DUEL: Wooden Chinese Chess Figurines
If we were to transform Chinese character on the chess pieces to Chinese chess figurines, are we just westernising the Chinese chess?
DUEL is a contemporary take on Chinese chess pieces. To pay homage to the rich cultural value of Chinese chess, the form of each wooden piece reflects the artefact, animal or key figure in the Chu-Han War.
In 2020
For My Toy Stories (NUS DID Design Platform AY19/20)
Under Christophe Gaubert, Poh Yun Ru
From Characters to Characters
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Some Chinese characters were derived from drawings that use lines to represent things directly. I wondered how will each piece look like if the reverse were to be applied to the Chinese character on each Chinese chess piece.
Logo Creation and Chess Pieces Transformation
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The logo was created alongside the chess pieces to ensure consistency in the visual language. Drawing reference from the artefact, animal or key figure in the Chu-Han War, the form of each wooden piece was created, refined and further simplified.
Differentiating the Human Figures
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The soldier and advisor have a straight body to represent the armour, while the general has a tapered body for a more dominant look. Both the advisor and general don a headdress that differs in shape to highlight the difference in rank.
Initial Cardboard Prototype
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The cardboard prototype was created before the form of the characters was finalised. The profile of each chess piece was also considered for them to be placed nicely as a puzzle piece. Revision had to be made to the chess pieces as the human forms were not fixed, the rounded radius at the neck of the horse appeared to be odd, and lastly, the cannon and chariot were too unstable.
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The chess board in the cardboard version appeared to be very similar to the half-fold chess board that has been out in the market. Leveraging the potential of the river, a new narrative of "burying the chess pieces in the river (楚河漢界)" arose, creating a story of the characters coming to life when removed from the river, and putting an end to the story or gameplay when placed back in their designated spots.
BUT...
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"Am I just westernising the Chinese chess pieces?" was a question that I had been constantly asking myself. There seemed to also be a loss in the beauty of Chinese chess when I realised that I had altered the overlapping and replacement of chess pieces to kicking or hitting the pieces. As the Chinese chess is meant to be a strategic game, the flat round pieces with Chinese character have, in fact, been offering a simple overview of the gameplay while the figurines complicated it. Moreover, the new narrative had also increased the size of the chess board significantly, making it really bulky to be carried.
(video on the left is retrieved from HPBsg youtube channel)
Miniatures Figurines
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Hence, I have decided to remove the chess board and retain the chess pieces. While they may still serve as chess pieces to be played, the DUEL chess set is preferred to be miniature figurines on display, to remind us of the teachings of Chinese chess and the significance of every step that we take in our lives.
Thank you for viewing!
