In 2019, my husband and I did a corporate image design for Renmei, a kindergarten in Shenzhen that takes traditional Chinese Confucian culture as its educational philosophy. There is a legend about Confucius that a mythical beast named Qilin appeared at the time of his birth and death. When it appeared at Confucius’ birth, it spat out a book that contained predictions about him: he would become a remarkable man who would change history. This legendary event made Qilin the symbol of talent and luck in passing exams. It was also regarded as morally noble because it never killed anyone or even stepped on the grass.

While collecting information about it, I discovered that its traditional appearance was fierce and vicious: It had a lion head, antlers, tiger eyes, an elk body, dragon scales, and an oxtail. Nevertheless, I still chose it as my design inspiration because it symbolizes exam success and is 2closely related to Confucius. However, since the school’s students are children, I made Qilin’s image adorable and gentle.

To tame Qilin’s appearance, I sketched pictures of the animals mentioned above. By drawing and putting together the looks and gestures of those animals, a cute and friendly mascot named Renmei was created. That was my first attempt to combine traditional Chinese with modern elements, and I was elated that Renmei had Qilin’s features and broke away from its petrifying old looks. It is worth noting that, as a disseminator of Confucianism, its transformation is equivalent to abandoning the serious, repetitive, and dogmatic forms of the past—allowing children to accept the knowledge it diffuses more naturally and enjoyably. Renmei is the embodiment of fun education and possibilities for teaching materials and aids development.