The pagoda symbol in 17th-18th century Chinese and European porcelain: a cross-cultural study of cultural filtering and cultural misreading

This study analyzes the pagoda symbol in 17th-18th century Chinese and European porcelain to explore the roles of cultural filtering and cultural misreading in cross-cultural exchanges. The research finds that after the pagoda symbol entered Europe, it was not only imitated and adopted by artists but also underwent a significant transformation, reflecting the differences and fusion of Chinese and Western cultural mindsets. Unlike the religious and philosophical meanings of the pagoda in the Chinese tradition, European artists simplified and formalized the symbol, transforming it into an "exotic" emblem. The transformation of the pagoda symbol reveals the aesthetic collisions and cultural adaptation processes in cross-cultural exchanges, reflecting the multiple meanings and functional shifts of symbols in different cultural contexts