My theme is Haipai culture. Haipai culture refers to a unique culture formed in Shanghai at the intersection of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River. This culture originates from the Yangtze River and the Huangpu River. I want to present the influence and formation of Shanghai Haipai culture in the form of animation.

污染（Pollution）

垃圾（Litter）

保护（Conservation）

自然（Nature）

生态（Ecosystem）

健康环境（Healthy Environment）

● Moodboard:
Students are required to create a visually engaging summary of their research material into a single ‘moodboard’ - highlighting the theme or topic of their research and the work generated for the brief.

• X 5 observational drawings - what will you draw relevant to your topic?

• X 5 photographs - what will you photograph relevant to your topic?

• X 2 sound recordings - what will you record relevant to your topic?

• X 2 short film - what will you record relevant to your topic?

• X 3 interesting materials, objects and/or ephemera - what will you collect relevant to your topic?

X 3 rubbings of interesting textures - what will you collect relevant to your topic?

I love the idea of performance and disguising yourself as a plant. Reflect on your thoughts and feelings when you were a plant.

Where did you stand? did you document the performance? what shape were you? how long were you a plant?

Provide secondary research on the types of plants that grow in the location. Are they specific to that area? Do they only grow on the old buildings.

Collect and press the plants.

Think about and research how plants have been and are now documented. Traditionally a watercolour observational drawing/painting (Victorian books on plants and flowers) also consider how plants/ flowers have traditionally been documented in China.

Compare this with how you are collecting your visual research for your moodboard.

Remember shape, scale, colour, texture etc.

Use secondary research to collect visual information on rubbish which is also pollution.

Upload your collection images, sounds, film from your toolkit.

What objects did you collect on your visit, photograph them, where were they discarded? Were they recycled? What material were they made from? Were they wrappers for sweets, food, drinks?

You have an interest in signage, reflect on the words, typography, colours, textures, scale of the signage. Where does it appear? Is it information? Is it decorative?

I think for your moodboard you can make a link between the signage and the rubbish. This can be through the materials, text and imagery, colour, shape, size etc.

Photograph your objects for the padlet. Upload your film and sounds from your location visit.

Analyse the sounds, sights, smells, touch and taste of what romance can be or how you interpret it.

Secondary research on romanticism could include your favourite book/story, poem, painting, film, building, song, character etc

Display colours, textures, images of what romance means to you.

Make the connections between your primary research and secondary research through analysis of what you have chosen or collected.

Haipai culture – images of food, crafts, architecture, 2 rivers, fashion, integration of traditional and western styles.

Think about combining your moodboard images with your mindmap thoughts.

Secondary research from internet will help generate further imagery.

Please upload your primary research from your toolkit.

Upload images of objects and photos collected from second visit.

Present the films and sounds you collected on your visit for your moodboard. This will help with how you develop the project further in terms of animation.

Use your words from your mindmap to generate further secondary research on traces, rust, scratch, plants, animal.

Think about scale on your moodboard. The text, colours, textures, shape and scale of objects you have photographed or collected.

Explore the flower store and the plants climbing on the buildings.

Upload sounds, objects, films of the location from your second visit. This will help generate the focus and development of your project.

There is an image of a letterbox – consider the handwritten letter representing a traditional form of communication to the contemporary texting/messaging. Analyse this and include on your moodboard.

As a famous brand in the history of Chinese tobacco, Hongshuangxi can be traced back to 1927. At that time, China‘s first table tennis was born in Shanghai, marking that China had the ability to manufacture table tennis by itself. In 1959, in order to use domestic equipment for the first World Table Tennis Championship held in China, Premier Zhou Enlai personally named the task of making balls for international competitions ”Hongshuangxi“

I spent a lot of time deciding on my theme. If you ask me what my deepest impression of that street is, to be honest, I don’t have any strong feelings about it. I first became interested in animation when I was in my first year of middle school. I believe that Chinese animation has a lot of room for improvement. Under the influence of Black Myth: Wukong, I started to explore the characteristics of Chinese culture.

On that street, I saw many people. While passing an intersection, I noticed a Street Angel poster on the wall, which reminded me of old Shanghai in the 1930s. Looking at the pedestrians and vehicles at the crossroads, I felt uncertain about my direction, but eventually, I decided on Haipai Culture as my theme.

So, what exactly is Haipai culture? When I first started this theme, I didn’t think too much about it. I felt that such a broad topic could include many aspects—food, history, cultural background… There was a lot I could explore. But in the end, I decided to focus on one question: How do people live under the influence of Haipai culture?

As someone who has lived in Shanghai for over fourteen years, my daily life consists of eating, drinking, and then going to bed—just like that, a day passes. Of course, I am still a student, so I don’t face financial pressures or a hectic lifestyle. But Shanghai, as the most developed city in China, is a place that many aspire to be in. There are also significant differences between people, and everyone experiences life in their own way.

I plan to research Shanghai’s history to understand how people lived in the past and what has changed over time.

There is lots of text on your two moodboards, perhaps you could use the visual references from your detective wall/photographs from the street and also source vibrant images from the internet again to showcase Haipai culture and it’s influence and development on traditional Chinese culture. It would be good to have a short explanation of what “Nezha” means.

Protagonist: Zhang Yiran

Age: 35

Time Period: 1930

Zhang Yiran is a struggling merchant of modest means. Invited by a business associate, he finds himself at a lavish nightclub—a world of decadence and extravagance that stands in stark contrast to the hardships of his own neighborhood.

Scene 1: Japanese forces detonate the South Manchuria Railway.

Narration: At 10:20 p.m. on September 18, 1931, a dull explosion suddenly rang out. At the scene, the tracks of the South Manchuria Railway were blown apart in two. This seemingly insignificant damage—a mere gap in the rails—marked the beginning of the largest war in human history: World War II.

Scene 2: Japanese forces occupy Shenyang.

Narration: While the attack on the Beidaying Barracks was underway, the Japanese 29th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Division advanced into Shenyang, assaulting the city’s Military Governor’s Office. They encountered minimal resistance. By 6:30 a.m. the next morning, Shenyang had fallen to the Japanese.

Unrest in Beiping and Tianjin

Scene 3: Japanese troop reinforcements in Beiping and Tianjin spark chaos.

Narration: On November 8, 1931, Kenji Doihara, head of the Fengtian Special Service Agency, bribed Chinese collaborators to instigate riots on the streets of Tianjin. The unrest was carried out by over 2,000 "plainclothes operatives" trained and organized by the Japanese, led by Li Jichun and Zhang Xia. Emerging from areas like Haiguang Temple, they launched coordinated attacks on the Tianjin Municipal Government, Hebei Provincial Government, and police stations. Within a day, transportation in the city was paralyzed, shops closed, and countless innocent civilians lost their lives.

The January 28th Shanghai Incident

Scene 4: Japanese forces attack the 19th Route Army.

Narration: On the night of January 28, 1932, Japanese naval forces launched a surprise assault on the Chinese 19th Route Army, which was in the process of withdrawing under orders. The Japanese sought to stage a repeat of the "September 18 Incident" in Shanghai’s international settlement, ensuring their navy would not be overshadowed by the army’s earlier exploits.

Scene 5: The 19th Route Army’s defensive positions.

Narration: To the Japanese forces’ surprise, the 19th Route Army displayed extraordinary determination in battle, and the people of Shanghai fervently supported their defenders. Under the command of Generals Jiang Guangnai and Cai Tingkai, they resisted decisively—without explicit approval from the Nanjing government—inflicting heavy casualties on the invading Japanese marines.

Reflection: The January 28th Shanghai Incident awakened many who had been indulging in a life of decadence in the foreign concessions. The Japanese artillery fire and bombings brought them face-to-face with suffering—like a bone stuck in the throat, a thorn in the flesh. Just as the people of Shenyang could never forget "September 18," "January 28" remains forever etched in the memory of Shanghai.

Narration: At the time, Lu Xun and his family lived in an apartment directly opposite the headquarters of the Japanese Naval Landing Force on North Sichuan Road in Shanghai. From the apartment window, they could see large numbers of soldiers assembling in the headquarters compound before being transported southward by roaring trucks.

Reflection: To this day, a bullet mark from that time remains on the wall of Lu Xun’s study. Very few could remain untouched by the war—even the concessions, long considered the safest zones, were no longer havens of security. Though both warring sides respected the special status of the concessions, no one could technically guarantee that bullets and shells would never land within them.

Shot 7: The Fall of Northeast China

Narration: After the September 18th Incident, the Nanjing government urged the people to endure, waiting for the League of Nations' resolution to be respected by Japan and for justice to prevail over brute force. But two weeks passed, and the crisis in the Northeast worsened daily. The provincial governments of Liaoning and Jilin had collapsed, while Heilongjiang’s teetered on the edge. On October 8, 1931, Japan bombed Jinzhou—the first aerial attack on a peaceful city since the end of World War I, killing many civilians. The situation made it clear that the Japanese military and government had decided to seize the Northeast by force. On January 3, 1932, Japanese troops occupied Jinzhou, marking the complete fall of the Northeast.

The 19th Route Army and the January 28th Shanghai Battle

Shot 8: Japanese Provocations in Shanghai

Prologue: Shanghai was the most cosmopolitan metropolis in the Far East, the center of China’s industry, commerce, and finance, and a hub of concentrated foreign interests. After the September 18th Incident, Shanghai became the heart of nationwide boycotts of Japanese goods and anti-Japanese movements.

Narration: To divert international attention from the Northeast, the Japanese military conspired to stir up trouble in Shanghai. As tensions escalated, Japanese fleets and marines poured into the city. The gathering of Japanese warships on the Huangpu River fueled the militant fervor of Japanese expatriates, who rampaged through the streets, vandalizing Chinese shops. Meanwhile, Japanese marines staged armed demonstrations, openly provoking Chinese forces.

Prologue: On January 23, officers of the 19th Route Army at the battalion level and above held an emergency meeting at the Longhua Garrison Headquarters. All attendees resolved to defend Shanghai and made urgent preparations, deciding to annihilate any Japanese forces that attacked Chinese positions. On the 27th, Japanese Consul General Murai Kuraso delivered an ultimatum to Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng over the "Nichiren Monk Incident," demanding apologies, punishment for anti-Japanese activists, the dissolution of抗日 groups, and the withdrawal of Chinese troops. Wu Tiecheng shamefully agreed to all demands, but his capitulation did not prevent war.

Narration: Late on the night of January 28, Japanese marines launched a surprise attack on the 19th Route Army’s positions from five directions. Before the assault, Rear Admiral Shiozawa Kōichi, commander of the Japanese fleet, arrogantly declared that Japanese forces would occupy Shanghai within four hours.

Shots 10–13: The 19th Route Army’s Resistance

Prologue: In the first week, fighting was concentrated in Zhabei. By February 4, the Japanese launched their first offensive, spreading the battle to Jiangwan and Wusong, but their assault was crushed—the first Japanese regiment attacking Jiangwan was wiped out. The disgraced Shiozawa was recalled and replaced by Vice Admiral Nomura Kichisaburō, commander of Japan’s Third Fleet. Nomura confidently claimed that the Japanese advance would halt once they crossed Yunzaobin Creek. Reinforced Japanese troops attacked Yunzaobin and Caojiaqiao on February 11. Shanghai’s citizens fervently supported the 19th Route Army, forming volunteer corps, intelligence teams, and transport units—over 50 volunteer groups, totaling more than 20,000 people, registered with the army. The public donated generously, raising 100,000 yuan in a single day on January 30 and 7 million yuan during the conflict. Chinese workers at Japanese factories, shops, and residences went on strike or resigned en masse to support the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

Narration: The Japanese attack threw Shanghai into chaos, with countless civilians fleeing to the concessions or other cities to escape the violence. In Nanjing, the Nationalist government had already appealed to Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin on January 30, requesting permission to deploy troops to Shanghai. He Yingqin responded irritably, "The 19th Route Army disobeyed orders. They were told to withdraw from Shanghai but refused, instead provoking a fight with the Japanese and disrupting the central government’s policy, making the situation difficult to manage." He rejected the request.

That evening, He Yingqin heard a commotion outside his residence—it was Song Xilian and over 30 officers pleading to join the fight. One battalion commander spoke bluntly: "I am your student, Minister. Now that the Japanese are at our doorstep, are we to kneel and accept being slaves of a lost nation?!" The 19th Route Army fought alone on the front lines, repeatedly begging for reinforcements. Public outrage grew over the central government’s inaction, and criticism mounted. Chiang Kai-shek, recently reinstated, saw that sending no troops would be indefensible and decided to dispatch the 88th and 87th Divisions—his elite forces—as the 5th Army under General Zhang Zhizhong, who arrived in Shanghai on February 18.

After the September 18th Incident, Liao Zhongkai’s widow, He Xiangning, sent a woman’s dress to Zhang Zhizhong (then dean of the Central Military Academy) to forward to Whampoa students, along with a poem: Shame on you men, bowing to oppressors, surrendering our land, eternally disgraced. We women would rather die in battle—take our skirts and give us your uniforms! This was Zhang’s chance to redeem himself in battle.

Admiral Nomura and other Japanese naval commanders had not anticipated the 19th Route Army’s fierce resolve and combat strength. After repeated failures, they called in the Japanese Army for reinforcements. On February 7, the 9th Division landed at Shanghai and Wusong, with Lieutenant General Ueda Kenkichi taking command. Upon arrival, Ueda issued an ultimatum demanding the 19th Route Army withdraw voluntarily—a demand the Chinese commanders ignored. The 9th Division targeted Jiangwan and Miaoxing, bombing Chinese positions before launching infantry assaults with tank support.

By then, Zhang Zhizhong’s 5th Army had joined the fight, with Zhang commanding the left flank, Cai Tingkai the right, and Jiang Guangnai as overall commander. The 5th and 19th Route Armies cooperated closely, resisting fiercely from fortified positions and inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese.

Narration: After the "January 28th" Incident, the tenacious resistance of the Chinese army won praise from the international community. Chinese and foreign newspapers competed to report on the battles of the Shanghai War. The Western powers grew concerned about the conflict in Shanghai and their own interests in China. Countries such as Britain, the U.S., and France dispatched additional warships and marines to Shanghai, issuing warnings against Japan's aggression. Fearing international isolation and facing fierce Chinese resistance, Japan chose not to escalate the situation in Shanghai. Accepting the mediation of British Ambassador Lampson, Chinese and Japanese representatives held ceasefire negotiations aboard a British flagship. On March 3, both sides announced a truce. On the 6th, Jiang Guangnai declared that Chinese forces would cease hostilities if Japan did the same. Thus, the Shanghai conflict came to an end.

On May 5, China and Japan signed the Shanghai Ceasefire Agreement. According to its terms, Chinese troops were barred from stationing in the areas between Shanghai, Suzhou, and Kunlun Mountain, while Shanghai was recognized as a demilitarized zone. The "January 28th" Shanghai Anti-Japanese Campaign officially concluded. On May 7, the Nationalist government ordered the 88th Division to move to Wuhan and the 87th Division to Changshu, later relocating to Nanjing.

---

Shot 16: The League of Nations Intervenes

Prologue: On September 30, the League of Nations Council passed a resolution demanding that Japanese troops withdraw unconditionally within two weeks and restore the pre-September 18th status quo. The Japanese government claimed to accept the resolution, solemnly declaring: "Japan has no territorial ambitions in Manchuria; the dispatch of troops was solely to protect the lives and property of Japanese citizens; the army will immediately begin withdrawing to the railway zones."

The Japanese military also played the victim, insisting that their actions were purely defensive, provoked by Chinese threats. Foreign Minister Shidehara personally attended the League of Nations to defend the Kwantung Army’s aggression. Japan distributed vast amounts of propaganda, translated into multiple languages, listing over 300 unresolved Sino-Japanese disputes and 54 alleged Chinese treaty violations, aiming to mislead global opinion.

Narration: On December 10, 1931, the League of Nations Council decided to send a commission to East Asia to investigate the truth behind the Sino-Japanese conflict. By mid-January 1932, the Lytton Commission was formed, led by British diplomat Lord Lytton. Additionally, former Chinese Foreign Minister Wellington Koo and Japan’s ambassador to Turkey, Yoshida, were assigned to assist the investigation.

By late February, the commission arrived in Japan before proceeding to Manchuria, where they met with Puyi and others. Japan repeatedly obstructed Wellington Koo’s work—first barring him from entering Manchuria, then restricting his communications and movements, even denying him transportation. However, thanks to the efforts of Koo and the people of Manchuria, Japan’s conspiracies and atrocities were ultimately exposed.

In January 1933, the League finally adopted the Report of the Lytton Commission, which unequivocally condemned Japan for instigating the "September 18th Incident" and creating the puppet state of Manchukuo, demanding Japan’s withdrawal and restoration of the pre-incident status quo.

Scene 1: Japanese forces detonate the South Manchuria Railway.

Narration: At 10:20 p.m. on September 18, 1931, a dull explosion suddenly rang out. At the scene, the tracks of the South Manchuria Railway were blown apart in two. This seemingly insignificant damage—a mere gap in the rails—marked the beginning of the largest war in human history: World War II.

Scene 2: Japanese forces occupy Shenyang.

Narration: While the attack on the Beidaying Barracks was underway, the Japanese 29th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Division advanced into Shenyang, assaulting the city’s Military Governor’s Office. They encountered minimal resistance. By 6:30 a.m. the next morning, Shenyang had fallen to the Japanese.

Scene 3: Japanese troop reinforcements in Beiping and Tianjin spark chaos.

Narration: On November 8, 1931, Kenji Doihara, head of the Fengtian Special Service Agency, bribed Chinese collaborators to instigate riots on the streets of Tianjin. The unrest was carried out by over 2,000 "plainclothes operatives" trained and organized by the Japanese, led by Li Jichun and Zhang Xia. Emerging from areas like Haiguang Temple, they launched coordinated attacks on the Tianjin Municipal Government, Hebei Provincial Government, and police stations. Within a day, transportation in the city was paralyzed, shops closed, and countless innocent civilians lost their lives.

The January 28th Shanghai Incident

Scene 4: Japanese forces attack the 19th Route Army.

Narration: On the night of January 28, 1932, Japanese naval forces launched a surprise assault on the Chinese 19th Route Army, which was in the process of withdrawing under orders. The Japanese sought to stage a repeat of the "September 18 Incident" in Shanghai’s international settlement, ensuring their navy would not be overshadowed by the army’s earlier exploits.

Narration: To the Japanese forces’ surprise, the 19th Route Army displayed extraordinary determination in battle, and the people of Shanghai fervently supported their defenders. Under the command of Generals Jiang Guangnai and Cai Tingkai, they resisted decisively—without explicit approval from the Nanjing government—inflicting heavy casualties on the invading Japanese marines.

Reflection: The January 28th Shanghai Incident awakened many who had been indulging in a life of decadence in the foreign concessions. The Japanese artillery fire and bombings brought them face-to-face with suffering—like a bone stuck in the throat, a thorn in the flesh. Just as the people of Shenyang could never forget "September 18," "January 28" remains forever etched in the memory of Shanghai.

Shot 6: Lu Xun

Narration: At the time, Lu Xun and his family lived in an apartment directly opposite the headquarters of the Japanese Naval Landing Force on North Sichuan Road in Shanghai. From the apartment window, they could see large numbers of soldiers assembling in the headquarters compound before being transported southward by roaring trucks.

Reflection: To this day, a bullet mark from that time remains on the wall of Lu Xun’s study. Very few could remain untouched by the war—even the concessions, long considered the safest zones, were no longer havens of security. Though both warring sides respected the special status of the concessions, no one could technically guarantee that bullets and shells would never land within them.

Shot 7: The Fall of Northeast China

Narration: After the September 18th Incident, the Nanjing government urged the people to endure, waiting for the League of Nations' resolution to be respected by Japan and for justice to prevail over brute force. But two weeks passed, and the crisis in the Northeast worsened daily. The provincial governments of Liaoning and Jilin had collapsed, while Heilongjiang’s teetered on the edge. On October 8, 1931, Japan bombed Jinzhou—the first aerial attack on a peaceful city since the end of World War I, killing many civilians. The situation made it clear that the Japanese military and government had decided to seize the Northeast by force. On January 3, 1932, Japanese troops occupied Jinzhou, marking the complete fall of the Northeast.

Shot 8: Japanese Provocations in Shanghai

Prologue: Shanghai was the most cosmopolitan metropolis in the Far East, the center of China’s industry, commerce, and finance, and a hub of concentrated foreign interests. After the September 18th Incident, Shanghai became the heart of nationwide boycotts of Japanese goods and anti-Japanese movements.

Narration: To divert international attention from the Northeast, the Japanese military conspired to stir up trouble in Shanghai. As tensions escalated, Japanese fleets and marines poured into the city. The gathering of Japanese warships on the Huangpu River fueled the militant fervor of Japanese expatriates, who rampaged through the streets, vandalizing Chinese shops. Meanwhile, Japanese marines staged armed demonstrations, openly provoking Chinese forces.

Shot 9: The Japanese Attack

Prologue: On January 23, officers of the 19th Route Army at the battalion level and above held an emergency meeting at the Longhua Garrison Headquarters. All attendees resolved to defend Shanghai and made urgent preparations, deciding to annihilate any Japanese forces that attacked Chinese positions. On the 27th, Japanese Consul General Murai Kuraso delivered an ultimatum to Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng over the "Nichiren Monk Incident," demanding apologies, punishment for anti-Japanese activists, the dissolution of抗日 groups, and the withdrawal of Chinese troops. Wu Tiecheng shamefully agreed to all demands, but his capitulation did not prevent war.

Narration: Late on the night of January 28, Japanese marines launched a surprise attack on the 19th Route Army’s positions from five directions. Before the assault, Rear Admiral Shiozawa Kōichi, commander of the Japanese fleet, arrogantly declared that Japanese forces would occupy Shanghai within four hours.

Shots 10–13: The 19th Route Army’s Resistance

Prologue: In the first week, fighting was concentrated in Zhabei. By February 4, the Japanese launched their first offensive, spreading the battle to Jiangwan and Wusong, but their assault was crushed—the first Japanese regiment attacking Jiangwan was wiped out. The disgraced Shiozawa was recalled and replaced by Vice Admiral Nomura Kichisaburō, commander of Japan’s Third Fleet. Nomura confidently claimed that the Japanese advance would halt once they crossed Yunzaobin Creek. Reinforced Japanese troops attacked Yunzaobin and Caojiaqiao on February 11. Shanghai’s citizens fervently supported the 19th Route Army, forming volunteer corps, intelligence teams, and transport units—over 50 volunteer groups, totaling more than 20,000 people, registered with the army. The public donated generously, raising 100,000 yuan in a single day on January 30 and 7 million yuan during the conflict. Chinese workers at Japanese factories, shops, and residences went on strike or resigned en masse to support the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

Narration: The Japanese attack threw Shanghai into chaos, with countless civilians fleeing to the concessions or other cities to escape the violence. In Nanjing, the Nationalist government had already appealed to Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin on January 30, requesting permission to deploy troops to Shanghai. He Yingqin responded irritably, "The 19th Route Army disobeyed orders. They were told to withdraw from Shanghai but refused, instead provoking a fight with the Japanese and disrupting the central government’s policy, making the situation difficult to manage." He rejected the request.

That evening, He Yingqin heard a commotion outside his residence—it was Song Xilian and over 30 officers pleading to join the fight. One battalion commander spoke bluntly: "I am your student, Minister. Now that the Japanese are at our doorstep, are we to kneel and accept being slaves of a lost nation?!" The 19th Route Army fought alone on the front lines, repeatedly begging for reinforcements. Public outrage grew over the central government’s inaction, and criticism mounted. Chiang Kai-shek, recently reinstated, saw that sending no troops would be indefensible and decided to dispatch the 88th and 87th Divisions—his elite forces—as the 5th Army under General Zhang Zhizhong, who arrived in Shanghai on February 18.

After the September 18th Incident, Liao Zhongkai’s widow, He Xiangning, sent a woman’s dress to Zhang Zhizhong (then dean of the Central Military Academy) to forward to Whampoa students, along with a poem: Shame on you men, bowing to oppressors, surrendering our land, eternally disgraced. We women would rather die in battle—take our skirts and give us your uniforms! This was Zhang’s chance to redeem himself in battle.

Admiral Nomura and other Japanese naval commanders had not anticipated the 19th Route Army’s fierce resolve and combat strength. After repeated failures, they called in the Japanese Army for reinforcements. On February 7, the 9th Division landed at Shanghai and Wusong, with Lieutenant General Ueda Kenkichi taking command. Upon arrival, Ueda issued an ultimatum demanding the 19th Route Army withdraw voluntarily—a demand the Chinese commanders ignored. The 9th Division targeted Jiangwan and Miaoxing, bombing Chinese positions before launching infantry assaults with tank support.

By then, Zhang Zhizhong’s 5th Army had joined the fight, with Zhang commanding the left flank, Cai Tingkai the right, and Jiang Guangnai as overall commander. The 5th and 19th Route Armies cooperated closely, resisting fiercely from fortified positions and inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese

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I will tell a story about a teenager studying Haipai culture in the 1930s.

Supporting actors: Master Cheng, Master Mother, Brother Shi, Pomegranate

Zhang Hong: He is a child who grew up in Shanghai. His family conditions are quite good. In 1921, the Communist Party was established. Zhang Hong’s father‘s factory suffered a general strike. Workers hoped to improve their treatment. Zhang Hong’s father was greatly affected by the family‘s income. In order to make a living, Zhang Hong’s father and mother flew to the United States together. Leave Zhang Hong alone. His mother knew that Zhang Hong had no interest in learning, so she left him in Master Cheng‘s drama class and became a family class.

2.Choose the visual style of your Zine (colour, font, illustration, photography, layout). Refer back to your sketchbook and moodboard to help you create a style guide.

3. Extract information from your moodboard; colours, textures, patterns… Use these to create the style of your zine. 

4. Plan the content for your pages: what text, images and visual elements goes on what pages? Create a plan, design each page – make a mock up to the template you have chosen.

Under the wave of the times, Zhang Hong’s family unexpectedly owed a huge debt.

In order to make a living, Zhang Hong‘s parents flew to the United States. His mother knew that Zhang Hong was not interested in learning, so she sent him to the drama class where Master Cheng was. When Zhang Hong first came to the drama class, the master and apprentices were not very optimistic about him, thinking that he was the eldest child of the rich parents who could not afford to suffer. However, the number of actors was small, and the Japanese constantly harassed them in Shanghai. If the master wanted to keep the drama from war, he had to work hard on everyone. Therefore, through his own efforts and the master’s hard work, Zhang Hong finally changed the master and apprentice‘s opinion of him, and also changed his fate.

The Legend of Shennong Tasting Hundreds of Herbs：

In ancient times, people lived by hunting and gathering wild fruits, often falling ill or even dying from eating poisonous plants. Shennong, witnessing the suffering of the people, was determined to taste all kinds of herbs to distinguish which were edible, which had medicinal properties, and which were toxic.

He traveled across mountains and rivers with a divine whip (Zhebian) and a transparent mythical beast (Zhangshi). For each plant he encountered, he personally tasted it, observed his physical reactions, and recorded its medicinal properties. It is said that he was poisoned seventy times in a single day but survived each time by using his ability to detoxify.

Through long-term trial, Shennong identified millet and taught people how to grow crops, promoting the development of agriculture. At the same time, he discovered many herbal medicines, laying the foundation for traditional Chinese medicine.

The Story of Yan Emperor

1. Contributions related to fire:

◦ Yan Emperor taught people to use fire for cooking, keeping warm, and driving away wild beasts.

◦ He promoted the "slash-and-burn" farming method (burning vegetation as fertilizer).

◦ He was regarded as the incarnation of the Fire God and the Sun God.

2. Literal meaning of the Chinese character '炎'（Yan）:

◦ The Chinese character "炎" (Yan) depicts the image of flames rising.

◦ It extends to mean brightness, warmth, and prosperity, representing the prosperity and strength of his tribe.

炎（Yan）Emperor and Shennong were initially two distinct legendary figures. However, over time, their images gradually merged. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, scholars officially combined them as "Yan Emperor Shennong," preserving the symbol of the "virtue of fire" while emphasizing their contributions to agriculture.

The 35th Year of Humanity’s Resource Crisis

Technology has advanced to unimaginable heights. Towers of iron and steel stretch into the heavens, their jagged silhouettes forming a new artificial sky. Traveling among the stars has become effortless, yet humanity remains powerless to solve the crisis in its own home.

Thirty-five years have passed since the Fifth World War. The genetic weapons deployed during that conflict triggered catastrophic mutations in Earth’s plant life. Most flora became inedible; some developed resistances to our countermeasures, while others evolved terrifying aggression. Vines and roots began to strangle our cities, creeping into foundations, splitting concrete, and reducing 80% of urban centers to crumbling ruins.

Our most advanced genetic editing systems—once a source of pride—proved useless against them. Only then did we realize the truth: for all our achievements, we understood almost nothing about plants.

It was clear—we had reached the end.

But humanity is nothing if not stubbornly, absurdly lucky.

During a routine quantum explosion experiment, we accidentally tore open a rift in spacetime. Beyond it lay another Earth—a parallel world, untouched by human hands.

This planet was swathed in green. No cities. No roads. No trace of civilization. Just an unbroken sea of vegetation. No one knew what it meant—whether these plants held value or posed yet another threat. After endless debate and bureaucratic evasion, the mission to explore this alien Earth fell to me: a mediocre botany researcher with no outstanding achievements to my name.

I knew the truth. I was no pioneer—just a disposable pawn, a stepping stone tossed into the unknown by greater minds. But I had no choice.

The ship passed through the rift.

As we crossed the threshold, the edges of reality twisted before my eyes. The void of space warped, its inky blackness threaded through with streaks of unfamiliar green, swirling like some primordial chaos.

How many centuries had humanity spent fighting against plants?

First, we cut them down to make way for our farms and towns. Then, after wars reduced our cities to rubble, we tore their roots from the ruins and rebuilt. Now, we struggled to reclaim our last strongholds from forests that had turned against us.

Watching that emerald planet grow larger in the viewport, I understood: the struggle between city and plant was a cycle. Every time we claimed victory, the green world returned, stronger than before.

Was this Earth’s future?

Humanity had ruled this world for millennia. But would the next era still belong to us?

The ship began its descent.

The landing was smoother than I expected.

Gathering my courage, I stepped outside—and saw something I could never have imagined.

This Earth had humans.

Before I could process the sight, a child reached out and touched my arm.

In an instant, my vision blurred. My mind flooded with foreign knowledge, as if my brain had been injected with raw data. I looked down and saw veins pulsing with a faint green light.

Then, clarity.

In that moment, I understood their civilization.

They had transferred information directly into my mind using the sap of a specialized tree.

These plants were not proof of their technological inferiority—they were their technology. While my world had poured its genius into machines and engines, these people had devoted every resource to mastering botany. Every one of them was a botanist far beyond my skill.

Their homes were living plants.

The Thermooca, for example—a hybrid species whose hollow trunk provided vast interior spaces. Special compounds in its bark regulated temperature, keeping dwellings comfortable year-round. Its sap was often smeared inside other plant-homes as a natural "air conditioning" agent.

Then there was the Nymboak, a tree that secreted a thin membrane as it grew, forming cocoon-like chambers in its branches. A single specimen could house fifty people.

All their plants were interconnected at the root. Information traveled through their neural networks, converging into a colossal World Tree—their Yggdrasil—which governed the planet’s fundamental systems.

Their leader welcomed me warmly, this strange visitor from beyond the stars. He showed me their experimental fields, where they struggled to cultivate high-yield, edible plants. To protect their fragile seedlings, they had bred defensive flora with astonishing lethality—plants that attacked intruders in ways I could scarcely comprehend, some with firepower rivaling our most advanced artillery.

But the most terrifying discovery was an unnamed specimen—a freak of nature, accidentally engineered.

It was a cradle of nightmares.

Its massive leaves concealed something that should not be seen. The space around it was distorted, as if the plant had clawed a festering wound in the fabric of reality. I could not look directly at its core; even from fifty meters away, my vision blurred at the edges. It was a twisted, unborn god. If provoked, it might drag the entire cosmos down with it.

I trembled.

Desperate to steady myself, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigarette. A relic of the past—most people in my world had long abandoned nicotine in favor of neural pleasure injectors. But I had fought to keep this small vice.

I flicked the ignition at its tip. A tiny flame sparked to life between my fingers.

The leader’s reaction stunned me even more than the monstrous plant had.

His voice shook as he whispered, "Is that… fire?"

And in that moment, I understood.

The reason they had never developed edible crops was not for lack of skill—it was because they had never learned to cook.

For thousands of years, they had eaten plants raw, enduring the slow poison of uncooked toxins. Their lifespans were far shorter than ours.

A few glowing embers fell from my cigarette, landing at my feet like fragments of a miniature sun. I crushed them under my boot and exhaled slowly.

Then, I told them a beautiful lie.

I was a hidden god, I said. Moved by their suffering, I had descended to bring them the divine gift of fire. I would taste their crops, learn their cultivation secrets, and teach them how to harness the flame.

The news spread faster than I expected. Their root-network transmitted information at speeds rivaling our quantum internet. By the time we returned to their settlement (forgive me—I still think of it as a "tribe"), I was already being hailed as a savior.

The cycle was about to break.

No—perhaps break was the wrong word.

The cycle would merge.

Cities and plants would become one. The war between them would end.

Back on my ship, I dug through piles of discarded equipment until I found it—the one device my old botany professor had insisted I bring: a DNA extractor, its body crafted entirely from tempered glass. It could analyze any plant’s genetic structure and predict its effects on the human body. I linked it to the ship’s transmitter, ensuring all data would be relayed back to Earth in real time.

And so began my decade-long mission—one that would alter two worlds.

I analyzed nearly every plant on that planet, watching as multicolored fluids spiraled through the extractor’s glass tubes. The people watched in awe as I deciphered strings of genetic code, instructing them on which plants were edible, which were toxic, and how to neutralize their poisons. The culmination of their civilization’s knowledge was measured out in vials no more advanced than a child’s chemistry set.

Finally, I taught them agriculture.

(Though, in truth, I was hardly qualified.)

"Plants need fertilizer," I told them. "Burn what you don’t need."

So they gathered the husks of their defensive plants—the ones too dangerous to eat—and piled them in the fields. Then, with a single spark, we set them ablaze.

The flames roared to life, red tongues licking at the sky like a newborn sun. By morning, all that remained was blackened soil—rich, fertile, and ready for new life.

Meanwhile, back on my Earth, something miraculous was happening.

The mutated plants that had overrun our cities were changing. The genetic data I had sent back was being put to use. The aggressive flora became docile, controllable—even useful. Green and steel intertwined, merging into something new, something strange.

Something like the swirling chaos I had seen in the rift.

As the spacetime fissure began to close—the universe healing its own wound—I knew my time here was ending.

I had to go.

This record is all that remains of those ten sealed years.

This represents deep connections that go beyond time and distance. The white horse and black unicorn are opposite but complete each other. Their meeting shows moments of perfect understanding, while their separation reminds us that some beautiful things in life are temporary.

1. Developed sketchbook covering the work made in response to the 3 briefs

Students are expected to include a range of research, analysis, experiments and

explorations, ideas and concepts relating to each of the Briefs.

2. Visual Summary: Final summary for the whole project - 15 pages

Students are expected to create a final Visual Summary for the whole Headspace project.

This must include the previous pages made for Brief 1 & 2 and the new 5 pages for

Brief 3.

3. Publication

• A name/title

• Cover (4pp)

• Inner pages (12pp)

• A distinctive and memorable visual style in keeping with the subject matter. Each

publication will communicate a personal point of view, or visual aesthetic which

may be in the form of a specific specialism or discipline (Fashion, Graphic Design,

Illustration - for example).

4. Reflective Evaluation

This needs to be a critically reflective analysis of: your working methods, the research

approach, rationale for the publication, the portfolio of outcomes, intended audience -

(1000 words approximately)