‘Eastern Aesthetics’: Chinese Cultural Output Through Lifestyle Brands
In recent years, the term ‘Eastern Aesthetics’ (东方美学) began to dominate various social media platforms in China. This trend, which aims to revive ancient traditions and arts, signifies the rise of Chinese cultural awareness and confidence in a world where Western culture is often seen as mainstream or more refined. However, stereotypes that describe Chinese tradition as outdated, unapproachable, and simply exotic persist both inside and outside the country, minimising people’s care and interest. Personally, I have found difficulties in explaining my culture to friends and peers, realising that it often requires heavy background knowledge to fully comprehend various concepts - even as a Chinese myself, I can feel overwhelmed when facing the thousands of years of history and civilisation, not knowing where to start or end. Hence, the question of how to break free of such boundaries and promote China’s historic past in an enlightening way comes to the forefront.
To Summer (观夏) and Tangsuo (瑭所), two emerging Chinese lifestyle brands provide possible solutions to this challenge. Established in 2019 with stores in major Chinese cities, To Summer focuses on aromatherapy and fragrances inspired by Eastern philosophy and ingredients. Tangsuo, on the other hand, is a young sub-brand of Yuangu (元古), a restaurant group dedicated to integrating Chinese tradition into modern dining. In its locations in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other major cities, Tangsuo offers desserts and tea infused with Chinese aesthetics. To transform views that Chinese culture is too distant, archaic and confusing, the two brands concentrate on three tactics: lifestyle products, enhanced sensory experience, and engaging with the younger generation.
Lifestyle Products
Both brands concentrate on providing lifestyle products, whether fragrances or food, based on Chinese traditions. This effectively shortens the distance between many customers and Chinese culture, since these consumer goods are to be used in everyday scenarios, seeking to spread awareness of ‘Eastern Aesthetics’ through daily activities.
As a fragrance brand, To Summer has developed a range of products surrounding their key term ‘scent’. From high to middle end, customers have countless choices – bottled perfumes, stylised candles, incense, hand creams, bodycare collections… just to name a few. As such, everyone can find something that suits their needs and budgets, the accessibility allowing the brand to attract more clients and spread its Chinese culture-inspired products, while breaking the stereotype that Chinese culture is difficult to approach and understand. This popularity is sustained by the practical side of the goods. For example, alongside traditional bottles of perfume, To Summer introduces a more compact and convenient balm version. Used whenever desired, the scented balms easily recreate the subtle fragrance of bamboo and orchid, plants part of the ‘four gentlemen of the flowers’ (花中四君子) representing qualities of resilience and beauty. By merging into people’s lives with diverse and useful products, To Summer diffuses Chinese aesthetics in a relaxed manner through scent.
Similarly but with a different approach, Tangsuo disseminates Chinese culture through various culinary experiences. The old Chinese idiom ‘Food is the God of the people’ (民以食为天) highlights eating as the most important activity of mankind, and Tangsuo explores this fundamental idea to make Chinese aesthetics accessible to all. Specialising in cakes, biscuits, chocolates, and traditional loose tea leaves packages designed in culturally specific shapes and flavours, Tangsuo’s edible products attract all age groups, since no one can escape from the charm of snacks – myself guilty of buying more sweets that I could eat. In addition, Tangsuo’s offline stores provide both have-in and take-away options, which encourages customers to walk in and explore the store’s collection, accommodating those in a hurry and others with more time. The locations of the stores are also highly strategic – situated in large shopping malls or districts, Tangsuo’s stores blend well into these casual, easygoing atmospheres. As I walked past its Shanghai store at the Bund, a vibrant neighbourhood housing a number of unique brands, Tangsuo’s open doors felt welcoming, as if telling that Chinese culture too is approachable and friendly.
Enhanced Sensory Experience
Furthermore, to fully engage with customers, To Summer and Tangsuo experiment with the concept of ‘sensory experience’ as a way to connect the practical side of their products with deeper ideas related to Chinese culture. Sensory experience, in essence, calls for an immersive interaction where elements of taste, scent, visual look, and texture are explored. Products designed with this concept in mind therefore offer more than just fractional benefits that are too easy to fulfil, but a higher level of emotional value. Instead of directly teaching Chinese traditions through boring words, sensory experience-oriented products encourage people to feel the beauty of everyday Chinese aesthetics, while allowing different interpretations.
To Summer’s classic 30ml fragrance selection gives an excellent example. The perfume bottles are designed with a chubby cylindrical glass vial fitted with a jade cap cut into octagonal shapes on all sides. The clear, smooth curves of the bottle are juxtaposed with the undulating edges of the cap, yet despite differences both take up the same amount of space. Such a unique visual appearance recalls the ancient Chinese philosophy of Tai chi (太极), demonstrating the yin-yang (阴阳) theory through balancing the visual elements that make up the fragrance bottles. The rich, silky texture of the jade cap furthermore allows customers to understand the Chinese fascination with this divine material through touch. In terms of scent, To Summer creates poetic fragrances by combining distinctively local ingredients like tea leaves, cedar, osmanthus, jasmine petals, and lotus, guided by Chinese mythical tales or philosophies. For example, To Summer’s signature fragrance ‘Cedarwood’, or ‘Cooking snow in Kunlun mountain’ (昆仑煮雪) if translated literally, uses cedar to conjure up the snowy, mysterious environment of the divine Kunlun mountain known as the ‘ancestor of all mountains’. ‘Cooking snow’ is a term derived from an ancient tale – the cold Northern weather freezes people’s words, so they have to come home to warm fires to ‘cook’ and ‘melt’ their frozen conversations. This hearty scene is transformed to scent with the addition of sweet jasmine. Therefore, through one small bottle of perfume, complex Chinese aesthetics and philosophies are translated into experiences targeting the senses, building a new, accessible world for the customer to indulge in. A perfect rendition of To Summer’s slogan ‘Connecting Eastern art and culture with Eastern scents.’
The same pattern is repeated in To Summer’s store designs. At their location at the Bund, Shanghai, To Summer brings a sophisticated reinterpretation of the historical Chinese household. When I stepped across the entrance, I was greeted and guided into the shop through a corridor framed by soft white screens, signifying the boundaries between the outside world and domestic space. This immediately establishes a calm, slow feeling linked to Daoist philosophy, and the almost meditative flow of screens made me feel relaxed and ready for a special journey. The open-plan shop space is separated into sections by black lacquered desks and cabinets. These furniture with a line-based design recalls houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasty Style, yet the use of LED light strips following the linear edges of the furnishing adds a modern taste to the traditional atmosphere. As such, To Summer creates a homely environment that connects today’s customers with China’s antique aesthetics, also hinting that their products can recreate the same poetic lifestyle. Even if no purchases are made, this immersive shopping experience filled with traditional elements would help to generate more interest in Chinese culture.
Food and taste are also a crucial part of a full ‘sensory experience’, and Tangsuo combines traditional flavours with visual aesthetics to make beautiful original delicacies. Its biscuit collection, for instance, contains four flavoured biscuits in the shape of little windows inspired by crabapple flowers. At the centre of each piece is a carved motif of magnolia blossom, koi fish, bamboo leaves, or fluttering butterflies, all traditional symbols of purity, good luck and success. When these auspicious images often seen in gardens are framed by the window outline, the biscuits convey the Chinese literary concept of ‘moving through the landscape’ (移步易景). Beneath the visual appearance, the biscuits’ flavours can also delight the customer. From simple plain milk, to pumpkin, black tea, and lychee, they encompass signature Chinese taste, as well as seasonal produce across China. For example, lychee is a summer fruit from the southern provinces, whereas pumpkin is harvested and eaten in autumn – this wide array of flavours also reflects the idea of moving through landscape and time in terms of food traditions. Hence, the biscuit box introduces Chinese culture to the culinary experience.
Moreover, Tangsuo elevates this gastronomic encounter through the store’s have-in option. Located in the back of the shop, a quaint space secluded by traditional screens offers limited seating for tea and cake. Deciding to have afternoon tea at the store with a friend, we had a hard time choosing from a selection of small cakes made with local ingredients corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms (二十四节气), alongside a curated menu of freshly brewed tea. Seated on black lacquered chairs and surrounded by hints of greenery through windows, while handmade paper lanterns lit up the room in glowing warmth, I could visualise myself as an ancient scholar, discussing poetry with peers while appreciating fine food and natural views. The experience hence beautifully revitalises the tradition of literary gatherings (文人雅集), triggering one’s senses through the ceremonial, immersive atmosphere, aiding customers to grasp the sophistication of Chinese traditions surrounding food and leisure.
Tangsuo also sees the opportunities in take-away gift boxes to further spread Chinese culture. This is evident through the brand’s thoughtful gift wrapping procedure. Whilst all of Tangsuo’s gift boxes, whether biscuits or tea, come with delicate packages made to look like tied scrolls or books, there is an additional step to personalise the gift. Customers are guided to a special station where they can affix seals with traditional vermilion ink paste, and there are different seals inscribed with Chinese idioms available for various occasions. Popular phrases wishing for longevity, blessings for a good year, and seasonal regards thus make the gift boxes more intimate, whilst customers participate in an activity once practised by scholars and emperors, subtly keeping traditions alive.
Through small actions that focus on triggering the five senses in a personal way, big philosophical concepts are translated into the products, increasing the accessibility of Chinese culture while presenting it as enjoyable and graceful. What To Summer and Tangsuo are promoting are ‘Eastern Aesthetics’ that can be touched, smelled, tasted and seen.
Engaging with the Younger Generation
To Summer and Tangsuo’s key strategies of lifestyle-oriented products and sensory experience are both directed towards a younger consumer market – that is, the 18-30 age group. This younger generation, growing up in a world saturated with information and technology, naturally has a higher demand for engaging products, asking more than just practicality. Often influenced by social media trends, young people nowadays have increased interest in curating specific, personalised lifestyles, as evident in various ‘moodboard trends’ on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. In China, there is also the rise of ‘citywalk’ – exploring a part of a city in an effortless manner different from the tourist perspective, thereby creating a lifestyle that is carefree and personal. All these trends emphasise concepts of relaxation, freedom, individuality, and sophistication – demands well answered by To Summer and Tangsuo’s product development plans.
From a more general side, the brands appeal to a younger generation simply because their products are visually aesthetic and convenient. From the variations of delicately crafted perfume bottles to pastries decorated as a traditional ink painting, To Summer and Tangsuo’s goods are a delight to the eyes, attracting young people who are more inclined to purchase due to prettiness, as they see consumption as a way of pleasing oneself. With stores around China, consumers could easily obtain these products, which eventually leads to a sense of identity at an age where everyone is trying to find purpose and character – a collective image of young adults beginning to construct their taste and establishing themselves as future bearers of Chinese traditions.
Why go to such lengths to attract the younger generation? Part of the reason is to reject the stereotype that Chinese culture is old-fashioned and inflexible. The brands have recognised that there is no use in confining traditional aesthetics to a specific class, but to spread it to a wider, international audience, especially the young people who will be the next generation of world-class leaders. With increasingly international connections and backgrounds, they are also more likely to share these brands abroad, aiding China’s cultural output on the world stage. My own first thought when I browsed through the brands’ products is that they would make such fantastic gifts for my friends abroad, as they are elegant yet functional. However, this does not mean the exclusion of older generations. The more accessible lifestyle products with enhanced user experience benefit all, bringing new, refreshing insights into China’s unique ancient aesthetics.
The two brands are certainly successful with their specific tactics. To Summer sells more than a hundred million a year (in CNY) with a sixty percent repurchase rate, and is currently one of the top Chinese fragrance brands in the country. Albeit an emerging sub-brand, Tangsuo has received heavy attention upon its store openings and product launches, illustrating a promising future. The deep roots both brands share with Chinese culture enable them to have solid core brand stories, while offering potential areas for further improvements – there is so much to explore and study thoroughly.
From colossal cultural concepts to practical products, To Summer and Tangsuo’s branding strategies are summed up in three main steps: accessible and useful lifestyle consumer goods to first establish general acceptance, personalised sensory experience to revive philosophical ideas in simple and rejuvenating terms, and engagement with the younger generation to align with current market trends while achieving wider recognition. These brands’ rising reputation paints an optimistic picture for the future of Chinese culture, where beautiful, traditional ways of living embodying Chinese values are revitalised and seen by the world.
For Tangsuo, visit stores in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xiamen and Hangzhou.
