Author(s)

Zhang Yiting ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Creative Design, Dongguan City University, Dongguan, 523000, Guangdong, China

Corresponding Author

Zhang Yiting

ABSTRACT

As a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, the intricate visual motifs of Teochew woodcarving serve as a concentrated embodiment of the regional culture of the Chaoshan area. Existing research has predominantly focused on its craftsmanship and stylistic evolution, leaving a gap in the structural analysis of its internal meaning-making system. This study introduces a semiotic semantic analysis framework. Using a sample of 203 pieces from the Guangdong Museum collection and employing both quantitative statistics and qualitative interpretation, it systematically deconstructs the semantic layers of Teochew woodcarving. The research reveals that its semantic system exhibits a clear dual structure. At the denotative semantics level, its themes can be categorized into seven major groups—floral and botanical motifs, auspicious animals and mythical beasts, decorative patterns, scenes from operas and classics, folktales, Buddhist and Daoist immortals, and river and marine creatures—forming a referential system reflecting the geography, history, and livelihood of the Chaoshan region. At the connotative semantics level, these themes are transformed, through cultural coding rules such as homophony, metaphor, and allusion, into a dense symbolic network centered on the core aspirations for "blessings, prosperity, longevity, joy, and wealth." This network profoundly manifests the collective psychology and value hierarchy of the Teochew folk society. This study provides a semiotic pathway for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) research, shifting from "formal analysis" to "meaning decoding," and lays a semantic foundation for the contemporary transformation of Teochew woodcarving.

KEYWORDS

Teochew Woodcarving; Semiotics; Semantic Study; Denotation; Connotation; Intangible Cultural Heritage

CITE THIS PAPER

Zhang Yiting. A Semantic Study of Teochew Woodcarving from the Perspective of Semiotics. Journal of Sociology and Ethnology (2026). Vol. 8, No.1, 62-66. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/jsoce.2026.080108.

REFERENCES

[1] Yang, J. (2008). Teochew Woodcarving. Lingnan Fine Arts Publishing House.
[2] Zeng, Q. (2000). The Art of Teochew Woodcarving. Lingnan Fine Arts Publishing House.
[3] Wang, D. (2011). An Exploration of the Regional Characteristics of Teochew Woodcarving Art. Art & Design, (5), 84-85.
[4] Saussure, F. D. (1966). Course in General Linguistics. McGraw-Hill.
[5] Morris, C. W. (1938). Foundations of the Theory of Signs. University of Chicago Press.
[6] Xu, H. (2008). Design Semiotics. Tsinghua University Press.
[7] Guangdong Museum. (2004). Teochew Woodcarving. Cultural Relics Press.
[8] Chen, Z. (2008). An Introduction to Teochew Culture. Guangdong People's Publishing House.
[9] Zhang, D. (2005). Woodcarving in Ancient Chinese Architecture. Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House.
[10] Zhu, S., & Luo, S. (2013). Recreation of Cultural Relic Elements in Product Design Based on Design Semiotics. Journal of Zhejiang University (Engineering Science), 47(11), 2065-2072.

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