The community where I live is called MeiLin with about 5,000 people. Twenty years ago, this land originally located in the suburbs was developed into a residential area, and residents moved in successively, and I was one of the first residents to live in this community. The residents of the Meilin community are generally locals of ChangSha city. Because it is relatively far from the downtown area and in a relatively quiet environment, the residents are mostly elderly. Most of the plots in the community are apartments, there are no office buildings, and relatively few shops. Because most of the residents living in the community moved here many years ago, the relationship between everyone is very harmonious. The signs in the community have the following characteristics，the signs in this community usually use traditional standard block fonts（Very standard font, similar to what we see in the dictionary）instead of popular artistic fonts or Chinese-style running script fonts（A unique writing form of Chinese） that look more ornamental, many signs are bilingual，the background and text of the signs in the community are usually red or yellow and the signs in the community are all posted on the wall and there are almost no hanging signs.
First, the text in signs usually uses traditional block fonts. In the introduction part, I introduced that most of the residents in the MeiLin community moved in 20 years ago, so there is a large proportion of residents in MeiLin who are older than 60 years old. Elderly people over 60 were born in the last century. For them, the most traditional block font is their favorite and most familiar font. In order to adapt to the lifestyle of the elderly in this community, Most of the signs use this traditional font. At present, young people’s favorite artistic fonts are unacceptable by the elderly in the community. The 68-year-old Mr. Wu, who lives in the MeiLin community, said, “Only block letters are a symbol of traditional Chinese culture and we have been using them since we were young. The artistic font that young people like now has changed the strokes and format of the text itself, and there are even some signs that make a mistake in a traditional text to highlight the theme of a sign to achieve the purpose of advertising. I strongly disagree because this is a desecration of traditional culture ” （Wu，2020）In addition, many elderly people older than 60 have vision problems, and due to differences in lifestyles, many fonts from the Internet cannot be recognized by elderly people who do not use the Internet often. The problem that the elderly cannot recognize the text information on the signs and affects the quality of daily life of the elderly in the community. Therefore, in the MeiLin community with a high number of elderly people, in order for the elderly to efficiently obtain the text information on the signs, most of the text on the signs in the community adopts traditional Chinese block fonts. In fact, apart from fonts, MeiLin’s signs have almost no translations in other languages.
Secondly，Many signs have English translations. In recent years, with the rapid development of Changsha’s science and technology industry, more and more international talents have come to Changsha for employment. (scio, 2017)At the same time, as the center of Chinese media and culture, many foreign tourists come to Changsha for tourism and visit,(Wang, 2017) and Changsha’s low prices have attracted many foreigners to settle down. In order to help these foreigners who have just arrived in China to adapt to the local life, the signs in many communities including MeiLin have bilingual text messages in both Chinese and English. As the city of Changsha becomes more and more international, MeiLin has become a very Livable community, bilingual signs in Chinese and English will become more and more popular in the future. In the choice of signs color, MeiLin’s signs are also very particular.
Third, the background and text colors of signs in the community are mostly red or yellow. In MeiLin, many signs and the text on the signs are red or yellow, which is of great significance. In China, both red and yellow have special meanings. Red represents the national colors of happiness, beauty, vitality, good luck, success and auspiciousness, while yellow represents power and status. During the Chinese New Year, the most important festival in China, people will wear red clothes and put on red spring couplets to express their holiday wishes to family and friends. In ancient China, yellow, which represents power, was a color that could only be used by emperors’ items. Yellow glazed tiles were used to build imperial palaces. The emperors wore yellow imperial robes and even the official seal was wrapped in yellow fabric. In modern times, it is a blessing for others to obtain higher positions and higher social status. The reason why the background and text of the sign in the community are yellow and red is that the owner wants his business to be prosperous.(Mitra, 2018) At the same time, the color information on the signs shows a happy atmosphere and blessings to customers. On the other hand, the color difference formed between the two colors of yellow and red can also better express the text information on the signs, making it easier for people to recognize the text on the signs. MeiLin’s signs use the two colors of red and yellow to express important meaning. By the way, MeiLin’s signs are almost all adsorbed on the wall and there are almost no hanging signs.
Fourth, the signs in the MeiLin community are almost all attached to the wall and there are almost no hanging signs. The main reason for this situation is the climate of Changsha, the city where MeiLin is located. Changsha is located in the central and southern part of China, and is relatively close to Zhuhai City in the coastal area. Zhuhai is a monsoon climate area, so it is often hit by typhoons. (Wu, 2015)Changsha, which is closer to Zhuhai, is also often hit by landing typhoons from Zhuhai.(Changsha, 2020) Affected by a typhoon, the suspended signs are usually swayed by the wind, which produces noise and cannot achieve the effect of publicity and informing the business for the store. The suspended signs may even fall due to excessive typhoons. In contrast, wall-mounted signs will not have a negative impact due to the typhoon, which is why there are few hanging signs in MeiLin community and even Changsha City.
In general, MeiLin community is a community dominated by the elderly and local aboriginals, and the community atmosphere is very harmonious. Although there are not many commercials and signs in the community, most of them have special meanings and show the national characteristics of Chinese signs. For example, in the choice of colors, most signs choose yellow and red with blessing meaning, The use of block letters not only inherits the traditional culture but also adapts to the living habits of the elderly. MeiLin is also a community that adapts to the trend of internationalization and uses both Chinese and English on many signs. Taking into account the local climate factors, they mainly use wall-mounted signs. Generally speaking, MeiLin can be classified as a community that not only retains traditional culture but also keeps up with international trends.
Reference
Changsha, H. (2020, November 30). Changsha Monthly Climate Averages. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.worldweatheronline.com/changsha-weather-averages/hunan/cn.aspx
Mitra, A. (2018, September 04). Lucky Colors in China – Color Meanings, Unlucky Colors. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/lucky-numbers-and-colors-in-chinese-culture.htm
Scio, C. (2017, October 30). Changsha attracts foreigners with culture and technology. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from http://www.scio.gov.cn/32618/Document/1603831/1603831.htm
Wang, X. (2017, November 3). Changsha is named UNESCO Creative City. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/hunan/changshacounty/2017-11/03/content_34193557.htm
Wu, K. (2015, December 20). Zhuhai Weather. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.chinahighlights.com/zhuhai/weather.htm
Interview
Mr Wu（2020，November 22）Older people prefer traditional writing. Retrieved November 30
