Patterns used in ethnic clothing, products or other places are important carriers of the cultural heritage of the many ethnic groups in China. They embody rich historical memory, cultural symbolism and artistic value, vividly reflecting the diversity of Chinese civilization. However, many of these valuable pattern resources currently exist only in artifacts, images or oral traditions scattered among communities, museums and private collections.

There is no systematic and digitalized integration platform and some patterns are even on the verge of disappearing due to disruptions in cultural transmission. Existing databases are mostly regional and small-scale projects without unified standards or cross-regional coordination, which greatly limits research, preservation and innovative application of these pattern resources.

The unique advantages of university libraries in ethnic regions should be leveraged to establish a national database of distinctive ethnic patterns. It would support the preservation and development of traditional Chinese culture and provide foundational resources for China's cultural digitalization strategy, while also strengthening the sense of a shared Chinese national identity.

First, the transformation of research outcomes remains limited. In recent years, many studies addressed ethnic patterns, some of which focused on digital technologies and database construction. Yet a relatively small number of databases have actually been completed and put into use, and most of them are small-scale platforms built by individual research groups or enterprises, with limited scope and inconsistent standards.

Second, these databases are highly fragmented. Current ethnic pattern databases include industrial databases developed by enterprises, thematic databases built by universities and research teams and intangible cultural heritage databases initiated by local governments. They are largely isolated from one another without any cohesion or sharing mechanism.

Third, technological applications lack sufficient cultural depth. Technologies such as AI, big data and virtual reality are increasingly used in pattern recognition, generation and display. But many databases remain limited to the simple digitization of images. The information behind patterns, including cultural meanings, historical contexts and craftsmanship, has not been adequately explored or annotated, which limits the ability of these databases to truly support cultural inheritance and innovative design.

As such, efforts should be made to adopt unified standards. University libraries in ethnic regions possess advantages such as access to physical collections, documentary materials and local academic networks.

The country should formulate a dedicated national standard for the collection of digital resources related to ethnic patterns, clearly defining classification systems, metadata standards and intellectual property labeling requirements. The involved libraries should collaborate with local cultural centers and intangible heritage protection institutions to conduct systematic field investigations and establish a full-process management system covering resource collection, digital processing and standardized archiving.

Pattern resources whose protection period has expired or have been donated for public benefit could be included in a public resource pool and made freely accessible. Resources still under protection should be governed through an authorization mechanism supported by a unified digital copyright management platform for ethnic patterns, enabling online licensing applications, usage tracking and revenue distribution.

Specialized collection software could allow the recording of pattern-related information through text, audio and video, documenting production techniques, usage contexts and cultural symbolism. AI tools could further assist in identifying pattern elements and analyzing stylistic features.

A research center could be founded to provide pattern material libraries, cultural interpretation services and design support. Through university-enterprise collaboration mechanisms, regular workshops on pattern-based innovative design and product development projects could be organized. Pattern resources could also be integrated into the education system by developing aesthetic education resource packages for primary and secondary schools. At the same time, local cultural tourism projects could be encouraged to utilize pattern resources to develop digital cultural and creative products and immersive cultural experiences.

The author is a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and the vice-chairperson of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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