MSD-CLIP: Multi-granular semantic deconstruction and morphological regeneration design of Chinese intangible cultural heritage patterns via cultural-semantic CLIP

Background Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Chinese patterns encode millennia of cultural wisdom through complex, multi-layered semantic structures as well. Current computational approaches are unable to break down or recreate these patterns with cultural authenticity. Objective This paper presents MSD-CLIP (Multi-Granular Semantic Deconstruction and Morphological Regeneration CLIP), a new framework that aims at systematically decomposing Chinese ICH patterns into interpretable cultural values and reassembling them with accurate semantic control, without losing traditional integrity. Methods MSD-CLIP combines a hierarchical semantic deconstruction framework that examines patterns at five granularity levels: Dynasty-Temporal, Wu Xing Philosophy, Regional-Cultural, Symbolic-Functional, and Aesthetic-Compositional. It has a controllable semantic regeneration engine, which allows fine-grained manipulation of single cultural attributes, and a cross-granular consistency enforcer that ensures that regenerated patterns conform to the traditional criteria. Results Five-fold cross-validation validated model robustness (SD < 0.5%, p < 0.001 vs baselines). MSD-CLIP was tested on 3247 expert-annotated Chinese ICH patterns and demonstrated superiority over existing models on all measures. It attained 91.3 ± 0.36% deconstruction precision, 88.7 ± 0.42% regeneration fidelity, 4.2 ± 0.10 cultural authenticity score, and 87.4% control accuracy. The accuracy of multi-granular deconstruction was high across all semantic levels, ranging from 87.9%–91.3%. Controlled regeneration achieved an average accuracy of 87.5% in attribute manipulation. Professional assessment indicated 84% overall approval, reliably preserving cultural authenticity. Conclusion MSD-CLIP is the first computational instrument that can deconstruct and regenerate the semantic Chinese ICH patterns at a systematic level with morphological re-inspiration. It offers a major contribution in digital heritage preservation, culturally-conscious design generation, and educational uses, without compromising the cultural integrity.