Cross-cultural analysis of the meanings of traditional Chinese ornament in light of the principles of the fundamental theory of the sign

Traditional Chinese ornaments are the focus of national culture and continue to evolve with the society of the Middle Kingdom. As a non-discursive communication and a cultural sign that best represents Chinese culture, traditional Chinese patterns connect the past and present of China, combine traditional ideas with modern civilization, and are the best carriers of Chinese culture. People from the Far Eastern cultural region can quite quickly understand the cultural background and inner meaning of traditional Chinese ornament and create aesthetic resonance. However, how to make people from other cultural regions understand Chinese traditional culture and traditional Chinese aesthetics is still a relatively difficult topic. In today’s context of globalization, cultural exchanges and the dissemination of culture are extremely important. The trend of developing an understanding of other regions’ cultures and how to reinterpret their own cultural signs to promote cultural exchange is unstoppable. To this end, this article attempts to examine traditional Chinese ornaments as a system of sign theory based on the basic theoretical principles of semiotics and Peirce’s theory of triadic relations of signs as a research method, provide a cultural interpretation of the aesthetic features and the meaning behind it.