The Establishment Of Curriculum System Of Chinese Modern Design Education In 1980s

The education of modern design is a product of modern industrial civilization. The modern design education in China has been developed for almost a centenary since its germination period in the Republic of China, which has an inevitable impact on the form of Chinese modern design education. The Chinese modern design education, influencing by the economic, cultural, political and other background factors in different periods, has shown different stages of development and characteristics. This article discusses the starting and the construction of the Chinese modern design education curriculums in the late seventies to the mid-eighties of the twenty-first century, and focuses on the modern design education in China’s mainland during the initial period of Reform-open (in 1978 to 1988).Also, this article detailedly describes the introduction of Three Constructions’basic courses into China, and the establishing of modern industrial design education and the building process of modern design history and theory in China. The analysis of the changes from Chinese arts and crafts education to modern design education is as the focus of this study.Before the Reform-open period, Chinese design education was the arts and crafts education mainly combined by pattern education and manual education and other forms of education. And because of social unrest and political movement factors, the conventional design education hasn’t actualized the changeover to modern design education. And with the reform of economy as well as the cultural release, the thoughts of modern design education from occident countries and Japan were introduced to China’s mainland. In addition, some teachers came back to China by finishing visiting and study abroad in the earlier eighties. These become both subjective and objective impetus to the modern design education of China. At that time, colleges set up courses related to the subject of modern design one after another, including Three Constructions by Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, which are the plane constitution, the color constitution and three-dimensional constitutes courses related to modern industrial design courses by Central Academy of Art and Design and the history and theory of modern design. The education of design foundation, major design and design history and theory, are three important basics that construct the Chinese modern design education, which has formed after a few years of development. In a wide range of collection and by the interview with those who lived at that time and experienced personally such as Liu Guanzhong, Kan Taikeung and Wang Shouzhi, this article has written down the context of modern design education in China during the initial Reform-open period and made a further theoretical analysis. By summing up the history and the research, not only allow us to further understand the essence of modern design education, but also make use to the building of future modern design education in China.