Ziqing Chen

Tangu

A Solar Term Educational Game for Chinese Children

Parsons School of Design

MFA Industrial Design

Ziqing Chen

Tangu

Ziqing Chen

Parsons School of Design

MFA Industrial Design

Thesis Project 2021

Studio Faculty: Yvette Chaparro and Andrea Ruggiero

Thesis Seminar Faculty: Julie Lasky

Acknowledgement

I want to thank my thesis professor Andrea Ruggiero and Yvette Chaparro for supporting my

project. They gave me great encouragement and guidance when I encountered difficulties in the

project. I also want to thank my thesis seminar professor Julie Lasky for the help on my thesis

writing. And I would like to show great appreciation to professor Mark Bechtel for inspiration and

knowledge about design for children. Finally, I want to thank my family and friends for providing

me help and support to complete my project successfully during COVID-19 pandemic.

Content

Introduction1 Statement2 Background3 Research 3.1 Users' Demands

3.2 Users

3.3 Pedagogical Scenario

3.4 Pedagogical Content

4 Design Process 4.1 Ideation

4.2 Interview with Experts

4.3 Development

4.4 Testing

4.5 Final Concept

4.6 Prototype

5 Next Steps

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“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”Gustav Mahler

Folk culture is a magnificent social treasure. Inheriting and conserving folk

culture is of great importance to the continuation of classical beauty and

enriching the spiritual life of modern people. With the continuous development

of globalization and urbanization, China's folk culture is vanishing. How can it

be preserved through education?

Introduction

1 Statement

The knowledge and practice of traditional Chinese

culture is steadily disappearing, largely because

teachers and parents in China see little value in

a cultural education. To restore an appreciation

for these traditions, I have designed a game for

children ages 4 through 6 that teaches them about

the ancient Chinese calendar and its division into

24 solar terms. The medium for learning is an

interactive drum that the child beats to produce

effects on a computer screen.

2

"Chinese culture has traditionally been rural-based. Once the villages are gone, the culture is gone."

Feng Jicai

Figure 1

4

2 Background

Figure 2

A knowledge of ancient Chinese customs and art forms has been declining

at an alarming rate, as more people have moved to cities and been exposed

to the influence of foreign cultures.

Chinese traditions are under threat

According to a study by Tianjin

University, in 2000, there were

3.7 million villages in China. By

2010, this number had dropped

to 2.6 million, which meant that

about 300 villages disappeared

every day.1

Table 1

6

Folk traditions handed down from generation to generation in rural

areas are much less visible.

There used to be 2500 shadow puppet troupes, now there are less than 250.2

China lost 134 types of traditional dramas, accounting for 35% of the total types of dramas.3

For safety and reducing pollution, many places prohibit fireworks during the festival.

Examples of traditions that are being lost

Figure 5Figure 4Figure 3

7

Arriving at Mount Miaofeng, on what

used to be a great pilgrimage route, a girl

dressed to perform at the temple there

took a break from the trek uphill

Figure 6

8

In recent years, Chinese scholars have come to appreciate the value of the

country’s cultural heritage. In a vast government project 9,700 creative

practices or projects were declared to possess an "intangible cultural

heritage." They included songs, dances, martial arts, culinary dishes and

drama, of which about 80% came from rural areas.4

At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,

China put forward the strategy of "village revitalization" and issued

the "Opinions on Adjusting and Improving the Use of Land Transfer

Income to Prioritize Rural Revitalization", focusing on supporting rural

development.5

What efforts have the Chinese made for the disapearance of traditions?

Figure 7

9

The Chinese educational sector is also trying to reverse this decline—a

number of institutions have published guidelines to preserve traditional

culture. Schools such as Gembryo Shanghai kindergartens have added

traditional cultural courses and activities. And teaching institutions like

Jing College have launched courses dedicated to education for young

children in these subjects.

Figure 8

Figure 9

10

24 solar terms is a calendar which was used by farmers in ancient times as

a guide for planting and harvesting, divides a year into 24 periods of two

weeks each, and each term is further divided into four parts: time, climate

and phenology(natural phenomenon), and folklore.

These twenty-four solar terms each

suggest the position of the sun every

time it travels15 degrees on the ecliptic

longitude. A cycle is that earth revolves

around the sun for one time. It begins

from the Beginning of Spring (Li Chun)

and ends at Greater Cold (Da Han).

In each month there are often two

solar terms; the first one is generally

named 'Jie Qi' and the other one 'Zhong

Qi'. Their dates are mirrored by the

Gregorian calendar, so we find that

during the first half of a year 'Jie Qi' is

around the 6th day of a solar month,

'Zhong Qi' around the 21st; in the second

half of a year, 'Jie Qi' is around the 8th

and 'Zhong Qi' around the 23rd.6

One of these traditions is 24 solar terms.

11

The ancients associated each solar term with the seasonal activities of

birds and beasts and plants, including migration, hibernation, recovery,

singing, breeding, the budding, leafing, flowering, fruiting, and lightning.7

In 2016, UNESCO included the "Twenty-Four Solar

Terms—The Time Knowledge System and Practices

Formed by the Chinese through Observing the Sun's

Anniversary Movement" in the list of representative

works of intangible cultural heritage of mankind

Figure 10

12

Figure 11 Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

13

In the 24 solar terms, the ancient Chinese also understood the rhythm

of life and the unity of nature and man. The 24 solar terms revealed

that in the vast universe, all things in nature were interrelated and

interdependent;their growth and development shared a common rhythm. If

humans violated the natural rhythm of the cosmos, it would undoubtedly

be self-defeating. One’s daily meals and ordinary habits are practical

reflections of this wisdom. Popular Shanghainese sayings like, "eat fresh

food", "rise at sunrise and breathe at sunset", "wind blowing in Mao, rain

in Mao", "gas on the ground", all refer to the influence of natural rhythms

on health and long life.8

Figure 15

14

3 Research

Figure 16

3.1 Users' Demands

Despite the efforts of educators, institutions that promote a traditional

cultural education have not been widely accepted by the public, and some

are not even legal. Table 2 below shows that the number of educational

institutions teaching traditional culture has increased, but their proportion

compared with schools overall is still small.

Table 2Establishment of

traditional cultural

education institions9

16

Through interviews with kindergarten teachers and parents, I found that

many parents do not consider a traditional cultural education for their

children very important. They place more value on STEM studies and

learning a second language.

• At kindergarten, we have classes and activities about traditional culture at least 1 time a week. • Children like these traditional things because they can play in these activities. • I don't know what is important for children. But I think the history and the cultural heritage are things that children need to learn. • At home parents can read picture book for children. • Game is a good way

• I don't know how to teach my son traditional culture, I pay more attention to things like second language learning. • I want my child can learn independently at home. • I want to teach my child, but sometimes I don't know if my method is right.

• I'm too tired after work, I don't have patience to teach children something which is boring for me. • Sometimes I bought books for my daughter to help her learn, but she just paint on it and don't read carefully.

Mary 35

Kidgarten teacher

Guoli 32

worker has a 5- year-old girl

Dandan 32

company manager has a 3- year-old boy

17

Yet traditional culture can have a large and positive impact on children’s

development. Among the traditional cultural education institutions

surveyed10, two of the top reasons given for teaching children about

their cultural heritage were cultivating a good ideology and morality,

and cultivating a sense of national identity. This survey shows that the

educational functions of traditional culture are diverse, and can give

children developmental benefits not offered by STEM courses.

18

3.2 Users

My project focuses on the education of Chinese children 4 to 6 years

old. Children at this age are active learners. They are aware of their

environment and are able to compare different objects and explore the

natural world. But there is no standard, systematic curriculum that teaches

traditional culture to preschool children in China. And older children

often learn about cultural traditions in haphazard ways. In kindergarten,

for example, children may attend a few festival celebrations. Or they may

read and memorize some basic classics of Chinese literature at home or in

informal institutions. These activities can be challenging; the texts have

long, complicated words and paragraphs that require concentration. As

a result, children may find little enjoyment in learning, and have trouble

retaining or using their knowledge.

19

Table 3

4-6 years old children's learning

and development guide11

Issued by the Ministry of Education of China

20

3.3 Pedagogical Scenario

I have designed this game to be played at home because it is a safe,

immersive environment for young children, and their learning activities

can be supervised and helped by parents. By being involved, parents would

also increase their own awareness of traditional culture. My project has an

urban context because much traditional culture makes reference to nature

and agriculture; I want to restore a connection between the urban and the

natural world. Finally, Chinese cultural traditions are less influential in big

cities because of the great impact from foreign cultures.

Table 3

An evaluation table of learning scenario

21

Because computer-based technology

is essential to modern education in

big cities, I chose this as my primary

learning tool, specifically, augmented

reality (AR) combined with tangible

interfaces. Such tools can leverage

children’s sensorimotor experience as

well as provide an immersive learning

environment.12 And tangible interfaces

can reduce the danger of addiction to

simple AR games like Pokémon Go.

Table 4

Research on the children's use of digital tools13

22

Figure 17 Tangible Play, Maker of Osmo Augmented Reality Toys

23

Study Estimates

That Pokémon GO

Has Caused More

Than 100,000 Traffic

Accidents

Figure 18

24

3.4 Pedagogical Content

In researching early childhood developmental skills, I found that muscle

control, attention span, memory, learning are skills that need to be

considered during children's cutural learning.14 I also found that children

at 4 years of age begin to have a concept of time, but they don’t have a

system for learning about time until they are 6 years old.15 So I decided to

bring the concepts of time and changing seasons into this project. I chose

to focus specifically on traditional Chinese 24 solar terms.

Figure 19

Children's developmental skills

25

It is necassary to create an immersive learning game for children aged 4 to 6 to educate them about 24 solar terms.

Children who understand the changing pattern of the seasons by learning

the 24 solar terms, can be encouraged to carry out physical activities

corresponding to the seasons, thereby making their bodies healthier.

Chinese solar terms provide a challenging opportunity for learning,

because the system is complex, and young children have trouble paying

attention and remembering simple facts. After interviewing teachers and

parents, I concluded something playful and interactive was needed to help

them learn.

26

4 Design Process

Figure 20

4.1 Ideation

I was inspired by the 24 solar term drums on the traditional Chinese

drum building. In ancient China, the sign of the drum building is called

"Sounds in the Sky". Different drum beats must be played in different

solar terms to remind people of the change of time. These rich and

representative drum beats were also art-passed by Malaysian Chinese

Chen Zaifan and Chen Huichong, giving birth to the 24 solar terms drum

performance which is very popular among Chinese.16 Gradually, many

Chinese have joined the 24 solar terms drum team, learning and inheriting

this traditional culture by practicing and performing the 24 solar terms

drumming.This shows that the 24 solar terms drum is a good carrier to

inherit and carry forward traditional culture.

Because 24 solar term drums have connection to inheriting 24 solar

terms, and because drum is easy for young children to master, I chose this

percussion instrument as the toy element in my project.

Figure 21

Chinese drum building

28

Figure 22

24 solar terms drums

29

Figure 23

24 solar terms drumming

performance

30

First, I proposed a few key words to guide me in sketching:

portable, variable, user dominance. Then, based on my sketches,

I made mockups. I divided the models into a concept based

on sensors and a concept based on recognition in augmented

reality.

My initial concept was to use a digital drum plus gesture-

recognition technology that would encourage children to imitate

certain gestures to create an augmented reality game that would

teach them about 24 solar terms.

Figure 24.1

31

Figure 24.2

Figure 24.3

Figure 24.4

32

Figure 25

Sensor and Arduino

Figure 26

Augmented reality toy

33

Mockups

Figure 27.1 Figure 27.2 Figure 27.3 Figure 27.4

Figure 27.5 Figure 27.6 Figure 27.7 Figure 27.8

Figure 27.9 Figure 27.10 Figure 27.11 Figure 27.12

Figure 27.13 Figure 27.14

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4.2 Interview with experts

I interviewed a children’s psychology researcher. She told me gesture

recognition may be hard for children to master. The game and learning

attention span need to be considered, as well as the role of the parents as

pedagogical participantsAn expert in the human-computer interaction field

said that the connection between learning 24 solar terms and drumming

need to be clarified. What is the learning scenario? How about learning

details?

I arranged a user test to make sure the game could be mastered by young

children. Also, I considered designing a time-setting interface for parents

to help them control their children’s game time. According to research,

4-year olds have 8-to-12-minute attention spans, and 6-year olds have

12-to-18-minute attention spans.17 So it was obvious that each game

session needed to be limited to 12 minutes. I ultimately set 10 minutes for

each section.

35

4.3 Development

After researching children’s hand sizes, I designed a drum that is 20

centimeters in diameter and 2.5 centimeters in depth. I chose TPE as the

drum surface material because it is nontoxic and won’t make loud noises.

The shape is influenced by the traditional Chinese lobby drum, with a red

body and white drumhead.

Figure 28

Children's hand size

36

4.4 Testing

The next step was testing. First, I used Arduino and piezo sensors to create

an electronic drum beating sound. Then I attached the piezo sensor to a

piece of cardboard, a piece of silicone, and a plastic shell with silicone.

I put these materials on expanded polyethylene foam. Then I beat these

materials with my hands and with drumsticks and observed the sounds of

the electronic drum module. After testing, I found the plastic shell with

silicone could more accurately sense the beats. So for the drumhead part

I decided to use a plastic shell covered with silicone, and for the isolation

layer I selected expanded polyethylene foam.

Structure testing

Figure 29

Mockups made by cardboard

37

Figure 30.1

Figure 30.3

Figure 30.2

Figure 30.4

Figure 31

Arduino development and testing

38

After making the mockup, I conducted a user test with seven children

aged 4 to 6. Observations showed that the children beat the drum surface

more accurately using drumsticks rather than hitting the drum with

their hands. I also found that due to the limitations of motor ability and

imitating ability, the children could not accurately make relevant gestures.

As a result, I decided not to add gesture recognition to the project.

User testing

Figure 32.1 Figure 32.2

39

Figure 32.3

Figure 32.4

40

4.5 Final Concept

My final design idea for teaching the 24 solar terms is to use electronic

drums that can make natural sounds and traditional drum sounds to

interact with the screen through augmented reality. The education system

I designed is also equipped with an app.

Figure 33

41

Figu

re 3

4

42

The app has an educational interface for children and a parental control

interface. The educational interface provides children with an immersive

gaming experience through the interaction of electronic drums and

screens. Virtual objects appear on the drum represented on screen to guide

children in the sequence of beating the physical drum. Whenever the

child completes a drumming sequence, a corresponding feature of the 24

solar terms appears on the screen. For example, in the “rain” solar term,

the screen shows rain falling on blossoming spring flowers along with

tweeting birds. These animations are displayed on the screen one after

another, and the facial recognition system adds corresponding wear to

the children's faces, telling them what activities should be performed that

relate to the solar terms. The rhythm of drumming gradually increases to

make the game more challenging, and the pattern of drumbeats is repeated

to reinforce them in the child’s memory. The parental control interface

sends information about learning results and allows parents to manage

screen time.

43

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5

Tang

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hart

4.6 Prototype

For the final prototype, I made a 3D digital model of all the components of the digital

drum and drumsticks. I propose that ABS be used for the drumhead, drum body and

isolation pad, and decorative nails and support frames. ABS is sturdy and strongly

resistant to corrosive chemicals.18 It is very easy to machine and has a low melting

temperature, making it particularly simple to use in injection molding manufacturing

processes or 3D printing on an FDM machine. I chose TPE for my drum cover

because it offers a good compression set at room temperature and is recyclable. The

plastic can be re-melted and remolded with ease multiple times.19 TPE is also soft;

it won’t hurt children’s hands when they beat the drum. The drum sound will be

produced with three piezo sensors, a main circuit board, a charge board and a battery.

Figure 36.1 Figure 36.2 Figure 36.3

Prototype process

45

Figure 37.1

Figure 37.2

46

After I completed the final renderings, I started to 3D print these ABS

parts. I polished and painted the surface and used liquid silicone to

represent the TPE material on the drum surface. I sanded two wooden

sticks into the shape of drumsticks and wrapped them with silicone. Then

I assembled these parts to complete my solid model. A Video demo shows

how my design works in a real user environment.

Figure 38

User use scenario

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Figure 39

User interface

48

Figure 40

Exploded view

Figu

re 4

1

Tech

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Figure 42

Video dem

o screenshot 1

Figu

re 4

3

Vid

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emo

scre

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5 Next Steps

My next steps will be completing the game component of the

drumming interface and testing it with children. I will use

quantitative research methods to evaluate whether the game is

appropriate to users’ attention spans and memories and improve it

accordingly.

54

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All figures created by the author except for the following:

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