Interpreting the Evolution of Atayal Tribal Textile Patterns: Tracing the Anthropological Footprints of a Taiwanese Ethnic Minority Group

This book elucidates findings from an anthropological study that analyzes the patterns of Taiwan's Atayal tribe’s fabric in their ethnic dress codes. By analyzing the changes and development of the patterns over time, the authors draw fascinating conclusions regarding the geographical migration and intermarriage practices between indigenous minority groups in Taiwan’s history. The book brings new insights within East Asian linguistic anthropology in theorizing about the origins of legends and broader patterns of ethnic migration, integrating the characteristics and relationships among Atayal fabrics, and interpreting these relationships in connection with the flow of sub-ethnic groups. In doing so, the book provides rich empirical evidence for anthropologists and migration scholars to better understand the movement of ethnic groups in Taiwan, while also establishing a model for how studying textile design can be employed to establish such linkages. The book shows that the composition and changes of ethnic minority patterns have their own internal logic and causes. By studying this, the authors demonstrate how such work might translate intangible and tangible culture into explicit and shareable knowledge and provide a compass for other anthropologists and researchers in the fields of visual and linguistic anthropology, migration studies, and ethnic and indigenous cultures, in Asia and beyond.

Wang Po-Hsun is an associate professor in Design Science, the director of Ph.D. program, and the vice dean at the Faculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau, China. He pursued his Ph.D. in Design Science from National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, in 2015. He has published three monographs with Tsinghua University Press, China Business Press, and Economic Science Press, and more than ten peer-reviewed articles. His research interests relate to visual communication design, design culture research, urban and rural planning and design, world cultural heritage, overall community construction, cultural and creative industries, visual communication design, city brand image, advertising, and marketing planning.

Jie Li is an assistant professor in Product Design and Development at the Faculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau, China. She gained her Doctor of Science degree from Aalto University, Finland in 2022. She is responsible for a few research projects, such as Empathic Engineering, the DigiTally, Tacit Knowledge Transformation, and User Ontology Model. Also, she is an invited reviewer of some essential design journals, such as Journal of Mechanical Design, Journal of Engineering Design, Design Studies, and Design Science. Her research interests include human-centered design, user understanding, empathy, cultural influences in design, data-driven design, and user ontology model.