The relationship between design criticism and society in modern China: A case study of the Nanyang Industrial Exposition

Abstract Based on the context of the political, economic, cultural, and technological environment of modern Chinese society, this study adopts the approach of critical discourse analysis to elucidate the social meanings produced by the design criticism texts in the Nanyang Industrial Exposition and the dialectical relationship between the texts and the social structure. Based on an analysis of 66 articles on design criticism and 70 articles on social context published between 1908 and 1930, three main points are proposed in this study. First, critics should discuss design in a broader social context to relate the design to production, consumption, and people’s everyday lives. Second, any public area that encourages ‘conversation’ can serve as a platform for design criticism. Third, critical writing should not be limited by genre, as it should be presented to readers in any form that provokes thought.