Journey Through the Past: 20's French Language Scholar Visits Hainan
In 1925, French linguist François-Marie Savina embarked on an ethnographic journey through Hainan, China, documenting the local Li culture. His seminal work, Monographie de Hainan, provided valuable insights into this indigenous ethnic group's language and traditions.
Fast forward to 2025, the digital short film "A Voyage Through Time: Savina's Hainan Island Monograph" brings Savina's work to life in a modern digital humanities project. This cultural experiment blends archival research with artistic storytelling, redefining digital humanities by combining historical archives with modern digital storytelling techniques.
The film's significance lies in its archival rigor, preserving and reviving historical ethnographic material from the 1920s, its artistic narration making the cultural insights of the Li people accessible to contemporary audiences, and its contribution to digital humanities.
The Chinese production team recreates authentic 1920s Hainan landscapes using historic photographs. The film captures the physical appearance of an oil painting while maintaining historic accuracy and consistency. It focuses on depicting faces, facial expressions, hands, and clothes of human figures with precision.
The film stages a fictional encounter between Savina and a contemporary Li Brocade designer. The Li Brocade designer in the film weaves Li brocade motifs into futuristic fashion, showcasing the enduring creativity of the Li culture.
The scriptwriter of the film described the video as a cross-cultural dialogue between the AI avatar of Francois-Marie Savina and a modern Li Brocade designer. AI has revived the digital avatar of Francois-Marie Savina, further bridging the gap between the past and the present.
The short film debuted online on Aug. 8, 2025, and aims to support Hainan's bid for the Hainan Tropical Rainforest and Traditional Settlements of the Li Ethnic Group to be included on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The film's director explains that the project aims to honor Francois-Marie Savina's legacy and Li cultural creativity.
In 2022, the Hainan Tropical Rainforest and Traditional Settlements of the Li Ethnic Group were placed on UNESCO's tentative list for World Heritage sites, reflecting the value of preserving indigenous cultures and histories documented by scholars like Savina. The film's contextual importance lies in its connection to broader cultural heritage discussions.
[1] Digital Humanities [2] François-Marie Savina [3] Monographie de Hainan [4] Li people [5] UNESCO World Heritage List
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