撰文/傅榆翔

在人类世（Anthropocene）的宏大叙事中，单一物种作为文化载体的创意实践，正从传统展览美学转向跨学科、跨文明的生态话语体系。无论是日本“招财猫”对都市神话的演绎，澳大利亚原住民文化中“狗图腾”的当代转译，还是欧盟“濒危物种元宇宙档案馆”的数字文明探索，全球以动物符号为媒介的文化创新，已形成独特的“生物符号政治经济学”。

在这一全球趋势中，中国成都发起的首届熊猫创意设计大赛，不仅续写了大熊猫作为文化能指的百年外交史，更以系统性范式创新，推动了非西方中心主义生态美学体系的构建，为城市与国家文化软实力竞争提供了全新范例。

一、深度生态学视域下的单一物种叙事革命

相较于泛动物主题的浅层表达，专属性赛事呈现出三重根本性突破：

文化编码与拟像升级：由传统动物展览迈向单一物种文化IP体系，推动文化基因的跨媒介复制与演化。

参与机制由消费转向共创：打破单向度审美消费，构建多主体协作的生态系统，形成符号考古与当代转译的新路径。

社会效能从情感疗愈到意识重塑：引导公众在审美体验中完成生态意识与文明价值的再生产。

成都熊猫大赛通过“熊猫宇宙”IP构建，实现了从物种保护叙事向生态文明哲学输出的认知跃迁。参赛作品中提炼的“竹韵美学”“黑白辩证法”“和合共生观”，以东方生态智慧回应了全球环境危机，与日本猫文化的“物哀”精神、北欧驼鹿文化的“萨米哲学”形成了跨文明对话网络。

二、世界级文化名城建构中的熊猫路径

后全球化时代，城市之间的竞争，早已从基础设施竞争，转向文化符号与精神坐标的争夺。成都的实践，提供了历史性范例：

符号资本升维

将熊猫从自然生物升维为“可编程文化符号”，通过NFT数字藏品、沉浸式戏剧、XR体验等23种形态，持续裂变文化附加值，推动从“景点经济”到“精神经济”的转型。

产业生态重塑

打造完整的“创意-设计-制造-体验-社交-沉浸”六位一体产业链，预计到2025年，大熊猫衍生品全球交易额将突破10亿元，成为全球文化经济新增长极。

全球话语权重塑

在COP28气候大会上，成都提出的“熊猫碳汇美学”成为发展中国家文化应对气候变化的案例，进一步确立了新兴国家在全球环境话语权体系中的地位。

通过这种全链路系统创新，成都不仅在区域竞争中脱颖而出，更在世界文化版图上，确立了作为**“生态文明IP中心城市”**的国际身份。

三、生物图腾与国家文化软实力重塑

在全球文化符号版图中，生物图腾已成为国家软实力的核心支点之一。

美国米老鼠：由动画IP进化为国家亲和力象征；

日本招财猫与吉祥物经济：深度绑定地方经济复兴与全球软文化输出；

北欧麋鹿：塑造了北欧国家生态哲学与环保先锋形象。

而成都以熊猫为核心的文化创意战略，正在实现生物图腾的三级进化：

从自然保护 → 到文化叙事 → 再到生态文明精神输出

不仅为中国文化软实力布局提供了新的战略高地，也为全球文化治理体系的多元化、去中心化演进贡献了东方智慧。

四、潮流与时尚领域的话语权新格局

在全球文化潮流与时尚领域，年度话语权的竞争，实质是符号与想象力的竞争。

熊猫作为文化载体，在以下几个方向正快速突围：

潮流符号再编码：通过高定品牌联名、元宇宙虚拟时装、街头文化深度合作，将熊猫转化为“全球青年精神象征”；

文化节奏掌控：每年以熊猫主题为引爆点的创意赛事、NFT发布、国际巡展，逐步主导全球艺术与设计界年度议程设置；

趋势与话语风向标：熊猫元素已连续三年出现在米兰设计周、伦敦时装周、Art Basel等顶级展会，成为东方文化软实力潮流的晴雨表。

成都通过熊猫文化，正在构建一套独立于西方时尚霸权之外的“东方潮流新叙事”，不仅塑造了城市自身的新文化标签，更为中国文化在全球潮流产业中的崛起铺设了话语通道。

五、未来展望：元宇宙时代的文化孪生体实验

未来十年，单一物种文化赛事将在以下三大方向进化：

神经美学实验场，脑机接口+嗅觉VR装置，重构竹林生态记忆，推动熊猫意识可视化创作，建立“感知孪生”新维度。

全球文明对话超导体，熊猫IP在“一带一路”数字文明走廊中，成为跨文化理解与文明互译的“罗塞塔石碑”，通过区块链实现全球协作式文化共创。

生态文明的精神孪生体，当古蜀文明的青铜神树与硅基时代的量子熊猫在数字空间相遇，我们不仅见证了文化科技融合的新纪元，更见证了人类对自然与自我关系的重新定义。

真正具有世界级意义的城市，永远擅长将地域生物符号转化为全球精神坐标。

成都，以熊猫为文化原点，正以一场席卷全球的文化认知革命，重新定义城市软实力竞争规则，开创以生态文明为核心的新型全球文化时代。

2025年4月27日

成都

作者：傅榆翔（国际艺术家，首届中国成都熊猫创意大赛评审委员会联合主席，中国《雕塑》杂志编委，成都市美术家协会名誉主席。）

From Pandas to the World:

Reconstructing Cultural Paradigms and Global Civilizational Dialogues through a Single-Species Creative Competition

By Fu Yuxiang

In the grand narrative of the Anthropocene, cultural practices anchored to single species are transcending the boundaries of traditional art exhibitions, evolving into interdisciplinary and trans-civilizational ecological discourses. From Japan’s reinterpretation of the urban mythos of the Maneki-neko (beckoning cat), to Australia’s indigenous retranslation of the Dog Totem, to the EU’s “Endangered Species Metaverse Archive” digital initiative, global creative production using animals as media has already formed a distinct “bio-symbolic political economy.”

Within this global context, the inaugural Panda Creative Design Competition launched in Chengdu, China, not only extends the century-long diplomatic history of the panda as a "cultural signifier," but also innovates a non-Western-centric ecological aesthetic system, offering a pioneering model for cities and nations in the competition for global cultural soft power.

I. The Narrative Revolution of Single-Species Perspectives in Deep Ecology

Compared to the superficial expression of general animal-themed exhibitions, dedicated single-species competitions achieve three paradigm breakthroughs:

Cultural Encoding and Simulation Evolution:

Transitioning from conventional animal exhibitions to integrated cultural IP systems, enabling cross-media replication and evolution of symbolic genes.

From Consumption to Co-Creation Mechanisms:

Moving beyond unidirectional aesthetic consumption toward multi-actor, co-created ecological systems rooted in symbolic archaeology and contemporary reinterpretation.

From Emotional Healing to Consciousness Reproduction:

Expanding societal impact by fostering eco-consciousness and sustainable civilizational values through aesthetic engagement.

Through the construction of the "Panda Universe" IP, the Chengdu competition has enabled a cognitive leap from species conservation to philosophical advocacy for ecological civilization. Works showcased "Bamboo Aesthetics," "Black-and-White Dialectics," and "Harmonious Coexistence Theory," translating Eastern ecological wisdom into contemporary art, resonating with Japan’s aesthetics of Mono no Aware and the Sámi spirituality in Nordic moose culture.

II. Building a World-Class Cultural City: The Panda Path

In the post-globalization era, competition among cities increasingly centers not on infrastructure, but on symbolic capital and spiritual coordinates. Chengdu offers a historic example:

Symbolic Capitalization:

Elevating the panda from a biological entity to a “programmable cultural signifier,” unlocking value across 23 creative platforms including NFTs, immersive theater, and XR experiences.

Industrial Ecosystem Restructuring:

Establishing an integrated "Creativity–Design–Manufacturing–Experience–Social–Immersion" chain, projected to generate over 1 billion RMB (approx. $140 million) in derivative product sales globally by 2025.

Global Discourse Power Recalibration:

Chengdu's "Panda Carbon Aesthetics" proposal at COP28 set a new benchmark for developing nations' cultural responses to climate change.

Through such holistic system innovations, Chengdu has transcended traditional city branding based on single artworks such as Amsterdam’s "Van Gogh IP" or Florence’s "David IP," pioneering a new era of "Ecological Civilization IP."

III. Biocultural Totems and the Reshaping of National Soft Power

Across the global cultural landscape, biocultural totems have become essential pillars of national soft power:

Mickey Mouse (USA): Evolved from animation IP into a symbol of national charm.

Maneki-neko (Japan): Integrating mascot economy with regional revitalization strategies.

Nordic Moose Culture: Representing ecological philosophy and environmental leadership.

Chengdu’s panda-centered creative strategy is now achieving a triple leap in biocultural evolution:

From species conservation →

To cultural narrative construction →

To ecological civilization ethos dissemination.

It positions China’s cultural soft power on a new strategic frontier, contributing Eastern wisdom to the ongoing diversification and decentralization of global cultural governance.

IV. Panda as a New Driver of Global Trend and Fashion Discourse

In today’s cultural economy, annual competition for trend discourse is essentially a contest of symbols and imagination.

The panda, as a cultural medium, is asserting its influence in multiple dimensions:

Reprogramming Cultural Codes:

Through high-fashion collaborations, virtual metaverse wearables, and street culture integrations, the panda is emerging as a symbol of global youth identity.

Controlling the Cultural Calendar:

Annual events such as panda-themed creative competitions, NFT launches, and international exhibitions are setting new agendas for the art and design worlds.

Becoming a Trend Barometer:

Panda elements have repeatedly appeared at Milan Design Week, London Fashion Week, and Art Basel, becoming a recognized indicator of the "New Eastern Aesthetic" trend in global fashion.

Through the cultural reprogramming of the panda, Chengdu is constructing a new narrative of Eastern creativity—beyond the dominance of Western fashion hegemony—and opening alternative pathways for global cultural influence.

​V. Toward the Future: Metaverse Era of Cultural Twins

In the coming decade, single-species creative competitions will evolve into three frontier fields:

Neuroaesthetic Laboratories:

Brain-computer interfaces and olfactory VR devices will recreate bamboo forest memories and visualize "panda consciousness."

Global Civilizational Dialogue Superconduits:

Along the "Belt and Road" Digital Civilization Corridor, panda IP will serve as a "Rosetta Stone" for intercultural understanding, supported by a blockchain-based "Panda Cultural Gene Bank" enabling global co-creation.

Spiritual Twins of Ecological Civilization:

As the Bronze Tree of ancient Shu civilization meets the quantum panda of the silicon era within digital twin spaces, humanity is not merely witnessing a creative competition, but a profound cognitive revolution redefining our relationship with nature and ourselves.

Cities of true civilizational significance excel at transforming regional biological symbols into global spiritual coordinates.

With the panda as its cultural epicenter, Chengdu is orchestrating a global cognitive revolution—redefining the rules of urban soft power competition, and pioneering a new global cultural epoch anchored in ecological civilization.

April 27, 2025

Chengdu, China

Author: Fu Yuxiang

(International Artist, Co-Chair of the Jury Committee of the First Chengdu Panda Creative Competition, Editorial Board Member of Sculpture Magazine, Honorary Chairman of Chengdu Artists Association)