Innovative Application of the Six-Tusked White Elephant in Dunhuang Murals in Cultural and Creative Design DOI:

Abstract

This study examines the Six-Tusked White Elephant depicted in Dunhuang murals and explores its reinterpretation in contemporary cultural and creative design. As a Buddhist symbol embodying compassion, wisdom, and enlightenment, the white elephant holds strong visual and cultural significance in Dunhuang art. Through image analysis and literature review, the study identifies its key formal characteristics—side-view composition, forward-tilting head, prominent six tusks, and square limb structure—and extracts major decorative elements such as lotus patterns, auspicious clouds, reins, and flowing ribbons, providing transferable visual resources for modern design.

In the context of the rising “Guochao” (Chinese-chic) trend, the white elephant is reimagined with greater emotional warmth and visual accessibility. Its contemporary expressions—pattern stylization, cartoonization, and narrative-based design—demonstrate broad potential across creative industries. Market research shows, however, that current cultural products remain limited by homogeneous designs, insufficient diversity, and weak communication channels, while high aesthetic quality and emotional resonance emerge as key drivers of consumer purchasing.

Based on user-centered insights, the study proposes three design strategies: enhancing visual appeal through “cute aesthetics,” embedding healing and comforting emotional experiences to meet the psychological needs of young users, and adopting gamified mechanisms such as blind boxes to strengthen engagement and cultural interaction. This research offers a new design framework for the contemporary transformation of the Dunhuang Six-Tusked White Elephant and contributes to the modern dissemination of traditional Chinese culture.