Arts Studies and Criticism

This paper traces the evolution of Chinese sculpture from ritual vessels and religious icons to modern urban monuments and contemporary public artworks, examining the emergence and aesthetic foundations of technological and kinetic sculpture within today’s Chinese context. It focuses on how, under conditions of rapid urbanization and digital technology, sculpture has shifted from a form fixed in matter to a force generated through field and process. Through the lens of traditional Chinese aesthetics, it argues that technological and kinetic sculpture do not sever ties with tradition but extend long-standing concepts of “qi” (vital energy) and “chang” (field) through new media such as mechanical systems, optical electronics, sensors, and artificial intelligence. The use of AI image generation during the conceptual and proposal stages of sculpture commissions further reveals a de-instrumentalized understanding of technology. In this sense, contemporary Chinese technological and kinetic sculpture constitutes both a technological continuation of native aesthetic traditions and an artistic response to the reorganization of public life in the digital age, offering a new perspective on the transformation of sculptural language in contemporary China.