to reconstruct the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the moment of the city's destruction. This allows visitors to have a more vivid experience of the entire process of cultural demise, fostering a sense of emotional resonance in relation to cultural loss.
Furthermore, we have been consistently utilizing digital technology over the years to collect and utilize information about the rich cultural artifacts in our collection. By establishing an online museum and utilizing various media platforms on mobile phones and other devices, we gradually release and display visual information of these collections. This enables audiences from different cities and regions within China, as well as international audiences, regardless of their proximity, to share the achievements brought about by technological informatization.
In conclusion, visiting museums and exploring cultural artifacts is the most direct and convenient way for people to understand different cultures. However, in the process of encountering cultural artifacts and achieving cultural integration, there needs to be an effective understanding and connection. There is a gap that exists between objects and objects, as well as between objects and culture, and this gap requires a force to bridge it. I believe that technology can play a significant role as a vital force in serving as a bond and building bridges in the understanding and connection of cultures.
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