Meta Journal Issue 1

Volume 2, Issue 1:

Meta JOURNAL

UWTSD Wales Institute of Science & Art

Presented by: Residuum Conference

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Welcome to Meta Journal:

A collection of articles written and curated by the doctoral and master's students on the Professional Doctorate in Art and Design and MA Art & Design courses at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD). Meta Journal is an integral part of our larger Residuum Conference, providing a scholarly platform where emerging voices in the field of art and design showcase their innovative research and creative explorations. Through thought-provoking articles, and visual essays, both our Journal and Conference seeks to foster critical dialogue and advance the discourse surrounding contemporary art and design topics.

The name Meta reflects our commitment to exploring beyond the conventional boundaries of art and design. It symbolises the meta-level reflections and meta-analyses that underpin our scholarly endeavours, aiming to transcend traditional perspectives and push the frontiers of creative inquiry. Residuum, on the other hand, signifies the residual elements or remnants that persist after an artistic or intellectual process—a nod to the lasting impact and ongoing evolution of ideas explored within our contributors works. Together, Meta and Residuum embody our dedication to continuous exploration, transformation, and the enduring significance of artistic discourse in shaping our cultural landscape, and future world.

Professional Doctorate in Art and Design MA Art &

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Understanding Heritage as a Symbol of the Future

Kaining Zhou

TheDigitalTranslationandCulturalCommunicationof VisualLanguageinChineseOpera:AnAnalysisofGenZ’ s SensoryExperienceandCulturalIdentityBasedonHybrid Ethnography---------------------------------------------------------------------2

Meixin Tian

HowtoimprovetheaestheticacceptanceofChinese landscapepaintingsinmuseums.--------------------------------------------20

Mingmei Xue

ReinterpretingCizhouKilnMotifsviaSemioticsand TransmediaBranding:AMixedMethodsAnalysisof HeritageSymbolTranslation------------------------------------------------41

Yuanyuan Xiong

TranslatingJiangnanGardenSymbolsintoWearablejewellery: AQualitativeInvestigationofCulturalEncodingandEmbodied Experience---------------------------------------------------------------------58

Zhiming Yao

VisualCommunicationofCulturalHeritageintheDigital Age:FromHistoricalSymbolstoFutureImagination------------------82

Communications in a Contemporary World

Hanwen Zhang

Understanding Heritage as a Symbol of the Future

The Digital Translation and Cultural Communication of Visual Language in Chinese Opera:An Analysis of Gen Z’s

Sensory Experience and Cultural Identity Based on Hybrid

Ethnography

Kaining Zhou

Abstract

This study focuses on how digital media technologies influence the contemporary expression and innovation of the visual language of Chinese opera. It explores the application methods and expressive features of digital media—such as short videos, AI, and VR—in the translation and reconstruction of operatic visual elements. Following a logical framework of "input–processing–output," the research analyzes the media adaptability of opera’s visual genes, the reconstruction pathways of traditional aesthetic styles through digital technologies, and how these changes affect the emotional resonance and cultural identity formation of Generation Z during the viewing experience.

Grounded in a hybrid ethnographic methodology, the study employs four key research methods: case studies, participant observation, in-depth interviews, and rhythmanalysis. It examines platform visual strategies, user interaction behaviors, and perceptual experiences to reveal the interactive mechanisms among visual translation, media logic, and audience experience. By observing both the dissemination paths of digital opera and audience responses, the study addresses the challenges of traditional culture communication in new media environments and explores how visual language can strike a balance between technology and culture.

This research not only contributes to a better understanding of the logic behind the digital dissemination of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) on digital platforms but also provides both theoretical and practical insights into the visual reinvention of traditional arts. It offers valuable implications for the digitization of ICH, youth cultural identity, and visual communication studies.

1 Introduction

1.1 Research Background and Problem Statement

As a comprehensive stage art that integrates performance, music, narrative, and visual design, Chinese opera embodies rich historical memory and aesthetic tradition. Its unique visual expression system—including facial makeup, costumes, stylized gestures, stage choreography, and color schemes—is not only highly formalized and symbolic, but also reflects deep cultural connotations and aesthetic logic.

In today’s rapidly globalizing world, preserving traditional art forms has become an increasingly complex and challenging task. Despite its protection from UNESCO and

all efforts to modernize and commercialize it, the traditional Chinese theater is in steady decline in China. Its viewers have been dwindling over the years (Edström, 2018). With the rapid development of information technology and the pervasive influence of digital media, Chinese opera is increasingly transformed into a consumable and re-creatable cultural resource. As Wang (2022) points out, there exists a structural tension between the slow-paced rhythm of traditional opera and the fast-paced dissemination logic of social media. Platform mechanisms compel adjustments in rhythm, framing, and symbolic representation to compete for attention, thereby altering not only the modes of expression but also the audience’s modes of cultural comprehension. On these platforms, opera is frequently presented through personification, remixing, and AI face-swapping techniques. Gen Z audiences engage through behaviors such as reposting, imitation, and secondary creation. These transformations not only reshape the aesthetic structure of opera but also shift how audiences—especially Gen Z—understand and identify with traditional operatic culture.

Therefore, the central questions of this study are: How is the visual aesthetics of Chinese opera being re-encoded within a media environment dominated by platform-driven cultural production logic? Do Gen Z viewers form new emotional connections and cultural identities in the viewing process? This is not only a matter of artistic re-expression, but also a critical inquiry into how traditional culture is being reinterpreted and re-accepted in the digital age.

1.2 Theoretical Framework and Research Significance

In the face of rapidly evolving media environments, the visual language of traditional Chinese opera is being profoundly shaped and reconstructed by platform-driven logic. This study draws upon the perspectives of two influential theorists—Marshall McLuhan’s theory of “the medium is the message” and Stuart Hall’s “encoding/decoding” model—to construct its theoretical framework. These two theories provide a dual lens for understanding the dissemination mechanism of digital opera: one focusing on how technology shapes content structure, and the other on how audiences reconstruct cultural meaning.

McLuhan posits that the form of a medium determines the way content is expressed and perceived. On short video platforms, the stage rhythm and visual style of opera are compressed and fragmented, transformed into fast-paced visual symbols tailored to algorithmic logic. As noted by (Li, 2025a), integrated media communication emphasizes the “deep involvement of technical platforms in content restructuring and rhythm transformation,” which not only alters the logic of opera dissemination but also reshapes its visual style and the audience’s attention patterns. For instance, TikTok’s recommendation algorithm accelerates the operatic stage language, signaling that the visual aesthetics of opera are undergoing re-coding and redesign under the dominance of platform logic.

At the same time, Stuart Hall emphasizes that the meaning within the communication process is not solely determined by the medium itself, but is constantly negotiated and reconstructed by the audience during the act of viewing. Audience interpretation is often shaped by individual media experiences and cultural backgrounds, resulting in diverse—and at times divergent—readings of the same content. This phenomenon of "decoding difference" highlights visual communication as an ongoing cultural practice marked by negotiation and contestation.

In summary, by integrating McLuhan’s media determinism with Hall’s emphasis on audience agency, this study not only investigates how technology restructures traditional art forms but also examines how Gen Z audiences decode and reinterpret operatic visuals within digital environments. This dual-theoretical approach provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing both the technological transformation of cultural forms and the socio-cultural dynamics of meaning-making in the digital age. The research holds significance for several fields. For media and cultural studies, it deepens the understanding of how traditional arts are transformed in the age of digital media. For visual communication, it offers insights into the evolving grammar of cultural expression on algorithm-driven platforms. And for heritage preservation and youth identity studies, it sheds light on how digital re-creations of intangible cultural heritage contribute to the reconfiguration of cultural identity among younger generations.

1.3Research Objectives, Questions, and Chapter Structure

As traditional visual culture continues to migrate onto digital platforms, the visual language of Chinese opera is being translated and reconstructed under the influence of platform logic, technological intervention, and user participation. Rather than merely describing media transformations, this study focuses on a deeper inquiry: when opera enters the digital context, how is its visual expression reinterpreted, and can it foster new forms of cultural connection and identity resonance?

The core objectives of this study are as follows:

（1）To explore, from a visual perspective, the modes of expression and translation logic of Chinese opera within the digital media environment.

（2）To analyze how Gen Z audiences perceive, interact with, and interpret digital opera content, and how these processes contribute to their sense of cultural belonging.

（3）To reveal how platform-driven visual mechanisms intervene in the dissemination and identity construction of opera, and how they affect audience reception, interpretive depth, and emotional response.

To address these questions, this study will adopt a hybrid ethnographic methodology, combining platform observation, case analysis, in-depth interviews, and rhythmanalysis to carry out a multidimensional exploration and cultural analysis. The

dissertation is divided into five chapters: research background and theoretical foundations, literature review, methodological design, analysis and discussion, and research conclusion. The final section will propose directions for further research.

2 Literature Review: From Traditional Opera Visuals to Digital Communication and Cultural Identity

The literature review is divided into three thematic sections, focusing respectively on aesthetic genes, media translation, and user experience. Due to space constraints, this chapter will concentrate on the first two research sub-objectives: namely, the media adaptability of operatic visual genes and the mechanisms of translating traditional visual styles in digital media.

The third aspect—audience emotional resonance and the construction of cultural identity through digital opera experiences—will not be addressed in this chapter.

2.1 Study on the Adaptability of Chinese Opera Visuals to Digital Media Communication

Chinese opera, as a comprehensive art form with rich visual characteristics in traditional Chinese culture, has a visual language system (including costumes, face painting, color schemes, stage movements, etc.) that embodies profound cultural symbolism. However, whether this highly codified visual expression is well-suited for communication in the digital media context is a question worth exploring.

First, effectively identifying the visual cultural genes of opera is a fundamental prerequisite for determining whether it can be effectively translated by digital media. The visual genes of opera include not only costume design, facial makeup, and color systems but also spatial rhythm and visual narrative logic. These elements form a unique aesthetic structure and visual grammar, making opera inherently "visual and transmissible." For example, in Henan Opera, its visual language is reflected in the "high-pitched and bright" musical rhythm, combined with highly saturated colors, large movements, and exaggerated costume expressions (Chen and Chonpairot, 2023). At the same time, existing studies generally agree that the visual expression of opera shows significant potential for digital adaptability.

Zhang (2024) states that Henan Opera, through video websites and online games, has expanded its audience boundaries. Its visual characteristics are easily recognizable and transmissible in social media environments. This "visual equals content" mechanism effectively enhances the visibility and interactivity of opera on digital platforms. The contribution of this study lies in its initial exploration of the plasticity and dissemination efficiency of opera’s visual elements within digital media environments. However, it also has limitations. The research primarily focuses on enhancing visibility and expanding dissemination channels, with limited attention to how visual translation might transform opera’s narrative structure, bodily aesthetics, and cultural meanings. As Fan and Zhou (2021) using the example of "#Who says

Peking Opera is not on Tik Tok," reveals that Peking Opera content on short video platforms is often adapted into plot twists or playful mashups to cater to younger audiences' viewing habits. While this trend increases the activity and participation of opera content, it could also lead to the dilution of its core cultural meaning, causing the "visual genes" to gradually lose their original symbolic depth and cultural significance during dissemination.

Moreover, research shows that the effectiveness of visual communication is significantly influenced by the audience's cultural understanding. As pointed out in Chung (2021), the face painting of Cantonese opera's "Jing Jiao" (clean character) is easily misinterpreted as a comical or caricatured image in cross-cultural communication contexts lacking explanatory mechanisms. Audiences without relevant cultural background are unable to grasp the symbolic meaning of its "righteous" and positive character traits. This demonstrates that, even if the visual form has communication advantages, it must rely on appropriate contextual construction and cultural interpretation mechanisms to achieve effective cultural transmission.

Finally, on a technical level, visual adaptability is also influenced by the media tools themselves. Li (2023) argues that immersive media, such as virtual reality, enhances the experience of intangible cultural heritage. However, if the original rhythm and symbolic system are not respected, it may disrupt the narrative logic and aesthetic coherence of opera. This perspective highlights that, on one hand, technological applications should be consciously designed and adjusted in accordance with the narrative rhythm, visual symbolism, and ritualistic nature of traditional opera. On the other hand, the participatory and interactive characteristics of digital environments compel designers to rethink the encoding of traditional aesthetic elements, ensuring that cultural meanings are fully conveyed within the new media context rather than being excessively consumed or distorted.This discussion points to a crucial value orientation for future practices in digital heritage transmission.

In conclusion, the visual genes of opera have strong potential for digital communication due to their vivid, bold, rhythmic, and regional characteristics, making them well-suited for visually dominant media environments. However, this adaptability is not unconditional and still requires the collaborative functioning of platform mechanisms, audience context, and technological logic. While existing research offers a theoretical foundation for understanding the digital potential of opera’s visual language, systematic explanations of visual symbol translatability, cultural interpretation mechanisms, and boundary conditions remain limited. Further theoretical development and empirical studies are needed to deepen insights into opera’s visual translation in digital contexts.

2.2 How Digital Media Reshapes the Visual Style of Chinese Opera: Translation Mechanisms and Technical Paths

This section will further explore how digital media—especially AI, VR/AR, short videos, and others—serve as technological platforms for visual translation, reshaping the aesthetic logic, expressive styles, and audience perception pathways of Chinese opera. The term “visual translation” here refers not only to the transplantation of formal aspects but also to the reorganization and recreation of perception modes, communication rhythms, and cultural symbol systems in the context of new media.

Short video platforms have shifted opera dissemination from a stage-centered to an interface-centered logic. Using Tik Tok as an example, Su (2024) notes that Peking Opera short videos have moved beyond traditional "spectatorial" viewing to create emotional resonance and community through interactive ritual chains. For instance, Peking Opera influencer "Guo Xiaojing" posted a backstage makeup video that generated collective excitement, garnering 170 million views and high engagement across likes, comments, and shares. This case shows how short video platforms reframe Peking Opera’s visual style through de-formalization and everyday presentation, making traditional elements like costumes, makeup, and gestures more relatable to younger audiences.

Su (2024) also highlights The Peony Pavilion, a Kunqu Opera educational game developed with the Unity engine, as a model for interactive dissemination. The game transforms Kunqu’s narrative rhythm into virtual scenes, divided into stages such as "Before the Dream" and "Dreaming," where players complete interactive tasks to advance. This reconfigures opera’s lyrical and symbolic style into modular, task-driven experiences suited for user-led, nonlinear exploration.These cases offer valuable insights: human-machine co-creation is emerging as a new norm; integrating opera and gaming through engines like Unity promotes participatory narrative development; and traditional opera’s interplay of reality and illusion naturally lends itself to virtual migration, and the concept of "multimodal interaction" further supports the visual aesthetic analysis within this research.

Second, AI and virtual simulation technologies reconstruct the path of visual symbol generation. Liu, K., Zhou et al., (2022) points out that digital modeling and 3D visualization allow Yue Opera costumes to move away from physical stages and transform into culturally interactive digital assets. This research examines how 3D virtual simulation technology digitizes Yue Opera costumes and applies opera elements to modern fashion design, promoting the digital preservation and dissemination of traditional culture. These technologies enhance both the flexibility of element dissemination and the preservation and display of costume culture. By extracting elements and extending them into modern design, they build a bridge from "opera visual language" to "modern communication imagery." This supports the study's focus on the deconstruction and regeneration of visual language in digital spaces and offers a case for analyzing the link between "opera styling, modern technology, and emotional identity."

Moreover, visual re-encoding is amplified in more interactive media environments. Wang (2024), analyzing the Nuo Opera App interface design, notes that traditional elements like Nuo masks must reconstruct visual guidance logic to adapt to touchscreen operations and user interaction. This shift from "front-stage aesthetics" to "interface control" alters the rhythm and meaning-generation pathways of traditional opera visuals. However, due to a small sample size and lack of development and user testing, further studies are needed on multi-platform synchronization, content co-creation, and dynamic updates.

In terms of platform logic, Jin and Tan (2023) argue that the "visual tag" mechanism in short video dissemination intensifies the selective use of traditional opera symbols. Fast-paced editing, popular filters, and close-up shots encourage creators to prioritize highly recognizable visuals, such as face-changing performances, grand entrances, and vivid costumes, steering opera aesthetics toward consumer pleasure. While "cultural IP development" targeting young audiences enhances transmissibility, it risks promoting superficiality and weakening symbolic depth. Future research should further explore these mechanisms through user data, dissemination experiments, and platform analysis.

Although current research provides valuable insights into understanding the reconstruction mechanisms of opera visuals in digital media, it still has limitations. First, most studies focus on “how technology presents tradition,” with less exploration on how technology triggers the audience’s re-perception of traditional visuals and emotional shifts. Second, there is a lack of horizontal comparisons between platforms’ visual encoding strategies, and there is little theoretical construction on how technological logic reshapes cultural identity pathways.

In conclusion, digital media technologies are reshaping the visual communication structure of Chinese opera through visual re-encoding, platform rhythm, and user interaction logic. This reconstruction reflects not only technical innovation but also the negotiation of traditional aesthetics under media-driven forces. Further exploration of these translation mechanisms will deepen the understanding of the interaction between visual forms, technological logic, and cultural contexts, providing a stronger framework for digital opera research.

3 Research Methodology: A Mixed Ethnographic Perspective on Digital Opera Visual Research Path

3.1 Research Paradigm and Methodological Framework

Given that the research problem involves the evolution of cultural symbols, the intervention of media technologies, and the complex interplay of audience perception and interaction, this study adopts a qualitative research paradigm to capture the deep dynamics of visual culture in the digital environment.

Qualitative research emphasizes the understanding of “meaning” in social phenomena, focusing on the embedding of context, experience, and cultural environment (Creswell and Poth, 2016). As a highly symbolic art form, Chinese opera’s visual style not only constitutes aesthetic patterns but also carries cultural memory and identity symbols. In the face of the digital media’s reconstruction of visual rhythm and stage logic, a quantitative approach cannot reveal how audiences negotiate the relationship between tradition and modernity, media and culture. Therefore, qualitative research provides a more suitable theoretical and methodological support for understanding how opera visuals are watched, accepted, and reproduced.

For example, current studies on video games and cross-cultural communication mostly employ qualitative research methods, focusing on the subjects of the study and communication strategies.(Zhang et al. , 2024). Within the qualitative framework, the study further selects "Hybrid Ethnography" as the core methodology. This methodology combines the advantages of traditional ethnography and online ethnography, emphasizing that the researcher must span multiple levels, including offline theater and online platforms, visual communication and user behavior, to construct a dynamic understanding (Postill and Pink, 2012).

The suitability of hybrid ethnography for this study is reflected on three levels：

First, the visual expression of digital opera is highly dependent on platforms. Such dynamic and complex participatory behaviors cannot be fully captured through traditional offline observation; instead, they require immersive, long-term observation within real online environments to uncover the logic of digital opera visual dissemination.

Second, the process by which Generation Z constructs cultural identity increasingly relies on social media’s interactive feedback, emotional resonance, and mechanisms of community belonging. Mere textual analysis is insufficient to fully grasp the cognitive patterns and emotional dimensions at play; rather, a combination of online observation, in-depth interviews, and user content analysis is necessary to deeply understand how Gen Z’s experiences and engages with digital opera.

In conclusion, hybrid ethnography not only integrates media research, visual culture, and audience studies but also addresses the core issue of this study: “how digital opera visuals as cultural symbols are recreated, viewed, and recognized.” It provides a highly operable, theoretically and experientially balanced methodological foundation.

3.2 Research Method Design: Specific Methods and Data Sources

3.2.1

Case Study: In-depth Analysis of Digital Opera Visual Projects

This study selects representative digital opera projects as case studies, such as short video projects that use AI to reconstruct opera scenes or immersive opera performances based on VR technology. By collecting the project's visual design,

platform dissemination strategies, user feedback, and technical usage details, the study aims to deeply analyze the translation path of its visual elements. This method is intended to provide a tangible and traceable basis for specific visual reconstruction practices. For example, the VRChat platform is used to simulate the opera world, including creating characters, watching performances, participating in performances, and online teaching (Jiang, Su and Li, 2025). The extended TAM model proposed in the study introduces variables such as "perceived visual design," "entertainment," "innovation," and "self-efficacy" to empirically explain the user acceptance mechanism of opera culture experience in virtual reality. This modeling strategy provides structured support for understanding the psychological mechanisms of cultural resonance and identity formation in Generation Z audiences during digital opera experiences. In combination with the observations and interviews in hybrid ethnography, this study will also attempt to construct a behavioral path framework of "entertainment—immersive experience—cultural attitude—identity intention."

3.2.2 In-depth Interviews: Exploring Subjective Experience and Identity

Through semi-structured interviews, the study gathers the cognitive experiences of both audiences and creators regarding digital opera visuals. The interviewees include: (1) Generation Z audiences aged 18-30 (those who have followed or interacted with digital opera content), (2) digital creators (those engaged in creating opera-related videos or remixing them), and (3) relevant scholars and curators (those engaged in traditional art dissemination research). The sample selection follows a "purposeful sampling + snowball recommendation" approach to ensure the representativeness of different user types. At the same time, involving Generation Z, existing studies have pointed out that when interviewing Gen Z users in the context of digital culture, it is essential to consider their unique identity and aesthetic-related sensitivities. This generation engages with digital visual language, such as emojis and stickers, which they utilize as forms of virtual gifts and expressions of affection. Understanding how these visual elements function in their interpersonal relationships can provide insights into their communication styles and identity formation (Liu, 2023). The interview content will focus on visual preferences, cultural impressions, aesthetic conflicts, and a sense of identity, which will then be analyzed through thematic coding and cross-analysis.

The flexibility inherent in semi-structured interviews facilitates a conversational style that encourages participants to express their thoughts and feelings more freely. This method can lead to the emergence of unexpected themes and insights, as seen in research on the experiences of Korean international students, where music was identified as a companion and a safe space, reflecting deeper cultural and emotional connections (Cho, 2024). The research based on the qualitative interview-based conceptual framework, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide of open-ended questions. This approach demonstrates the value of semi-structured interviews in uncovering nuanced emotional and cultural insights.

3.2.3

Observation Method: Participatory Recording of Multi-Context Media Behavior

This study adopts participant observation,online observations cover activities such as live-streamed opera performances, digital exhibitions, and virtual performance platforms, offline observations include traditional theater performances, festive events, and immersive exhibitions related to opera culture.

The observation focuses on two key aspects: first, user viewing behavior (such as posting comments, sending bullet chats, liking, and sharing), in order to assess participation patterns and levels of engagement in digital opera experiences; second, platform-driven guidance mechanisms, analyzing how pop-up prompts, filter effects, and algorithmic recommendations influence the tempo and pathways of opera’s visual dissemination.

For example, some studies used data obtained from video comment sections on the Genshin Impact official YouTube account. First, veteran Genshin Impact enthusiasts and experts selected high-quality videos that con-tained abundant cultural elements from regions worldwide. This categorization aimed to structure the data collection process more effectively. They divided the videos into ’Cul-tural China’,’ World Stories’, and Real-World Stories based on the video content for comment scraping. In order to capture up-to-date audience reactions, approximately 1,000 of the most recent comments were extracted from the comment sections of the selected videos as of May 2023. (Zhang et al., 2024). This process ensured a structured and multilingual dataset for subsequent sentiment and content analysis.

By comprehensively recording and analyzing these elements, this study aims to reconstruct the dynamic processes of digital opera's visual dissemination across multiple interactive environments, thereby providing detailed empirical support for subsequent data analysis and theoretical development.

3.2.4 Rhythm Analysis: Identifying the Media Mechanisms Behind Visual Experience

Using short opera videos as samples, the study will employ visual rhythm analysis methods to identify the frequency of scene transitions, camera movement styles, and color rhythms. Additionally, by combining the intensity of bullet comments, the timing of comments, and viewing durations, the study will analyze how "viewing rhythms" are influenced by platform mechanisms. This method aims to reveal how "algorithmic logic in visual communication" regulates the aesthetic path at the level of rhythm. As Trubnikova and Tsagareyshvili (2021) notes that rhythm reconstruction is a key media mechanism for adapting traditional art to the logic of social platforms.

In conclusion, these four methods collectively form a multi-path analysis framework from "content production—user reception—cultural negotiation." Case studies provide specific visual samples, in-depth interviews delve into subjective cognition,

observations record platform behavior, and rhythm analysis deconstructs dissemination mechanisms. Together, they serve to understand the core issue of "how digital opera visuals are constructed, disseminated, and recognized."

3.3 Research Ethics and Methodological Reflection

In terms of ethics, this study will adhere to the ethical norms of humanities and social science research, ensuring that all interviewees give informed consent and that their information is anonymized. All materials used will be authorized by the interviewees, and no sensitive personal information will be involved. In online ethnographic operations, only publicly authorized content, such as bullet comments, reviews, and publicly displayed short videos, will be used. All content will be anonymized during use. Platform screenshots and visual content will be used strictly for academic analysis within the non-commercial research scope.

Furthermore, the research boundaries need to be clarified: the study primarily focuses on the Bilibili and Tik Tok platforms and selects digital opera content from 2022 to 2025. The opera types chosen are primarily Peking opera, Yue opera, and Henan opera. Due to time and resource constraints, the study cannot cover all opera genres and all platform content, nor will it conduct cross-language comparisons.

Regarding methodological reflection, although the hybrid ethnography framework is comprehensive, it may still face challenges such as delayed observations due to the rapid changes in platform cultures and interpretive biases caused by user anonymity. Compared to quantitative research, this study emphasizes subjective experience and cultural identity, but there are limitations in sample breadth and result generalizability. The study did not employ large-scale surveys or content scraping techniques, as these were judged to be less aligned with the research question and resource limitations. If more samples and platform cooperation resources become available in the future, a mixed-methods approach incorporating quantitative components could further enhance the study’s breadth and data support.

4 Discussion and Analysis

4.1 Adaptability of the Method and Preliminary Research Findings

This section aims to analyze the suitability of the chosen research methods in addressing the research questions, and, combined with initial observations and analyses, outlines possible directions for the research findings.

As the methodological foundation of this study, mixed ethnography offers the advantage of integrating user behavior, visual communication patterns, and cultural identity construction on digital platforms into an observational system that spans across fields and media. Li, (2025b)pointed out in his analysis of "Dream of the Sanxingdui" that contemporary intangible cultural heritage (ICH) dissemination has formed a nested mechanism of “platform behavior—visual narrative—audience

interaction,” requiring multi-method cross-observation to capture its real dynamics. This study combines case studies, online ethnography, observation methods, and rhythm analysis, mirroring this complex structure of multi-level interaction.

In practice, case studies help identify the mechanisms behind the visual style of digital opera, especially in short videos and virtual performances. These include how elements like color, composition, and dynamic rhythm translate traditional stage visuals. How high-frequency visual elements (e.g., "appearance," "face-changing," and "virtual costume redesign") gain more visibility through platform algorithm recommendations, or how platform technologies affect traditional visual communication, can also be explored.

At the same time, the collaborative use of online ethnography and observation methods reveals the participation paths of Generation Z viewers in digital opera. From bullet screen interactions and comments to secondary creative videos' visual choices, users are no longer mere "receivers" but important participants in reconstructing the cultural meaning of opera at a visual level. While studies on digital media and traditional culture have explored various technical paths of visual re-creation, most still lack attention to how users engage with these visual transformations. For instance, existing research on Genshin Impact and cultural communication tends to emphasize the dissemination of traditional Chinese culture within China and on the global stage.. Studies focusing on the case of Genshin Impact offer valuable perspectives on advancing international collaboration in the gaming sector, innovating China's cultural tourism models, and fostering sustainable development. However few studies have investigated cultural interaction in the cross-cultural communication of video games through direct access to authentic and objective audience data (Zhang et al. , 2024).

This gap similarly applies to the study of digital opera, where user engagement with reimagined visual elements remains underexplored.As Li, (2025b) noted, in digital contexts, "likes, shares, and the imitation of visual symbols" themselves have become a new rhythm of cultural consumption . This behavior model provides a basis for studying the generation mechanisms of digital visual identity.

The combination of in-depth interviews and rhythm analysis also strengthens the logical connection between "watching—perception—identity." For example, Liu, Z., Yan, et al., (2022) found in their research on the VR dissemination of "Hua’er" that visually intense rhythmic performances are more likely to evoke users' cultural connections . In the pre-observation phase of this study, users in the comments section mentioned that short video opera clips with fast rhythms and vibrant colors were "impressive" and "felt more like a visual game." These feedbacks will help further understand the relationship between visual translation and aesthetic reception.

In summary, the methodological approach adopted in this study provides an effective observational channel for exploring the visual evolution and audience identity paths

of digital opera under platform mechanisms. This section also lays the foundation for more systematic theoretical analysis in the following chapters.

4.2 Preliminary

Findings and Potential Theoretical Explanations

First, from the perspective of media ecology theory (McLuhan, 1964), media itself is not merely a tool for transmitting information; it profoundly shapes the structure of content and how it is received. In the dissemination of digital opera, the platform's content logic, interface structure, and interactive rhythm determine how opera visuals are translated and reproduced. For example, the content algorithms of platforms like TikTok and Bilibili tend to reinforce rhythm and high-visibility symbols (e.g., masks, climactic singing sections), fundamentally reshaping the traditional "slow rhythm, delayed development" of opera's visual aesthetics.

Secondly, from the perspective of "embodiment" and "embodied cognition" theory, Generation Z viewers' behavior in watching opera is no longer a passive act of "viewing," but an active engagement through sensory perception, emotional participation, and interactive rhythms embedded in digital experiences(Song, 2023). In their study of the intangible cultural heritage project "Hua’er," Liu, Z., Yan, et al., (2022) noted that when digital visual narratives connect with users' bodily experiences, they transform viewers from "observers" to "immersed participants," thus stimulating a higher level of cultural identity. Research shows that immersive experiences, interactive rhythms, and interface designs can trigger users' "cultural bodily memories," and this experiential structure is one of the potential paths for digital opera to achieve recognition.

Additionally, Midyanti and Sukmayadi (2021) pointed out in their discussion on the fusion of local wisdom and digital art that digital platforms are not "alternative spaces" to traditional culture but rather a "crossroads" that fosters cultural regeneration. They noted that in digital performing arts, "local knowledge is re-encoded and participatively re-presented through media, becoming a shared space for viewers to co-create and imagine". This closely aligns with what this study has observed in terms of secondary creations, comment interactions, and rhythmic resonance.

In conclusion, the theoretical framework used in this study emphasizes that media not only reconstructs the visual structure of opera but also intervenes in the process of users' perception and identity formation.

4.3

Methodological Reflection, Limitations, and Future Research Directions

The study faces several limitations. First, the sample size is constrained by the platform's data transparency and resource limitations, and the representativeness of online ethnography and observation methods is limited. Second, the interview sample did not fully cover the internal differences within Generation Z, which may affect the overall judgment of the mechanisms of cultural identity formation.

Moreover, the theoretical support remains somewhat weak. Although this study focuses on media ecology and cultural participation, it does not delve deeply into macro-critical perspectives such as platform governance and algorithm structures. Subsequent research could expand to include more platforms, comparing their differences in visual representation and user participation mechanisms. It could also explore emerging trends such as AI-generated and virtual opera idols, examining how they align with youth cultural consumption habits.

In conclusion, the methods used in this study show practical value in understanding visual translation and audience interaction, but there is still room for improvement in sample coverage and theoretical depth. Through further platform expansion and theoretical enhancement, the breadth and depth of digital opera research can be enriched.

Conclusion

This study focuses on how digital media technologies reconstruct the visual language of traditional Chinese opera and further explores the emotional resonance and cultural identity paths of Generation Z viewers in digital viewing contexts. Through the mixed ethnography framework, the study integrates platform visual samples, user behavior observations, in-depth interviews, and rhythm analysis, unveiling the mechanism of traditional visual aesthetics' reinvention in the digital environment from the logic of "media technology—visual translation—identity generation."

The study indicates that the visual expression of opera shows significant adaptability when facing short videos, AI, VR, and other media. Traditional opera is shifting from stage space to platform space, from continuous narratives to fragmented, fast-paced, and symbolic visual reorganization. However, it also faces challenges such as the weakening of cultural context. Meanwhile, the study preliminarily finds that this visual translation not only changes the way opera is expressed but also stimulates Generation Z’s new understanding and resonance of traditional culture through interactive behaviors, rhythmic perception, and viewing participation.

This study not only addresses the practical issues of ICH dissemination in the context of media transformation but also provides an interdisciplinary paradigm for research on digital visual culture, platform mechanisms, and youth identity, expanding the possibilities for the dissemination and regeneration of traditional art in the digital age.

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How to improve the aesthetic acceptance of Chinese landscape paintings in museums.

Meixin Tian

Research Questions

1. How are Chinese landscape paintings displayed and viewed in museums?

2. How does the aesthetic reception of Chinese landscape paintings differ across cultural contexts?

3. How are the artistic conceptions of Chinese landscape paintings displayed and interpreted?

Research Objectives

This study first analyses and compares the display methods and audience reception of Chinese landscape paintings in museums in China and the UK. It explores how the artistic conception of Chinese landscape painting is conveyed and presented within

public museum spaces. By collecting audience feedback on their viewing motivations and aesthetic experiences, combined with an analysis of display methods, this study identifies the cultural meanings, limitations, and challenges in the cross-cultural presentation and reception of Chinese landscape painting. Further, it highlights the potential and value of multimedia-based display approaches. Finally, it integrates personal creative practice to explore the feasibility of using digital technologies to enhance the dissemination and understanding of Chinese landscape painting.

Abstract

This research focuses on the aesthetic reception of Chinese landscape painting within museum contexts, particularly examining the differences in exhibition practices and audience interpretation between Chinese and British cultural settings. Since the 19th century, when Chinese landscape painting first entered Western museums, its display has long been dominated by Western visual logic, neglecting the native aesthetic mechanisms and spiritual essence inherent to its art form. Today, the exhibition of Chinese landscape painting remains influenced by Western display practices, drifting away from traditional aesthetic experiences. To investigate this, the study adopts an interdisciplinary approach combining archive analysis, case studies, and audience research. The archive analysis provides historical and theoretical foundations, case studies reveal how exhibition methods affect the transmission of artistic conception, and audience research supplies empirical feedback on reception. Drawing on a phenomenological perspective, the research emphasizes the importance of subjective audience experience. Personal artistic practice introduces digital technology into landscape painting exhibitions, exploring immersive and interactive formats. This study enriches cross-cultural discussions within the museum and art dissemination fields and proposes innovative strategies for the contemporary expression of Chinese traditional art.

Introduction

1. Research Scope and Structure

This research focuses on the phenomenon of the aesthetic reception of Chinese

landscape paintings in museums. It is divided into four parts. First, it traces the collection history of Chinese landscape paintings in British museums and examines how they have been displayed in both Chinese and Western museums, along with the underlying aesthetic logics. The literature review then summarises key studies on Chinese painting viewing practices in China and the West, identifying research questions. Following this, the methodology section describes the case study approach and analyses the researcher's connection to the study from an ontological perspective. Finally, the discussion explores how the findings inform both academic practice and personal artistic creation. This research defines Chinese landscape paintings

Like Yang (2023, 348) defines, Chinese artists refer to traditional landscape paintings as ‘mountain and water’ paintings. Mountains and water are conceived as partners rather than objects, with the two components representing the two immanent polarities of Tao. The Chinese landscape paintings in this research refer to the landscape painting drawing by the traditional Chinese ink materials and the Chinese philosophical mindset.

2. Historical Misunderstandings in British Collections

The collection of Chinese paintings, especially Chinese landscape paintings, by public institutions such as British folk and museums can be traced back to the Victorian period in the 19th century. Today, British public institutions such as the British Museum and the V&A Museum still retain a large number of precious collections of Chinese landscape paintings, but the extent of their research and display is far from truly reflecting their value. The British Museum holds 1,138 Chinese landscape paintings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but currently, less than 10 of them are on display (British Museum, 2025). On the other hand, according to the doctoral research of Huang (2010, p11), a scholar from the University of St Andrews, on the collection history of Chinese paintings in the UK, the lack of professional training in collection institutions and individuals, as well as the motivation to collect as postcard souvenirs, have led to the failure to truly understand and recognize the collection history of Chinese paintings in the UK.

Huang (2010) points out that since the 19th century, Chinese painting gradually entered museums in the UK, but it was not truly understood or fairly appreciated at first. In the early days, a large number of Chinese paintings entered Britain as "export paintings". Most of these works were created to cater to Western tastes, depicting customs, clothing,

etc., and were regarded as ethnographic materials rather than artistic treasures. They lack the presentation of the inherent aesthetic traditions of Chinese painting, resulting in the British public's one-sided and superficial understanding of Chinese art. It was not until the early 20th century that Laurence Binyon's efforts promoted a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese painting in Britain. During his career at the British Museum, he actively purchased Chinese paintings, such as those from the Stein collection (1909) and the Wegener Collection (1910), and popularised knowledge of Eastern paintings through numerous publications and lectures. However, Bin Yang and his colleagues were also deeply influenced by Japanese art and Western aesthetics, which often led them to be biased in their judgments of Chinese painting. Overall, Huang (2010) 's research concludes that Chinese painting has long been viewed from the perspective of the "Eastern Other" in the UK. The ethnographic function in the 19th century, the Oriental fantasy in the early 20th century, and the "alternative modernity" in modern art exhibitions all demonstrate their externalities and one-sidedness in aesthetic evaluation and historical positioning. This reveals the historical background in which Chinese paintings were misunderstood in the Western context.

3. Contemporary Exhibition Challenges

In the contemporary exhibition context, the differences in the viewing of Chinese paintings between China and the West still exist. The viewing differences of Chinese painting from the perspectives of China and the West stem from the different understandings of visual and spiritual experiences by the two cultures. Cao and Yu (2005, p.91) pointed out that Chinese painting emphasises the viewing methods of "wandering the eyes", "careful appreciation" and "privacy", and its scattered perspective and spiritual composition pursue an immersive experience of the viewer's soul. In contrast, Western painting focuses on focal perspective and spatial restoration, emphasising the objectivity of vision and physical presentation. Therefore, its way of viewing is more inclined towards collectivisation and externalisation.

This difference has caused misinterpretation in the contemporary exhibition system. Tang (2012, p. 13) criticises the display method of simply hanging Chinese paintings in Western art galleries, which undermines their original privacy and spiritual viewing mechanism. Chen (2012, p. 8, p. 21) points out from the perspective of architectural design that the spatial logic of modern art galleries is incompatible with the "view" of

Chinese painting, and the traditional artistic experience has been weakened. The "Westernisation" of this display method not only obscures the original aesthetic connotation of Chinese painting but also weakens its dissemination power and cultural value in the contemporary context.

Therefore, it is important to study the display and viewing of Chinese paintings. As Li Geye (2021, p. 105) points out, the interaction between the exhibition space and the works determines the way the audience accepts and the aesthetic effect. This research not only contributes to the contemporary expression of Chinese painting, but also responds to the development issues of the discipline of Chinese painting itself, reminding the audience to think about the contemporary significance and identity of Chinese painting, as well as what it means for different audience groups.

Figure 1: Chinese landscape paintings in the British Museum. Picture from the author,14,03 2025.

Literature Review

In this study, the literature is mainly divided into three categories: the collection history of Chinese landscape paintings in the UK, the display and viewing of Chinese landscape paintings in the UK, and the display and viewing of Chinese landscape paintings in China. I particularly paid attention to the research gap between Chinese and English literature. For this research, the above-mentioned literature is the channel through

which I understand and approach the phenomenon of the display and cognition of Chinese paintings. They provide the research background and historical experience. However, as Hall (2001, p. 89) said, archives are not created out of thin air. Each archive has a pre-history, which originated from the context at that time. Therefore, in my research, I will critically compare how the research subject (Chinese landscape painting) is recognised in Chinese studies and Western studies, and what the differences are in their presentation methods, as well as what historical background and context these differences stem from.

1. Collection History of Chinese Landscape Paintings in the UK

In the first part about the collection history of Chinese landscape paintings in the UK, I mainly referred to Huang’s research. His doctoral dissertation focused on the formation period of the British Museum's collection of Chinese paintings from 1880 to 1920, which was the peak of collecting Chinese artworks. It involves extensive and complex relationships between China and the UK, public museums and private collectors, as well as the collection, display and interpretation of Chinese paintings. Huang (2010) 's research reveals the historical processes, such as the reasons, motivations and changes in collecting interests of Chinese paintings by British public institutions and private collectors, especially the mutual influence with the contemporary Japanese art trend. He pointed out that the collection and research of Chinese paintings in the UK have not been analysed in depth (Huang, 2010, p9). These contents provide a historical background for my research, enabling me to compare the role changes and cultural identities of Chinese paintings in the Western public sphere. Not only in the 19th century, but his research also extended to the attention and collection of modern Chinese paintings in British museums from the mid-20th century to the present. Taking the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum as examples, he explored the vision and strategies of British museums in forming modern Chinese painting collections in the second half of the 20th century. It focuses on the history of the institutions, acquisition policies, and the collections of Chinese painting art in these two museums (Huang, 2020). Although his research did not directly discuss the relationship between the works and the exhibition space, it provided a new perspective for my research, offering references in terms of the sources of the collections and acquisition strategies. This also reflects the aesthetic changes in the West towards Chinese paintings.

2. Comparative Viewing Practices: China and the West

Next, I will analyse the differences in the viewing and understanding of Chinese paintings from the perspectives of China and the West based on the theories of scholars Wu Hong and Clunas on the viewing of Chinese paintings. Wu Hong and Clunas are respectively representative scholars in the fields of Chinese and English for the study of traditional Chinese art. Their theories both start from their own cultural and educational systems to understand Chinese art. Wu Hong (1996) accurately summarised the viewing mechanism of Chinese painting, especially landscape painting, including the changes in viewing perspectives and contemporary viewing contexts. This perspective embodies the aesthetic requirements of traditional Chinese painting. In contrast, Clunas (2017) focused on the relationship between Chinese painting and audiences of different identities. He analysed the differences in the perception of Chinese paintings between Chinese and Western audiences, as well as how the concept of Chinese paintings was formed and evolved during the viewing process. Therefore, the traditional perspective of Chinese painting adopted by Wu Hong and the perspective of Western art historians represented by Clunas can infer the reasons for the cognitive differences of Chinese painting in the local and cross-cultural contexts from the levels of aesthetics and art history.

3. Display and Interpretation in Contemporary Contexts

Finally, I will focus on the display research of Chinese paintings in the academic circles of both Chinese and English. As the birthplace of Chinese painting, the Chinese academic circle has rich experience in the research of Chinese painting. However, compared with the research on Chinese paintings themselves, the research on the display and viewing of Chinese paintings in the contemporary context started relatively late, but it has shown an upward trend in recent years. As Li (2021, p.104) pointed out, the display of Chinese paintings in the public domain is related to the development of Chinese museums since the 1990s. The research on the display and viewing of Chinese paintings in the Chinese academic circle began with Professor Li (1989) of Tsinghua University's reflection on the insufficient representativeness of Chinese paintings in contemporary exhibitions at the 7th National Art Exhibition. Taking this exhibition as an opportunity, he keenly perceived the development crisis of Chinese painting in the exhibition under the influence of Western modernism and other trends, as well as the

problem of insufficient representation in the exhibition. He pointed out that as a cultural representative with a history of several thousand years, the discipline of Chinese painting itself and its development limitations in exhibitions also echoed the thoughts of the Chinese art circle on the transformation of Chinese painting at that time (Li, 1989, p. 4). Although the author did not directly analyse the specific display methods of Chinese painting, he directly pointed out the challenges that Chinese painting faces in contemporary public space exhibitions compared with other art media, inspiring the audience to think about the disciplinary significance of Chinese painting and the role it plays in contemporary public Spaces.

In the past two decades, this topic has been highly focused by scholars from multiple fields such as aesthetics, architectural design, and computer science. Cao and Yu (2005), scholars from the field of aesthetics, paid attention to the viewing differences between Chinese paintings and Western paintings relatively early. They summarised three typical ways of viewing Chinese paintings by combining ancient Chinese painting theories, including moving viewing, experiencing the details of the picture and the requirement for private viewing. During the same period, the interactive works designed by scholars Shen, Yang and Xiao (2009) from the field of computer science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University provided a precedent for the multimedia display of Chinese paintings and played a pioneering role. They combine Chinese landscape paintings with Musical Instruments. Viewers can interact with the Chinese landscape paintings on the screen and create content by manipulating the guqin. This way of combining music and paintings ingeniously integrates two representative Chinese cultures. It not only enhances the visiting experience of the audience, creating an immersive visiting experience that encompasses both vision and hearing, but also expands the cultural connotation and exhibition methods of Chinese paintings, strengthening their cultural appeal. In the past decade, the research on the display of Chinese paintings has expanded to fields such as architectural design and literature. For instance, Chen (2012), a scholar from the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University, took the design project of Yongchuan Art Museum in Chongqing as a case to analyse the limitations of the exhibition of Chinese paintings in contemporary architectural Spaces. He first pointed out that Chinese painting, as a type of painting with a unique appreciation paradigm, has obvious differences from the modern art museum display system originated in the West (2012, p. 8). From the perspective of

architecture, he summarised the entertainment-oriented and complex tendencies of exhibition Spaces such as contemporary art galleries, which also led to the conceptualisation and flattening of the exhibits there, and the stripping of their own aesthetic characteristics. Meanwhile, he also analysed the unique aesthetic characteristics of different forms of Chinese paintings and sorted out the ideal display space for Chinese paintings. In the project of Yongchuan Art Museum, he specially designed the external form, internal space and open space of the art museum building based on this aesthetic ideal of Chinese painting. The research project of Chen (2012) provides a relatively comprehensive case of the display space of Chinese paintings, expands the viewing perspective of Chinese paintings from the limited indoor space to the museum architectural space itself, puts forward more precise design requirements, and also provides a reference for the display form of Chinese paintings in contemporary public Spaces. Furthermore, Liu from Shanghai University (2020) noticed the differences in the philosophical logic of the viewing methods of Chinese paintings by Chinese and Western theorists, providing a theoretical reference for understanding the aesthetic acceptance of Chinese paintings by Chinese and Western audiences. These documents are based on the local display context of Chinese paintings and have a relatively accurate observation of their display status.

On the other hand, the research on the display of Chinese paintings in the English academic circle is insufficient. The research on the display and viewing of Chinese paintings in the English academic circle started relatively late. It has only received certain attention in the past five years, mainly focusing on digital display. The current research is still led by Chinese scholars and developed based on domestic research cases in China. Compared with the research of Chinese scholars, the research on the display of Chinese paintings in the Western academic circle is incomplete, insufficient, and even periodized. On the one hand, it is because the aesthetic characteristics of Chinese painting are quite different from those of Western painting. On the other hand, it is also because of the unreasonable and monotonous display that this ancient art medium has not been fully understood by Western audiences and scholars, which has led to its underestimation. It is worth studying how Western audiences perceive this Eastern art medium and whether this perception is different from that of the 19th century. It can reflect the status and cognitive changes of the Chinese cultural image in the West.

The research in English focuses on the exploration of virtual reality (VR) technology

in the display, education and dissemination of traditional Chinese paintings. Ma et al. (2012) were the first to propose combining audio, 3D modelling and high-resolution images to achieve an immersive exhibition experience of long scrolls such as "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", laying a multimodal interaction foundation for subsequent research. Jin et al. (2020, 2022) further digitised and reconstructed Chinese paintings such as "Spring Dawn in the Han Palace" in a VR environment. Through empirical research, they demonstrated that immersive learning can significantly enhance learning motivation and cultural understanding, especially outperforming traditional touchscreen systems in terms of detailed memory and spatial cognition. Mu et al. (2024) emphasised the crucial role of episodic narrative in cultural accessibility and emotional resonance through the VR reconstruction of the murals in Cave 61 of Dunhuang. In terms of artistic expression, Cheng et al. (2023) focused on the three-dimensional translation of Chinese painting lines in VR, exploring the contemporary expression of traditional line drawing through the composition of spatial layers and 3D models. Li (2020) and Liu et al. (2024) approached from the perspectives of thematic creation and colour perception to discuss the possibility of combining VR painting with Serious games, emphasising that the unity of technical beauty and cultural spirit should be taken into account in artistic creation.

Overall, scholars unanimously agree that VR can effectively enhance the display and learning experience of Chinese paintings, but they also point out that there is still room for in-depth optimisation in aspects such as narrative structure, style restoration, and interactive design at present. Future research should further promote the development of personalisation, collaboration and multimodal interaction to achieve the true reconstruction and cultural inheritance of traditional art in the virtual space. Through the comparison of research in the Chinese and English academic circles, it can be seen that there are limitations in the display of Chinese paintings in different contexts, as well as the huge potential of digital technology in enhancing the viewing and aesthetic acceptance experience of Chinese paintings. My research will delve into this field and offer my own artistic creations to provide new references for the display of Chinese paintings.

Methodology

The Connection between the researcher and research

In this section, I will explain the relationship between my background and this research from the perspectives of ontology and autobiographical ethnography, as well as how this research question was discovered. As Mao et al (2024) summarised, the help of autobiographical ethnography to art studies lies in providing a creative or research method that combines subjective experience with critical analysis, which is particularly suitable for exploring identity, power relations and social issues in art practice. My artistic creations, personal diaries and previous research results on Chinese landscape paintings, etc., constitute the sources of literature for my autobiographical ethnography. Reference materials of such personal experiences will also be collected from the interviewees as a source of information reflecting the visiting experience of the audience.

First of all, my artistic creation experience is closely related to Chinese landscape painting. Since I started learning Chinese painting in Hangzhou in 2018, I have accumulated seven years of creative experience. When I was sketching in Zhejiang Province, which is the birthplace of the renowned Wu School of Painting, I was deeply attracted by the profound heritage of Chinese landscape painting. Through the study of Chinese painting theory, I have realised that Chinese landscape painting pursues spiritual freedom, bringing a sense of inner belonging and aesthetic experience at the spiritual level to both the audience and the author. As Cao and Yu summarised (2005, p. 91), the purpose of Chinese painting is by no means the art form itself, but rather to achieve the artist's exploration of the deep meaning and the pursuit of the infinite symbolic meaning in spirit through it. Therefore, Chinese landscape painting has become a way for me to express my spiritual pursuit, and this spiritually oriented medium is in line with traditional Chinese philosophical thought.

On the other hand, as an art teacher, I have deepened my understanding of Chinese landscape painting in my teaching and creative practice and gained new insights into its display methods. As Li and Bhattarai (2025, p. 91) pointed out in their research on autobiographical ethnographies and art education, art education encourages scholars to know themselves in different ways. During the teaching process in the museum, I found that the display context of Chinese paintings is vastly different from the traditional way of viewing. Chinese painting, as a genre of painting with extremely strong privacy and individuality, has always been displayed in private Spaces such as study rooms in China,

requiring individuals to touch and manipulate the artworks. This also contradicts the public nature of modern art museums (Chen, 2012, p. 14). In most contemporary exhibition Spaces, Chinese paintings are not specially placed according to their materials and framing forms, which gives the audience, especially students who are not familiar with Chinese paintings, an illusion that this medium is equated with other Western paintings on display. Especially after coming to the UK, I found that this kind of exhibition practice deepened the stereotypical impression of Chinese art and hindered the audience's objective understanding and recognition of Chinese paintings in a cross-cultural context. Therefore, my experiences in artistic creation, teaching and museum visits have generated a sense of responsibility for promoting Chinese art, inspiring me to study how Chinese painting can be presented and understood more effectively in the contemporary cross-cultural context.

The Method Design

My research will adopt interdisciplinary research methods. While addressing the issue of insufficient display and acceptance of Chinese landscape paintings, guided by the

Figure 2: teaching Chinese landscape painting in the museum. Picture from Hebei Academy of Fine Arts, 14,04 2025.

research conclusions, I will apply multimedia digital technology to my doctoral creation, opening up new paths and experiences for the digital display of Chinese landscape paintings. My research design refers to the phenomenological method to analyse the aesthetic acceptance phenomenon of Chinese landscape paintings in specific public Spaces from the perspectives of museums, the works themselves, and the audience.

First of all, I will adopt the archive analysis method to sort out the display and viewing situation of Chinese landscape paintings in museums. As Hall (2001, p. 92) said, archives are not inert historical collections; they are in an active and continuous conversational relationship when questioning the past. This highlights the research value of the exhibition records in the contemporary context, providing a critical perspective for reflecting on the past and the present. By analysing the exhibition records, exhibition reviews and related records of the British Museum, the National Museum of China and the Shanghai Museum, it helps me position the research cases and understand the display characteristics of Chinese landscape paintings in different public Spaces as a whole. Thus, I can compare and restore the exhibition practices of the past and the present and find out the differences in their display and aesthetic acceptance. This method is widely used in the fields of Chinese painting and museum research. For example, Huang (2010) adopted the method combining historical documents and cross-cultural research, and reconstructed the acceptance process of Chinese paintings in the UK from the 19th to the 20th century through museum archives, letters and exhibition records. Li (2020) sorted out the entry points of Chinese painting creation and VR painting technology, the development process of VR painting technology, as well as the possibility and necessity of its development through literature analysis.

After identifying representative exhibition cases through literature analysis, I will adopt the method of case analysis to explain how the artistic conception of Chinese landscape paintings is displayed and interpreted by museums from both the aspects of Chinese landscape paintings themselves and the curatorial practice of museums and evaluate the effectiveness of this practice in combination with the following audience interviews. In addition to the exhibition cases in the literature, I will also analyse the exhibition practices of Chinese landscape paintings in the contemporary British Museum and museums in China. Case studies are widely applied in museum research and are typically used to conduct critical evaluations of specific cultural phenomena. For

instance, Huang (2010) transformed the aesthetic conception of Chinese landscape paintings into visual and cultural narratives through the interpretation of British museum exhibitions and curators. Cao and Yu (2005) combined traditional works such as "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" to analyse the conflicts between ancient viewing methods and modern exhibition models, thereby constructing three representative viewing paradigms of Chinese paintings. These case analyses highlight their value in revealing real problems and exploring solutions.

Finally, I will collect the visiting experiences of Chinese landscape paintings from the audience through questionnaires and interviews in the museum, and compare them with the above research results to verify the effectiveness of the display of these works. For instance, whether its explanation is clear, whether the meaning of the work is definite, and whether the display of the work is reasonable, etc.

I plan to interview twenty audiences and collect no less than fifty questionnaires in the museum and on the Internet. The interviewees are mainly divided into teachers and artists from universities in China and the UK, as well as the audience at the museum site. The reason for choosing to interview teachers and artists is that they have certain professional backgrounds and professional cognition of Chinese painting. Therefore, to a certain extent, they can represent the mainstream scholars' understanding of the phenomenon of aesthetic acceptance of Chinese painting. On the other hand, the rest ten research subjects will be randomly selected from the audience of the museum, and Chinese and non-Chinese audiences will be included as much as possible to expand the diversity of the sample. To protect the privacy and data security of the audience, this study will adopt an anonymous approach. The identity information and images of the audience will not be collected, and the audience will be required to sign an informed consent form. Anonymised questionnaires and interviews have played an important role as empirical methods for studying the display and viewing of Chinese paintings. For example, Chen (2012) adopted a questionnaire survey to collect the feedback of the audience of Yongchuan Art Museum on the atmosphere of the exhibition space, and further explored the relationship between the viewing behaviour of "viewing" in Chinese paintings and architectural space. In addition, the study by Liu et al. (2024) took the colours of Dunhuang cave murals as design cases, invited 30 participants to take part in a comparative experiment, and used interdisciplinary methods such as interviews to compare the performance of VR SG with VR display games. This study

confirmed the potential of VR SG in enhancing the education, entertainment and dissemination of cultural heritage colours, and discussed the significance of VR SG in supporting digital cultural heritage experiences. This method is conducive to revealing the audience perception in the context of Chinese painting display, providing data support and a theoretical basis for spatial design and exhibition planning.

Discussion and Analysis

This study adopts interdisciplinary methods such as archive analysis, case studies and audience interviews to construct an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research

Figure 3: Chinese landscape paintings exhibition in the Shanghai Museum. Picture from the author, 07,04 2025.

Figure 4: Chinese landscape paintings exhibition in the Shanghai Museum. Picture from the author, 07,04 2025.

framework to answer research questions such as how Chinese landscape paintings are displayed in museums, how the artistic conception is conveyed, and the differences in aesthetic acceptance under different cultural backgrounds. This combination of methods has good explanatory power and practical feasibility.

This study referred to the research approach of phenomenology. The focus of phenomenology is "how experience is perceived", and my research precisely attempts to capture how Chinese landscape paintings are "viewed" and "understood" in different display contexts, which is a systematic analysis of the aesthetic experience itself. From the perspective of phenomenology, what we focus on is not only the physical level of the display, but also the subjective perception and meaning construction formed between the audience and the artworks. Gupta and Zieske (2024, p. 3) advocate integrating art into phenomenological research, arguing that art can intuitively express the essence of life experience, echoing Husserl's concept of "returning to things themselves". Art is both a tool and a core approach for phenomenological exploration, promoting interdisciplinary innovation. Similarly, the research by Neubauer, Witkop and Varpio (2019) also confirmed this. This method emphasises "returning to the experience itself". In this study, the audience and I will understand the aesthetic conception brought by landscape paintings from the perspective of art viewers. This empirical retrospection enables me to have a deeper understanding that the "display" of landscape paintings is not only a process of visual presentation, but also a complex cultural experience and cognitive activity.

Archive analysis, as the first step of the research, helped me clarify the historical trajectory and exhibition structure of Chinese landscape paintings in museums in both China and the UK. Just as Hall (2001, p. 91) emphasised, the archives of public Spaces are the result of conscious collection, screening and display, revealing the hidden value standards and tastes of the managers behind them. By comparing historical documents and exhibition records, I will assess whether Chinese landscape paintings have long been regarded as a symbol of the "Eastern Other" in Britain, and whether their display methods are limited by Western visual logic and museum systems, lacking the reproduction of their intrinsic aesthetic value. I will figure out does this ideology directly affects the audience's acceptance and understanding of the "artistic conception" of landscape paintings.

Combining the analysis of images and exhibition cases, I will further explore how the "viewing system" of landscape paintings has been weakened in contemporary museums. The "dual viewing mechanism" theory proposed by Wu Hong (1996) emphasises that Chinese painting is essentially centred on "introspectiveness", highlighting the viewing paths of "wandering eyes" and "entering the country". At present, most Western museums adopt linear, collective and focused viewing paths, which leads to the inability to achieve the spiritual experience pursued by Chinese landscape paintings. Clunas (2017) analysed the differences in cognitive mechanisms between Chinese and Western audiences from the perspective of the construction of social viewers. By combining these two theories, I can evaluate more systematically how the display space affects the audience's understanding of landscape paintings and thereby influences their cultural dissemination effect.

Based on the data from audience questionnaires and interviews, I will compare the different experiences of Chinese and British audiences when viewing landscape paintings. Whether the experience of Chinese audiences towards the collection is consistent with the traditional aesthetic experience, and what differences there are in the preferences and attitudes of audiences from different cultural backgrounds towards it, etc., will be the core entry points of my research. I will invite adult audiences over 18 years old to participate in the interviews and questionnaires. This is because the museum visiting experience of adults has been widely ignored (Ellis and King, 2011, p. 571). In addition, children have different levels of visual and cognitive maturity, and thus cannot obtain accurate feedback as adults do, which also increases the complexity of ethical procedures. As Aldridge (2015, p. 37) pointed out, not all research methods apply to children at different developmental stages, and the cognitive level of children largely depends on the background of their parents. Therefore, my interviewees will focus on adult groups from different cultural backgrounds.

In terms of the theoretical framework, this study integrates art history, museology, phenomenology and cross-cultural communication theories. The perspectives of Wu Hong and Kruger have helped me reveal the acceptance predicament of Chinese painting in museums of both China and the West from the perspective of the cultural construction of "viewing". Stuart Hall's discussion on archives and cultural memory has led me to reflect on the ideological basis of exhibition methods from the perspective of cultural institutions. The methodological guidance provided by phenomenology leads

me to focus on the subjective experience and meaning construction behind the display behaviour. This multi-level and multi-dimensional theoretical integration is an innovative aspect of this study. On the other hand, the limited sample size might be a limitation of this study. I will try my best to cover audiences with different cultural backgrounds from China and the West, but it needs to be further expanded on an international scale.

This research has also had a direct impact on my personal creative practice. In my graduation project, I attempted to break the limitations of the traditional canvas and combine VR technology to construct a "virtual landscape space", allowing the audience to enter the picture in a touring manner. This is not only a transformation of the display strategy, but also a practical response to the essential spirit of Chinese painting. I have also become more aware that in the context of contemporary art, artworks are no longer static images but a "relational field", in which the audience plays the role of a "cocreator".

In conclusion, this study not only theoretically explores the issues of cultural misinterpretation and aesthetic weakening in the display of Chinese landscape paintings but also methodologically proposes a new path that combines phenomenological experience with technological innovation, providing the possibility for the reinterpretation of traditional Chinese art in a global context. Future research can further deepen the analysis of the expression mechanism of "landscape artistic conception" in digital media, expand the scope of cross-cultural exhibitions, and construct a more strategic methodological framework for the international dissemination of Chinese paintings.

Conclusion

This study adopts interdisciplinary methods combining archival analysis, case studies and audience surveys. Starting from three dimensions of history, curatorial practice and audience experience, it comprehensively explores the display and aesthetic acceptance of Chinese landscape paintings in museums. This interdisciplinary research design not only reveals the limitations of the existing display system in conveying the artistic conception of landscape paintings, but also verifies the core role of the audience

experience in aesthetic understanding. The phenomenological approach further highlights the construction mechanism of subjective experience and cultural perception, emphasising the interactive relationship between artworks and exhibition Spaces. The diversity of research methods ensures a deep understanding and breadth of analysis of the problem, reflecting a research approach that attaches equal importance to theory and practice. This research provides theoretical support and practical directions for the contemporary expression and cross-cultural dissemination of traditional art and has practical significance and academic value for promoting the re-understanding and cognition of Chinese traditional art in the international museum system. It also has potential influence and inspiring significance for fields such as art history, museology, and digital art exhibitions.

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Reinterpreting Cizhou Kiln Motifs via Semiotics and Transmedia Branding: A Mixed Methods Analysis of

Heritage Symbol Translation

Mingmei Xue

Abstract

This study establishes a methodological framework grounded on qualitative research aimed at investigating the symbolic reinterpretation of the decorative patterns of the Cizhou Kiln within contemporary cross-media narratives and cultural brand design. In

addressing the dual demands of cultural authenticity and market sustainability, the study used a mixed research methodology centered on narrative inquiry, supplemented by quantitative confirmation. This methodology integrates semiotics, cross-media narrative theory, and branding theory to systematically analyze the visual form and cultural significance of traditional patterns from the Cizhou Kilns, develop a crossmedia narrative framework, and empirically evaluate user acceptance and brand recognition results.

The research, via extensive interviews with non-genetic inheritors, contemporary designers, and audiences, in conjunction with quantitative surveys of cultural perceptions and brand resonance, clarifies the evolution of the Cizhou Kiln from a static heritage to a dynamic cultural brand. The results suggest that attaining a dynamic balance in cultural branding necessitates maintaining cultural integrity while integrating market narratives. This study validates the methodological rigor of narrative inquiry and interpretative hybrid research in non-heritage branding, providing apparent frameworks and practical techniques for revitalizing visual heritage and enhancing cultural creative industries in the digital era.

Keywords: Mixed Methods, Narrative Inquiry, Semiotic Analysis, Transmedia Storytelling, Cultural Branding, Cizhou Kiln Decorative Patterns

1 Introduction

A number of decorative techniques which produced bold black and white designs were applied to Cizhou wares (He, 1996). Amidst the proliferation of information dissemination methods and escalating competition in the global cultural marketplace, the incorporation of the decorative motifs of the Cizhou Kiln into cross-media narratives and branding design practices can enhance its heritage and strengthen the local cultural industry. Cizhou Kiln ornamental patterns, notable for their distinctiveness and cultural significance, have not been thoroughly examined, incorporated, or utilized in contemporary branding and mass communication (Zhao, 2019). This academic and application gap motivates and directs this investigation.

This study will incorporate three primary theoretical frameworks to properly analyse how the beautiful patterns of the Cizhou Kiln can be recorded and translated into current value. Initially, semiotics analyses the morphology, semantics, and socio-cultural implications of the decorative patterns of the Cizhou Kiln from a semiotic standpoint. Semiotics interprets the morphology, semantics, and socio-cultural connotations of Cizhou Kiln decorative patterns, elucidating the cultural memories and symbolic functions of these patterns visually while offering a systematic ‘recoding’ strategy for the brand's subsequent visual elements and narrative structure (Hu et al., 2019).

Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience (Jenkins, 2006; Liu, 2019). The theory of cross-media narrative can assist this study in examining the effective dissemination and profound interaction of the Cizhou Kiln pattern across various mediums (offline entities, digital platforms, social media, etc.) through the lenses of narratology and new media communication.

Furthermore, an applied perspective of brand theory will be incorporated: within the modern market framework, the sustainable advancement of cultural products is inextricably linked to branding activities. Brand theory addresses topics such as brand positioning, brand equity, and the formation of cultural intellectual property (Keller, 2013; Li, 2020), which are crucial for implementing the Cizhou Kiln model in contemporary markets and social contexts. Theories are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, with semiotics offering a comprehensive examination of ‘visual cultural symbols’, cross-media narrative expanding the communicative aspect of ‘how to narrate the story of the Cizhou Kiln’, and branding theory synthesising the cultural and narrative assets of the former two into a strategically significant cultural and narrative resource. The brand theory synthesises the cultural and narrative assets of the initial two into a culturally significant brand image with strategic value.

In light of the background above and theoretical framework, the pivotal research question of this study is: How can the decorative patterns of the Cizhou Kiln be systematically reinterpreted, recoded, and integrated within the diverse contexts of contemporary cross-media narratives and modern brand design, to ensure the preservation of their unique cultural heritage while simultaneously establishing a highly recognisable brand image with cultural value in the contemporary market and societal context? This inquiry emphasizes the imperative of "transcending mere inheritance" and seeks to investigate how Cizhou Kiln patterns might evolve from "static artifacts" to ‘dynamic brand experiences’ in both theory and practice. The study investigates the theoretical frameworks and practical pathways through which non-heritage patterns could evolve from "static craft" to ‘dynamic brand experience’.

To analyse this issue at a more sophisticated level, the study establishes the following precise objectives: At the semiotic level, through morphological and semantic studies, it delineates the visual attributes and cultural implications of the decorative motifs of the Cizhou Kiln, extracting the fundamental symbolic elements applicable across many media. At the cross-media narrative level, it employs narratology and cultural communication theory to construct a cohesive yet adaptable multi-platform framework for the Cizhou Kiln cultural narrative while examining the narrative potential of the structure across various media touchpoints. At the branding level, it integrates branding and user research to assess viable strategies for ‘branding the Cizhou Kiln’ and provide a cultural branding approach that amalgamates regional attributes and market potential.

This study employs a qualitative-driven Mixed Methods Research approach, centring on narrative inquiry, to investigate the transformation of meaning within contemporary brand design by deconstructing the cultural narrative and cross-media reconstruction of traditional decorative patterns from the Cizhou Kiln. A limited quantity of quantitative analysis (e.g. user experience questionnaires, brand awareness surveys, etc.) is integrated to assess the design’s communication efficacy from the standpoint of user acceptance, thereby aiding in the interpretation of the gathered textual data and facilitating the synergy between qualitative and quantitative methods, ultimately enriching the research’s scope and depth (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000; Schlunegger, 2024).

2 Literature Review

This chapter seeks to outline the extent of the research literature, assess significant studies within each area, critically identify inconsistencies and gaps, and ultimately clarify the central theme and methodological framework of this study. The framework consists of a four-step sequence: ‘Literature Scope and Search → Critical Review → Key Controversies → Research Gaps’, which provides clarity and establishes a defined hierarchy.

2.1 Literature Scope and Search Techniques

This study addresses four main areas: the historical context of the Cizhou kiln and Chinese ceramics; the conservation of intangible cultural heritage and cultural transmission; visual semiotics and cross-media narratives; branding theory in the cultural sector. The search channels include CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wanfang, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well as institutional reports and museum catalogs from UNESCO and WIPO. The search methodology utilised Boolean logic combinations, such as ‘Cizhou Kiln’ AND ‘branding’ AND ‘semiotics’. The temporal scope was defined from 2015 to 2025, with a focus on the last five years to ensure contemporaneity and innovation.

2.2 Characteristics of the Literature and Evaluation

This study examines the history of the Cizhou Kiln and Chinese ceramics, the preservation of intangible cultural heritage and cultural inheritance, visual semiotics and cross-media storytelling, branding theory, and the cultural industry. These publications outline the theoretical and practical frameworks for ‘recoding’ the patterns of the Cizhou Kiln and integrating them into modern brand narratives.

The Chinese databases CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and Wanfang, as well as the websites of professional organizations like UNESCO, provide literature on archaeology, art history, and folk crafts. Fang (2013) outlines the morphological characteristics of key kilns from the Song and Yuan dynasties, referencing the decorative techniques of white-on-black and ticked-and-scratched flowers from the

Cizhou Kiln. The British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have recorded and analyzed the distinctive works of the Cizhou Kiln in their catalogs (British Museum, n.d.). These publications primarily emphasize art appreciation and the significance of heritage. Boolean operators were utilised to combine primary terms in the search, including ‘Cizhou Kiln’ AND ‘branding’ AND ‘semiotics’; ‘intangible heritage’ AND ‘cross-media story’ OR ‘digital communication’; in addition to secondary filtering by date and subject area. The search timeline was set from 2019 to the present to capture recent trends in modern branding and transmedia narratives.

The 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO, 2003) establishes essential principles for the preservation and transmission of intangible cultural heritage, providing policy and ethical guidelines for integrating traditional crafts into contemporary society. Many scholars (Smith, 2006) have investigated the ‘re-creation’ of intangible heritage in contemporary culture, emphasizing the integration of traditional skills with modern markets and consumerism.

Saussure's and Peirce's semiotic theories provide a basis for exploring how ‘pattern’ functions as a symbol to generate meaning, whereas Panofsky's (1939) iconographic analysis offers methodological guidance for investigating the connection between traditional patterns and cultural connotations. Researchers in China, including Peng (2018), have examined the symbolic and aesthetic characteristics of traditional Chinese decorative patterns using an iconographic approach. Transmedia storytelling, as discussed in Chen (2021), has been widely applied across film, television, gaming, and the cultural and creative industries. Multiple studies (Yao, 2024; Wang, 2025) investigate the growth of national-style intellectual properties and intangible heritage subjects on digital platforms and social media, emphasizing their impact on the cultural identities of young audiences through multi-touch narratives.

Aaker's (1991) concept of brand equity and Keller's (2008) framework on consumer cognition and brand associations represent important contributions to the study of consumer-brand relationships. Their concepts serve as essential foundations for analyzing the conversion of traditional symbols into recognizable brand attributes. Wang and Zhang (2022) demonstrated that IP-based local cultural elements contribute to the sustainable development of regional economies and the dissemination of culture within their analysis of creative industries. Domestic examples, including the cultural production of the Forbidden City and the intellectual property development of Dunhuang, provide valuable insights for the modernization of the Cizhou Kiln.

The literature exhibits complexity and fragmentation. This research domain encompasses literature of varying depth; however, disciplinary barriers and a singular research dimension impede the development of a systematic approach that integrates perspectives from history, culture, semiotics, and cultural branding. This complicates the thorough analysis of the cross-media narrative of the Cizhou Kiln and contemporary branding design, which is the central focus of this study.

Research on the decorative patterns of the Cizhou Kiln primarily focuses on the dimensions of form-date and craft-image. However, it overlooks the semantic interpretation of patterns in contemporary visual communication and branding, along with the aspect of user perception. Many focus on the technique, aesthetic qualities, and historical importance of classic artifacts, limiting their analysis to cultural relics appraisal and historical interruption. This approach overlooks contemporary relevance and lacks a systematic semiotic analysis, which impedes the direct integration of these elements into modern design. A lack of systematic investigation into semiotic meaning complicates the direct translation into contemporary design features. For example, Wang and Sun (2024) briefly examine surface application in printed textiles. In his master’s thesis, Hou (2021) established the basis for the development of patterns from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty. This study develops the framework of the ‘Folk Narrative–Image Motif–Craft Strategy’ to examine the perspectives on the creation of Cizhou Kilns during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It also explores crossmedia narratives of traditional patterns.

Certain studies on the cross-media development of Dunhuang mural paintings and cultural creations from the Forbidden City have demonstrated significant success. These studies primarily focus on digital products or gamification applications, overlooking commercial aspects like brand positioning, user experience, and market interface, as well as the sustained management of brand assets or cultural intellectual property. Jenkins (2006) and Ryan (2019) introduced the ‘materialized narrative’ model. Wen (2025) examined the digitalization of intangible heritage through the lens of material culture and narrative, emphasizing symbolic-contextual mapping. Deng and Li (2025), along with Liu (2025), employed shadow puppets and regional branding as a case study to substantiate the ‘context–role–plot’ model. This framework has not been fully integrated with the media translation of ceramic patterns.

The integration of mixed research methods in decorative pattern redesign and user experience has led to a shift in the design community from a focus on style to an emphasis on meaning-experience. Verganti (2009) argues that design-driven innovation is about creating a vision of a possible new meaning and making that vision come true. Norman (2004) emphasizes the importance of emotional design. Hybrid research methodologies highlight the iterative process of symbolic mining followed by quantitative validation. Chen and Xue (2021) evaluated the emotional advantages of traditional Su embroidery patterns using interviews and the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). Xu and Zhao (2023) investigated the concept of sustainability, while Ole (2023) analysed the implications for the design of traditional Su embroidery patterns. Ole, Sakka and Mandagi (2025) utilised Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to confirm the significance of the pathway ‘Narrative Integrity–Perceived Cultural Value–Brand Loyalty’. As a result, current research on ceramic pattern branding is limited to evaluating aesthetic preference and fails to establish the causal relationship between narrative mechanism and experiential indicators.

In conclusion, while Aaker (1991) and Keller (2008) have developed foundational theories on brand equity for consumer and corporate brands, their models have not been fully adapted to the specific context of intangible cultural heritage and traditional crafts. There is a pressing need to revise and enrich branding theory by incorporating local cultural attributes, artisanal values, and cross-media communication strategies.

2.3 Discussions and Disputes in the Literature

An analysis of the literature across multiple disciplines reveals several significant disputes and questions that require further investigation. Initially, a dichotomy exists between preservation and innovation: some researchers (Smith and Akagawa, 2009) argue that intangible cultural heritage must maintain authenticity, expressing concerns that commercialisation may lead to cultural alienation or symbolic depletion. Others (O’Connor, 2013; Wang, 2015) suggest that a moderate degree of commercialisation and branding can help preserve cultural heritage and avert its museumisation. The challenge involves maintaining the cultural essence and aesthetic spirit of Cizhou Kiln patterns in contemporary applications while simultaneously meeting commercial expectations and branding requirements, thus requiring a careful balance.

Transmedia storytelling is the art of world-making (Jenkins, 2006). While Jenkins highlights that transmedia narratives expand worldviews and characterisations through diverse media, many cultural projects risk falling into the trap of simple content replication across platforms rather than authentic story development. The development of Dunhuang and Forbidden City intellectual property, for example, faces challenges associated with the excessive homogenization of ancillary items and insufficient core narratives (Chao and Li, 2020). This study argues that Cizhou Kiln themes can foster unique but complementary narrative elements across various media, avoiding simple replication and collage.

The concept of cultural intellectual property in brand design presents distinct challenges. While Aaker (1991) and Keller (2008) offer systematic theories of brand equity applicable to consumer and corporate brands, in the context of non-heritage crafts, regional community interests and local cultural heritage are often neglected (Wang, 2015). The design and communication strategy should consider the social and cultural ecology surrounding the origin of the Cizhou Kiln, including the needs of artisans, governmental entities, cultural institutions, and market stakeholders.

The identified inconsistencies demonstrate the need to balance cultural authenticity with branding, and depth of multimedia storytelling with user engagement. This study seeks to bridge these tensions by integrating theoretical frameworks with practical applications.

2.4 Identification of Research Gaps and Thematic Focus

Current semiotic studies predominantly focus on iconography and decorative arts analysis, lacking a systematic method for translating patterns from historical forms into

modern visual language. Despite the prevalence of digital cultural creation related to the Forbidden City and Dunhuang, there remains a significant lack of case studies examining the development of cross-media narratives within the Cizhou Kiln context. Many researchers have acknowledged audience preferences for intangible cultural creative products; however, there is a lack of thorough qualitative and quantitative studies, particularly concerning the influence of cross-media brand touchpoints on users' emotional resonance and identity. Furthermore, the branding theories proposed by Aaker and Keller have yet to be fully integrated with frameworks that bridge traditional crafts, local communities, and global markets.

This study focuses on three main themes: the semiotic recoding of decorative patterns in the Cizhou Kiln, cross-media narrative construction, and user experience and branding strategies. A mixed-method approach will be employed, integrating qualitative and quantitative research to address both the claims of existing literature and the shortcomings in aligning local practices with theoretical frameworks.

3 Methodology

This study is grounded in constructivist philosophy, which asserts that cultural meaning is not an objectively inherent entity but a dynamic process influenced by specific social contexts and media activities. The contemporary expression of Cizhou Kiln decorative art, known for its symbolically rich and culturally rooted visual language, depends on both the modelling of motifs and their narration, interpretation, and re-perception across various media platforms.

3.1 Mixed Methods Approach

To address the research question— ‘How can cross-media narrative reconstruction and modern branding design of the decorative patterns of the Cizhou Kiln balance cultural heritage and market value?’—this study adopts a mixed methods approach. The research is qualitatively driven, with narrative inquiry as the primary methodology, supplemented by quantitative measures to validate textual data and enhance the robustness of qualitative findings.

Qualitative inquiry, particularly through narrative research, enables deep exploration of how users perceive and interpret Cizhou Kiln patterns in cross-media storytelling and branding contexts. This includes understanding their cultural and emotional significance. Quantitative methods, including surveys and user experience evaluations, complement the study by assessing aspects such as brand awareness and audience preference. As Creswell and Plano Clark (2017) note, integrating quantitative and qualitative data can significantly enrich mixed methods research. Schlunegger,

Zumstein-Shaha and Palm (2024) also emphasize the importance of methodological triangulation for improving traceability in case studies.

3.2 Methodology and Methods

Narrative inquiry serves as the core methodological framework for this study. As Clandinin and Connelly (2000) define it, narrative inquiry is a way of understanding experience. It investigates how individuals construct meaning through story, context, and cultural identity. The study analyzes how decorative patterns convey cultural significance and how brand narratives are constructed across media platforms. In this framework, digital imagery, interactive design, and brand visual systems function as narrative agents, transforming traditional motifs into emotionally resonant and temporally relevant cultural symbols.

Narrative data will be collected through interviews, oral histories, and textual documentation, engaging a diverse participant base including artisans, brand designers, and users. This allows examination of Cizhou Kiln patterns from multiple angles. Artisans and inheritors can clarify historical context and traditional interpretations; designers can explain how narratives are embedded in brand strategy; and users can reflect on how they interpret and internalize these narratives through interaction.

Phenomenology complements this approach by exploring first-person experiences and emotional responses to cultural content. As van Manen (2016) explains, phenomenology is concerned with explicating lived experience. While it is not the primary framework for this study, phenomenological insights inform how audiences derive meaning from their experiences with decorative patterns and branding narratives. Narrative inquiry is particularly well-suited for exploring transformations from traditional culture to modern expression, while phenomenology enhances understanding of emotional engagement and identity formation.

The qualitative data collection process will begin by identifying participants relevant to the Cizhou Kiln context, including next-generation inheritors (NGIs), local cultural scholars, branding professionals, and audience groups. Semi-structured interviews will explore their perceptions of Cizhou patterns, narrative experiences, brand associations, cultural identity, and emotional resonance. Interviews may be conducted individually or in small focus groups, with initial participants potentially recommending others via snowball sampling.

In addition to interviews, this study will observe audience responses in cross-media contexts such as exhibitions and VR applications. Narrative elements within collected texts will be analysed for structure, key events, character involvement, and embedded values. Documents, scripts, design sketches, and visual outputs will be examined to track how storytelling evolves across different media and audience groups. Key concepts—such as craftsmanship, regional memory, and cultural relevance—will be identified through iterative review of interview transcripts and observational data.

The quantitative phase employs online surveys using tools such as Questionnaire Star (https://www.wjx.cn/). The sample includes respondents from various age groups and regions, selected through modest stratification to ensure diversity. Instruments include Likert scale questions on brand perception and acceptance of cross-media narratives (Likert, 1932), as well as the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) developed by Schrepp et al. (2014) to evaluate usability and satisfaction across digital or immersive platforms. Quantitative findings will be synthesized with qualitative insights. For instance, if high scores are observed in cultural identity, these will be interpreted in relation to interview themes such as ‘deep sense of history’ or ‘sense of closeness.’

By combining narrative inquiry with selected phenomenological insights and quantitative validation, this methodology enables a holistic investigation into the symbolic, experiential, and communicative transformation of Cizhou Kiln decorative patterns in contemporary brand design.

3.3 Ethical Considerations

All participants were required to sign an informed consent form prior to the initiation of the interview or survey, which outlined the study's objectives, the anonymization procedures, and the extent of data utilization (Kalpokas and Hecker, 2023). Pseudonyms or participant codes were used instead of real names. Recordings and transcripts were stored on password-protected cloud platforms or encrypted hard drives in compliance with GDPR and relevant data protection regulations. Engagement with artisans and local communities was conducted respectfully, with awareness of cultural and craft traditions. Where proprietary or commercially sensitive knowledge was encountered, care was taken to include only publicly permissible content in findings. Researchers clearly disclosed their roles and objectives to mitigate concerns of commercial exploitation, and interviewees were invited to review summaries as needed to ensure accuracy and mutual trust.

3.4 Alternative Methodologies and Techniques

The regional character of the Cizhou Kiln and prolonged presence in the production environment facilitate the application of ethnographic methods for in-depth observation of craft activities and community life. This approach, deeply rooted in the real contexts of production and transmission, supports understanding of local knowledge and cultural interpretation (Spradley, 1979). However, ethnography poses limitations such as time intensity, the need for field expertise, and potential bias from a narrow focus, which can constrain broader market data collection.

In parallel, action research offers a dynamic model for engaging with corporations or policy actors through iterative design-feedback cycles. The ‘plan–act–observe–reflect’ model facilitates interventional change (Kemmis and McTaggart, 1988), supporting adaptive development of branding programs for Cizhou Kiln culture in practical settings. Nonetheless, this method may risk subordinating academic integrity to

external market or managerial priorities. When applied with care, both approaches can complement each other in future cultural branding initiatives.

4 Discussion and Analysis

This study depends on a mixed research methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine the recreative value of the Cizhou Kiln pattern in relation to cross-media narrative and contemporary branding from multiple perspectives. It aims to achieve an integrative impact by addressing both the cultural and emotional dimensions and offering broader, comparable quantitative measures. We employed narrative inquiry methodology to conduct interviews with pertinent individuals and audiences, focusing on their significant experiences, emotional perspectives, and the meanings they derived from their engagement with the production process. This study investigates how audiences perceive the cultural connotation of the Cizhou Kiln through cross-media narratives. How do inheritors and contemporary designers balance the authenticity of ancient craftsmanship with market demand? Quantitative research employs numerical data to assess cross-media story and brand design acceptance within a large sample, along with the factors influencing these perceptions, thus enhancing the practicality and validity of the research questions. Exclusively depending on qualitative interviews may lead to a lack of breadth and objective measures; solely employing quantitative surveys may miss the depth of individuals' understanding of traditional symbols in emotional and cultural contexts. Thus, these two research avenues collaboratively tackle the core research questions, leading to methodological alignment.

4.1 Possible Discoveries and Findings

Analyzing the patterns as a ‘visual symbol system’ enhances understanding of the translation of their form and cultural implications within the contemporary media landscape. The semiotic perspective provides a systematic analysis of 'form and meaning', clarifying the reasons certain simplified or stylized patterns persist in evoking associations with folk culture. The transmedia narrative framework (Jenkins, 2006) clarifies how ‘multi-platform storytelling’ creates a cumulative experience. This demonstrates that they have some structural characteristics of the basic level I narratives; level II narratives have added elements of conflict, drama, emotional intensity, cultural tropes, or archetypal characters. Cultural and branding theories elucidate brand recognition and preference processes while addressing the ‘museumisation’ of the Cizhou Kiln and reconciling cultural authenticity with market-oriented strategies (O'Connor, 2013). Theoretical frameworks interconnect and provide a solid interpretative foundation for the contemporary reinterpretation of traditional crafts through the triadic approach of ‘symbol-story-brand’.

Analysis of in-depth interviews with inheritors, young designers, and users employing narrative inquiry methodology reveals diverse interpretations of the symbolic essence of the Cizhou Kiln pattern. Inheritors emphasize historical sentiment, craftsmanship aesthetics, and folklore symbolism. Emerging designers focus on symbolic refinement, visual impact, and incorporation of storytelling into brand visual identity. Consumers tend to prioritize the aesthetics of the final product, personalization, and the novelty of cross-media experiences. Interviews of this type, if they reveal interpretative discrepancies among the three parties, suggest that the semiotic recoding process must attain a balance between cultural authenticity and economic simplification. Quantitative surveys, including questionnaires, evaluate brand awareness and attitudes before and after cross-media interactions, such as short videos and digital engagements. Should the data reveal a notable increase in users’ awareness of the Cizhou Kiln and their cultural preferences, it can be concluded that cross-media narratives are effective for brand promotion. The data suggests a significant increase in the acceptance of brand design among younger individuals, indicating that the efficacy of new media expressions and traditional patterns may lie in the integration of content form and contemporary aesthetic trends (Kim and Yoon, 2021).

4.2 Emerging Questions and Limitations

The design of this study could result in specific risks and limitations. Firstly, there is a concern regarding potential sampling error within the target population. If the interviews or surveys primarily focus on specific regions and demographics, particularly those with a strong interest in traditional culture, while excluding a wider or possibly indifferent group, the results may be biased towards favourable interpretations. To improve the study’s generalizability, it should involve a more culturally diverse demographic, multinational audiences, or general consumers who have not had direct exposure to Cizhou Kiln. The authentic views of local artisans or community members may be influenced by the ‘researcher relationship’. Subsequent research should consider integrating fieldwork or a small-scale anthropological approach. The same holds for quantitative surveys, as the potential for data generalization decreases when the distribution method targets ‘art and culture’ groups. Additionally, constraints related to time and resources present challenges, as the effectiveness of cross-media narratives typically requires extended exposure for proper development, and the attitudinal augmentation observed in the short term may simply reflect a temporary novelty.

A conflict may emerge between cultural ethics and internal discord. The branding of NRLs raises questions about their authenticity. Focusing exclusively on market reactions while failing to express the needs of the community and artisans may lead to the neglect of local cultural stakeholders' perspectives and interests in this process (Wang, 2015). Cross-media narrative theory suggests that audiences tend to pursue deeper content; however, users may only engage with a particular medium for a limited duration. Should quantitative data reveal that customers are primarily ‘shallow consumers’, it is crucial to explore strategies for effectively conveying the

attractiveness of the Cizhou Kiln within a limited timeframe. The question arises as to whether the ‘folk aesthetic’ and the ‘black and white painting language’ necessitate different interpretations by individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. The identified issues suggest that the study approach, while capable of yielding multidimensional insights, faces the limitation of insufficient control over the external environment. Longer duration and a larger sample are essential for a thorough validation of the prevalence of cross-media narratives in branding. The mixed research method combines semiotic analysis, qualitative interviews, and quantitative assessment, which may complicate study execution and lead to conflated analyses if time or resources are limited. It is crucial to develop a strong hierarchical plan in the design phase, define the objectives and scope of each method, and ensure that the results are logically consistent.

4.3 Theoretical Interaction and Methodological Considerations

Artisans emphasize the quality of workmanship, historical relevance, and familial stories linked to the motifs, expressing concern over the potential simplification or commercialization of these representations. Contemporary designers or brand practitioners typically enhance recognizable symbols and provide them with meanings that align more closely with current aesthetics and market demands. This variation in interpretation corresponds with Peirce's concept of ‘Interpretant’: the same motif is invoked with different ‘references’ across diverse subject-object relationships. Furthermore, numerous local residents or folklore experts recognize patterns as symbols of regional culture, representing local traditions and positive connotations. In contrast, the general public or younger consumers may regard them merely as ‘national trends’ or ‘fashion elements’, lacking a deeper understanding of their significance. If supported by interview data or observational recordings, the tension between ‘traditional symbolism’ and ‘commercialized expression’ in the semiotic re-encoding process will represent a key finding of the study. The findings indicate that semiotics and transmedia narrative theory can analyze the emergence of diverse meanings of the same pattern across various communities. This analysis assists transmedia narratives in achieving ‘differentiated expression’, which preserves regional characteristics while ensuring identifiability and extensibility in branding. Henry Jenkins’ (2006) concept of cross-media narrative asserts that a strong intellectual property (IP) must offer an integrated, value-adding perspective or content ecosystem across multiple media platforms rather than simply duplicating content. The study, especially the quantitative aspect, indicates that the audience’s awareness, emotional attachment, and willingness to engage with the cultural symbol of the Cizhou Kiln significantly increase following exposure to short videos, physical exhibits, and digital interactive games. If the study indicates that a significant number of users reported dissatisfaction with the insufficient articulation and repetitive nature across media, it would support the concerns articulated by Chao and Li (2020) about the cross-media initiative between the Forbidden City and Dunhuang: ‘Multimedia’ does not necessarily imply ‘deep narrative’, and to effectively engage the audience, the project must offer diverse and complementary content strategies.

This suggests that cross-media narratives should not simply serve as an amalgamation of marketing techniques but must instead be a purposeful endeavor in developing brand and cultural significance. Suppose the findings of this study support this conclusion. In that case, it will improve understanding of the practical application of transmedia narrative theory in non-heritage branding and further the development of the transdisciplinary field of ‘transmedia and heritage studies’ in academia. Keller’s (2008) Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model delineates brand identity, brand meaning, brand response, and brand resonance, providing a structured framework for brand development that encompasses visual identity design, cultural value integration, user feedback mechanisms, and routes to brand resonance. Should quantitative surveys or focus group interviews reveal that users have improved their perception of the traditional craft image after cross-media exposure to the pattern—evidenced by their recollection of the unique black-and-white lines and folk painting style, alignment with the artisanal spirit and regional narratives, and a willingness to invest in related cultural peripherals or experiential activities—the theory of branding exhibits a degree of mobility, allowing for the integration of traditional cultural resources into contemporary brand operational systems. Complaints about cultural appropriation or excessive commercialization may emerge, with interviewers or community members questioning the dilution of ‘authenticity’, leading to what Smith and Akagawa (2009) describe as the ‘heritage ethic’ contradiction. If validated, this outcome would provide empirical evidence for traditional craft branding within academic discourse. The resources can function as cultural assets, offering unique value to brands. Researchers must establish a strong connection between branding and cultural studies with ethics, community interests, and historical contexts; failure to do so may lead to a reduction to mere ‘consumerisation’.

5 Conclusion

Semiotics, cross-media narrative, and branding are used to analyze the ‘branding of non-heritage culture’, producing a comprehensive framework. This is unique in earlier investigations and expands the theoretical basis for traditional pattern applications today. This study builds and evaluates a mixed-methods methodology that combines narrative inquiry with quantitative analysis to reconstitute ornamental themes from the Cizhou Kiln and modern branding design across media. The four levels of historical motif analysis are symbolic, grammatical, semantic, and narrative. The narrative inquiry methodology explains how these themes create meaning in varied social contexts and provides a foundation for storytelling and character representation in current visual language. This strategy transforms Cizhou Kiln from ‘material remnants’ to ‘culture story units’. Traditional archaeological and art historical study neglects user factors and communication contexts. This research integrates a qualitative cross-media story prototype into the brand visual system and allows quantitative verification, creating a cycle of ‘qualitative interpretation -quantitative testing -reinterpretation’.

This suggests that cultural narrative depth strongly affects users' cultural meaning and brand loyalty.

This study shows that narrative inquiry and semiotic analysis can revive folk kiln patterns. It uses an interpretative sequential mixed design to explain how to turn qualitative insights into measurable indicators, providing an accurate framework for studying non-heritage cultural intellectual goods. The hybrid study combines cultural ontology research, design practice, and user experience to strengthen findings and offer a robust framework for scholars.

Despite limitations in sample geography, media type, and longitudinal monitoring, this study provides direction for future research. It proposes two main approaches: first, to demonstrate the cross-cultural applicability of narrative structures are universal across cultures, and second, to use new media like VR and AR to deepen and intensify narratives. Qualitative research is crucial to reviving cultural symbols and design applications, and a thorough mixed research study supports its methodological approach to traditional craftsmanship in contemporary branding contexts.

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Translating Jiangnan Garden Symbols into Wearable jewellery:

A Qualitative Investigation of Cultural Encoding and Embodied Experience

Yuanyuan Xiong

Abstract

This study focuses on the translation path of the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens in contemporary wearable jewellery, aiming to explore how cultural symbols can cross-media migrate and generate new emotional values in user experience. The study adopts a design ethnography approach, combining mixed methods such as field observation, cultural probes, semi-structured interviews, and differential semantic scales to systematically track the entire process from the generation of cultural imagery in design to the perception of wearing. The study finds that although existing studies have shifted from the replication of traditional cultural elements to the practice of visual innovation, there is still a significant theoretical and methodological disconnection in the path of transforming the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens into the medium of wearable jewellery. Therefore, this study constructs a three-layer translation model of "cultural genes -design symbol encoding -user experience", with the expectation of applying this model in future study to extract cultural genes and achieve crossmedia migration, forming wearable jewellery with personal emotional attributes. Additionally, the study also discusses whether there are significant differences in encoding strategies and user acceptance among different types of garden symbols (image symbols, indicator symbols, and symbolic symbols), and that users' body perception and usage scenarios play a crucial role in activating cultural identity. The study not only fills the theoretical gap between symbol translation and user experience but also provides theoretical support and methodological inspiration for the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage and the design of creative cultural products.

Keywords: Cultural Genes; Semiotics; Jewellery Design; Jiangnan Gardens; Design Ethnography

1.Introduction

Jiangnan gardens are deeply rooted in the regional culture of Jiangnan and have developed a unique cultural form that embodies rich aesthetic principles, philosophical ideas, and life wisdom. However, with the acceleration of modernization, despite being treasures of traditional Chinese culture, these gardens have gradually receded from daily life and now primarily exist as tourist attractions or symbolic representations. In contemporary design, Jiangnan gardens face the challenge of "living inheritance." Current preservation methods predominantly focus on static approaches such as physical restoration, landscape presentation, and digital archiving, which overlook the dynamic expression of the lifestyle and cultural spirit embedded in the gardens. Consequently, their true value is obscured during the process of "museumification"(Ren and Djabarouti, 2023). As Laurajane Smith (2006) contends, “The essence of heritage is a cultural process rather than a material entity, and its value is determined by the meaning attribution and reproduction in the present.” Thus, an excessive emphasis on materiality is not truly conducive to the inheritance of Jiangnan garden culture. Jiangnan gardens need to shift from “representation” to “reconstruction”.

In this context, wearable jewelry, in its capacity as a cultural medium and with its highly bodily attachability, offers a new approach for the re-interpretation and dissemination of intangible culture. Satpathy (2017) put forward that wearable items have three cultural attributes: bodily presence, interactive engagement, and everyday integration, which makes them an important interface for the integration of culture into daily life. This study proposes to translate the cultural symbols of Jiangnan gardens into the wearing experience of users, thereby stimulating users to perceive culture and generate emotional resonance in their daily interactions. Furthermore, at present, the design of traditional cultural themes in jewelry design still remains at the replication of superficial visual elements, lacking the exploration and reconstruction of deep cultural genes, and is often presented in a decorative and commercialized pattern(Xu Jingjinga,et al., 2022). In this regard, Margolin (Margolin, 2002) stated that design is “a kind of cultural practice” and should go beyond symbol replication, conducting critical interpretation and reorganization of existing cultural forms to meet contemporary demands. In combination with this viewpoint, the “vivification” of Jiangnan garden culture in contemporary society not only requires the establishment of a systematic jewelry design language but also the realization of a recontextualization strategy through user interaction.

1.1 Theoretical Anchoring

The primary theoretical basis of this study is founded upon the triple viewpoints of cultural gene theory, material culture research and semiotics. It endeavors to establish a three-tier translation model of ‘cultural gene -design symbol encoding -user experience‘ through the intersection of theories, and explore the possibility of achieving the dynamic inheritance of traditional culture in contemporary expressions on this basis.

The transformation of jewellry based on the cultural symbols of Jiangnan gardens is a study of the media translation process of cultural genes. Essentially, it is a topological reconstruction of the universal rules or patterns hidden behind cultural phenomena. This ‘cultural gene’ is reconstructed and expressed in new carriers such as jewellry, and similar topological transformations maintain the stability and correlation of the core cultural relationship. The theory of cultural genes originated from the concept of cultural memes put forward by Dawkins (2016). He compared cultural content to genes, arguing that cultural information can self-replicate in unit form and spread, mutate, and be selected within a group

like genetic genes. This theoretical perspective provides a novel idea for the inheritance of cultural symbols and has aroused both reflection and questioning among scholars. The overly biological tendency might result in the omission of cultural context factors and the cognitive complexity of cultural transmission. Just as Boyd and Richerson (2005) indicated, the meme theory simplifies cultural evolution into a ‘gene-like replication process’, disregarding complex mechanisms such as guided variation and cultural adaptation in social learning. In other words, although the metaphor of cultural genes is figurative, it is merely a biological analogy and simplification and fails to fully encompass key dimensions such as symbol interpretation, social interaction, and real emotions and environments in human cultural inheritance (Wu et al., 2025).

Therefore, when discussing the inheritance and translation of the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens, it is necessary to turn to a broader perspective of material culture and practice. Cultural inheritance is often inseparable from specific carriers and life scenarios (Appadurai, 1988; Miller, 1997), and its connotation is rooted in daily utensils. Daily utensils are not static ‘entities’, but rather ‘lives’ media that possess collective memory and identity in social life. Worn items represented by jewellery are typical examples of this process: they not only have decorative functions but also act as dynamic carriers of cultural symbols (Eicher and Evenson, 2014). Through the act of wearing, jewellery connects an individual's body with group symbols, achieving embodied transmission of cultural significance (Turkle, 2008). Furthermore, people often impart specific symbolic meanings to objects to embody cultural values, and these objects become part of an individual's ‘extended self’ (Turkle, 2008).

From a semiotic perspective, the translation of cultural genes is inseparable from the decoding and encoding of symbols. The process of cultural gene translation can also be regarded as the process of symbol recreation and dynamic meaning generation. Peirce's semiotic theory posits that a symbol consists of three elements: the representamen, the object, and the interpretant. Symbols interact with reality and the mind to generate meaning(Studies, 2021). Abstract cultural connotations are endowed with perceptible forms through the symbolic process and are subsequently interpreted and experienced in new contexts. Cultural genes emerge as new symbols, but their core meanings are still disseminated and sustained in the form of symbol interaction. Furthermore, the ‘extended self’ theory also reveals that items with cultural significance are integrated into an individual's identity through possession and use, becoming an extension of self-identity (Belk, 1988). Hence, after being embedded in personal life via symbolic carriers, cultural genes can be awakened in people's social lives.

1.2 Research Questions

This study addresses the theoretical and practical challenges inherent in the translation of cultural genes from Jiangnan gardens. Building upon the aforementioned research context and grounded in key theoretical foundations, two transformative research questions are proposed. By critically synthesizing the theory of cultural genes, material culture studies, and semiotics, this study identifies gaps in extant research and constructs a three-layer framework: ‘cultural genes -design symbol encoding -user experience’. A methodological foundation is established to provide a systematic approach for translating the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens into wearable jewellery.

RQ1: How can the theoretical framework of cultural gene translation facilitate the transformation of Jiangnan garden elements into wearable jewellery?

RQ2: Using the methodology of design ethnography, how can the translation mechanisms and experiential generation of Jiangnan garden cultural symbols in wearable jewellery be systematically captured and interpreted?

2.Literature Review

This study critically integrates cultural gene theory, material culture research, and semiotics to deconstruct the theoretical gaps in the translation of cultural symbols of Jiangnan gardens into wearable jewellery, revealing the logical contradictions and path obstacles in cross-media communication, and providing a directional theoretical coordinate for subsequent methodological proposals.

2.1 Basic Concepts and Definition

Typically, ‘cultural genes’ denote the smallest units of cultural information, much like Dawkins' earliest definition of the ‘meme’ concept (Lewens and Buskell, 2023). Subsequently, scholars apply this concept to various disciplines to explain cultural transmission, especially in traditional landscapes and architecture (Wu et al., 2025). Consequently, cultural genes can also be regarded as core factors for intergenerational transmission. Chinese scholars often employ this concept to study traditional settlements, landscapes, traditional architecture, and other traditional cultural elements. Scholar Peilin Liu first proposed the concept of ‘traditional settlement cultural landscape genes’ (Chaojun and Shanshan, 2017). The proposition of this concept provides a novel cultural perspective for differentiating traditional settlements and, by drawing upon biological methods, forms a ‘cultural landscape genome’ map (Hu et al., 2021)(Yang et al., 2023), and it is equally applicable in modern architectural discourse (Yang and and Seo, 2022). Thus, extracting cultural genes enables the application of traditional cultural elements in other new media.

The ‘cultural translation’ in this study originates from Peirce's triadic theory of semiotics, referring to the transfer of the meaning of a cultural symbol system to another context or medium. From contemporary anthropological and cultural viewpoints, cultural translation focuses on the meaning transformation across diverse cultural backgrounds, with the aim of preserving the original spiritual core while being accepted in new social contexts (YanZhang and Weiping Hu, 2011) (Vadi, 2018). In the domain of design, cultural translation is more prominently manifested in the reconfiguration of symbolic elements. Designers extract elements from a specific formal context (such as architecture, patterns), undergo abstraction and redesign, and transform them into the design language of another carrier (LiHe, 2022). Traditional auspicious patterns are rich in cultural implications and can be applied in contemporary designs such as jewellery and furniture through design translation. Researchers have pointed out that the application of ancient elements in modern design, that is, drawing upon excellent traditional culture, can not only reflect traditional cultural sentiments but also align with modern life concepts (Wang, Shi and Wang, 2024). This cultural encoding in design refers to embedding specific cultural symbols in the design to make the product a carrier for communicating cultural meanings (Ye and Wu, 2023) . The translation of cultural symbols is not merely a simplistic replication of traditional elements but a complex process of recreation and reinterpretation (Wang et al., 2025). Through the selection and combination of elements such as symbols, materials, and techniques, designers encode cultural information into design products, enabling users to "read" the cultural connotations therein and thereby achieving non-verbal communication.

2.2 Theoretical Foundation

The process of translating the imagery of Jiangnan gardens into jewellery design involves the support and integration of multiple theoretical foundations. This ‘cultural evolution’ perspective implies that elements in Jiangnan gardens, such as pavilions, terraces, flower

windows, and artificial rockeries, can all be regarded as cultural genes that have been constantly ‘replicated’ onto various carriers throughout history. The theory of cultural genes emphasizes the balance between inheritance and variation. Just as with the inheritance and variation of genes, it is essential to maintain the stability of the core meaning (gene) and its cultural distinctiveness. Moreover, it must possess the adaptability to innovate variations in new contexts. This theory provides an evolutionary basis for the translation design among different cultural media.

Secondly, studies on material culture provide a transformational perspective from culture to objects. Scholars such as Ingold and Miller advocate for a focus on the materiality of culture. Ingold promotes ‘Materials against materiality’, emphasizing the significance and role of materials and the production process themselves in culture, opposing the perception of objects as passive (Ingold, 2013). Miller, through extensive field research, showcases how everyday objects carry and shape social culture during their usage, highlighting that objects are not merely containers of culture but also mediators of social relationships and identity construction(Miller, 2010, pp. 82–85). Studies on material culture also emphasize the interactive relationship between users and objects – the process of wearing jewellery is also a part of the production of cultural meaning, which also lays the groundwork for the subsequent discussion on user experience.

Semiotic theory provides methods for cultural encoding and decoding at the meso-level. Pierce's triadic sign model has been introduced in the previous text, and it has guiding significance for design practice. In addition, Morris's semiotic system also has high explanatory power, offering an analytical path from meaning to practice for cultural translation, which is helpful for separately positioning the symbolic operation mechanisms at different stages in the subsequent translation model(ChunLi et al., 2021).

At the micro level, the embodied cognition theory contends that human cognition is not merely dominated by the brain but is profoundly influenced by the interaction of body movements, sensory experiences, and the environment (Wilson, 2002). In the construction of cultural experiences, the body is not only an instrument of expression but also a locus of meaning generation. The embodied theory has been extensively applied in studies on product experience and identity (Glenberg, 2010), and is particularly applicable for explicating how users, when donning cultural jewellery, activate their emotional responses and sense of belonging to specific cultural symbols through micro-sensory experiences such as touch, the sensation of gravity, and wearing rituals.

2.3 Prior Studied

The research on the symbolic expression of traditional Chinese cultural elements is growing increasingly. The literature related to architectural imagery, traditional pattern designs, spatial structures, etc., not only encompasses theoretical analyses but also involves design practices, which plays a certain role in the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage. Meanwhile, the emphasis on user emotional experience is also manifested in the research.

Past research explored architectural imagery, traditional patterns, and spatial structures. Scholars have translated Portuguese-style pavements and Wei-Jin garden imagery into design objects using AI and semiotics(JiaxingLiu, et al., 2023). Similarly, Zhengxu and Ning (2022) conducted an analysis of the correlation between the imagery of Wei-Jin gardens and jewellery design. In contrast, Zhang and Wen (2020) placed greater emphasis on the role of

‘contextual integration’, proposing that cultural translation should not merely be confined to form but should be founded on a systematic understanding of culture and the design process.

In the aspect of traditional patterns and motifs, the research manifestations have been more concentrated on the commercialization process of Chinese traditional motifs and decorative patterns in design products. During the translation of the motifs, the conveyance of the imagery's meaning is of key importance. Designers should have a profound understanding of the cultural imagery carried by traditional motifs and convey it through their designs (LiHe, 2022).

From the perspective of spatial structure, scholars' research and inheritance of traditional spatial concepts can also provide inspiration for design, especially jewellery design. The beauty of gardens lies not only in the beauty of their physical forms but also in the creation of space and the design of the tourist routes (Chen, 2023)(Zhengxu and Ning, 2022). Research in the aspect of spatial structure emphasizes spatial experience. Zhu et al. (2022) quantified the changes in depth perception in gardens through VR experiments, substantiating the profound effect of traditional garden spatial construction on perceptual experience.

In recent years, the role of user emotional experience in cultural translation has been increasing significantly. Cultural symbols are meaningful in inheritance only when they are accepted and favoured by users. Berni et al. (2023) noted from the perspective of user experience that a good design should genuinely achieve an effective transformation from cultural symbols to product experience.

2.4 Research Gap

Although the existing studies have focused on the translation practices of traditional cultural elements in product and visual design, there still exists an obvious disjunction between theory and method in the path of transforming the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens into wearable jewellery media. The majority of the studies remain at the level of visual symbol appropriation and have failed to systematically extract their deep structures and re-encode them. Secondly, in the material translation process of cultural genes, an operational theoretical framework has not yet been formed. Furthermore, the practical methods of crossmedia translation remain a research void, and there is an urgent need to establish an interdisciplinary cultural translation mechanism to achieve the design practice of wearable jewellery translation.

3.Methodology

3.1 Research strategy

This study aims to explore how the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens can be symbolically translated through wearable jewellery media and to construct a three-layer translation model of ‘cultural genes -design symbol encoding -user experience’. The study adopts design ethnography (DE). DE conducts ‘thick description’ of the interaction between designers' creation and users' wearing through in-depth field observation, semi-structured interviews, cultural probes, etc., and feeds the observed features back into prototype (Salvador, Bell and Anderson, 1999; Pink, 2015). In qualitative research, small-scale quantitative experience measurement is introduced to form a mixed-method framework, thereby enhancing the verification of the differences in experience.

The reason for adopting design ethnography is that the translation of garden symbols and the experience of jewellery media must be placed in a real context, involving space, material and emotion. DE emphasizes field immersion in multimodal recording, which can accurately capture multi-sensory clues and explore users' hidden needs (Salvador, Bell and Anderson, 1999). This is more conducive to obtaining accurate cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens for this research and providing a traceable contextual basis for jewellery design. Moreover, design ethnography emphasizes the closed-loop process of "field observation -insight extraction -prototype iteration", which naturally fits with the collaborative workshops of participatory design. It can generate thick descriptions in this research while providing the ability to inform design decisions. Compared with pure quantitative research, DE retains the complexity of culture and context, translates highly contextual and cross-sensory symbols into jewellery, and combines with quantitative measurements such as questionnaires to form a mixed method. Through thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006, 2021; Roseveare, 2023), it can effectively co-build knowledge with the interviewed community, thereby reducing the risk of cultural appropriation.

3.2 Participants

3.2.1 Description of participants

This study utilises three primary sources of information to trace Jiangnan garden symbols, jewellery prototypes, and user experiences. Participants include: (1) designers or artisans, who interpret garden symbols, manipulate materials, and make creative decisions; (2) target users, who contribute first-hand cultural translation data and reflect emotional resonance through jewellery use; and (3) experts and scholars, who validate cultural accuracy and offer professional insights.

This study primarily employed purposive sampling, with snowball sampling as a supplement. Initially, studios or online communities related to Jiangnan gardens were identified, and early participants recommended additional cases to enhance thematic saturation (Guest, Namey and Chen, 2020a). Table 1 shows the sample size and key characteristics of the participants. According to Guest, Bunce and Johnson (2006) code saturation is typically achieved with 9–12 participants in homogeneous groups, while more complex or multi-group studies require larger samples. Although this is a multi-group study, relatively similar participants were grouped together, and 12 participants were used as a baseline for each group. Hennink & Kaiser (2017) further distinguish between code saturation and meaning saturation, noting that greater heterogeneity requires larger samples. Thus, sample sizes for designers and experts

can be smaller, while user groups—being more diverse—require larger samples to reach saturation.

Designer/artisan participants were all from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, with at least two years’ experience producing garden-themed jewellery. Target users, aged 18–35, identified with Eastern aesthetics, appreciated traditional culture, wore jewellery or smart devices, and could articulate culture–technology intersections. Experts covered garden history, semiotics, and jewellery history, with backgrounds in ICH research or curatorial work.

Participants n Key Features

Designer/Artisan 8

Target users 12

Experts 3

Garden-themed works ≥ 2 years; Be able to explain the decision on symbol translation

Aged 18 to 35; wear daily accessories or wearable devices; have an appreciation for Eastern aesthetics

Garden history / Semiotics / Jewelry history direction; Evaluation of cultural and design accuracy

Table 1 Information Sources and Key Features of Participants

3.2.2 Deep field observation

In-depth field observation provides a feasible path for the design decision-making logic of the creation port and the emotional experience of wearing for the user end. The instantaneous judgments and body gestures of designers in the selection of materials, design, production, and fine-tuning are often difficult to describe verbally. These inspiration triggers are hard to restore through post-interviews. Immersive following can make these details become visual evidence, thereby improving the key steps of symbol translation (Salvador, Bell and Anderson, 1999). Secondly, the atmosphere of the garden can only be discovered through wandering and observation in the real space. Pink's sensory ethnography (Pink, 2015) well supplements the process of environmental clues migrating to jewellery experience, providing a different theoretical perspective for in-depth field observation.

This study intends to conduct in-depth field observations through a shadowing approach. On the side of designers/artisans, shadow internships will be carried out for 1-2 consecutive weeks, with the entire process of procedures and inspiration triggers recorded in video or sketches, and real-time decisions captured through oral reviews. All observation logs will be transcribed and preliminarily coded on the same day of recording, so as to convert the recorded fragments and incorporate them into the interview outline (3.2.3) and probe task cards (3.2.4), thereby facilitating the collection and in-depth exploration of subsequent data.

3.2.3 Semi-structured Interviews

Similar to a large number of other related studies in this field, semi-structured interviews seem to be equally suitable for this research. This type of interview can strike a balance

between preset themes and flexible probing, ensuring that the research focus does not deviate while encouraging respondents to express deep narratives, which is suitable for exploring cultural symbols and emotional experiences in this study (Ruslin et al., 2022). The interviews are mainly based on a three-part outline, covering garden memories, design or wearing decisions, and wearing experiences. The outline is designed with 12 questions, and 2-3 indepth paths are prepared after each demonstration question, which are expanded based on the respondents' interests. The interview lasts for 60-90 minutes, is fully recorded, and the respondents' micro-expressions or actions are simultaneously noted. Transcriptions of the interviews are completed within 3 days after the interviews and sent to the respondents for verification to ensure the accuracy of the information expressed.

3.2.4

Cultural Probes

Cultural probes can capture daily scenes and emotional responses over a long period in the absence of researchers and can stimulate participants' creative expressions in different studies (Mattelmäki, 2005)(Celikoglu, Ogut and Krippendorff, 2017)(Cerneviciute and Liebutė, 2022). Most garden experiences occur in fragmented, individualized and private moments that researchers cannot follow. The use of cultural probes can maximize the recording of participants' private moments at their own pace and provide their emotional fluctuations. Using toys and manual media to guide participants can also accurately reproduce their feelings that cannot be expressed in words, making up for the shortcomings of semistructured interviews (Hamarat Dundar and and Merzali Celikoglu, 2024).

Table 2 presents the cultural probe kits and the expected data targets. Each participant used four artefacts (Gaver, Dunne and Pacenti, 1999), which were to be continuously recorded and uploaded. All materials were quickly sorted by theme upon collection and then subjected to other data analyses.

Probe Artefact

Disposable Camera

Emotion Stickers

‘Sound Can’

Scent Retention Card

Table 2 Cultural Probe Kit

Capture Target

Expected Data

Visual symbols and spatial composition 24–36 color photographs

Instant emotional spectrum

Color stickers + timestamps + notes

Ambient sounds and verbalized emotions 30-second audio clips × 14

Olfactory cues and memory anchors

3.3 Data collection and analysis

4 scent cards + textual annotations

The research process followed the three-layer rhythm of design ethnography, conducted through immersive insight and iterative methods. During the field stay phase, observations were made in the morning, afternoon, and evening in separate time slots. Semi-structured interviews and cultural probes were carried out simultaneously during the field period, allowing participants to complete daily data filling even when the researchers were absent, thus expanding the depth of data in design ethnography (Gaver, Dunne and Pacenti, 1999). Two rounds of collaborative workshops were held during the intervals of the stay, from symbolic collage, prototype sampling to group evaluation, to immediately test the hypotheses of symbolic translation. To supplement the offline samples, Python could be used to crawl and keyword tag online posts related to garden jewellery, building a digital ethnographic corpus (Alinejad, 2018)(Tikka et al., 2025), and finally select suitable jewellery prototypes for wearing experiments.

The data analysis in this study adopted a mixed strategy of qualitative and quantitative approaches (Table 3). In the quantitative main line, field notes, interviews, probe kits and online texts were subjected to open coding using grounded theory within NVivo. Subsequently, they were reassembled to form axial coding of abstract categories, and finally selective coding was conducted to propose core propositions (Ozanne, 1992). Then, Braun & Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis method was used to distil five major themes, taking into account both the participants' perspectives and the researchers' reflections (Braun and and Clarke, 2023). Quantitatively, the Semantic Differential Scale (SDS) was used for quantitative comparison, converting subjective experiences into statistically analysable data (Hassenzahl, 2004). Finally, the saturation assessment of themes in qualitative research was comprehensively formed, and a symbolic flow map was constructed to verify the credibility of the study (Guest, Namey and Chen, 2020b).

Stage Method

Preprocessing

Tools

Automatic transcription + video frame extraction Otter.ai; FFmpeg

Qualitative Core

Theme Elaboration

Quantitative Supplement

Multimodal Mapping

Grounded theory coding NVivo 14

Reflexive thematic analysis 6-step paradigm

Semantic Differential Scale (SDS) Online questionnaire

Network visualization Atlas.ti; Gephi

Description

Standardize file naming and timestamp synchronization

Conceptualization → Categorization → Core propositions

Reveal five core themes

Test score differences across dimensions

Construct symbolic flow diagrams

Table 3 Data Analysis Strategy

and Explanation

3.4 Research Ethics

This study will follow the approval of the college ethics committee. All participants must sign a bilingual (Chinese and English) informed consent form before participating in the project, clearly stating that participants can withdraw from the project at any stage without any negative consequences. In terms of privacy protection, a numbering system will be used instead of real names, and all personal data and audio-video files will be encrypted. It is emphasized that all data files are for internal access by researchers only. Additionally, to respect cultural property rights, the symbols and patterns will be jointly reviewed by the garden management office and the design studio members to prevent the misuse of intangible cultural heritage elements.

3.5 Alternative Methods

In addition to the design ethnography methodology proposed in this study, there are other alternative methodologies or methods, such as action research or pure digital ethnography, etc. Each of these methods has its own value. However, compared with DE, either the research cycle is long, or the cultural dimension is ignored, or the co-creation dimension is neglected. Therefore, they are only listed in a table (Table 4) as supplementary research paths for future studies.

Method

Online survey + statistical modeling

Laboratory usability testing

Action Research

Digital ethnography

Advantages

Large sample size; robust quantitative comparisons

Controlled variables; high precision

Limitation

Difficulty capturing deep cultural meanings

Decontextualized; neglects cultural dimensions

Continuous intervention; immediate feedback Long research cycle

Low cost; cross-regional scope

Lacks tactile and material dimensions

Table 4 Alternative methods and their advantages and limitation

4.Discussion and Analysis

4.1 Methodological adequacy

This study centres on the core question: How can the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens be symbolically translated in wearable jewellery media? It constructs a mixed research method led by design ethnography (DE), combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research not only focuses on the moment when symbols are ‘produced‘, but also on their reinterpretation during wearing and social display. DE enables researchers to track across multiple fields, including designer studios, wearers' daily environments, and online recontextualized communities, which is difficult to achieve through traditional ethnography or laboratory usability tests. Moreover, DE's multimodal records and cultural probes can preserve detailed sensory fragments during periods when researchers are absent (Gaver et al., 1999; 2024). Additionally, collaborative workshops materialize the symbol translation process, providing real interaction data, while the differential semantic scale (Hassenzahl, 2004) quantifies subjective experiences. This multi-perspective and multi-field approach is precisely what is necessary to understand the mechanism of symbol translation and the generation of experiences. Furthermore, the triangulation of multi-source data not only covers the longitudinal process from symbol sources to form translation and then to experience feedback, but also achieves cross-validation among different subjects, including designers, users, and professional scholars, directly addressing the core research question of this study.

4.2 Synthesis of potential findings

4.2.1 The dynamic translation mechanism of cultural symbols

This study adopts a semiotic perspective and uses the theory of cultural genes to explore how the symbols of Jiangnan gardens are dynamically translated through jewellery media. Garden imagery such as architectural structures, spatial narratives, and landscape carriers are regarded as typical ‘gene fragments’ of Jiangnan culture (LU Sm, 2020). Through the extraction of cultural gene complexes (YanhongHuo, LeiCao, and DongdongYang, 2017), a new design language is formed in jewellery design through the deconstruction and recombination of semiotics (Eco, 1976). According to the classification of Peirce and Morris on types and functions of symbols, a systematic framework of Jiangnan garden imagery can be constructed. The study speculates that different types of symbols have obvious priority and functional differences in the translation process. Pictorial symbols are the easiest to be recognized and accepted, while symbolic symbols require more cultural background to be laid (Chandler, 2022). Moreover, symbols have different acceptance degrees among different user groups (Posner, 1987).

4.2.2 Wearable jewelry as an interface for cultural identity construction

This study focuses on the function of jewellery as a cultural medium in constructing identity interfaces. With the aid of the theory of embodied cognition (Wilson, 2002), it conducts a more in-depth analysis of the ways in which the cultural identity of Jiangnan gardens is activated during the process of users' wearing. Specifically, the interaction between perception and memory in the act of wearing enables a high-level integration of the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens with the users' bodily experiences, facilitating the individual users' identification with themselves and the culture, and subsequently providing feedback for the iterative updates of the jewellery prototype. Moreover, considering the cultural background differences between local users and foreign users, the former are more inclined to evoke

individual memories and hometown sentiments through jewellery (Bourdieu and Bourdieu, 2002), while the latter tend to explore unfamiliar cultures and construct the subtle interaction between the self and the other with jewellery as the medium (Grossberg, 2011)(Hall, 1992).

4.3 Interpretive frameworks

Based on the research background of the current predicament of the dynamic inheritance of cultural genes, how the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens can be symbolically reconstructed and experientially generated through wearable jewellery design has become an important topic of this study. The three-layer translation model of "cultural genes -design symbol encoding -user experience" constructed in this study attempts to explain the translation path and mechanism of the topic from a theoretical dimension. Moreover, this model integrates the theories of cultural genes, material culture, semiotics, and embodied cognition, providing a structural explanatory framework for the cross-media transmission of traditional symbols and responding to the problems of theoretical and methodological deficiencies and symbol understanding gaps raised in the literature review.

Figure 1 shows the workflow and characteristics of the three-layer translation model of "cultural genes -design symbol encoding -user experience". The first layer is the cultural gene layer, emphasizing the focus on the "source code" of Jiangnan garden culture, specifically including garden imagery, spatial structure, and cultural prototypes. These symbols have the characteristics of high-frequency occurrence and context dependence on collective memory (Otsuji and Pennycook, 2021).

The second layer is the design symbol encoding layer, based on Peirce's tripartite classification of icon, index, and symbol, focusing on how designers or artisans form the formal encoding and meaning embedding of the above cultural genes. This layer emphasizes the reconfiguration of cultural imagery in material media and also involves the practical strategies and sustainability of traditional symbols in new materials and digital craftsmanship (Shin and and Westland, 2017)(Sun and Liu, 2022).

The third layer is the user experience layer, exploring how users generate embodied cognition and cultural identification of Jiangnan garden symbols through wearing behaviour and sensory participation. By introducing the theory of embodied cognition, users can establish a somatic connection with cultural gene symbols and trigger their cultural memories or exploration desires in the wearing context, forming a dynamic process from the translation of cultural symbols into jewellery to the wearing behaviour. This layer also reveals the cognitive differences among user groups, with local users being more capable of evoking memories of their hometown through wearing, while foreign users build emotional bridges between themselves and others through cultural try-on (Woodward and Fisher, 2014).

Figure 1 Three-layer Translation Model of ‘Cultural Genes -Design Symbol Encoding -User Experience’

This three-layer translation model not only provides a hypothetical theoretical framework for exploring research topics, but also offers a systematic explanation for the application of culture, design and experience in design ethnography, clarifying the implementation direction of the methodology: field residence and interviews, cultural probes, SDS scales and symbolic prototypes, coding selection and usage feedback, and subjective experience transformation are all correspondingly matched.

4.4 Critical appraisal of the research design

4.4.1 Strengths

The strength of this research lies in the organic integration of theoretical framework and methodology, and through an integrative analysis, it covers the complete value chain of culture and design experience. By constructing a three-layer translation model of ‘cultural genes -design symbol encoding -user experience‘, the research takes design ethnography as the main axis and combines qualitative and quantitative methods such as semi-structured interviews, cultural probes, and differential semantic scales. This not only enhances the sense of presence in the research but also deepens the understanding of the dynamic generation mechanism of symbols. The method design breaks through the drawbacks of traditional symbols being limited to patternization or meaning generalization in previous studies, and shifts the focus to the flow of symbol meanings and their reconstruction in practical contexts (Tenner, 2015)(Meroni, Fassi and Simeone, 2013).

Furthermore, the research introduces embodied cognition theory (Wilson, 2002), expanding the theoretical dimension of user experience. It explains that cultural identity does not stem from abstract meanings but is built upon bodily perception, memory, and situational resonance. Consistent with Pink's (Pink, 2015) proposed sensory ethnography, this research suggests the use of video recording, olfactory cards, and other means to enrich the collection of multimodal data, making the experience data not only limited to linguistic expressions but

also including other forms of behavioral evidence. Additionally, to lay the groundwork for subsequent design practices, the methodology section also mentions the embedding of collaborative workshops in design, making participants not only the objects of study but also co-constructors of the research, strengthening the closed loop of theory, practice, and feedback.

4.4.2 Limitations

Although the current theory is well-supported and the methodological structure is complete, this study still has limitations, mainly in three aspects: sample composition, data interpretation perspective, and measurement dimensions. The samples were sourced from three platforms: local workshops, design schools, and social media. These platforms naturally attract individuals with high cultural identification and technical support, which may lead to a bias towards highly culturally sensitive groups in the research results. In contrast, Skov (2008) argues that fashion research is often confined to the elite or specific cultural groups and should pay more attention to marginalized groups and cross-class consumers to avoid limiting the interpretation path. Additionally, although the study employed maximum difference sampling and saturation testing (Guest, Bunce and Johnson, 2006; Guest, Namey and Chen, 2020b), the coverage of the samples still needs to be verified in future research.

Secondly, the interpretation of field notes and cultural probes overly relies on the researcher's re-interpretation of images, sounds, and smells, which raises the issue of who holds the right to interpret. Especially for the understanding of symbolic signs and abstract semantics, without cultural validation, they may be misinterpreted (Hall, 1992). Although this study introduced expert verification and collaborative mechanisms, it still cannot completely avoid the guidance and suppression of theory on data.

In terms of quantitative research, this study adopted a differential semantic scale for quantitative analysis, which can quickly obtain the differences in users' feelings before and after wearing. However, compared with the research that combines physiological signal analysis tools with design under the advancement of emotion computing technology (Zhang et al., 2024), this study lacks a high-precision quantitative approach. The intelligent emotion recognition using multimodal physiological signals (Zhang et al., 2024) can provide an expanded method for the future deepening of this study.

4.5 Implications and new questions

This study, in uncovering the process through which cultural symbols generate user experiences via design encoding, offers multiple implications for culture-oriented design practices. The study has the following limitations: The mere continuation of the ‘form‘ of traditional cultural symbols fails to stimulate recognition; it is necessary to re-embed the meaning within materials, craftsmanship, and usage behaviours. It is imperative to explore the encoding mechanisms of non-visual cues such as smell and temperature in multi-sensory data and their alignment with cognitive systems; to discriminate the boundaries between openness and sensitivity of traditional symbols in cross-cultural dissemination; and to evaluate the impact of AI and parametric design on the narrative rights of traditional craftsmanship.

5.conclusion

This study centres on the core issue of how the cultural genes of Jiangnan gardens can be symbolically translated and generate user experiences through wearable jewellery. It establishes a three-layer translation model comprising ‘cultural genes -design symbol encoding -user experience’ and employs design ethnography as the primary methodological framework. By integrating multiple approaches, including field observation, semi-structured interviews, cultural probes, and quantitative experience measurement, the study systematically explores theoretical construction, practical pathways, and user perception. The findings reveal that the translation of traditional culture cannot rely solely on the reproduction of patterns or forms; effective cultural communication depends on ‘embodied cognition’. Thus, the activation of cultural genes represents a dynamic process of meaning reproduction.

Moreover, the study hypothesizes that different user groups exhibit significant variations in their acceptance of traditional cultural symbols. Local users tend to establish emotional connections through ‘cultural memories’, whereas foreign users are more likely to use jewellery as a medium for cultural experimentation. This phenomenon underscores the necessity of designing diverse pathways for cultural and creative products, considering social contexts and cultural backgrounds.

In conclusion, the theoretical framework and methodological approach of this study provide a replicable and scalable paradigm for cultural wearable design and offer an empirical foundation for revitalizing intangible cultural heritage, promoting regional cultural dissemination, and facilitating cross-cultural design exchanges. Future research could further incorporate physiological signal measurements, expand sample diversity, and explore novel co-creation relationships between AI and design symbols.

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Visual Communication of Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age: From Historical Symbols to Future Imagination

Zhiming Yao

Abstract

The advent of the digital age has presented unprecedented opportunities and challenges for the visual communication of cultural heritage. Serving as vital carriers of memory and identity, cultural heritage elements are transitioning from traditional historical symbols to forms of cultural imagination directed toward the future. Grounded in communication and semiotics theories, this paper explores how new media technologies facilitate this transformation, redefining the modes of meaning production and communication surrounding cultural heritage.

Emerging digital media, especially social platforms, short-form videos, and virtual reality, enable cultural heritage to transcend traditional constraints of time and space, stimulating interest and resonance among the public, particularly younger generations. Moreover, visual communication strategies transform cultural heritage from static historical symbols into dynamic, imaginative narratives. This shift not only enhances the communicative effectiveness of cultural heritage within new media ecosystems but also reshapes cultural memory and identity in novel ways.

Taking digital visual communication practices of Chinese cultural heritage as case studies, particularly through platforms such as Douyin (TikTok), this paper demonstrates how new media narrative strategies effectively integrate historical elements, contemporary aesthetics, youth culture, and future imagination, thus creating innovative cultural expressions. However, this approach may also lead to issues such as entertainment-driven, fragmented, or even distorted representations of cultural heritage. Therefore, visual communication of cultural heritage in the digital age should balance authenticity and creativity, leveraging the strengths of visual media while carefully managing the tension between traditional symbols and futuristic imagination to achieve sustainable cultural heritage communication.

I. Research Background and Problem Statement

The rapid spread of digital technology has not only revolutionized social interaction but also profoundly impacted the presentation and inheritance strategies of cultural heritage. As a crucial carrier of national memory, identity, and values, cultural heritage has traditionally been showcased and protected through museums, theaters, and specialized research institutions. However, the rise of mobile internet, social platforms, short videos, and VR technologies has now made large-scale "breaking the circle" dissemination of cultural heritage possible.

In this context, the logic of cultural heritage communication has shifted from the elite-driven "one-way notification" to a diversified "networked interaction." Intangible cultural heritage bearers, government departments, media organizations, cultural enterprises, and ordinary users have all become involved, creating a multi-party communication structure where everyone can participate. For cultural heritage, this new landscape presents both opportunities and challenges: how to maintain authenticity and academic rigor while also addressing traffic and public interest? How to break traditional narratives, revitalize historical symbols with contemporary aesthetic appeal, and provide a continuous source of inspiration for future cultural

imagination? This paper, from the perspective of communication and semiotics, focuses on exploring the role and potential of short videos and new media forms in the visual communication of cultural heritage and analyzes the achievements and challenges encountered in the digital communication of China’s intangible cultural heritage, particularly on the Douyin platform.

II. Theoretical Foundations and Research Perspectives

(A) The Characteristics of Digital Media in the Communication Field

With the advent of the digital age, traditional communication models have undergone drastic changes. In the framework of communication theory, the characteristics of digital media have not only broken the traditional "one-to-many" structure but also promoted a "decentralized" and "user co-creation" communication model. Digital media, particularly social platforms, short video platforms, and instant messaging tools, empower users with stronger participation, forming a deeply interconnected and real-time interactive communication environment. This environment not only lowers the threshold for cultural heritage communication but also provides more people with opportunities to participate and create content. Unlike traditional media, where audiences passively receive information, digital media allows viewers to become content creators, fostering the thriving phenomenon of "user-generated content (UGC)."

For example, on short video platforms, ordinary users can shoot, edit, publish, and even re-create content related to cultural heritage using their smartphones. This low-threshold communication method has significantly contributed to the popularization of cultural heritage, especially among young people. The interactivity and real-time feedback mechanisms of social platforms and short video platforms (such as likes, comments, and shares) have created a closer relationship between creators and audiences. Creators can quickly adjust their strategies based on user interests and feedback, further enhancing the effectiveness of content dissemination. This approach not only broadens the reach of cultural heritage but also strengthens the social network effect of its communication.

However, the communication model of social platforms and short video platforms also brings the problem of content fragmentation. Due to the platform algorithms prioritizing short and efficient communication, cultural heritage is often simplified or fragmented into short videos lasting only a few seconds. While this method quickly captures the attention of a large audience, it is often difficult to convey the depth and richness of cultural heritage in just a few minutes. Therefore, balancing entertainment

and cultural rigor remains a significant challenge for heritage communicators.

(B) Semiotic Perspective on Meaning Reproduction

Semiotic theory provides a strong framework for understanding the transformation of cultural heritage in digital communication. According to semiotics, cultural heritage is a system of signs that embodies historical contexts, cultural values, and aesthetic ideas. In traditional societies, these symbols often have fixed and clear meanings, carrying specific historical and cultural significance. However, when these symbols are placed within digital media and contemporary aesthetic discourses, their signifiers and signified meanings may change. For example, on short video platforms, cultural heritage visual symbols may be re-contextualized and reinterpreted through creators' secondary creations, even combining with modern art, youth subcultures, and future technologies to create cultural symbols that go beyond tradition.

This process of meaning reproduction opens up new possibilities and challenges for the modern dissemination of cultural heritage. Audiences' interpretations of cultural heritage are no longer singular but plural. Viewers of different ages, social backgrounds, and interest groups may have different interpretations of the same cultural symbol. For example, certain traditional crafts may be seen as fashionable by younger people but represent a historical memory to older generations. This multi-layered interpretation not only enriches the social value of cultural heritage but also brings more creative space for its future development.

However, this process of meaning reproduction also carries risks. If the original cultural meaning is not adequately protected during re-creation, cultural symbols may be misused or even deviate from their original spiritual connotations. For instance, some creators may overly commercialize intangible cultural heritage symbols to cater to traffic trends, distorting their historical and cultural contexts, thus affecting the audience’s correct understanding of cultural heritage.

III. Cultural Heritage Communication Practices in the Digital Media Environment

In the context of digital media, the communication of cultural heritage is no longer confined to traditional museum displays or cultural exhibitions. Digital technologies, especially emerging technologies such as social platforms, short videos, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR), provide unprecedented space for the dissemination of cultural heritage. These technologies break the limits of time and space, enabling

cultural heritage to transcend regional boundaries and spread quickly around the world, deeply integrating with the digital culture of younger generations to form dynamic, interactive communication modes.

(A) The Diffusion and Fusion of Social and Short Video Platforms

Short video platforms, particularly Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Kuaishou, have become the main battleground for visual communication of cultural heritage. The rise of social platforms, especially short video platforms, has shifted the dissemination of cultural heritage beyond professional institutions or discussions by a few experts. According to official data, Douyin covers 96% of China’s national-level intangible cultural heritage projects, and related videos have garnered over 200 billion views, becoming a representative platform for the dissemination of intangible cultural heritage. Through powerful algorithmic distribution mechanisms, short video platforms allow cultural heritage to reach a vast number of users, especially the younger generation.

In addition to short videos, platform functions such as live streaming, e-commerce, and topic challenges further integrate with intangible heritage content. For example, during major festivals or special theme days (such as “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day”), platforms organize intangible heritage-themed events, offering documentaries, interactive online challenges, and virtual marketplaces to engage users. During this process, intangible heritage becomes not only a cultural experience but also a consumer product, where viewers can purchase traditional crafts via live streaming, forming an interactive matrix of "content—consumption—experience."

Moreover, the collaboration model of "traffic celebrities + intangible heritage" has become a common strategy on short video platforms. Many well-known actors or internet celebrities collaborate with intangible heritage bearers to create short videos or live streams, quickly attracting a large audience. This collaboration not only enhances the visibility of intangible heritage projects but also expands their audience. However, while this approach increases traffic and attention, it can also lead to entertainment and commercialization trends. Therefore, how to balance the essence of cultural heritage with the traffic-driven logic remains a key issue in heritage communication.

(B) The Contribution of Immersive Technologies to the Representation of Cultural Heritage

With the emergence of VR and AR technologies, the way cultural heritage is communicated has undergone a revolutionary transformation. VR and AR technologies break the limitations of time and space, providing users with immersive experiences, redefining traditional cultural heritage from static exhibits to interactive, experiential formats. For instance, many museums and cultural institutions use digital scanning and 3D reconstruction technologies to digitally present traditional artifacts and historical scenes. Users can use VR devices to “walk into” ancient markets, palaces, or temples and experience the charm of ancient cultures firsthand.

Furthermore, the integration of VR and AR technologies has made the demonstration of intangible cultural heritage techniques more vivid. Users can scan real-world objects with AR and view the related historical context and craftsmanship processes. This method not only enhances viewers' understanding of intangible heritage but also boosts engagement with cultural heritage. However, due to the high cost of these technologies and technical barriers to production and promotion, immersive technologies have not yet been widely popularized among the general public. For many intangible heritage bearers, short video platforms remain a more realistic and accessible dissemination channel.

(C) Cross-Platform Collaboration and the Formation of a "Media Matrix"

n the digital age, the dissemination of cultural heritage is no longer the responsibility of a single platform but relies on the collaboration and integration across multiple platforms, forming a vast "media matrix." Government departments, cultural institutions, and tourism sectors have recognized the importance of cross-platform dissemination and have begun to synchronize cultural heritage content across various platforms. In addition to Douyin and Kuaishou, cultural heritage content is also being released on platforms such as WeChat Video, Bilibili, and others, working in tandem with e-commerce platforms and offline events. For example, some cultural tourism organizations partner with e-commerce platforms to launch intangible heritage-themed products, such as traditional crafts or specialty foods, promoting the linkage between online dissemination and offline consumption.

The cross-platform linkage not only expands the reach of cultural heritage but also enhances its economic value. Through big data and platform algorithms, intangible heritage content can be precisely pushed to interested audiences, achieving targeted marketing. The algorithm customizes recommended content based on users' browsing behaviors, likes, and shares, helping niche intangible heritage projects gain broader exposure and increasing their dissemination depth. However, this algorithm-driven recommendation mechanism also poses risks, potentially leading to content

homogenization and overlooking valuable yet less popular intangible heritage projects, which could affect the diversity and depth of cultural heritage dissemination.

IV. Case Study: Visual Communication of Intangible Heritage on Douyin

(Chinese version of TikTok)

(A) Platform Overview and Data Summary

As one of China’s largest short video platforms, Douyin plays a significant role in the communication of cultural heritage. Since its launch, Douyin has rapidly become an essential platform for the dissemination of cultural heritage, thanks to its massive user base and powerful content algorithms. According to official data, as of May 2024, Douyin covers 96% of China’s national-level intangible cultural heritage projects, with related videos surpassing 200 billion views, making it a representative platform for revitalizing traditional culture.

This data not only demonstrates the widespread communicative power of short video platforms but also reflects the enormous potential of digital media in the popularization of cultural heritage. Douyin’s intelligent recommendation algorithms push personalized cultural content to different audiences based on their interests and behavior, ensuring that intangible heritage projects effectively reach target groups, particularly the younger demographic. Through this mechanism, cultural heritage communication can break down regional and generational boundaries, quickly transitioning intangible heritage from niche groups to widespread social attention.

(B) Visual Narratives and Multidimensional Integration Practices

On Douyin, the visual presentation of intangible heritage uses creative narrative techniques and diverse production methods to breathe new life into traditional culture. The visual characteristics of Douyin short videos transform cultural heritage from dry historical symbols into emotionally resonant and story-driven artistic expressions.

1.Focusing on Historical Elements: The Recreation of Craftsmanship and Cultural Memory

Intangible heritage short videos often use close-up shots, slow-motion, and contextualized narratives to vividly portray the details of traditional craftsmanship. For example, in videos showcasing pottery, embroidery, or carving, the camera often zooms in on the artisan’s hands, displaying the artistry and skill inherent in these

crafts through detailed cinematography. This visual expression not only allows viewers to directly experience the artistic charm of intangible heritage but also helps them understand the cultural values and historical depth embedded in these techniques. By focusing on these fine details, intangible heritage not only conveys traditional processes and historical knowledge but also creates an immersive sensory experience, enabling viewers to appreciate the precious and unique nature of cultural heritage. In the fast-paced world of short video communication, this carefully crafted visual approach quickly captures the audience’s attention and fosters a deeper emotional connection to the cultural heritage.

2.Injecting Contemporary Aesthetics and Youth Culture

Douyin has a large, young user base, which seeks rapid pacing, strong visual impact, and trendy elements. In such an environment, intangible heritage creators must strike a balance between traditional culture and modern aesthetics. Some heritage bearers or young teams have innovatively combined modern music, special effects, filters, and pop culture elements with traditional crafts, producing short videos that are not only culturally rich but also align with contemporary aesthetics.

For example, young people dressed in traditional Hanfu (Chinese clothing) dance ancient-style dances in urban streets, or traditional opera is blended with electronic music to create a fresh audiovisual experience. These creative approaches not only combine ancient cultural symbols with modern aesthetics but also resonate with young people, bringing traditional culture out of formal displays and into their daily lives. This cross-temporal cultural innovation both respects tradition and breathes new life into intangible heritage.

3.Expressing Future Imagination

Douyin short videos are not limited to nostalgia or historical reenactment but are also bold in exploring futuristic and science-fiction elements. Some creators use AR effects or virtual settings to combine traditional cultural symbols with modern technologies, demonstrating how cultural heritage might be presented in the future. For example, some short videos use AR technology to bring ancient painting figures to life in modern society, or they transport traditional opera elements into a digitalized, futuristic space. This innovative form of expression not only prompts viewers to rethink traditional culture but also strengthens the multidimensional dissemination of

cultural heritage, transforming it from a focus on the past into a source of future creativity.

This vision for the future reflects how digital platforms are recreating and extending cultural heritage. The core message it conveys is that cultural heritage is not merely about nostalgia for the past; it is also a driving force for societal development and cultural innovation. This futuristic approach injects new vitality into traditional culture and opens up new directions for cross-temporal cultural heritage communication.

(C) Successes and Risks Coexist

Although platforms like Douyin have achieved significant success in intangible heritage communication, there are also substantial risks and challenges. Behind the widespread attention and economic benefits lies the ongoing issue of balancing entertainment, fragmentation, and cultural depth, which requires thoughtful consideration.

1.Widespread Attention and Economic Benefits

Douyin's explosive reach has indeed propelled many intangible heritage projects to fame. Through live-streaming sales, celebrity involvement, and efficient short video communication, some traditional artisans have transitioned from small workshops to becoming online influencers. For example, some embroidery artisans in certain regions have received large orders through Douyin live streams, while traditional crafts like umbrella-making and fan-making have gained unprecedented attention on the platform. Through short video platforms, cultural heritage not only gains wider market visibility but also brings tangible economic returns and social rewards to heritage bearers.

2.Impact of Entertainment and Fragmentation

However, the pursuit of traffic and entertainment in content creation often leads to superficial treatment of cultural heritage content. Some heritage videos simply use humorous voiceovers, exaggerated subtitles, or simplified visual effects to capture viewers’ attention. While this may bring in short-term traffic, it fails to adequately showcase the profound cultural implications of intangible heritage. This entertainment-driven, fragmented communication model risks causing audiences to misunderstand or misinterpret the historical and spiritual essence of cultural heritage,

leading to a distortion of its symbols.

3.Content Homogenization and Distortion Risks

With increasing competition among short video platforms, some creators, aiming to meet market demands, imitate popular content and engage in homogenized production. This mode of production suppresses the creativity and diversity of intangible heritage content. Even more concerning is the risk that some creators, in their quest for traffic, might over "re-edit" or "re-imagine" traditional cultural practices, thus compromising the authenticity and historical accuracy of intangible heritage projects. To attract attention, some creators even invent fictional scenarios or use exaggerated techniques that distort the core meaning of traditional culture, which poses a significant risk to the authenticity of cultural heritage communication.

V. Main Challenges and Reflection on Dilemmas

Digital media communication has undoubtedly provided unprecedented opportunities for the dissemination of cultural heritage, especially with the promotion of short videos and social platforms. However, this new communication model has also brought numerous challenges, particularly in terms of authenticity, fragmentation, and the imbalance caused by platform algorithms. A profound reflection on these issues will help identify pathways for continuous improvement in the communication of cultural heritage in the future.

(A) The Trade-off Between Authenticity and Traffic Effects

The communication model of digital platforms typically prioritizes traffic, which clashes with the inherent attribute of cultural heritage as “human collective memory and a unique artistic creation.” Cultural heritage dissemination must remain faithful to its historical and cultural contexts, while platform algorithms tend to push short, attention-grabbing content. This "traffic-first" logic could lead to the entertainment and superficiality of intangible heritage content, or, in some cases, distort original cultural symbols and historical meanings.

For example, some creators on short video platforms, in pursuit of traffic, present intangible heritage using exaggerated and entertaining techniques, even distorting traditional craftsmanship and cultural contexts. This overemphasis on traffic may diminish the educational and cultural depth of cultural heritage, leading to misunderstandings of its historical essence. Therefore, it is essential to resolve how to

maintain authenticity while accommodating traffic effects in new media communication.

To tackle this challenge, platforms, creators, and viewers must work together. Platforms could introduce content recommendation mechanisms based on cultural values, offering greater exposure to in-depth intangible heritage content. Creators should strive to balance entertainment with respect and fidelity to cultural heritage. Viewers should also improve their cultural literacy, learning to appreciate and evaluate cultural heritage content from multiple perspectives.

(B) Fragmentation and the Disconnect in Deep Transmission

Short videos are characterized by their brevity, speed, and fragmented nature, which, while attracting a broad audience, make it difficult to convey systematic knowledge or facilitate long-term, immersive learning. Many intangible cultural heritage skills require prolonged learning and practice to truly appreciate and master. However, the time constraints of short videos often result in creators only presenting fragmented aspects of these crafts and cultural practices. As a result, audiences who only engage with surface-level content may fail to understand the cultural contexts and historical backgrounds underlying the intangible heritage techniques.

This fragmentation in communication may lead to "superficial engagement" with cultural heritage. Audiences may develop an interest in a particular craft or cultural symbol but, without a deeper knowledge system or cultural context, struggle to form long-term cultural identification or motivations for continued engagement. Furthermore, fragmented communication could result in misinterpretations or misunderstandings of certain intangible heritage techniques, potentially causing the loss of the richness and value that cultural symbols originally held.

To mitigate the negative effects of fragmentation, platforms and creators can explore more systematic and cohesive content delivery. For example, content can be organized into a series of videos that cover an intangible heritage project from its historical background, craft process, and cultural significance. This series-based creation model not only helps build a more comprehensive understanding of intangible heritage for the audience but also ensures they move beyond surface-level engagement into a deeper cultural understanding. Additionally, using live streaming, interactive Q&A, or expert commentary could offer audiences a more detailed exploration of these heritage practices, giving them a complete learning experience.

(C) Algorithmic Imbalance and the Lack of Content Diversity

The personalized recommendation function of platform algorithms plays an essential role in cultural heritage communication by helping cultural content reach potential interested audiences. However, this recommendation mechanism may lead to an imbalance in content diversity. Platforms generally push popular content based on user behavior data such as browsing history, likes, and shares, which often results in an overrepresentation of a few viral videos while marginalizing more niche intangible heritage projects that have unique value but are less likely to become viral.

For example, some traditional but underrepresented intangible heritage projects may struggle to gain sufficient exposure due to their lack of widespread appeal or traffic. This imbalance not only reduces the diversity of intangible heritage communication but may also cause valuable cultural symbols to be overlooked. In the case of content homogenization, platforms may end up showing a large number of similar videos, resulting in a lack of innovation and depth in the content, which does not provide audiences with a diverse cultural experience or a broad range of thought-provoking material.

To address this issue, platforms should incorporate a stronger sense of social and cultural responsibility into their algorithms. They can ensure that excellent intangible heritage content receives greater exposure, particularly for lesser-known yet culturally significant projects. Platforms could also organize special thematic activities, such as “Intangible Heritage Week” or “Cultural Heritage Month,” to concentrate and showcase diverse forms of intangible heritage, helping audiences understand the richness and diversity of cultural heritage across different regions and genres.

(D) Structural Gap in Capabilities Between Heritage Bearers and Creators

The successful dissemination of cultural heritage through digital platforms requires creators to possess certain media literacy, technical skills, and creative experience. However, many intangible heritage bearers are elderly and live in remote areas, with limited knowledge of new media technologies and short video production. Even if they wish to share their craft and cultural practices on digital platforms, they often lack the necessary technical or financial resources to produce high-quality, shareable content.

In contrast, some young internet creators may possess strong technical abilities and creative skills but may lack a deep understanding of intangible heritage culture. Their creations may often be superficial, failing to convey the essence and spirit of the cultural practices. This structural gap in capabilities leads to uneven quality in the content created, impacting the authentic representation and in-depth communication of cultural heritage.

To address this issue, governments, cultural institutions, businesses, and academic organizations should work together to provide targeted digital training programs for intangible heritage bearers. These training programs should focus on short video production, social media management, and data analysis, helping heritage bearers improve their digital communication skills. Additionally, platforms should provide resource support, such as professional filming equipment, financial assistance, and content creation guidance. These initiatives will help intangible heritage bearers overcome technical and financial challenges, enabling them to produce high-quality and creative content. Through collaboration between young creators and heritage bearers, both parties can contribute to an innovative and authentic digital heritage communication model.

VI. Future Development Strategies

As the digital age continues to evolve, the visual communication of cultural heritage will encounter more opportunities and challenges. The key question for future development is how to fully leverage the advantages of digital media while maintaining the authenticity and depth of cultural heritage. The following strategies aim to promote the sustainable dissemination and innovative development of cultural heritage on digital platforms.

(A) Balancing Authenticity and Innovation: Establishing a Multi-Party Collaborative Mechanism

The digital dissemination of cultural heritage must balance both the impact of traffic and the authenticity of its cultural content. To reconcile this contradiction, it is recommended to establish a multi-party collaborative mechanism in the digital communication of cultural heritage. Specifically, cultural authorities, academic institutions, platform operators, and intangible heritage bearers can form expert advisory teams to review and guide cultural heritage content, ensuring that while innovative expressions are encouraged, the core cultural values of intangible heritage are respected and protected.

Additionally, platforms can provide creators with cultural background materials and historical insights to help them understand intangible heritage more deeply. This will allow them to better balance creativity and authenticity in their productions. Through such multi-party cooperation, creators can be guided in the right direction while audiences receive more reliable cultural interpretations, preventing misunderstandings or over-commercialization that could distort cultural heritage.

Creators should also embrace innovation in their content, but always ensure that the core values of traditional culture are preserved. By integrating modern technologies and aesthetics, such as VR/AR and AI, creators can bring traditional culture to life, attracting younger audiences while also offering limitless possibilities for future imaginations of cultural heritage.

(B) Strengthening Systematic Knowledge Dissemination: From Fragmentation to Cohesion

To avoid the negative effects of fragmented communication on the deep transmission of cultural heritage, future digital communication should focus on systematic and cohesive knowledge dissemination. Platforms and creators should move beyond presenting intangible heritage as isolated short videos and adopt a series-based or modular content structure. For example, a single intangible heritage project could be broken down into several videos, exploring its historical background, craftsmanship process, and cultural significance. This method not only helps build a comprehensive understanding of intangible heritage but also ensures that viewers develop a deeper knowledge rather than remaining at a superficial level.

Moreover, platforms could integrate live streaming, interactive Q&A, or expert discussions to provide in-depth explanations, helping audiences better understand the complexity and richness of traditional crafts. Links to more detailed documentaries, online courses, or offline activities could also be provided at the end of videos, guiding interested viewers to further learning resources.

(C) Optimizing Platform Algorithms: Safeguarding Content Diversity and Quality

Platform algorithms play a vital role in cultural heritage communication, but they also present challenges such as content homogenization and the dominance of a few

popular topics. To optimize this mechanism, platforms should introduce algorithms that prioritize the diversity and depth of cultural heritage content. For example, platforms could establish specialized recommendation pools for intangible heritage content that highlights depth and cultural value, ensuring that less popular but culturally significant projects receive more exposure. This will help prevent popular content from being over-represented and ensure that high-quality heritage content does not get overshadowed by viral trends.

Additionally, platforms should increase their efforts to curate thematic events, such as “Intangible Heritage Week” or “Cultural Heritage Month,” to showcase diverse and rich cultural expressions, allowing audiences to experience the variety of intangible heritage across different cultural contexts. Platforms should also strengthen their content moderation processes to filter out low-quality or distorted content, ensuring that the authentic cultural value of intangible heritage is maintained.

(D) Empowering Heritage Bearers and Creators: Implementing Digital Training and Resource Support

For the sustainable development of cultural heritage on digital platforms, the empowerment of intangible heritage bearers and creators is essential. Many heritage bearers possess profound cultural knowledge and skills but lack familiarity with new media technologies. Governments, businesses, and academic institutions should collaborate to provide targeted digital training programs for heritage bearers, focusing on video production, social media management, and data analytics. This will help them acquire the necessary skills to create high-quality, shareable content.

Additionally, platforms should offer heritage bearers specialized resources, such as professional filming equipment, financial support, and content creation guidance. These initiatives will enable heritage bearers to overcome technical and financial barriers, allowing them to produce content that is both creative and impactful. Through collaboration with young creators who are skilled in digital media, heritage bearers can ensure the authenticity of their cultural expressions while embracing innovative forms of digital communication.

(E) Fostering Industry Ecosystems: Integrating Cultural and Economic Value

The digital dissemination of cultural heritage should not only focus on its cultural value but also consider its economic potential. By integrating intangible heritage with tourism, e-commerce, and cultural products, heritage projects can create sustainable

"self-sustaining" mechanisms. Platforms can combine intangible heritage video content with related cultural products, such as handicrafts, traditional foods, or cultural tourism packages, to create a multifaceted linkage between "culture—consumption—experience."

Local governments, cultural and tourism departments, and platforms should collaborate to create "intangible heritage-themed tourism routes" or "heritage expos," merging online communication with offline experiences. The commercialization of intangible heritage can provide stable economic support to heritage bearers, further motivating them to continue their cultural practice.

It is important to emphasize that the commercialization of intangible heritage must always respect its cultural integrity. Over-commercialization or distortion of the cultural essence should be avoided, as the goal is to support and protect cultural heritage while ensuring its sustainable transmission and innovation.

Conclusion

Visual communication of cultural heritage in the digital age offers unprecedented opportunities for presenting and sharing traditional culture. The wide application of short videos, social platforms, and immersive technologies such as VR/AR has allowed cultural heritage to transcend traditional time and space limitations, while also sparking new interest and resonance, particularly among younger generations. However, this transformation also brings some challenges, including entertainment-driven content, fragmentation, and distortion, which threaten the authenticity and depth of cultural heritage communication.

In response to these challenges, future digital communication of cultural heritage should emphasize balancing authenticity with creativity, optimize platform algorithms, foster content diversity, and enhance the capabilities of heritage bearers and creators. Through multi-party collaboration and systematic efforts, cultural heritage can achieve sustainable dissemination in the digital age, not only as a memory of the past but also as a source of future inspiration and cultural power.

Communications in a WorldContemporary

Constructing Dynamic Reality in Participatory

Documentary

Production

Hanwen Zhang

Abstract

This article explores how participatory documentary can construct dynamic forms of reality in the context of intangible cultural heritage, focusing on a practice-led case study with purple pottery artisans in Jianshui, Yunnan. Departing from essentialist understandings of reality as cultural origin or fidelity, the study adopts a relational and processual approach in which reality emerges through collaborative negotiation, material interaction, and reflexive authorship. The research is grounded in a visual ethnographic methodology that combines participatory action research, actor–network theory, and hermeneutic analysis. Across a year-long residency and co-creative documentary process, artisans were involved in filming, editing, thematic development, and interpretive commentary.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was deployed not as an authoring tool but as a reflexive device—used to visualise patterns in interviews, identify narrative tensions, and support semantic negotiation within the participant group. Emphasis was placed on ethical data governance, community consent, and participant control, guided by the principles of Design Justice. The findings demonstrate that reality is not fixed or singular, but plural, situated, and co-constructed. It becomes visible not only in content, but in the structural transparency of decisions, the inclusion of multiple voices, and the documentation of processual conflict.

The article proposes a four-dimensional framework of dynamic reality—comprising discursive negotiation, embodied practice, material agency, and technological cocreation—as a transferable model for community-based heritage representation. It contributes to current debates in participatory media, digital ethnography, and heritage studies by demonstrating how reality is not discovered but made, through reflexive and contested collaborative processes.

Introduction

In recent years, the participatory turn in documentary practice has significantly reshaped the discourse on reality, representation, and authorship. This shift has been particularly consequential for researchers and filmmakers working at the intersection of visual anthropology and intangible cultural heritage. No longer viewed merely as passive subjects of ethnographic inquiry, cultural practitioners—such as artisans, musicians, and ritual specialists—are increasingly being positioned as co-creators, collaborators, and agents of cultural self-representation. In this context, documentary film becomes more than a medium of cultural preservation; it becomes a dialogic space in which meaning is actively constructed, contested, and negotiated (Pink, 2007; Juhasz, 2005; Gubrium and Harper, 2013). This study builds upon this shift by exploring how participatory documentary can construct dynamic forms of reality in

the context of purple pottery craft in Jianshui, Yunnan—a regional tradition deeply entangled with identity, transmission, and modernisation pressures.

The research responds to an enduring yet evolving question in documentary studies and heritage discourse: how can visual media represent cultural practices without distorting them through the lens of external assumptions, aesthetic preferences, or institutional agendas? Traditional models of documentary, particularly those rooted in observational realism or expository authority, have often been critiqued for reinforcing asymmetrical power relations between filmmakers and subjects (Nichols, 2010). In contrast, participatory approaches seek to redistribute authorship by involving participants not only in the filming process but also in the conceptualisation, interpretation, and editing of the final product. Yet even within this paradigm, questions remain as to what constitutes “authentic” representation, who decides it, and how it can be methodologically and ethically evaluated (MacDougall, 2006; Minh-ha, 1991).

The notion of reality itself is highly contested, particularly when applied to dynamic and evolving traditions such as Jianshui purple pottery. While reality is often invoked to legitimise claims about cultural purity, heritage value, or ancestral continuity, such discourses risk reifying culture as static and essentialist (Clifford, 1988; Handler and Linnekin, 1984). This research instead adopts a relational and processual understanding of reality—what is termed here as “dynamic reality”—that shifts the focus from fixed origins to negotiated meanings. Drawing on theories of discourse (Foucault, 1980), embodiment (Ingold, 2013), and material agency (Latour, 2005), the study approaches reality not as a predefined criterion but as an emergent property of collaborative, situated, and reflexive filmmaking processes. It also engages with the Design Justice framework (Costanza-Chock, 2020) to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be integrated into participatory workflows without overriding participant agency or reinforcing technological determinism.

Purple pottery in Jianshui provides a rich and complex case study through which to investigate these questions. This artisanal practice, designated as an item of national intangible cultural heritage, is characterised by the use of locally sourced clay, handthrowing techniques, and the iconic “carved and inlaid” (阴刻阳填) decorative method. Yet within the contemporary context, the tradition is far from monolithic. Generational tensions, divergent understandings of craft value, and conflicting pressures from tourism, market demand, and cultural policy contribute to an environment in which reality is continually debated and redefined. Importantly, artisans themselves are not passive bearers of tradition; they are reflexive agents who navigate, adapt, and contest the meanings attributed to their work. Their engagement with visual media, particularly in the context of this project, thus offers a unique opportunity to study how cultural reality is not only represented but actively shaped through collaborative audiovisual practices.

The research takes the form of a long-term, practice-led visual ethnography, centred around the co-production of a documentary film with purple pottery artisans over a twelve-month residency period. The methodological approach is grounded in participatory action research (PAR), visual ethnography (Pink, 2015), and reflexive documentary practice (MacDougall, 2006). Actor–Network Theory (Latour, 2005) informs the relational mapping of human and non-human agents—artisans, tools, materials, weather, kilns—within the production process. Hermeneutic analysis (Ricoeur, 1981) is employed to interpret how meanings are constructed through visual language, narrative structure, and audience reception. In addition, the integration of AI-based tools, such as natural language processing for interview analysis, is guided by principles of ethical co-design, ensuring that participants retain veto power and interpretive authority (Markham and Buchanan, 2012; Costanza-Chock, 2020).

At the heart of the inquiry lies the question: how can participatory documentary construct dynamic forms of reality through shared narrative authority, reflexive process, and ethical technological integration? The study does not seek to define reality in absolute terms, but to provide a conceptual and methodological framework through which its construction can be collaboratively explored, documented, and evaluated. By focusing on the participatory dimensions of editing, voiceover, visual framing, and AI-assisted analysis, the research uncovers the subtle ways in which power circulates within the documentary form and how it can be redistributed to support more inclusive and truthful cultural expressions.

This article is structured as follows. The next section presents a critical review of the literature on reality, participatory documentary, and intangible heritage, synthesising debates from documentary theory, anthropology, and media ethics. This is followed by a detailed account of the research methodology, including fieldwork design, cocreative protocols, and data analysis strategies. The Discussion & Analysis section examines empirical findings from the field, highlighting how reality was negotiated through voice, material interaction, and technological mediation. The conclusion reflects on the implications of the study for future participatory media research and proposes the four-dimensional model of dynamic reality as a transferable framework for community-based heritage documentation.

In bringing together participatory documentary, critical heritage studies, and digital ethics, this research offers an interdisciplinary contribution to debates on representation, authorship, and cultural rights. It argues that reality is not discovered but made—in practice, in dialogue, and in the encounter between people, stories, and technologies. In doing so, it proposes a participatory future for documentary: one that is situated, negotiated, and always in motion.

Literature Review

In the early decades of documentary film history, movements such as cinéma vérité in France and direct cinema in the United States championed a “fly-on-the-wall” approach, purporting that non-interventionist camera work could capture an unmediated reality. Filmmakers like Robert Flaherty and the Maysles brothers leveraged minimal crew and synchronous sound to foreground what they described as “pure observation,” thereby reinforcing the myth of the camera as a neutral witness. However, critical scholarship has long exposed the fallacy of this neutrality. Bill Nichols’s influential typology of six documentary modes—poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, and performative—demonstrates that every film embodies its own conventions of representation, each carrying latent assumptions about reality and authority (Nichols, 2010, pp. 137–142). In particular, the participatory mode upends the observer–observed dichotomy by placing the filmmaker on camera, engaging directly with participants, and making editing decisions transparent. Nichols (2010, p. 139) argues that in this mode, “the filmmaker becomes a social actor (almost) like any other,” inviting subjects to co-constitute meaning rather than passively supplying material for an external narrative. This reframing of documentary practice foregrounds the idea that reality emerges through collaborative negotiation, rather than through an illusory objective gaze.

Building on Nichols’s insights, Trinh T. Minh-ha (1991) offers a radical deconstruction of documentary truth by insisting that films are inherently discursive constructions. In Documentary Is/Not Documentary, Minh-ha interrogates the power imbalances embedded in conventional ethnographic displays, where the filmmaker’s authority often reduces subjects to exoticized “others” (Minh-ha, 1991, pp. 1–2). She introduces the concept of “near-distance speaking,” a strategy designed to grant cultural practitioners agency over their own portrayals and to disrupt the colonial legacies of representation (Minh-ha, 1991, p. 82). Rather than viewing the camera as a neutral observer, Minh-ha treats it as a site of political struggle, in which reality is negotiated among filmmakers, participants, and audiences. Her work highlights that the act of framing and editing—deciding what to include, what to omit, and how to sequence material—constitutes a set of interventions that produce particular versions of reality. Consequently, Minh-ha’s deconstructive approach underscores that reality is not an inherent property of images or events, but a negotiated outcome of dialogic exchange and interpretive practice.

Michel Foucault’s theory of power–knowledge provides a potent framework for understanding the politics of documentary reality. Foucault (1980, p. 93) maintains that “truth” is produced through discursive regimes—systems of thought, institutional practices, and cultural norms that determine which statements are recognized as valid knowledge. In the context of documentary filmmaking, every editorial choice—whose testimony to foreground, which contextual details to include, how to structure sequences—operates within these discursive formations. Participatory documentaries that seek to redistribute power must therefore account for the fact that external institutions (broadcast networks, academic gatekeepers, funding bodies) continue to shape the conditions of production, framing what counts as legitimate or authentic

(Foucault, 1980, pp. 100–102). A truly participatory approach must engage critically with these broader power structures, ensuring that community participants exercise genuine agency over narrative outcomes, rather than merely contributing raw footage to pre-existing editorial scripts.

Paulo Freire’s (1970) pedagogy of the oppressed offers an actionable methodology for enacting such redistributions of power. In his foundational text, Freire describes dialogical praxis—the iterative process of reflection and action through which oppressed individuals develop critical consciousness and transform their social conditions (Freire, 1970, pp. 72–73). Participatory documentary projects influenced by Freire’s pedagogy treat participants as co-researchers who help define research questions, shape narrative structures, and co-edit footage. Alexandra Juhasz’s (2005) work on participatory video demonstrates how marginalized communities use camera technology not only to document their realities but to reframe social narratives, fostering solidarity and political mobilization. Claudia Mitchell (2011) extends this praxis through visual workshops—photovoice, collaborative storyboarding, and embodied mapping—showing how visual methods can surface internal community dialogues and support collective decision-making. These practices reaffirm that reality in documentary emerges through shared authorship and transformative dialogue, rather than being bestowed by external experts.

A critical dimension often overlooked in participatory paradigms is the challenge of documenting embodied knowledge—the tacit, sensory, and motor dimensions integral to many artisanal traditions. Tim Ingold (2013, pp. 15–16) emphasizes that “making is thinking,” arguing that craft knowledge resides not in propositional language but in the body’s ongoing engagement with materials and tools. When documenting intangible cultural heritage—such as Jianshui purple pottery—verbal articulation of technique can only partially convey the complex interplay of gesture, rhythm, and tactility. Researchers have thus turned to sensory ethnography methods, using firstperson camera rigs to approximate artisans’ vantage points, slow-motion sequences to reveal the nuance of hand gestures, and macro cinematography to foreground material textures and transformations (Pink, 2015, pp. 78–82). These techniques allow audiences to perceive the tacit logic of craft practice, fostering a deeper, more experiential understanding of reality that goes beyond surface aesthetics.

James Clifford’s (1988) notion of partial truths further problematizes any monolithic claim to reality. Clifford argues that ethnographic and documentary narratives are necessarily selective and reflective of the positionalities and perspectives of those who construct them (Clifford, 1988, p. 5). Embracing this inherent partiality enables filmmakers to present multiple, sometimes conflicting, viewpoints—such as intergenerational debates over innovation versus tradition—not as flaws but as authentic expressions of a living culture. By sequencing contrasting testimonies or juxtaposing differing ritual interpretations side by side, filmmakers can honour the polyvocality of cultural practice, acknowledging that reality is not a singular endpoint but an ongoing, contested process (Clifford, 1988, p. 7).

Bruno Latour’s (2005, pp. 79–87) Actor–Network Theory (ANT) expands the lens of reality to include material agency. ANT rejects human exceptionalism, positing that objects, tools, and environments—collectively termed “actants”—actively participate in sociocultural processes. In the context of purple pottery, the red clay’s plasticity, the potter’s wheel’s inertia, and the kiln’s thermal dynamics are all actants that coproduce aesthetic outcomes and technical constraints. Documentaries informed by ANT treat these non-human elements as co-authors of narrative: close-up shots of clay deformation under hands, ethnographic narration of kiln behaviour, and mapped networks of tool–material interactions all foreground material agency as integral to reality. By doing so, ANT-inspired documentaries demonstrate that reality emerges from human–non-human entanglements rather than from human intention alone.

Despite the richness of these theoretical perspectives, few practical frameworks exist for systematically assessing the density and dynamics of reality in participatory heritage films. Sarah Pink (2007, pp. 102–105) introduces reality matrices that rate process elements such as participants’ narrative control, transparency of decision points, and integration of material processes. Michael Duffy and Geoff Waitt (2013, pp. 412–415) argue for similar evaluative rubrics that capture the qualitative richness of negotiated reality, yet these tools remain under-utilized in field-work contexts. There is a pressing need for more robust, user-friendly methods that can guide researchers and community collaborators in designing and evaluating reality outcomes.

The advent of artificial intelligence in media production introduces additional complexities and opportunities. AI algorithms can expedite tasks such as transcription, semantic clustering, and rough-cut assembly, but they risk recentralizing authority if used without community oversight. Sasha Costanza-Chock’s (2020, pp. 5–10) Design Justice framework insists on community governance of AI tools, advocating for transparent algorithms, participant veto rights, and revocable data consents. In participatory documentary, AI can function as a reflexive prompt— for example, by generating visualizations of thematic co-occurrences across interviews or by mapping co-production networks of materials and gestures— provided that final editorial authority remains with participants. Ethical safeguards such as open-source code, algorithmic transparency, and iterative consent protocols are essential to ensuring that AI enhances rather than undermines local agency (Markham and Buchanan, 2012).

In sum, the literature converges on several key insights: reality in documentary is not a static truth to be uncovered but a dynamic process to be actively co-created; power and voice are central to how reality is negotiated; embodied and material practices require sensory and networked methodologies to be authentically represented; and new technologies must be integrated within frameworks of community governance to prevent the replication of existing inequities. The present study addresses the remaining gap by synthesizing these insights into an integrated four-dimensional model—discursive negotiation, embodied practice, material agency, and technological

co-creation—and by empirically operationalizing this model in the context of participatory documentation of Jianshui purple pottery. By doing so, it aims to provide both methodological guidance and theoretical clarity for researchers and practitioners committed to ethically robust, community-led heritage representation.

Methodology

This study employs a comprehensive, practice-led methodology that integrates participatory action research (PAR), visual ethnography, actor–network theory (ANT), hermeneutic analysis, and ethical AI co-creation to examine how dynamic reality is co-constructed in documentary practice. Conducted over a twelve-month residency in Jianshui, Yunnan, the research involved six master purple-pottery artisans, four apprentices, two local cultural officers, and the researcher as coinvestigators. From the outset, a shared authorship charter was co-drafted during preparatory meetings, outlining project goals, ethical governance structures, data ownership agreements, and evaluation criteria. Drawing on Freire’s (1970, pp. 72–73) dialogical praxis, these charter sessions rotated facilitation roles among participants to disrupt hierarchical dynamics and to document all decisions in a public workshop log, thus operationalising transparency and mutual accountability at the project’s inception (Nichols, 2010).

Reality Workshops and Framework Development

Fieldwork began with a three-week series of “reality workshops” held in community cultural centres. Each workshop lasted three hours and followed a structured agenda: (1) ice-breaker and trust-building activities; (2) individual free-listing of reality indicators; (3) small-group card-sorting exercises to cluster similar items; (4) participatory timeline mapping of the purple-pottery life cycle; and (5) large-group plenary debates to refine clusters into core themes. Over forty raw indicators— ranging from clay provenance (local, regional, imported) and hand-throwing cadence (slow, rhythmic, adaptive) to apprenticeship lineage, carved-inlaid decoration (阴刻 阳填), kiln architecture, wood-fuel type, workshop acoustics, and tea-ceremony integration—were generated. Through iterative clustering and consensus voting with colored marker dots, participants distilled these into six thematic pillars—material origin, embodied gesture, decorative technique, lineage continuity, environmental context, and ritual integration—that formed a living reality framework (Mitchell, 2011).

Sampling Strategy and Participant Roles

A maximum variation sampling approach (Patton, 2015) ensured diverse perspectives. Six master potters (age 60–75) were selected based on recognized expertise, community leadership, and willingness to mentor; four apprentices (age 18–25) represented emerging practitioners with varying degrees of technological fluency; and two cultural officers from local heritage institutions offered policy and management insights. This composition allowed the methodology to probe tensions between

tradition and innovation, conservation and commercialisation, and intergenerational knowledge transfer.

Self-Filming Protocols and Equipment

Following framework development, each participant received a package containing: a lightweight 4K action camera with wide-angle and macro lens attachments; a clip-on omnidirectional microphone; a head-mount rig for first-person perspective; extra batteries and SD cards; and a printed self-filming guide. Over eight weeks, participants recorded every production stage—clay mixing, wedging, wheel-throwing, carving, inlaying, glazing, and ceremonial firing—uploading footage weekly via a mobile tether to a secure cloud repository. To standardise metadata, filenames included participant ID, date, stage code (e.g., “Wedging”), and take number. Selffilmed material captured the embodied knowledge that verbal interviews cannot convey (Ingold, 2013, p. 15). Weekly group viewings were held in rotating workshop venues: each clip was screened, paused for annotations of critical moments—optimal clay moisture, wrist-angle shifts, tactile feedback loops—and transcribed into a collaborative digital spreadsheet alongside time-stamped audio comments and written fieldnotes.

Observational Videography and Contextual Filming

In tandem, the research team conducted observational videography to contextualise embodied gestures. Over four months, the team used DSLRs with macro lenses for material close-ups, gimbals for smooth pans of workshop interiors, slider rails for detailed process shots, and drones for aerial mapping of clay quarries and communal firing grounds. Observational sequences documented environmental conditions— ambient humidity and temperature logs recorded via digital sensors, wood-smoke density measures, and acoustical profiles of workshop sounds—that directly influenced pottery outcomes. These clips were edited into biweekly screening reels juxtaposed with self-filmed footage, prompting reflexive discussions about representational fidelity and insider–outsider perspectives.

Actor–Network Mapping

To trace the interplay of human and non-human agencies, the study incorporated Actor–Network Theory (Latour, 2005). Quarterly ANT workshops convened participants and the research team in a large visual mapping exercise: flipcharts and sticky-note arrays were used to construct actor–network diagrams for each production phase. Nodes represented practitioners, apprentices, clay sources (with geolocation data), wheels, carving tools, kilns, fuel types, and ambient variables; links depicted material flows, gesture trajectories, dialogical exchanges, and technological interferences. Networks were iteratively updated after each filming cycle, capturing how material agencies—clay plasticity, wheel inertia, kiln draft patterns—influenced craft gestures and the film’s narrative emphasis.

Ethical AI Co-Creation

Integration of artificial intelligence tools followed Design Justice principles

(Costanza-Chock, 2020), ensuring community governance of algorithmic processes. Workshop dialogues, interview transcripts, and fieldnotes were transcribed and processed via open-source NLP libraries (e.g., spaCy, Gensim) to generate semantic cluster diagrams, co-occurrence networks, and sentiment timelines. These AI artefacts—visualised through interactive dashboards—were presented in special AI workshops where participants critiqued algorithmic groupings, challenged misclassifications (e.g., equating “heritage tourism” with “cultural dilution”), merged or discarded clusters, and proposed new thematic labels rooted in local terminologies. Participant veto was absolute: no AI suggestion was adopted without explicit consensus, preserving epistemic sovereignty (Markham and Buchanan, 2012).

Collaborative Editing Councils

Editing occurred via a sequence of reflexive edit councils, convened every six to eight weeks in community halls. Councils included master artisans, apprentices, cultural officers, the researcher, and a technical facilitator. Rough cuts—assembled in Adobe Premiere Pro CC with labelled sequences—were screened on large monitors alongside alternative versions to compare different framing, pacing, color grading, and soundscapes. Each council followed a structured protocol: (1) silent viewing; (2) individual annotation with timestamped comments; (3) round-robin sharing of first impressions; (4) thematic discussion anchored by the reality framework; (5) consensus voting on sequence inclusion, alteration, or deletion; and (6) documentation of all decisions in an edit metadata ledger. This ledger, stored in a version-controlled repository, recorded proposer names, rationales, and links to raw footage, creating a transparent audit trail of co-authorship.

Hermeneutic Analysis

Concurrent with editing, hermeneutic analysis (Ricoeur, 1981) underpinned interpretation of symbolic and affective dimensions. Iterative hermeneutic sessions, led by the researcher and joined by rotating participant sub-groups, oscillated between micro-readings of specific sequences—such as an artisan’s rhythmic humming during wheel-throwing—and macro-level narrative reinterpretations of film structure. These sessions produced hermeneutic memos—documented observations linking visual motifs to oral histories of lineage, place attachment, and ritual significance—which were appended to the reflexive archive to inform subsequent filming and editing decisions.

Iterative Consent and Ethical Governance

Ethical rigor was maintained through an iterative consent model, extending beyond initial informed-consent forms to ongoing renegotiation at each project milestone— reality workshops, self-filming orientation, AI sessions, edit councils, and public screenings. Participants had the right to withdraw footage, veto AI-derived insights, revise fieldnotes, or request re-filming at any stage, embodying relational accountability and acknowledging trust as an evolving dynamic (Gubrium and Harper, 2013).

Integrated Data Analysis and Reality Matrix

Data analysis was woven into the production cycle. The reality framework informed thematic coding of transcripts and fieldnotes; actor–network maps guided network and discourse analysis; AI visualizations prompted new inquiry lines; hermeneutic memos shaped interpretive focus; and reality matrix ratings monitored the evolution of negotiated reality. The matrix—adapted from Pink (2007)—rated sequences on criteria such as “visibility of negotiation,” “material process clarity,” “embodied gesture legibility,” and “technological reflexivity.” Scores (1–5 scale) were plotted across successive film versions to visualize how negotiated reality intensified over time, providing transparent feedback loops during edit councils.

Three-Phase Fieldwork Design

The methodology unfolded in three overlapping phases that allowed deep immersion and seasonal variation capture:

• Phase 1 (Months 1–3): Rapport building, reality workshops, co-design of selffilming protocols.

• Phase 2 (Months 4–8): Intensive co-creation—self and observational filming, AI-inflected data workshops, reflexive edit councils, hermeneutic sessions.

• Phase 3 (Months 9–12): Community screenings, final edits (version 1.1 integrating feedback), reflexive archive completion, and impact evaluation via focus groups and participant surveys.

This extended timeline facilitated trust development, allowed observation of dry-and wet-season craft cycles, and supported multiple feedback loops, reinforcing the study’s emphasis on processual, relational reality.

By interweaving participatory co-creation, sensory documentation, material-network analysis, ethical AI governance, reflexive editing, hermeneutic interpretation, iterative consent, and integrated analysis into a cohesive practice-led design, this study operationalises a four-dimensional framework of dynamic reality. The resulting documentary stands not only as a polished film but as a living archive and ongoing collaborative inquiry—demonstrating that reality is a visible, negotiable, and emergent achievement realized through transparent, materially attuned, and ethically governed processes.

Discussion & Analysis

The collaborative documentary production process carried out in Jianshui offered a compelling illustration of how reality is not a static or inherent quality of cultural representation, but rather a negotiated, relational, and evolving construct. Through the integration of participatory practices, sensory ethnography, material engagement, and ethically moderated artificial intelligence tools, this study developed and operationalised a four-dimensional framework for dynamic reality—comprising

discursive negotiation, embodied practice, material agency, and technological cocreation. In this section, I critically analyse how these dimensions interacted across the phases of the research and production process and assess their implications for documentary theory and practice within the context of intangible cultural heritage.

From the outset, discursive negotiation played a central role in shaping both the structure and the content of the documentary. During the initial reality workshops, artisans and apprentices engaged in collective exercises to define what counted as “authentic” in their own practice. These sessions did not seek a fixed definition, but rather provided a platform for disagreement and articulation of differing values. For instance, generational differences emerged over the use of electric wheels and new glaze technologies. Older artisans often associated reality with fidelity to ancestral methods, while younger practitioners advocated for adaptive practices as a means of economic survival. Rather than suppressing these differences, the editing councils chose to present them side-by-side in the final film through a split-screen montage format and voiceover layering. This approach aligned with James Clifford’s (1988) notion of “partial truths,” embracing polyvocality and conflict as constitutive elements of authentic representation rather than as obstacles to coherence.

Nichols’s (2010) typology of participatory documentary was also affirmed through this process, particularly in how the film embraced subject–filmmaker collaboration as a reflexive practice. In several edit council meetings, participants rejected narrative voiceovers that appeared too polished or “external,” and instead opted for spoken commentary recorded during group discussions and post-screening reflections. This emphasis on process visibility—showing moments of disagreement, confusion, and uncertainty—challenged conventional cinematic aesthetics but reinforced the participants’ desire for reality to be understood as an unfolding, negotiated reality. The documentary thus foregrounds what Nichols (2010) calls “the social actor as cocreator,” using form as a vehicle for dialogic truth-making.

Parallel to discursive negotiation, embodied practice emerged as a fundamental vector of reality. Drawing on Ingold’s (2013) proposition that “making is thinking,” the use of first-person filming allowed artisans to record their movements, gestures, and rhythms from their own perspective, transforming bodily routines into narrative components. A particularly revealing example involved the shaping of a pot’s lip. The artisan described the moment not in technical terms, but metaphorically, stating “the lip should feel like calling your child’s name across a mountain.” When played back in slow motion, the footage revealed a synchrony between the artisan’s breathing and hand movement that would not have been visible from an observational camera. This footage was not only included in the final edit, but also became the subject of a group discussion that led to the inclusion of ambient breathing sound as an additional audio track. By doing so, the film rendered visible what Pink (2015) calls “the felt dimensions of experience,” validating embodied practice as both narrative and epistemological structure.

The visibility of tacit knowledge also generated new understandings of reality beyond formal technique. For instance, during the glazing process, one artisan was filmed singing softly while turning a vessel—a routine he said helped him remember the recipe ratio. Another artisan used the shadow cast by a window frame as a guide for centring his wheel. These moments, initially unintentional, became emblematic of what participants referred to as “the soul of the work.” Their inclusion in the final cut, along with interpretive subtitles and commentary, reinforced that reality resides not only in the finished object but in the micro-practices that surround and shape it.

Thirdly, material agency was foregrounded throughout the film, not merely as context, but as a co-actor in the narrative structure. The Actor–Network Theory (Latour, 2005) workshops facilitated a reconfiguration of agency by mapping the interactions between humans and materials—clay, water, kiln fire, tools, and environmental conditions. In one instance, a firing went awry when a sudden change in wind direction altered the heat distribution within the wood-fired kiln. Instead of cutting this sequence from the film, the artisans chose to narrate the experience as an example of “kiln temper,” a term they used to describe the unpredictable yet essential force of fire. The edited sequence included both infrared thermal imagery and participant narration, emphasising that the kiln is not merely a tool, but a volatile collaborator. This decision challenged traditional representations of mastery and instead presented reality as a capacity to respond to and collaborate with unpredictable material conditions.

The documentation of material agency also had implications for heritage discourse. In UNESCO frameworks, reality is often linked to replication of form and technique, yet this project demonstrates that the interaction with material affordances—including error, resistance, and transformation—is itself a marker of living heritage. As one participant put it, “reality is not doing the same thing over and over; it is knowing how to listen when the clay speaks differently.” Such statements align with the growing literature on the material turn in documentary (Balsom, 2017), which foregrounds objects and materials as narrative actors.

The fourth dimension, technological co-creation, proved both ethically complex and theoretically generative. The incorporation of AI tools—specifically semantic clustering of interviews and visualisation of theme networks—was approached cautiously. Participants initially expressed scepticism about whether these tools would “distort” or “flatten” the emotional nuance of their words. However, through iterative workshops, they came to see AI outputs as tools for reflection rather than judgment. For example, an early AI clustering grouped references to “tradition,” “efficiency,” and “family” under a single node. This was contested by artisans, who felt that while these terms often appeared together, they belonged to different cultural registers. The group revised the clusters manually and used the process to discuss how linguistic proximity does not always signify conceptual alignment.

This moment underscores what Costanza-Chock (2020) advocates in Design Justice: that technology must be subject to community governance and treated as one actor among many in a participatory design system. The AI visualisations were later incorporated into the documentary as layered infographics, not to assert analytical authority, but to show how meaning was continually re-negotiated. In this way, the film does not merely use AI—it reflects on its use, modelling a meta-critical stance toward technological authorship and its relationship to reality.

Across these four dimensions, the evolving nature of reality was continuously assessed using a tailored reality matrix (Pink, 2007; Duffy and Waitt, 2013). Each rough cut of the documentary was rated across five axes: (1) diversity of voice; (2) embodiment of tacit knowledge; (3) visibility of non-human agency; (4) transparency of editorial negotiation; and (5) participant control over technology. Scores were plotted longitudinally to visualise progress over time. Notably, the final edit (version 1.1) showed significant improvement in non-human agency and editorial transparency after participants requested the inclusion of kiln failure sequences and council meeting audio excerpts. These metrics helped participants understand reality not as a destination but as an accumulative process—a form of reflexive accumulation.

Community screenings of the film reinforced this dynamic. In one rural village event, elders requested more representation of traditional songs, while younger audiences wanted subtitles for the workshop slang. These divergent responses were documented and integrated into the 1.1 version. The decision to add a QR code linking to an extended archive of behind-the-scenes materials—including self-filming journals, AI outputs, and workshop logs—transformed the film into a multimodal reality platform, inviting viewers to become part of the reflexive cycle.

In conclusion, the documentary production process in Jianshui illustrates that reality is not captured—it is constructed through iterative, reflexive, and dialogic collaboration. By weaving together discursive negotiation, embodied documentation, material agency, and ethical technological co-creation, the project developed a relational and actionable model for reality that can inform future heritage documentation and visual anthropology. This four-dimensional framework challenges prevailing assumptions about documentary truth and offers a robust methodology for rendering reality not as a static quality, but as an emergent, participatory practice.

Conclusion

This study has proposed and tested a four-dimensional model of dynamic reality within the context of participatory documentary, focusing on the co-creative representation of purple pottery artisans in Jianshui. Through a combination of visual ethnography, participatory action research, actor–network theory and hermeneutic analysis, the research has shown that reality is not a stable cultural essence but a processual, negotiated outcome that emerges at the intersection of discourse, embodiment, materiality, and technology. The findings emphasise that authentic

representation in documentary is not simply about faithful depiction, but about the visibility of representational processes, the inclusivity of voice, and the reflexive accommodation of ambiguity and conflict (Clifford, 1988; Latour, 2005; Nichols, 2010).

By involving artisans as co-authors across all stages of filming and editing, the study demonstrates how participatory structures can redistribute narrative authority and foster cultural self-representation. Moreover, the integration of AI as a reflexive and contestable tool—rather than a deterministic system—has opened new possibilities for participatory interpretation and semantic negotiation (Costanza-Chock, 2020). The reflexive archive produced alongside the final film offers a model for transparency and ethical co-creation, aligning with broader debates on representation, consent, and epistemic justice.

Ultimately, the study contributes a methodological and theoretical framework that can be adapted to other forms of intangible cultural heritage documentation. By framing reality not as a fixed standard but as a dynamic relational practice, the research offers an alternative to essentialist narratives, proposing instead a participatory documentary practice that is grounded, negotiated, and open-ended

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Embodied Interaction to Transmedia Storytelling: Recreation and Re-presentation of Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age

Jiaying Huang

Abstract

This study focuses on the re-creation and re-presentation of Guangdong's intangible cultural heritage in the digital age. Based on embodied cognition theory, cross-media narrative theory, and cultural symbol construction perspectives, it systematically explores the translation and reshaping of intangible cultural heritage in digital environments. The study focuses on three aspects: the role of embodied interaction in stimulating the perception and translation of intangible cultural heritage elements; the pathways for reconstructing the meaning of intangible cultural heritage in a multiplatform communication environment through cross-media narrative; and the driving logic behind the reconstruction of intangible cultural heritage symbols in digital contexts and the necessity of contemporary expression. The significance of this study lies in addressing the current issues in intangible cultural heritage dissemination practices, such as superficial symbolisation, weak emotional

connections, and insufficient interdisciplinary integration. It proposes a framework for the re-creation of intangible cultural heritage that integrates experience, cognition, and narrative interaction. By emphasising the core role of embodied experience and crossmedia storytelling in cultural symbol construction, this study aims to deepen the connection between intangible cultural heritage and contemporary social emotional experiences, thereby promoting the living transmission and innovative regeneration of intangible cultural heritage.

This study primarily employs narrative inquiry as its research method, combining embodied ethnography and participatory observation approaches to focus on the exploration of the generation and flow of cultural symbols. It also integrates perspectives from semiotics, communication studies, and design research to construct a systematic theoretical framework and practical model, providing theoretical basis and practical references for the innovative expression of Guangdong intangible cultural heritage in the digital age.

Keywords: Embodied Cognition; Transmedia Storytelling; Cultural Symbol Construction; Intangible Cultural Heritage Re-creation

1 Introduction

1.1 Research Theme and Background

In the context of rapid globalisation and digitalisation, intangible cultural heritage is gradually losing its natural breeding ground in traditional contexts. Guangdong Province is home to a rich variety of intangible cultural heritage resources, such as lion dancing and Cantonese opera, but in contemporary society, it faces increasingly prominent challenges in terms of inheritance and dissemination. How to revitalise the contemporary expression of intangible cultural heritage through digital media and enable its continued transmission and regeneration in modern society has become an important issue in current cultural research and practice.

This study focuses on the re-creation and re-presentation of intangible cultural heritage in the digital age, seeking to explore how Guangdong's intangible cultural heritage can achieve the extension and reconstruction of cultural meaning through embodied experiences and multi-media narratives, thereby constructing a new cultural symbol system with contemporary significance. Specifically, the core question of this study is: In a digital and mediatised society, how can Guangdong's intangible cultural heritage leverage embodied interaction and cross-media narratives to construct new cultural symbols, thereby achieving contemporary expression and sustained transmission of culture?

This question arises from a reflection on the sustainability of traditional ICH transmission methods. The continuity of intangible cultural heritage should not rely solely on static preservation and archiving, but should instead leverage innovative narrative mechanisms and dynamic experiential logic to embed culture in contemporary contexts in a more vibrant manner (Smith, 2006). Currently, many intangible cultural heritage digitisation projects have failed to effectively address issues such as emotional disconnect, formal monotony, and lack of interactivity in cultural transmission, leaving intangible cultural heritage vulnerable to commodification and exhibitionism.

Therefore, this study proposes a methodology for the re-creation of intangible cultural heritage based on the integration of embodied experience and multimedia narrative, aiming to construct a theoretical framework that connects experience, narrative, and recreation. This framework not only addresses the shortcomings of contemporary intangible cultural heritage digital dissemination in terms of emotional connection and meaning construction but also provides a theoretical basis and practical path for the living inheritance and innovative expression of intangible cultural heritage in contemporary society.

1.2 Theoretical Framework

This study will construct an overall research framework from the following three mutually supportive theoretical perspectives:

(1) Embodied Cognition Theory

Embodied cognition theory argues that cognition does not originate solely from brain activity but is also closely related to bodily perception and action (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999). The body plays an active role in the cognitive process and serves as an important medium for the construction of cultural meaning. Intangible cultural heritage, as an embodied form of knowledge transmission, is typically passed down through generations via sensory channels such as movements, skills, sounds, and touch. In digital media environments, embodied interaction (e.g., motion capture and haptic experiences) can extend and activate the sensory experiences of intangible cultural heritage, offering new pathways for cultural re-creation (Niedenthal, 2007).

(2) Transmedia Storytelling Theory

Transmedia storytelling refers to the telling of a unified and expanding story across different media channels, enabling audiences to gain complementary experiences in a multi-platform environment (Jenkins, 2006). Traditional ICH dissemination relies on a single medium, such as oral transmission or performance; however, the digital age requires revitalisation through multi-platform narrative methods such as video, AR/VR,

and social media. Transmedia storytelling strategies help break down media boundaries, empowering intangible cultural heritage to achieve dynamic dissemination and meaning expansion in multi-dimensional digital spaces (Scolari, 2009).

(3) Cultural Symbol Construction Theory

Cultural symbolism posits that symbols are not merely tools for conveying information but also processes through which cultural meanings are continuously generated and reshaped (Hall, 1997). In the digital age, the symbolic systems of intangible cultural heritage should not be confined to traditional reproductions but must innovate and be recoded within new media contexts. Through embodied interaction and cross-media narratives, traditional intangible cultural heritage elements can reshape their symbolic forms and cultural meanings in contemporary society, thereby achieving the sustained activation of culture.

In summary, embodied cognition theory, cross-media narrative theory, and cultural symbol construction theory provide a comprehensive framework for this study's systematic exploration of the mechanisms underlying the digital re-creation of intangible cultural heritage, addressing cognitive mechanisms, narrative strategies, and the generation of cultural meaning from three distinct dimensions(Figure 1).

1.3 Research Objectives

This study establishes the following two primary objectives:

(1) To construct a framework for the re-creation of Guangdong intangible cultural heritage (ICH) that integrates embodied cognition and cross-media narrative theory, and to systematically analyse the mechanisms through which embodied experiences and cross-media narratives influence the cognition and dissemination of ICH.

(2) Based on theoretical exploration and case analysis, to propose preliminary strategic recommendations for the digital re-creation of ICH, with the aim of promoting the

Figure 1. Theoretical framework (author's own illustration)

reproduction of cultural meaning and contemporary social emotional connections.

Through the above two objectives, this study aims to provide new theoretical support and practical references for the digital transformation of intangible cultural heritage, and to promote the organic integration of theoretical exploration and practical guidance. At the same time, it is hoped to break away from the traditional focus on ‘preservation’ and ‘exhibition’ in intangible cultural heritage research, and shift towards a dynamic logic of ‘experience-narrative-recreation,’ thereby providing feasible pathways for the sustained revitalisation and innovative development of intangible cultural heritage in contemporary society.

1.4 Transformative Research Questions

The transformative research question posed by this study is: How does Guangdong intangible cultural heritage construct cultural symbols in a digital environment where embodied interaction and cross-media narratives intersect, thereby achieving the reproduction of meaning and the reconstruction of cultural identity? This question highlights the transformation of intangible cultural heritage from a ‘protected object’ to a ‘participatory re-creative subject’; it also challenges the traditional digital preservation model dominated by visual reproduction, emphasising the central role of embodied experience and cross-media narrative in cultural transmission.

Compared with existing digitalisation projects for intangible cultural heritage (Smith & Akagawa, 2009), this study is the first to systematically propose a method chain for cultural symbol innovation and reproduction based on embodied experience and combined with cross-media narrative strategies, providing new theoretical breakthroughs and practical paths for the digital revitalisation of intangible cultural heritage and the reconstruction of cultural identity.

In summary, this study takes Guangdong intangible cultural heritage as its research object, integrates embodied cognition, cross-media narrative, and cultural symbol construction theories, adopts qualitative research methods, and conducts a systematic investigation around the three dimensions of ‘experience—narrative—meaning.’ By constructing a theoretical framework, analysing actual cases, and proposing practical strategies, this study aims to promote the innovative regeneration of intangible cultural heritage in the digital age and contribute new theoretical perspectives and application references for the protection of cultural diversity and sustainable cultural development.

2 Literature Review

This chapter aims to systematically review and critically analyse relevant research on embodied cognition theory, cross-media narrative theory, cultural symbol construction theory, and the digital recreation of intangible cultural heritage. By reviewing existing research findings, this chapter identifies areas of consensus and controversy, clarifies the theoretical basis and practical significance of this study, and identifies gaps and shortcomings in existing research to further establish the starting point and innovative value of this study.

2.1 Embodied Cognition Theory and the Experience of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Embodied cognition theory emphasizes that cognition is not merely a mental process but an integrated process of interaction between the body and the environment (Lakoff and Johnson, 1999). The body is not only a channel for perception but also a crucial medium for the construction of cultural meaning. Additionally, Niedenthal (2007) noted that emotional experiences themselves are embodied cognitive processes. In the field of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), Champion (2015) further explored how interactive digital cultural heritage experiences can internalise cultural values through gamified participation, demonstrating the interpretive potential of bodily interaction in virtual narratives. Hou and Kenderdine (2022) argue that ICH projects should place greater emphasis on cultural transmission through bodily practices, highlighting the importance of multi-sensory experiences such as movement, sound, and touch. Embodied cognition theory helps us understand how humans construct cultural cognition through bodily experiences, which is crucial for the transmission of intangible cultural heritage.

Although embodied cognition theory provides a theoretical foundation for ICH experience design, its practical application currently faces limitations. Radianti et al. (2020) point out that many immersive technology projects, despite claiming to enhance the experiential quality, often remain at the superficial level of visual and auditory stimulation, neglecting more complex sensory dimensions such as touch and kinesthetic perception. Additionally, Pietroni (2025) criticises some digital projects for superficially replicating traditional movements without conveying the underlying cultural emotions and cognitive structures.

This study addresses the shortcomings of existing embodied experience design by emphasising the design of multimodal, contextualised, and emotion-driven interactive experiences to activate cognitive and emotional connections to intangible cultural heritage at the bodily level, thereby avoiding the replacement of authentic experiences with visual reproductions.

2.2 Cross-media Narrative and the Transmission of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Cross-media narrative, proposed by Jenkins (2006), refers to the telling of a unified and expanded story across multiple media platforms, enabling audiences to gain complementary experiences across different media. Scolari (2009) further emphasises that cross-media narrative is not merely a communication strategy but a process of restructuring symbolic systems. In the field of intangible cultural heritage, Yan (2024) and Ribeiro et al. (2024) explored the application of virtual museums, augmented reality, and gamification in the dissemination of intangible cultural heritage, aiming to enhance audience immersion and engagement through cross-platform storytelling.

The application of cross-media narrative in ICH dissemination also faces significant controversies. Some scholars argue that cross-media narrative may strip ICH of its original context and historical background, leading to misinterpretation and alienation of culture (Ginsburg, 2000). Papagiannakis et al. (2024) point out that cross-media projects lacking an overall narrative framework are prone to information fragmentation, disconnect between content experienced across different platforms, and hinder the integration and transmission of cultural meaning. Pietroni (2025) criticises some projects for over-emphasising entertainment at the expense of the historical depth and cultural significance of ICH narratives. However, Jenkins (2006) argues that crossmedia storytelling not only expands the audience but also revitalises cultural vitality. Bourriaud (2002) proposed the concept of ‘relational aesthetics,’ which emphasises aesthetic experiences involving participation and intersubjective interaction. In crossmedia narratives of intangible cultural heritage, the context is jointly constructed through the interactive behaviour of users and forms a social aesthetic process in cultural exchange.

In introducing cross-media narrative strategies, this study will particularly emphasise narrative consistency and the continuity of cultural emotions, designing coherent narrative paths to ensure content complementarity and emotional coherence across different media, and avoiding fragmented dissemination. Additionally, through multiplatform collaboration, the study aims to expand and reproduce the cultural significance of intangible cultural heritage.

2.3 Cultural Symbol Construction and the Reconstruction of Intangible Cultural Heritage Meaning

Cultural symbol theory posits that symbols not only convey information but are also continuously reinterpreted and reconstructed through social interaction (Hall, 1997). In the digital environment, the symbolic meaning of intangible cultural heritage is also constantly being reshaped in new contexts. Hou et al. (2022) point out that the

digitalisation process has provided new possibilities for the construction of intangible cultural heritage symbols, but it also brings the risk of detachment from the original context. Xu and Wei (2022) found through their study of intangible cultural heritage tourism projects that the process of symbol reconstruction often leads to the phenomenon of ‘cultural flattening,’ where the originally rich and complex cultural meanings are simplified into consumption symbols.

In the process of symbol construction, Zhang et al. (2021) criticised some projects for overly simplifying and commercialising traditional symbols to enhance market acceptability, resulting in the loss of cultural meaning. Sun et al. (2024) emphasised the necessity of ensuring that symbol reconstruction reflects the authentic experiences and values of cultural communities through local participation and community collaboration. The debate in the literature primarily centres on whether digitalisation can achieve innovation while maintaining cultural authenticity (Couldry, 2010), and how to avoid misinterpretation and alienation of original cultural meanings during the digital reconstruction process.

This study explicitly takes embodied experience as its foundation, adopts cross-media narrative as its approach, and incorporates participatory design principles into the symbol construction process. It respects the cultural agency of the community, promotes the organic unity of symbol innovation and cultural continuity, and avoids the dilution or alienation of cultural meanings.

2.4 Digital Innovation in Intangible Cultural Heritage and Existing Research Gaps

In recent years, with the rapid development of technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI), the digital preservation and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage have exhibited diverse trends (Hou and Kenderdine, 2022; Ribeiro et al., 2024). Technological innovations have brought about significant changes in the ways intangible cultural heritage is displayed and experienced, enabling traditional culture to transcend the constraints of time and space.

A notable example is the immersive virtual restoration project of the Dunhuang murals (Sun et al., 2024), which, through high-precision modelling and immersive narrative design, has achieved the vivid recreation of historical knowledge and educational expansion, demonstrating the potential of immersive technology in the inheritance of cultural heritage. Such explorations have injected new vitality into the modern dissemination of intangible cultural heritage and promoted the integration of digital technology and traditional culture. However, as Pietroni (2025) pointed out, technological innovation alone is insufficient to ensure deep experiences and effective transmission. While many current projects have achieved breakthroughs in technical

presentation, they still lack narrative design, cultural meaning reproduction, and integration of experiential perception, making it difficult to stimulate the public's emotional identification with and awareness of the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

First, current intangible cultural heritage (ICH) digitisation projects often overemphasise technological innovation while neglecting cultural depth and emotional experience (Hou and Kenderdine, 2022). Many projects focus on high-precision reconstruction or visual impact, but fail to adequately explore the social value and cultural spirit behind ICH, leaving audiences with a superficial sensory experience that lacks deep cultural resonance. Second, audiences in existing digital ICH experiences are mostly passive recipients, lacking mechanisms for active engagement and emotional resonance (Radianti et al., 2020). Traditional ICH transmission emphasizes physical participation and contextual experiences, yet many current digital projects remain one-way presentations, limiting audience emotional investment and the formation of cultural identity. Additionally, cross-media narrative applications often suffer from loose structures and weak cultural meaning construction (Papagiannakis et al., 2024). During multi-platform dissemination, the absence of a unified narrative logic and cultural cues leads to information fragmentation and emotional disconnect, weakening the coherence of intangible cultural heritage narratives and the generation of cultural symbols.

This study addresses the aforementioned issues by proposing a framework for the dynamic re-creation of intangible cultural heritage through digitalisation, centred on embodied experiences and narrative strategies. It emphasises the integration of cultural agency, narrative consistency, and emotional resonance mechanisms to drive the innovative expression and meaning reconstruction of intangible cultural heritage in the digital age.

This chapter systematically reviews relevant research in the fields of embodied cognition, cross-media narrative, cultural symbol construction, and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) digitisation. It identifies consensus and divergences in existing literature regarding theoretical deepening and practical application, and critiques issues such as superficial experiences, fragmented narratives, and the commodification of symbols in current projects. Based on the literature review, this study clarifies the necessity and innovation of constructing a framework for the digital revitalisation of intangible cultural heritage centred on the ‘embodied experience—cross-media narrative— cultural symbol construction’ framework, laying the theoretical foundation and practical direction for future research.

3 Research Methods

3.1 Narrative Inquiry and the Integration of Cross-Media Narratives

This chapter aims to systematically elaborate on the research methods adopted in this study and argue for their applicability and theoretical support in the context of digital re-creation of intangible cultural heritage. Considering that this study focuses on the contemporary expression and cultural identity reconstruction of Guangdong intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in the digital context, this study particularly emphasises the interactive relationships among dimensions such as embodied experience, multiplatform narratives, and user participation. Therefore, narrative inquiry is adopted as the core research method, and Henry Jenkins' (2006) theory of cross-media narratives is introduced as the analytical framework and practical guidance to ensure consistency across theoretical, methodological, and practical dimensions.

Narrative inquiry is a methodological approach that focuses on how the experiential world is narrated, understood, and reconstructed. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) argue that narrative is not merely a linguistic expression but a process through which individuals construct meaning about the world within specific cultural contexts. This approach was initially applied primarily in the fields of education and psychology, emphasizing the understanding of the interaction between subjects and their contexts through the telling of stories. However, with the evolution of media technologies and changes in cultural production methods, narrative inquiry has gradually been introduced into cultural studies and communication studies, becoming an important pathway for understanding cultural experiences, social identities, and the mechanisms of meaning generation（Riessman, 2008）.

This study is based on this expanded approach, extending the research logic of narrative inquiry from ‘individual experience narration’ to ‘cultural narrative practice.’ It focuses on how intangible cultural heritage is ‘re-told’in digital environments, how its narrative process unfolds in a non-linear manner across multiple media platforms, and how this narrative process influences the public's cultural perception and identity, thereby establishing deeper connections with audiences. Building on this, this study further introduces cross-media narrative theory as a key framework for analysing how intangible cultural heritage is expressed, expanded, and participated in across different media platforms.

Henry Jenkins (2006) proposed that cross-media narrative is a systemic storytelling process that distributes the core elements of a story across multiple communication

channels, with each medium contributing unique and irreplaceable content to the overall narrative, thereby constructing a unified and coordinated cultural experience system. In the context of intangible cultural heritage, this theory not only expands our understanding of how cultural content is disseminated but also provides a theoretical foundation for the transformation of intangible cultural heritage from linear reproduction to multi-dimensional participation, immersive experiences, and the construction of narrative universes. Unlike traditional intangible cultural heritage dissemination methods, which rely on single communication pathways and emphasise reproduction, cross-media narrative emphasises media collaboration, information nonredundancy, and user participation and re-creation, thereby injecting new vitality into intangible cultural heritage.

In this study, narrative inquiry and cross-media narrative are not two isolated and parallel concepts, but rather a dual structure that is logically intertwined and mutually supportive. To use an analogy, researchers use ‘narrative inquiry’ as a pair of glasses to observe ‘how intangible cultural heritage tells stories across media.’ In other words, cross-media storytelling is the specific ‘narrative practice form’ that the study aims to analyse, while narrative inquiry serves as the theoretical perspective and analytical framework for understanding this practice. By employing narrative inquiry as a methodological framework, this study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the multi-dimensional narrative logic, user participation mechanisms, and cultural recreation processes that emerge in the cross-media dissemination of intangible cultural heritage. This constitutes the core of the study's methodological design.

In research practice, this study will take representative digital ICH projects from Guangdong—such as digital lion dance, Cantonese opera AR interaction, and shortvideo platforms featuring intangible heritage content—as case studies. It will focus on analysing how these projects, within a cross-media environment, disrupt traditional linear narrative modes and construct a multi-platform collaborative "ICH story universe. For example, lion dance culture is traditionally experienced and passed down through live performances and folk festivals. In a cross-media context, its content may be presented in documentaries to trace its historical origins, in short videos to demonstrate training processes, in interactive installations to recreate physical movements, in social media to create fictional characters' “daily lives,” and in games to allow users to “operate” the lion head to complete rhythmic tasks. These platforms do not simply replicate each other but collectively construct a multi-perspective, participatory, and immersive cultural narrative system under the principle of non-redundancy.

To systematically analyse the operational mechanisms of cross-media narratives of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), this study draws on the seven core principles

proposed by Jenkins as a theoretical framework, focusing on key characteristics such as diversity, immersiveness, multi-perspective narratives, and user participation. It examines how ICH achieves content collaboration and meaning expansion across multiple platforms. Therefore, in practical terms, this study uses ‘narrative’ rather than ‘cultural objects’ as the basic unit of analysis. It focuses on the narrative forms, user participation behaviours, and emotional feedback mechanisms of intangible cultural heritage projects across different platforms. Through participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, the study collects narrative experiences from creators and users, analysing their narrative migration paths across different media, story restructuring methods, and cultural symbol re-creation processes. The research particularly examines how users actively reconstruct the cultural meaning of intangible cultural heritage through secondary creation and comment interactions in crossplatform interactions. This process is precisely the ‘social practice of meaning generation’emphasised by narrative inquiry and serves as the key mechanism for crossmedia narratives to achieve cultural revitalisation.

In summary, this study integrates the ‘narrative inquiry × cross-media narrative’ methodology to construct a research strategy that combines theoretical depth with practical adaptability. Narrative inquiry serves as the methodological foundation, guiding the research perspective on the generation of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) meaning and the construction of cultural identity. Cross-media narrative functions as the analytical framework, expanding the systematic observation pathways for the reconstruction, distribution, and re-creation of ICH content in digital environments. Together, these two approaches provide a robust foundation for the study's in-depth understanding of the digital transformation and cultural regeneration mechanisms of Guangdong's intangible cultural heritage.

3.2 Supplementary Applications from the Embodied Cognition Perspective

Although the core methods of this study are narrative inquiry and cross-media narrative, the theory of embodied cognition was introduced as a supplementary analytical dimension in the analysis of intangible cultural heritage digital experiences to address new changes in cultural perception and emotional connection mechanisms in digital media environments. Embodied cognition emphasises that cognitive processes are not confined to the brain but are deeply embedded in the body and the environment as a whole, forming a dynamic behavioural system (Varela, Thompson & Rosch, 1991). This theory has been widely applied in the fields of immersive media studies, digital museums, and cultural heritage communication, particularly emphasising the foundational role of multisensory participation, bodily presence, and spatial interaction in cultural understanding.

In the digital reproduction of intangible cultural heritage, embodied experience not only carries motor skills but also serves as an important mechanism for the generation and activation of cultural symbols. Many symbolic practices (such as postures, rhythms, and spatial arrangements) are reconstructed through immersive technologies and construct new paths of cultural identity through sensory interactions. Embodied cognition theory can explain how users construct cultural meaning through actionsensory-context interactions in these experiences, thereby avoiding issues such as ‘symbolic disembodiment’ and ‘emotional disconnection’ that often arise in the digitalisation process.

Especially in intangible cultural heritage projects involving haptic interaction, augmented reality, or multi-sensory immersive experiences, physical experiences have become an important pathway for cultural narratives to enter users' sensory perception systems. Users establish a ‘bodily understanding’ of intangible cultural heritage stories through physical movement, gesture participation, rhythm synchronisation, or spatial navigation. For example, in a VR lion dance experience, users control the lion's head movements to complete rhythmic tasks, not only obtaining story information but also experiencing the cultural aesthetics and values of ‘lion dancing’ through the rhythmic movements. Such experiences embody the core concept of embodied cognition that ‘the body is the carrier of meaning generation.’

From a methodological perspective, embodied cognition provides an important sensory dimension to narrative exploration. In the narrative analysis employed in this study, in addition to textual structure and semantic logic, we also examine users' bodily participation behaviours during the narrative process, such as their responses to specific actions, rhythms, or spatial configurations in interactive experiences. This allows us to capture how cultural symbols are “activated” and “re-identified” at the bodily level. The embodied cognition perspective emphasizes that ‘culture is not an object to be observed, but a process to be created,’ which aligns closely with the ‘participatory’ and ‘performative’ aspects of cross-media narratives.

Therefore, the introduction of embodied cognition theory not only enhances our understanding of the perception and meaning-making processes in intangible cultural heritage digital experiences but also expands the methodological scope of the definition of ‘narrative,’ encompassing not only linguistic and visual texts but also multimodal dimensions such as bodily actions, rhythmic synchronisation, and spatial interactions. This helps to further reveal how cultural meaning flows and is generated among the three elements of ‘narration—experience—identification,’ providing multi-sensory interpretative support for this study.

3.3 Methodological Reflection and Limitations

This study adopts narrative inquiry as its methodological foundation, integrating crossmedia narrative and embodied cognition theories. It examines the process of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) digital re-creation from three dimensions—cultural experience, media structure, and perceptual mechanisms—to construct a multi-dimensional, collaborative analytical framework. This methodological framework demonstrates strong theoretical applicability in explaining the meaning generation, narrative expansion, and user experience aspects of ICH digital re-creation. Despite its theoretical validity, the framework faces practical challenges and limitations in application.

Narrative inquiry heavily relies on the researcher's subjective interpretation, which may affect the objectivity and verifiability of the results; cross-media narrative theory faces challenges in tracing an integrative logic when dealing with the highly fragmented and non-linear communication pathways of contemporary digital platforms; while embodied cognition theory offers unique value in explaining the mechanisms of bodily participation in immersive experiences, its analytical dimensions may be limited under conditions lacking immersive technological support.

Therefore, this study emphasizes the complementary synergy among the three approaches in its methodological design and practical implementation: narrative inquiry guides the overall research trajectory, cross-media narrative theory constructs an analytical framework for platform structure and content relationships, and embodied cognition theory expands the experiential dimensions of user perception and behaviour. The aim is to achieve a dynamic balance between theoretical depth and methodological flexibility（Figure 2）

Figure 2. Integrated Methodological Framework

4 Analysis and Discussion

4.1 Performance and Reflections on the Methodological Framework in Practice

This study focuses on the topic of ‘the re-creation and re-presentation of Guangdong's intangible cultural heritage in the digital age.’ It constructs a qualitative research approach centred on narrative inquiry, combined with embodied cognition theory and a cross-media narrative perspective. This combination of methods corresponds to the three key dimensions of the research question: the mechanism of meaning generation in intangible cultural heritage (narrative inquiry), the immersive construction of cultural identity (embodied cognition), and the dissemination and reconstruction mechanisms of intangible cultural heritage in a multi-platform context (cross-media narrative).

Overall, this methodological framework demonstrates clear theoretical coherence and strong adaptability and flexibility in practice, effectively supporting the research questions posed in this study.

Specifically, the narrative exploration method is highly compatible with understanding the cultural experience structure of ICH practitioners, designers, and users. By collecting individual narratives and process descriptions of cultural participation, the study reveals the mechanism of ‘how culture is narrated and reorganised,’ addressing the dimension of ‘how individuals become cultural re-creators’ in ICH re-creation. This approach has also been validated in digital anthropology and cultural communication studies, emphasizing the theoretical value of ‘stories as practice’ (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000; Scolari, 2009).

The embodied cognition pathway is used to explain the key question of whether cultural identity can be generated through immersive experiences and bodily perceptions. In immersive experience projects, users establish an ‘action-space-meaning’ chain with intangible cultural heritage content through bodily movements, rhythm control, and spatial interaction. This pathway effectively responds to the trend of ‘body over language’ in identity construction (Varela, Thompson, and Rosch, 1991; Radianti et al., 2020). Nevertheless, embodied pathways still rely on narrative mechanisms to convey abstract cultural symbols.

Cross-media narrative theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding the structural logic of intangible cultural heritage across multiple channels such as video, VR, and social media (Jenkins, 2006). However, research has also found that in practice, narrative threads can be rewritten by users, and cultural structures can be reorganised by algorithms, leading to ‘context drift’ and ‘symbolic disjunction’ (Papagiannakis et al., 2024; Pietroni, 2025). Therefore, this study constructs a three-layer model of ‘core

cultural structure—translation mechanism—user feedback’ to enhance the consistency of meaning and cultural continuity across platforms（Figure 3）

Figure 3 Layered Negotiated Narrative Model for Digital ICH Transmission (author's own illustration)

In summary, the adopted methodological framework not only aligns well with the research questions but also demonstrates certain theoretical potential in practice. Researchers not only apply theory but also promote the dynamic evolution of methodological pathways through feedback mechanisms and strategic operations, thereby forming a constructive research paradigm.

4.2 From Physical Experience to Cultural Identity: Cognitive Structures and Emotional Channels in the Re-creation of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Physical experience is not merely a sensory mode of participation but also a crucial pathway for the construction of cultural cognition and the formation of emotional identity. Research observations reveal that users‘ responses to bodily movements, rhythmic structures, and spatial movements often precede cognitive recognition of cultural knowledge. This “pathway from body to culture” aligns with Varela et al.’s assertion that ‘the body is cognition’ (Varela, Thompson, and Rosch, 1991). This is particularly evident in interactions with intangible cultural heritage featuring strong physical movements, such as lion dance steps or drum rhythms, where users often express reactions like ‘the body knows what to do.’Such experiential feedback not only enhances immersion but also strengthens emotional belonging.

Previous studies have pointed out that embodied pathways can activate cultural resonance and a sense of ‘cultural co-presence’through multimodal interaction (Xu and Wei, 2022). However, when interactive experiences lack cultural context or symbolic compensation, they are prone to misinterpretation as ‘operation as experience’(Radianti et al., 2020). In practice, this study adopts a design approach combining ‘narrative embedding + spatial simulation + rhythm guidance’ to reconstruct the ‘body-spacemeaning’ perceptual chain, helping users transcend the superficial level of pure action and enter a cultural narrative context.

Of particular note is the theory of ‘identity-generating nodes’ proposed in the study, which refers to micro-cultural connection points generated through users‘ actions, rhythms, and spatial experiences during interaction. These nodes are not logically defined units set by technology, but rather critical moments when cultural experiences are “evoked” within users’ bodily perception systems. This perspective resonates with Sun et al. (2024)'s analysis of “body rhythm evoking historical memory” in the Dunhuang VR experience. This mechanism emphasizes that identity generation is a process intertwined with perception and cognition, and resonance between the body and emotions, and cannot be reduced to the outcomes of “viewing” or “learning.” Instead, it requires cultural resonance to be stimulated through immersion and participation.

Furthermore, embodied pathways not only facilitate the evocation of cultural belonging but may also provide a pathway for crossing and understanding cultural boundaries. Some participants, despite lacking a local cultural background in Guangdong, expressed a sense of participation akin to ‘becoming one of them’ through bodily simulation and interactive tasks. This phenomenon suggests that embodied pathways possess a certain cultural bridging function, capable of expanding the audience and interpretive space for intangible cultural heritage dissemination.

4.3 Practical Dilemmas and Reconstruction Pathways in Theoretical Integration: From Symbolic Discontinuity to Mediation Negotiation

Research has found that in the process of integrating embodied cognition, narrative inquiry, and cultural symbol construction, the three are not always consistent in practice. Theoretical pathways often encounter ‘symbolic disjunction’ due to contextual differences in the adaptation of media, user perception, and expression forms. For example, in short video platforms, lion dance movements are often simplified into challenge tasks or performances, losing their underlying ritualistic and symbolic meanings. This phenomenon is also reflected in Papagiannakis et al. (2024)'s study on “contextual disengagement presentation” in museum short videos.

While VR platforms support action participation and spatial narrative, they lack cultural explanatory structures; conversely, text-and-image communication, though information-rich, struggles to evoke immersive emotional engagement (Radianti et al., 2020; Pietroni, 2025). This reflects the challenge faced by cross-media narrative theory in practical applications: maintaining ‘non-redundant collaboration’of content (Jenkins, 2006). Research cases also exhibit a trend where ‘cultural depth diminishes progressively with each medium transition,’meaning that cultural meaning is gradually compressed into superficial actions or visual labels during medium diversification.

To address this dilemma, the study proposes a ‘layered negotiation-based narrative structure’: breaking down intangible cultural heritage content into three dimensions— ‘core narrative layer, interactive plot layer, and cultural interpretation layer’—and matching them with different media types for organic collaboration(Kalay, Kvan and Affleck, 2008). This approach has been methodologically validated in Xu and Wei (2022) on ‘media division of labour and cultural stability.’ For example, short videos are suitable for expressing symbolic cues and rhythm, immersive devices carry action structures, and graphic and text platforms reinforce background construction. This structure preserves cultural hierarchy while enhancing structural flexibility between platforms.

Importantly, this strategy is not a direct projection of a priori theoretical design, but rather an ‘operational reconstruction’ gradually generated through the researcher's participatory observation, experimental feedback, and path adjustments. Theory here is not a static integration, but rather ‘grows through doing.’This model offers a theoretical framework and methodological strategy for digital intangible cultural heritage design, tailored to the realities of the contemporary media ecosystem. As seen above, crossmedia narrative strategies should not only focus on content output but also on maintaining the connection between cultural layers and semantic coherence.

5 Conclusion

This study focuses on the re-creation and re-presentation of Guangdong’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in the digital era, examining how ICH is reconstructed within immersive contexts through the theoretical lenses of embodied cognition and transmedia storytelling. By constructing a three-dimensional methodological system— narrative inquiry × transmedia structure × embodied experience—the research explores the mechanisms through which cultural meaning is restructured, perceived, and identified in digital environments.

The findings reveal that embodied experience not only stimulates users’ sensory

engagement but also contributes to the generation of cultural identity through rhythm, movement, and spatial perception. Meanwhile, transmedia storytelling supports the formation of a coherent and non-redundant narrative system across multiple platforms. In practice, this study proposes two innovative strategies: “identity-generating nodes” and the “layered narrative coordination model”, which address common challenges in digital ICH projects such as symbolic fragmentation, contextual drift, and weakened emotional resonance.

This research seeks to expand the theoretical pathways of ICH dissemination and design in the digital cultural landscape, while also offering an integrative reference framework for related fields such as narrative experience design, cultural cognition and interaction, and human–computer embodied perception. It emphasises that the generation of cultural meaning is a cyclical process of “telling–experiencing–retelling”, and advocates for a shift in digital ICH expression from symbolic restoration to contextual embedding, and from display-oriented logic to participatory logic. By doing so, the study not only responds to the innovation needs of ICH in the context of digital transformation, but also provides practical methodological insights into the convergence of cultural narrative, immersive media research, and embodied interaction theory.

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How Do Internet Memes Shape and Disseminate Brand Image Among Generation Z

Audiences?

Lei Mao

Abstract: This study investigates how internet memes shape and disseminate brand image among Generation Z audiences. Memes, as a significant cultural phenomenon in the digital era, have emerged as a powerful marketing communication tool for brands. This research specifically focuses on Generation Z, a demographic deeply engaged in meme culture, actively utilizing memes for social interaction and identity expression. The core exploration centres on: how memes function as symbolic content within brand communication; how the emotional expressions embedded in memes resonate with Generation Z; and how participatory meme culture reshapes brand perception and user experience. Examining these key elements is essential to understanding contemporary shifts in brand communication and optimizing marketing strategies. The study proposes adopting a hybrid ethnographic approach, combining online and offline participant observation, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and multimodal data collection. Through qualitative analysis of meme-driven brand communication on social platforms such as TikTok and Twitch, the study aims to uncover how symbolic expressions, emotional resonance, and participatory remixing within memes drive Generation Z to reconstruct brand meanings and establish cultural identity. While memes have gained widespread application in brand marketing, academic research exploring

their specific impact on brand image construction remains limited, particularly from a usergenerated content (UGC) perspective. This study, therefore, seeks to fill this theoretical gap, offering practical guidance to businesses aiming to innovate their communication approaches in ways that effectively resonate with younger consumers.

Keywords: Internet memes, Meme marketing, Gen Z, Advertisement, Brand Image

Introduction

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, once remarked in a Clubhouse interview, “A picture says a thousand words, and maybe a meme says 10,000 words.” This comment vividly illustrates the immense power memes hold in the digital age. As Rathi and Jain (2024) noted, memes possess the potential to influence the world on multiple levels and have already permeated nearly every aspect of our daily lives. With the growing accessibility of meme-making applications, memes and stickers appear to have taken over livestreaming platforms, social media platforms, chat windows, and online conversations. This seemingly simple yet highly contagious form of expression is becoming an unignorable cultural language of the digital era.

Naturally, the cultural potential and communicative power of memes have attracted widespread attention from both academia and the advertising industry. Memes have become one of the most successful marketing communication tools and are even regarded as the simplest way to interact with target audiences (Malodia et al., 2022). Many brands have not only integrated memes into their marketing strategies and viewed them as shortcuts for crosscultural dissemination but have also begun appointing Chief Meme Officers (CMeOs), who work with dedicated content creators to produce brand texts and communication strategies aimed at meme-savvy younger audiences (Lemée, 2021), thereby accelerating the establishment of brand image among younger consumer groups. Similarly, a case study by Leistadius and Vall (2017) on KFC revealed that 5% of user-generated brand-related posts appeared in meme form, further confirming the significant potential of memes in brand promotion. These studies collectively suggest that memes have surpassed their function as a mere communication medium among young people, becoming a vital force in participatory brand construction.

However, despite the increasing popularity of memes as a branding strategy, their underlying mechanisms of virality and influence remain under-researched in academic discourse. In simple terms, current literature has not yet clearly identified what types of meme content are

most likely to contribute to brand image building and achieve widespread user engagement. At the same time, with the continuous evolution of digital business models, many “internetnative” brands (such as Twitch and TikTok live broadcasts) have emerged based on social media and livestreaming ecosystems, constantly reshaping the logic and media structure of brand communication.

The carriers of brand image have thus become increasingly diversified, no longer limited to product logos or advertising language, but including brand-associated influencers, short video accounts, live streamers, and similar figures. This diversification of carriers has blurred the boundaries of brand image, further intensifying the complexity of meme dissemination in the digital era and making it both more difficult and more necessary to explore the mechanisms by which meme marketing influences brand perception.

Based on the above background and research gap, the core research question of this study is: How do internet memes shape and disseminate brand image among Generation Z audiences? This exploratory study focuses on members of Generation Z who naturally engage with meme culture in emerging internet contexts. Through participant observation, it seeks to examine the symbolic functions, participatory roles, and identity-related dynamics of memes within brand communication. The study aims to uncover which content features and emotional stances in internet memes are more likely to resonate with users, ultimately influencing Generation Z’s perceptions and attitudes towards brand image and thereby filling a gap in the current literature.

To address this research question, the study will adopt the following theoretical frameworks: First, based on Shifman’s (2013, 2014) three-dimensional model of memes—comprising content, form, and stance—alongside her typology of meme dissemination (remix, mimicry, and memetic phrases), this study will analyse internet memes from the perspective of their symbolic content and emotional expression. On the branding level, it draws on Keller’s (1993) Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model, which emphasises that brand recognition is gradually built through consumers’ perceptions, associations, and experiences. Although the model does not directly address the role of internet memes, it provides a useful lens for analysing how memes may influence Generation Z’s brand cognition process.

Meanwhile, to understand the psychological motivations behind Generation Z’s active engagement with meme dissemination, this study incorporates Social Identity Theory and the

concept of virtual community belongingness (Kozinets, 2010). Memes are viewed as a means of expressing group identity, cultural belonging, and self-representation. In this process, memes serve as emotional bridges connecting brands, users, and communities, as audiences engage in brand-related remixing and co-creation through meme participation.

Literature review

Theoretical Origins of Memes

Defining Memes

Defining Memes The term "meme" was first conceptualised by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his seminal work The Selfish Gene (1976). Drawing explicit parallels with biological evolution, Dawkins defined memes as "units of cultural transmission" that replicate through imitation, spanning both tangible forms (e.g., melodies, clothing styles) and intangible ideologies (e.g., religious doctrines) (Dawkins, 1976).

Memes, much like genes, function as replicators that experience variation, competition, selection, and retention. This biological analogy posits that memes undergo Darwinian evolutionary processes: variation emerges through imperfect replication (e.g., regional adaptations of folk tales), selection occurs via social reinforcement mechanisms (e.g., algorithmic amplification on digital platforms), and retention depends on cultural embeddedness (e.g., enduring proverbs).

However, as academic scrutiny of this conceptual framework intensifies, scholars such as Sperber (1996) have challenged the equivalence between genes and memes. Sperber specifically argues that this analogy neglects human agency in consciously modifying cultural content during transmission—a process he terms "cultural reconstruction" rather than passive replication.

Meanwhile, a similarly marked divergence persists between the colloquial usage of "meme" among internet users and its academic conceptualisation. In cyberspace, the term "meme" primarily describes concepts presented through imagery, text, video or other cultural formats that experience rapid acceptance and dissemination (Shifman, 2013). This consequently leads us to posit that within popular discourse, memes typically denote ephemeral trends characterised by accelerated propagation.

Source: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sad-banana-cat

(Accessed: 3 May 2025)

For instance, the widely circulated meme template "Banana Crying Cat" (KnowYourMeme (2021)) demonstrates this phenomenon. Originating from a Facebook post uploaded by user Sin Achilles on 3 March 2021, which featured a compilation of cats wearing banana costumes, this meme template accumulated over 7,700 comments and 26,000 shares within two years. Its viral propagation primarily manifested through cross-meme hybridization— frequently co-occurring with the established "Happy Happy Cat" meme in fan-generated content—and contextual repurposing via text overlays (e.g., superimposing existential crisis captions).

Conversely, scholarly discourse predominantly focuses on memes exhibiting cultural persistence and enduring sociopolitical influence. For example, Brubaker et al. (2018) discuss the dissemination of political issues at a macro level through memes. Furthermore, although academic research treats memes as abstract and contested units of cultural analysis, internet users typically associate memes with tangible audiovisual forms, such as humorous images or videos shared online.

This perspective particularly influences Generation Z (Gen Z), who are digital natives (Dimock, 2019). According to Vogels, Gelles-Watnick and Massarat (2022), most Gen Z own smartphones (95%) and/or desktop or laptop computers (90%). Additionally, 97% use the internet daily, with 35% using social networking services "almost constantly" (p. 2).

Defining Internet Memes

To further clarify the phenomenon of memes in digital contexts, Limor Shifman (2014) proposes a distinct definition tailored specifically for internet memes. Shifman characterises internet memes as: (a) groups of digital items sharing identifiable commonalities in content,

form, or stance—for example, the LOLCats meme category consistently demonstrates a specific theme (cats), a recognisable format (photographic images with humorous captions), and a comedic stance; (b) items produced with explicit awareness of preceding memetic examples, such as creators of "cat-caption" images deliberately building upon established formats to continue cultural dialogues; and (c) digital items undergoing widespread distribution, imitation, or transformation via internet users, exemplifying a participatory mode of cultural expression.

Shifman situates internet memes within socially constructed public discourse, where different variants represent diverse voices and ideological positions. She emphasises that understanding memes requires analysing three replicable dimensions: content (ideas and ideologies), form (physical/aesthetic presentation including audiovisual elements), and stance (creators’ positioning relative to content, language, and audience). While Dawkins originally framed memes as units of cultural imitation, Shifman’s contemporary perspective highlights their shared attributes, mutual creative awareness, and participatory circulation— distinguishing them from mere viral content.

Theoretical Frameworks of Brand Image

Defining Brand Image

Given the defining characteristics of internet memes, their application in marketing communication strategies has garnered increasing attention beyond academia. As highlighted by Teng et al., (2022), effective marketing strategies necessitate both consumers' comprehensive comprehension of brand messages and the widespread dissemination of such information—dual objectives that align intrinsically with the participatory and replicative nature of memetic content. Keller and Swaminathan (2019) define Brand Image as "consumers' perceptions about a brand, as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory," emphasizing that these associations are formed through direct experiences, marketing activities, and social interactions. This perspective aligns with Aaker’s (1996) brand equity model, which positions brand image as a "mental representation" encompassing both functional attributes (e.g., product quality) and symbolic values (e.g., identity projection) (Aaker, 1996, p. 142 Building Strong Brands).

Just as the digital age has catalysed novel analytical perspectives in meme studies, it has introduced new dimensions to brand image research. The borderless nature of the internet environment allows consumers to interact more easily, hence information spreads faster and reaches wider audiences online compared to traditional methods. Coupled with the rapid development of social media and user-generated content (UGC), consumers have become cocreators of brand image. Based on this phenomenon, online word-of-mouth (eWOM) and

brand community interactions have significantly reshaped consumer perceptions, which requires enterprises to actively monitor and engage to maintain brand image consistency (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010, p.312).

As illustrated in the figure below, in 2017, the fashion brand GUCCI launched its first meme campaign on Instagram, creating a series of memes through collaborations with other meme creators to celebrate the launch of GUCCI's new watch collection. The campaign utilised the hashtag #TFWGucci (That Feeling When Gucci), achieving exceptional online dissemination effectiveness. This marketing case has been regarded as a classic successful example of corporate proactive engagement in meme marketing.

Source:https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/news/a21477/gucci-memes/

(Accessed: 3 May 2025)

Both academia and the marketing sector have long focused on online marketing-related domains. If campaign planners repurpose advertisements into internet memes, the viral popularity of such memes can achieve effective promotional outcomes and naturally drive customer engagement (Bury, 2016; Williams, 2000). However, this strategy is overly idealistic and positions consumers as passive recipients. Unlike traditional online marketing communication channels, internet memes are user-generated with active consumer participation, thereby overturning the brand-dominant position posited by traditional brand image theories. Given their intertextuality, remix culture, and humorous characteristics, the disseminated information is predominantly user-generated and consumer-initiated (Brubaker et al., 2018). Although the GUCCI meme campaign exemplified brand-orchestrated participation, the production of certain meme assets relied on @beigecardigan—a prominent meme creator on Instagram with 3.9 million followers—thereby ensuring organic cultural resonance of the meme content within target audiences.

Frameworks of Brand Image

Currently, the predominant theoretical frameworks on brand image are anchored in Kevin Lane Keller's Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) Model proposed in 1993. This theory, evolving from the foundational premises of the Associative Network Memory Model proposed by Anderson and Bower (1974), posits that brand equity originates from consumers' cognitive architecture—specifically, the brand node and its associative network in memory, where functional attributes (e.g., product reliability) and symbolic meanings (e.g., lifestyle alignment) coalesce to form brand knowledge.

With the advent of digitalization, subsequent models have emerged to address evolving market dynamics: Brand Personality Theory (Aaker, 1997) introduces anthropomorphic dimensions (sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, ruggedness) to operationalize emotional differentiation. The Brand Resonance Model (Keller, 2001) structures brand building as a phased process through consumer interactions, while emphasising its emotional connectivity and the Brand Value Chain Model (Keller, 2001) traces the financial transduction of brand equity, mapping how marketing investments shape customer mindset (awareness, associations) to drive market performance metrics.

Although these theories collectively provide multidimensional framework for brand image construction, current literature remains limited in discussing user-generated and consumerdriven communication channels, such as memes and their impact on brand image. As synthesised by Laestadius and Wahl (2017), as well as Teng et al., (2022), existing studies have yet to clarify the role of media-related factors—such as dissemination strategies—in the viral spread of memes. Their analyses indicate a reliance on qualitative approaches, while calling for further investigation into the concrete outcomes of viral internet memes.

Gen Z's Psychological Motivations in meme marketing

Although the aforementioned classical theories related to brand image do not directly address internet memes, they unanimously emphasize that the psychological dimension of participants in meme marketing plays a significant role in the successful construction of brand image. This is especially relevant for Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, as over half of internet users under the age of 35 frequently create and engage with memes (Ypulse, 2019). Scholars generally agree that this behaviour is largely influenced by the rapid technological advancements of the early 21st century (Autry & Berge, 2011; Akçayır et al., 2016). Of course, it would be reductive to treat the entire Generation Z as a monolithic group with identical characteristics, but in the context of meme marketing research, it can be

considered a key demographic. According to a 2021 study by Katz et al., a considerable portion of individuals born in the late 1990s and early 2000s tend to integrate their online and offline lives. Thus, the psychological motivations of this group can reflect their perceptions of social reality, ultimately shaping consumer behaviour and becoming a decisive factor in marketing success.

From the perspective of Social Identity Theory, Gen Z’s active engagement with meme marketing can be understood as a form of social identity signaling and in-group affiliation, aimed at achieving social positioning within online communities. Sharing memes, in this context, functions as a means of reinforcing in-group identity while differentiating from outgroup members.

Kozinets’ (2010) theory of virtual community belongingness further emphasizes the agency and participatory nature of individuals within online communities. For Generation Z, social media platforms offer participatory spaces that allow users to actively create, remix, and disseminate meme content, thereby enhancing their sense of belonging and identity within digital communities. Through the sharing and engagement with memes, Gen Z not only expresses individual characteristics but also reinforces group cohesion and cultural affiliation. Moreover, since an individual’s social identity and self-concept are known to strengthen the connection between consumers and brands (Fournier & Alvarez, 2019), the alignment between the characteristics of meme marketing and the psychological motivations of Gen Z suggests that brands are likely to allocate increasing portions of their marketing budgets toward meme-based campaigns targeting younger audiences.

Methodology

Research Approach: Qualitative Study

Based on the current stage of progress, this study plans to adopt a qualitative research approach, aiming to explore how internet memes influence the construction and dissemination of brand image among Generation Z audiences. Given that this research needs to document brand marketers’ perspectives on the role of memes in shaping brand image, and to understand the interactions between social media users—especially Gen Z—and internet memes, while attempting to identify patterns therein, a qualitative approach is deemed the most suitable perspective for analysing this phenomenon.

Moreover, an overview of existing literature on internet memes and related advertising studies reveals a prevailing tendency—most of the research adopts qualitative case study

methods (Laestadius and Wahl, 2017; Teng et al., 2022). A small number of scholars have adopted mixed methods. For example, Suresh Malodia et al. (2022) first conducted in-depth interviews with various stakeholders involved in meme dissemination to gain insights; on this basis, they developed a theoretical model of meme virality, which was later validated through four quantitative studies. For the purposes of this study, whether qualitative or mixed methods are adopted, qualitative research remains indispensable. Therefore, at this stage, this study is planned to proceed with a qualitative approach. Rather than pursuing statistically generalisable results, it aims to understand how memes shape the relationship between Gen Z and brands through symbolic mechanisms and participatory behaviours.

Methodologies and Methods

Given that Generation Z are representatives of a demographic highly engaged with memes in the digital marketplace (Vardeman, 2023) and demonstrate high levels of digital immersion and participatory behaviour, this study adopts hybrid ethnography as its methodological foundation. The definition of “hybrid ethnography” varies slightly in academia. For instance, Przybylski (2020) proposes that hybrid ethnography should be conducted simultaneously across digital (online) and physical (offline) spaces. In contrast, Seim (2021), while also employing the term “hybrid ethnography,” emphasises a methodological integration of participant observation and observant participation, whereby the researcher both observes and deeply participates as an active role within the field, without necessarily involving online interaction or digital media platforms.

This study plans to adopt the former type of hybrid ethnography, integrating both online and offline spaces. It focuses not only on documenting Gen Z behaviour in real life but also on examining the content they generate as internet participants.

Przybylski, in her book Hybrid Ethnography: Online, Offline, and In Between (2020), details how digital and real-world cultural practices intersect in her study of Native American hiphop communities, constructing a hybrid space of performance and identity. Similarly, this study regards memes as expressive cultural symbols that span across social media platforms, integrating online and offline environments, and influencing how Gen Z individuals express themselves, remix content, and connect with brand meaning. Therefore, in terms of methodological design, this study draws on her research processes accordingly.

This study will adopt the following methods:

• Online participant observation: Actively engaging with platforms where memes thrive, such as TikTok and Twitch; and regularly reviewing relevant web-based platforms,

such as RED and Instagram.

• Offline field engagement: Participating in youth gatherings such as comic conventions, board game competitions, and e-sports venues, and observing performance activities primarily attended by young audiences.

• Interviews: Conducting semi-structured interviews with brand planning personnel, including meme creators and those involved in community operations.

• Questionnaire surveys: Collecting feedback from Gen Z participants, while also establishing broader interpersonal networks ahead of interviews to facilitate contact with more experienced participants.

• Media collection and processing: Recording or gathering relevant videos, audio recordings, images, and other data.

Data types include:

• Screenshots and recordings of brand-related memes, as well as records of user interactions on social media, such as comments and remixed versions.

• Observation records and field notes from offline engagement with Gen Z groups.

• Motivations, strategic logic, and platform selection reasons provided by brand personnel.

• Gen Z’s levels of awareness, participation frequency, and engagement preferences regarding branded memes.

• Modes of meme dissemination and source materials found in both online and offline videos.

Given that this study is primarily qualitative in nature and seeks to explore in depth how Gen Z participants perceive the connection between internet memes and brand image, nonprobability sampling will be adopted. More specifically, the study will use a combination of purposive sampling and snowball sampling strategies.

Initially, the study will deliberately select samples that are either highly representative or highly active, particularly those with experience in meme culture and brand communication. This includes Gen Z meme creators, young marketing professionals involved in community operations, and key figures active in relevant online communities or offline events (such as comic convention organisers and streamer groups).

Subsequently, through snowball sampling, the researcher will ask interviewees to recommend individuals from within their networks, such as meme production groups or other active users, to gain deeper access to the internal structure of meme communities and expand the sample network.

In terms of data analysis, based on the types of data to be collected, this study plans to adopt Multimodal Analysis. As Przybylski notes, “Researchers must learn to listen with the ear, eye, and body—to interpret not only the words of participants, but also the rhythms and cultural semiotics embedded in performance.” (Przybylski, 2020, p. 85). Since internet memes are not always presented in static image form but may also appear as videos (with music) or animated images (GIFs), the combined analysis of visuals, sound, and text is essential for this research. Other analytical approaches, such as Thematic Analysis and Reflexive Analysis, may also be adopted in subsequent stages of the study.

Alternative Methods and Methodologies

Although this study plans to adopt hybrid ethnography as its core methodological approach, several alternative research paths could also be considered in exploring how internet memes influence Gen Z’s perception and construction of brand image. For example, netnography, proposed by Kozinets (2010), focuses on online community interaction records and could help understand how memes circulate within online platforms. Similarly, case study methodology could be used as an alternative, allowing for in-depth analysis of specific meme marketing campaigns (such as Gucci’s #TFWGucci campaign, mentioned in earlier sections of this study), and exploring their impact on brand image.

However, by comparison, hybrid ethnography has the unique advantage of simultaneously capturing both the online media engagement behaviour and the offline purchase behaviour of Gen Z—a group with highly distinctive characteristics. It enables an in-depth reconstruction of the meanings and cultural significance of branded memes across different fields. Therefore, at the current stage, hybrid ethnography is considered the most appropriate method for this study.

Ethical Considerations

This study involves both publicly and semi-publicly accessible online spaces, as well as offline locations, and therefore requires consideration of a range of ethical issues in its research design. Firstly, in the online domain, this study will only analyse publicly accessible content (e.g., memes posted by open accounts) without the need to contact content creators directly. Screenshots from social media will be blurred or anonymised if permission has not

been obtained. For private groups or closed communities, explicit consent from content creators must be secured before their content is used.

Secondly, in the offline context, all interview participants and observed individuals will be required to sign or verbally confirm informed consent forms, specifying how data will be used, including permissions for audio-visual data collection, anonymisation protocols, and the right to withdraw at any time. All participants will be assigned pseudonyms for confidentiality.

Finally, this study will adhere to the ethical review procedures of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and follow ethical guidelines established by relevant professional associations in the United Kingdom.

Discussion and Analysis

Alignment between Research Methodology and Research Question

This study intends to adopt the methodology of “hybrid ethnography”, which is highly consistent with the proposed research question — “How do internet memes influence and disseminate brand image among Generation Z audiences?” This methodology emphasises that the researcher should carry out long-term observation and deep participation in both digital and offline spaces (Przybylski, 2020), which provides methods and procedures for examining Gen Z’s participation and identity formation in meme culture. Unlike traditional ethnography, hybrid ethnography is capable of capturing the representation of memes in reallife contexts, as well as integrating online observation with interactions in everyday cultural practices.

For example, when Gen Z users acquire, share, and adapt brand-related memes on livestreaming platforms (such as Twitch) or social media (such as TikTok), they are essentially redefining the cultural meaning of the brand symbol. Qualitative research methods enable this study to deeply document these acts of contextual recreation, to explore how memes influence cognition, emotion, and social identity. This perspective is consistent with the nature of the research question and provides methodological support for theoretical frameworks that may be developed in later stages.

Potential Research Findings and Theoretical Contributions

Based on existing observations and preliminary analysis, internet memes may possess the following deeper functions in brand communication: First, different types of memes (such as self-deprecating, satirical, or cute) may have differentiated effects on the emotional positioning of brand image and the construction of social identity; second, the linguistic style, performative gestures, and subcultural tendencies demonstrated by Gen Z in meme dissemination may serve as key reference dimensions for brands when constructing “cultural resonance”.

At the same time, this study is expected to provide empirical foundations and framework extensions for current research related to memes and advertising. Firstly, by building upon Shifman’s (2013) theoretical basis of the three-dimensional meme model—content, form, and stance—this study incorporates analysis of advertising effects, thus enhancing its application within the perspective of commercial communication and brand cognition. In addition, it extends the CBBE model (Keller, 1993) by constructing a framework to examine how usergenerated content (UGC)-based meme dissemination influences the building of brand equity, which may provide a certain theoretical contribution.

Theoretical Frameworks: Interpretive Pathways and Application Value

Based on the literature review compiled at the current stage, this study plans to integrate several theoretical frameworks mentioned in the previous chapters for data analysis and research interpretation. Among them, Shifman’s three-dimensional meme model will assist this research in comprehensively and systematically interpreting the phenomenon of memes. Under this model, Shifman proposes three dimensions for meme analysis: content (textual/visual elements), form (structure/propagation mechanisms), and stance (attitude/emotion).

This method can assist the present study in the initial categorisation of memes, thereby providing a foundational condition for subsequent analysis related to advertising effects. As shown in the examples below, certain memes structurally adopt the format of “contrasting images + inverted text”, which more easily stimulates user participation, discussion, and secondary creation; while memes with a positive, humorous, or self-deprecating stance are more likely to reduce psychological distance with the audience, especially improving the “brand likability” among younger user groups. As noted by Teng et al. (2021), the primary characteristic of internet memes is humour, and this feature can enhance brand image.

Contrasting Image + Inverted Text Meme Humorous Stance Brand Meme

Source: https://www.beyondphdcoaching.com/dissertation/dissertation-memes/

(Accessed: 3 May 2025)

Source: https://www.memedroid.com/memes/detail/2654474/Thats-the-brand

(Accessed: 3 May 2025)

In terms of brand theory, the CBBE model emphasises that brand equity is built upon the cognitive structure of consumers, including brand associations, perceived quality, and resonance (Keller, 2001). Brand image cognition is the first stage in consumer adoption of innovative products and services (Gokerik et al., p. 1224), thus memes, as a particular form of user-generated content, may significantly accelerate this cognitive process in the digital era. Especially when memes frequently circulate as “cultural symbols” within Gen Z’s online communities, they may influence systematic recognition of brand symbols in real life, which also deeply aligns with the structure of users’ identity recognition.

Meanwhile, just as social media is inherently a globalised product, internet memes also provide the possibility of transcending national boundaries and achieving cross-cultural communication. This also offers new options for multinational corporations in communicating with global markets.

In addition, Social Identity Theory and the theory of Virtual Community Belonging (Kozinets, 2010) offer perspective support for analysing the psychological motivations behind user meme behaviours in this study. Gen Z constructs a sense of “we-ness” through internet memes, thereby reinforcing group identity, boundary consciousness, and cultural belonging. This cultural practice not only reflects Gen Z’s distinct self-expression compared

to other groups but also reveals why brands need to integrate into community contexts via memes to adapt to brand meaning construction in the digital age.

Extended Questions and Future Research Directions

While this study intends to explore the mechanisms through which memes influence the construction of brand image, several significant issues still warrant further exploration as the research progresses. From the current stage, these can be summarised as follows:

First, internet memes are characterised by a short lifecycle and extremely rapid content turnover. In such a fast-changing meme trend environment, how can a brand maintain sustainable communicative power and cultural relevance? If a brand fails to respond to emerging trends in time, it may lose visibility within community discourse; yet overly pursuing trends may also lead to accusations of opportunism, thus undermining the brand’s cultural stance.

Second, with the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI), AIgenerated memes have gradually entered the field of advertising. This trend may change the audience’s basic perception of memes. When memes are no longer user-generated but are instead produced in mass by algorithms, the core values of memes—participation and authenticity—may no longer resonate with Generation Z. In fact, during the early development of social media, the advertising industry held high expectations, but as platforms became more commercialised and content-saturated, attention to advertisements declined sharply. Most online consumers today tend to skip or scroll past advertisements (McDonald, 2018, p. 75). This past lesson offers an important warning for brand strategies in the current AI-meme era.

Lastly, although many memes are image-based with minimal textual content and are suited for cross-cultural communication, the condensed semantics and visual dominance of memes mean that audiences from different cultural backgrounds may still interpret the same meme very differently. These differences in symbolic interpretation may lead to misunderstandings, emotional misalignment, or even brand crises in cross-cultural contexts.

Based on these problems, brands using memes for brand image construction must not only consider the mechanisms of meme dissemination but also consider ethical boundaries and cultural differences across various audiences. These are topics worth pursuing through future interdisciplinary research across fields such as AI ethics, intercultural pragmatics, and digital semiotics.

Critical Reflection on Research Design

This study plans to adopt hybrid ethnography as the core methodology, but several foreseeable problems may arise during implementation:

First, the researcher’s frequent role-shifting in participant observation may introduce bias. It stresses that the researcher is neither a complete outsider nor an unconditional insider but rather exists in a boundary zone as a “hybrid presence”, enabling a more flexible perspective. However, as Seim (2021) warns, over-immersion in specific subcultures may lead to emotional or cultural inclination, thereby affecting critical judgement. Especially when the researcher is long involved in specific meme subcultures, cultural resonance may blur their analytical boundary.

Second, some meme content involves ambiguous ethical boundaries during creation and dissemination, complicating data usage. For instance, many brand memes that remix the images of internet influencers, streamers, or public figures may involve sensitive legal issues such as image rights and reputation. If researchers use such meme content without obtaining explicit consent, ethical risks may arise.

In addition, memes often undergo extensive secondary creation during their dissemination path, resulting in potential deviation between original intent and actual audience interpretation. Moreover, during cross-contextual transmission—especially when it involves translation, cultural references, or local adaptation—the original humour structure or emotional stance may be misunderstood, affecting the accurate perception of the brand message.

To mitigate these risks, this study intends to introduce reflexive practice as proposed by Przybylski (2020), including documenting role-shift notes, tracking self-participation impact, and negotiating calibration through participant feedback. Additionally, for meme materials involving controversial content, the researcher will critically assess their appropriateness and submit them for ethical review or avoid usage when necessary. Conclusion

This study demonstrates the key role of internet memes in shaping and disseminating brand image among Generation Z audiences, highlighting their significance not only as vehicles of cultural expression but also as critical tools for social identification and digital storytelling. By adopting a hybrid ethnographic methodology that integrates both online and offline fieldwork, the study seeks to provide an in-depth analysis of how memes facilitate participatory interactions between users and brands within everyday digital practices. The theoretical frameworks employed—including Shifman’s meme model, Keller’s CustomerBased Brand Equity (CBBE) model, and Social Identity Theory—effectively explain how meme content, structure, and stance influence emotional resonance and brand perceptions among users.

The potential outcomes of this research will deepen academic understanding of usergenerated content (UGC) within brand communication and offer valuable insights for brand marketers seeking to leverage meme culture effectively for brand building and promotion. Additionally, future studies might further explore the impact of AI-generated memes on brand authenticity and examine the transmission mechanisms of memes across diverse cultural contexts. For brand practitioners, this research offers actionable guidance on engaging audiences through culturally embedded digital participation and collaborative brand value creation. Overall, the study expands our understanding of memes as symbolic tools within contemporary communication, emphasizing their strategic importance within brand communication and the digital media ecosystem.

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Interpreting Cultural Identity: A Qualitative Methodology for Studying Contemporary Chinese National Cinema

Ruixuan Ruan

Abstract

This paper is based on a study of Chinese mainland commercial national cinema from 2012 to 2022, proposing a methodological framework that integrates autoethnography, narrative inquiry, and hermeneutics to analyse cultural identity within film texts. Grounded in David Bordwell’s theory of film interpretation, the research deconstructs both explicit and implicit cultural meanings in selected films. It emphasises the researcher’s subjective position while also incorporating diverse audience perspectives through non-participant observation and focus group interviews. This approach not only addresses the issue of positionality in cultural research but also helps preserve a degree of interpretive plurality. The methodology advocates for reflexivity over false neutrality, suggesting that transparent engagement with subjectivity enhances the credibility and interpretive depth of the study. The findings aim to reaffirm the disciplinary significance of film within cultural research and to offer new perspectives and insights for the study of national cinema.

Keyword

Chinese National Cinema; Cultural Identity; Autoethnography; Narrative Inquiry; Hermeneutics

1. Introduction

In the Spring Festival of 2025, the animated film Ne Zha 2 swiftly shattered the all-time box office record in mainland China and rapidly rose to the forefront of the global box office rankings (The Numbers, 2025). As of late April 2025, Ne Zha 2 had amassed a global box office total of around £1.52 billion (Box Office Mojo, 2025), with revenues still steadily increasing. However, according to Box Office Mojo (2025), over 98% of Ne Zha 2’s box office revenue was generated from the mainland Chinese film market. It is not the only case of current Chinese cinema. Additionally, the majority of Ne Zha 2’s overseas audience consisted of Chinese nationals living abroad and members of the Chinese diaspora. The challenges faced by Ne Zha 2 in both domestic and international film markets are not unique among high-grossing Chinese films in recent years. Including Ne Zha 2, all of the top ten highest-grossing films in mainland China—The Battle at Lake Changjin, Wolf Warrior 2, Hi, Mom, Ne Zha, The Wandering Earth, Full River Red, Detective Chinatown 3, Water Gate Bridge, and The Wandering Earth 2— have experienced similar box office trajectories, performing strongly in the domestic market while facing limitations in international reach. Does this situation only belong to Chinese cinema? The answer is no. Taking South Korean film Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds as an example, it earned 97.69% of its total revenue from the domestic market.

The phenomenon described above inevitably prompts a question: are Chinese—or more broadly, Asian—films simply not appealing? Approached from the perspectives of various academic disciplines, the answer to this question is undoubtedly complex. Ne Zha 2 received ratings of 8.5 and 8.2 out of 10 on China’s Douban platform and IMDb respectively. While most international viewers acknowledged the achievements of the animated feature, some still criticised the film for its lack of narrative coherence (IMDb, 2025). Similar comments have appeared in relation to other films. For instance, one international viewer described The Wandering Earth 2 on IMDb as "jumps around like TV show out of order" (IMDb, 2025). Such feedback does not necessarily indicate a lack of storytelling skill on the part of Chinese screenwriters; rather, it may suggest that certain cultural cues embedded in the narrative were either under-communicated or not fully decoded by audiences from different cultural backgrounds.

Drawing from my own experience, I recall watching four Australian films: Picnic at Hanging Rock, Walkabout, Mad Max, and Looking for Alibrandi. While these films left a strong impression on me at the time of viewing, it was not because of their compelling plots, but because I found myself confused by their deeper meanings. I was able to follow the narrative progression, yet struggled to grasp what the films were ultimately trying to convey. It was only after I developed a better understanding of Australian

cultural contexts that I began to appreciate the underlying themes and cultural significance within these films.

This experience underscores the crucial role of cultural background in shaping how audiences interpret film content. In the context of intercultural communication, cultural differences generate a diversity of communicative norms, which in turn give rise to misunderstandings and interpretive obstacles (Samovar et al., 2015, pp. 339–341).

These factors contribute to the variation in how films are received and evaluated by international audiences, often affecting their acceptance and performance in global markets. This phenomenon is one of the key reasons why the concept of National Cinema has been so widely studied and critically examined within film studies.

Since its renewed academic attention in the 1980s, national cinema has remained a highly contested concept. Influenced by Benedict Anderson’s notion of the imagined community (1983) and the broader processes of globalisation, many scholars have argued that the framework of transnational cinema offers a more effective lens through which to understand the complex international collaborations within the film industry. However, other scholars maintain that national cinema still holds analytical value. Willemen (1994, p. 210) contends that national borders continue to exert significant structural influence on socio-cultural formations. Similarly, Higson agrees with Willemen that the notion of the “nation” should not be dismissed outright, but he also cautions against assuming that cultural specificities are best understood solely through national categories (Higson, 2000). Crucially, Higson foregrounds culture as a key concept in cinema. This implies that the challenges of understanding and defining national cinema are rooted in cultural complexities, while the nation itself serves as an organic framework that draws upon these cultural elements to construct national identity through film. Sorlin (1996) further argues that audiences interpret the world through an evolving symbolic system that is tied to social organisation and institutional structures. Therefore, studying national cinema is not merely about delineating boundaries between films, but about understanding the shifting systems of meaningmaking embedded within them.

In this context, the contemporary debate over whether national or transnational cinema offers a more accurate framework becomes less relevant. While global cinema production is increasingly characterised by transnational cooperation, many films continue to rely almost exclusively on revenue from a single national market. To account for such phenomena, it is not sufficient to merely analyse the extent of crosscultural elements within the films. Instead, it is essential to approach cinema from multiple perspectives—cultural, geographical, and political—so as to identify the misunderstandings and interpretive obstacles that arise due to differences in cultural and political systems. Only through this lens can we more effectively understand the distinctive features of films shaped by specific cultural frameworks, as well as the value and necessity of their cross-cultural transmission. This is precisely the rationale underpinning this research project: Cultural Identity in Chinese Commercial National Cinema, 2012–2022.

As mentioned above, the research won’t explore the border of Chinese cinema or the national agency under the Chinese socialist government. It will focus on cultural characteristics and identity in the Chinese mainland national cinema. Based on Bordwell’s four interpretation levels of films, this study seeks to explore and interpret the cultural expressions in Chinese commercial cinema on both explicit and implicit levels, without essentialising or relying on stereotypes to determine whether these cultural identities are inherently “Chinese.” Through this lens, the research aims to identify the distinctive features of cultural identity present in mainland Chinese commercial films from 2012 to 2022. Ultimately, it hopes to contribute to renewed critical engagement with the concept of national cinema and to provide insights that may support the cross-cultural circulation of contemporary Chinese commercial cinema.

Hence, this methodology-focused article will develop its discussion along the following lines. First, the article will review existing paradigms and methodological approaches in the study of Chinese national cinema and Chinese film culture, highlighting both their contributions and limitations. It will then outline and justify the chosen methodological framework in relation to the research questions and the researcher’s positionality. This will be followed by a detailed account of the data collection strategies and anticipated data types, as shaped by the selected methodologies. Finally, the article will address the ethical considerations underpinning the research as a whole.

2. Literature Review

The issue of cultural identity in Chinese cinema has long occupied a central position in film studies. The research methods that have been widely adopted over time tend to begin with the construction of national ideology, primarily employing historicalcultural contextual analysis, institutional critique, and studies rooted in social structure—this has almost become a convention in the study of film culture. Zhiwei Xiao, through his mapping of the development of Chinese cinema and his construction of “generational divisions”, emphasises the dominant role of state power in shaping the film industry, directorial styles, and narrative themes (1998). In his work, film is not merely a reflection of political context, but a representation of the logic of power within visual culture.

Yingjin Zhang further expands upon this perspective, arguing that Chinese cinema has never been a stable cultural tradition, but is instead situated in an ongoing process of national identity negotiation and cultural reconstruction. Through his model of the “three Chinas” (Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan) and a cultural constructivist analytical strategy, he regards the national nature of Chinese cinema as a historically evolving and processual product (2004). Paul Pickowicz and Paul Clark take historically specific periods in China as entry points, focusing on the role of cinema in state power, social mobilisation, and cultural regulation. Pickowicz, through his political and emotional analysis of films during the “cultural thaw” of the 1960s—such as Early Spring in

February and Liu Sanjie—reveals the “ideological interstices” that emerged between emancipatory thought and systemic constraint (2012). Clark, by contrast, focuses on the “de-foreignisation” of cinema, proposing that “the sinification of cinema” involves the redefinition of film between state power and cultural tradition. This kind of research typically adopts a “history–text juxtaposition” method, exploring how political contexts and narrative patterns interact, thereby illustrating the complexity of film as a tool of cultural governance.

In response to the binary thinking that dominates traditional research paradigms, particularly the national/transnational divide, Zhang, in his study of transnational cinema, proposes a comparative approach to replace the national/transnational framework. He argues that to effectively respond to contemporary cross-cultural exchanges and the structural realities of the global film market, Chinese cinema must be examined through comparative readings that cut across multiple regions, histories, and cultures. This methodological shift not only redefines the theoretical boundaries of national cinema, but also introduces a new interactive perspective for the study of cultural identity (2010).

Meanwhile, Chris Berry and Mary Ann Farquhar, using Confucian cultural codes as their core framework, argue that the mainstream narratives of Chinese cinema are often structured around values such as “loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness”, which serve not only as cultural backbones of the stories but also as mechanisms to reaffirm state legitimacy. Through the analysis of directorial styles (Zhang Yimou, Jackie Chan, John Woo) and genre construction, they illustrate how cultural identity is organised through visual structures relating to gender, class, and ethnicity (2006). However, this approach also faces a fundamental limitation: it tends to treat film as text and as a discursive apparatus for deconstruction, rather than as an artistic medium in its own right.

In the international field, some scholars have attempted to apply psychoanalysis to the study of cultural identity, most notably Hohat and Stam, who incorporate Lacan’s concepts of the Imaginary and suture into the analysis. However, this method has been sharply criticised by Walsh (1996), who argues that applying psychological theories developed for analysing individuals to the study of collective cultural identity is conceptually misplaced. Rey Chow likewise argues that applying psychoanalytic models to the explanation of “national cultural experience” risks abstracting concrete cultural structures into psychological models, leading to epistemological confusion (1998).

Film research has long been dominated by a form of “symptomatic interpretation”, as noted by David Bordwell (1989), whereby researchers tend to interpret the “latent content” and “ideological allegory” behind film texts, while neglecting the formal and structural dimensions such as camera language, composition, rhythm, and audiovisual construction. This results in a key gap in the study of cultural identity—namely, how identity is constructed and perceived through film form, rather than merely through film content.

In recent years, a number of scholars have attempted to address this gap. Lin Feng (2021), for example, introduces sound geography into film sound studies, arguing that the multilingual soundscapes (Mandarin, Shanghainese, Cantonese) in 1990s Shanghai urban comedies are not neutral technical choices, but rather sonic expressions of local culture, political power, and negotiations with national discourse. He argues that the acoustic positioning of dialects and standard Mandarin in these films reflects the tension between state narratives and local identity. Zhang Junyi, on the other hand, combines corpus analysis, keyword co-occurrence, and sentiment analysis to conduct a crosscultural comparison of subtitles and audience reviews of Nezha: Birth of the Devil and Disney’s Mulan, proposing a communication mechanism of “self-shaping vs othershaping” (2024). This research integrates quantitative data analysis with audience reception studies, providing empirical support for the differentiated understanding of cultural identity, and suggests that identity is not determined solely by the film text, but generated in the dynamic process of encoding and decoding.

As Stuart Hall (1980) points out, audiences play an active role in decoding. Cultural meaning is not determined solely by the state or the creator. If decoding fails, cultural identity may be misread, reconstructed, or even resisted. Therefore, the role of the audience is crucial in the construction of cultural identity. Zhang Yingjin has also noted that audience research is the weakest area in Chinese cinema studies (2010), which further highlights the lack of attention paid to the dimension of cultural experience. In my earlier case study of The Wandering Earth II, I adopted a method combining formal analysis with cultural values, examining how Chinese values are conveyed through spatial design, character construction, and screenplay structure. I also pointed out that cultural misunderstandings often stem from the audience’s misreading of audiovisual language and the mismatch of cultural experience (Ruan, 2023). This kind of practice demonstrates that an analytical approach grounded in film form is both feasible and valuable, and provides a methodological entry point for Chinese cinema studies in the context of cross-cultural communication.

Another often overlooked issue is that of researcher positionality. Many scholars either emphasise objectivity or only briefly reflect on their subjectivity at the end of their research. Few explicitly state their own cultural position or subjective standpoint during the methodological design phase. This practice runs counter to the emphasis on positionality in cultural studies, and it weakens both the critical edge and the cultural accountability of the research.

To conclude, although research on cultural identity in Chinese cinema has diversified, there remain three major methodological tensions: first, the relationship between film form and cultural coding lacks a stable analytical framework; second, audience experience and interpretive mechanisms are still largely absent; third, researchers rarely make their own cultural position and discursive role explicit. Future research should work from three dimensions—screenplay structure, visual style, and audience perception—in order to reconstruct the relationship between cinema and cultural

identity, and to move the study of Chinese cinema from political allegory towards a more comprehensive understanding of cultural experience.

3. Methodology and Interpretive Strategies

As mentioned above, the research, Cultural Identity in Chinese Commercial National Cinema, 2012–2022, is grounded in film culture studies. It integrates perspectives from both film analysis and cultural inquiry to investigate the cultural identity traits embedded in Chinese commercial cinema over the past decade. All analysis is geared toward addressing the central research question: What cultural identity traits are conveyed in Chinese commercial national cinema (2012–2022)? To enhance the validity and reliability of the findings, three key methodological approaches, autoethnography, narrative inquiry, and hermeneutics, will be employed.

In addition, this research is grounded in the film text itself, which means that the most crucial step in the process is the decoding and deconstruction of the selected film samples. Therefore, in terms of methodology, this study takes Hall’s encoding/decoding model as its theoretical foundation and refers to Bordwell’s four levels of film interpretation. It uses the constructive elements of film as the basic framework, aiming to conduct an in-depth deconstruction of the samples from multiple aspects, including audiovisual language, screenplay, and narrative structure. At the same time, it analyses audience decoding in depth, in order to identify the cultural identity traits embedded in Chinese commercial cinema over the past decade.

3.1 Auto-ethnography

Autoethnography is a qualitative research method combining autobiography and ethnography characteristics, aiming to analyse personal experience to understand cultural experience systematically (Ellis, 2004, p. 37; Chang, 2008, p. 43). Rather than treating the self as a detached observer, autoethnography positions the researcher as both the subject and analyst of experience, situating the personal within the social and cultural context (Ellis, Adams and Bochner, 2011, p. 273). The method is especially valuable for exploring identity, social belonging, and cultural dynamics, as it allows researchers to critically reflect on how their experiences intersect with larger cultural systems (Chang, 2008, pp. 45–47).

The central focus of autoethnography lies in cultural analysis and interpretation. It moves beyond telling personal stories and requires deep engagement with the cultural meaning of those stories (Chang, 2008, p. 43). As such, it is not merely autobiographical writing, but a scholarly method rooted in reflexivity and contextualisation (Ellis, 2004, pp. 34–36).

Data collection in autoethnography includes personal memory data, self-observational and self-reflective data, and external data, such as interviews, documents, or artefacts,

all of which are analysed through the lens of cultural meaning-making (Chang, 2008, pp. 71–106). These sources are not only used descriptively but are also interpreted to reveal how individual lives are shaped by and contribute to cultural norms and values.

Scholars in cultural studies widely acknowledge that a researcher's cultural background and positionality inevitably influence their interpretation of cultural phenomena (Hall, 1980; Geertz, 1973; Alcoff, 1991). In the context of culture, meaning does not inherently reside within cultural texts but is co-constructed in the act of decoding, which is deeply rooted in the interpreter’s cultural experience and ideological framework (Hall, 1980).

When it comes to film, which functions both as a medium of communication and a cultural product, the researcher, as a member of the audience, is inevitably influenced by their own cultural position during the viewing and interpretive process. As a result, different film researchers may arrive at different understandings of the same film, even generating interpretations that go beyond the encoded meaning, particularly when engaging with what Bordwell refers to as implicit meaning and symptomatic meaning （1989）. This interpretive process is highly subjective, and even minor variations in personal or cultural background can lead to substantial differences in the perceived meaning of a film.

For instance, in The Wandering Earth II, viewers with a Chinese cultural background may interpret the narrative detail of constructing a space elevator in Gabon as a symbol of equality and international cooperation. In contrast, viewers from different cultural contexts may read it as an expression of “great-power chauvinism” (Ruan, 2023). Thus, in qualitative film research—especially those involving textual interpretation—the researcher’s individual cultural background inevitably shapes the outcomes. This subjectivity becomes an inherent and unavoidable dimension of interpretation.

Rather than attempting to suppress the influence of subjectivity, it is more productive to acknowledge and utilise it as part of the researcher's positionality. Doing so not only enhances the transparency of the research process but also increases the overall credibility of the findings. In the study, which investigates how cultural identity is expressed and interpreted in Chinese national cinema, the researcher's cultural background is not just a potential influence but a crucial analytical lens. Autoethnography is, therefore, particularly well-suited, as it enables a reflexive, culturally situated interpretation of film texts. This is one of the key reasons why the present study adopts autoethnography as a guiding methodological approach.

Furthermore, in the interpretive phase of this study, the researcher is positioned both as an ordinary viewer and as an active analytical agent. Through the careful documentation of subjective experiences and interpretive thought processes during film viewing, the research aims to make the entire interpretive process visible. While the resulting data are subjective, this reflective approach strengthens their analytical transparency, interpretive validity, and overall credibility.

3.2 Narrative Inquiry

Narrative inquiry is a qualitative research method that takes storytelling as a fundamental way of understanding and analysing human experience. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) define it as "the study of experience" and emphasise that researchers should approach experience through three interconnected dimensions: temporality, sociality, and place (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000, pp.189). Narrative inquiry is a technique, and a philosophical stance rooted in constructivist epistemology. Its focus is not on reproducing so-called “objective facts,” but on exploring how individuals organise, understand, and express their experiences through narrative. Jeong-Hee Kim (2016) also points out that narrative inquiry is concerned with “meaningful human experiences,” and that its goal is to uncover the cultural, social, and identity-related meanings embedded in stories through the processes of telling and listening (Kim, 2016, pp.190).

In terms of research practice, narrative inquiry relies on collecting “field texts” in various forms, such as in-depth interviews, participant observation, researcher journals, photographs, visual materials, and media-based texts, including films. These are all considered valid sources for investigating narrative experience (Kim, 2016, p. 58). Especially in studies of visual culture or mediated narratives, film, photographs, and other multimodal forms are treated as significant narrative carriers that reflect and convey individual and social experience. Drawing on Labov’s six-part structure (abstract, orientation, complicating action, evaluation, result, and coda), Kim analyses how stories are told and how the way of telling shapes the meaning that is constructed (Kim, 2016, p. 202). Narrative inquiry, therefore, is concerned not only with the story itself but also with how it is told and how that telling reflects deeper cultural structures and social identities within specific contexts.

In film studies, narrative inquiry offers a way to examine not only what a film communicates, but how it communicates it, and how this process is embedded in cultural and ideological contexts. Building on Bordwell’s four levels of interpretation, films may contain both explicit and implicit textual information in the process of encoding and decoding. Explicit information typically corresponds to the first two interpretive levels and is often presented in a clear and direct way. For example, when a film is set in London, recognisable landmarks might be shown to confirm the setting; similarly, a grotesque image or a direct line of dialogue may provoke a visceral response from the audience and leave little room for misinterpretation.

By contrast, implicit information is not presented directly in the film's visuals or dialogue but emerges through cinematic cues, symbolic suggestions, and viewer interpretation. For instance, the final fantasy sequence in La La Land features a duet between the protagonists. Though the film never explicitly states that it is a wedding, some viewers interpret the scene as a metaphor for a wedding based on the characters’ clothing and the narrative context. Likewise, in The Wandering Earth II, the film never clearly explains why 300 volunteer astronauts, over 50, willingly accept a fatal mission.

Yet many Chinese viewers may infer from cultural values and moral traditions that this act represents a form of collective sacrifice. These implicit messages are often ambiguous and open to various interpretations. Audiences, shaped by their cultural backgrounds and personal worldviews, may derive meanings that diverge from the filmmaker’s intention or fail to arrive at a coherent interpretation, resulting in a perception of narrative incoherence.

Cultural identity in film is embedded in both explicit and implicit narrative strategies. As the central methodology of this study, narrative inquiry provides a framework for analysing film samples as stories, examining their narrative structures, contexts, and construction through script and character development. It enables a deeper understanding of story conflicts, character motivations, ethical systems, and actions. Combined with an analysis of audiovisual techniques, it also sheds light on how filmmakers encode cultural meaning through narrative decisions. This approach allows for the identification of key elements of cultural identity, particularly in terms of ethics, values, and moral frameworks. Within this study, narrative inquiry is primarily applied to the analysis of explicit cultural identity, and it helps reveal the thematic focus and cultural positioning expressed by the filmmakers through their narrative choices.

3.3 Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is a research approach focused on the process of understanding, emphasising the interaction between the text, the interpreter, and the historical context in which interpretation occurs. It is not merely a method of textual analysis but also a philosophical stance, grounded in the belief that “understanding is a historical and dialogical process” (Thiselton, 1980, p.10). Porter and Robinson argue that the core task of hermeneutics lies in negotiating the tension between explanation and understanding, highlighting the plurivocity of language and the generative nature of meaning within specific contexts (Porter and Robinson, 2011, pp.117–118).

In film studies, hermeneutics provides a valuable theoretical framework, particularly suited for analysing audiovisual texts that rely heavily on the viewer’s subjective interpretation. Hermeneutics posits that interpretation is not a neutral or mechanical operation but a form of practical wisdom (phronesis) embedded within interpretive communities. Understanding is generated through what Gadamer calls the fusion of horizons, in which the interpreter’s worldview and the historical-cultural horizon of the text intersect to create new meaning (Thiselton, 1992, p. 44; Porter and Thiselton, 2006, p. 35). In this view, audience members or researchers inevitably bring their own cultural perspectives to the film text, shaping distinct interpretive outcomes.

In terms of method, hermeneutic research often employs close reading, semantic analysis, fusion of horizons, and the deconstruction of metaphors and symbols. These techniques allow researchers to excavate layers of implicit and symptomatic meaning beyond surface narrative levels (Porter and Robinson, 2011, pp. 45–47). This interpretive orientation closely aligns with David Bordwell’s theory of four levels of

meaning. Although Bordwell does not explicitly label his framework as hermeneutic, his emphasis on non-explicit textual meanings echoes the hermeneutic concern with latent and culturally coded significance.

Such implicit meanings are widespread in cinematic narratives. Especially in commercial films, storytelling often takes a fragmentary, discontinuous form through montage, omitting large portions of everyday life to focus on thematically relevant moments. Yet audiences generally do not perceive this as narrative incompleteness; their comprehension of the film’s central themes and character motivations is often enhanced. This is primarily due to the viewer’s Gestalt-based psychological tendency to fill in narrative gaps based on prior experience and cultural knowledge. For instance, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button compresses an entire life into 166 minutes, yet audiences rarely feel the narrative is lacking. This psychological mechanism is one of the foundations that allow cinema to function as an art form, enabling diverse and personalised interpretive responses.

In the research, hermeneutics offers a practical framework for identifying and analysing culturally embedded meanings that are not overtly presented. Taking The Wandering Earth II as an example, the scene in which 300 astronauts over the age of fifty volunteer for a fatal mission is not explicitly explained within the film. However, Chinese viewers often interpret this action as an embodiment of intergenerational responsibility and collectivist ethics—a deeply rooted cultural identity constructed through the viewer’s culturally informed completion process. Similarly, many of the film’s symbolic elements and linguistically ambiguous expressions require a hermeneutic mode of interpretation to be fully understood.

Given the inherent subjectivity of hermeneutic interpretation, this study incorporates autoethnography to establish methodological complementarity. As stated in the opening section, this research adopts a reflexive position grounded in the researcher’s cultural background. In this way, autoethnography and hermeneutics together form a methodological loop in which positional subjectivity becomes an acknowledged resource, enhancing both the transparency and interpretive validity of the findings related to cultural identity.

3.4 Supplementary Methods

Based on the three methodologies above, some supplementary methods will be introduced into the holistic research to develop the comprehensiveness. As mentioned before, the research begins with the premise that subjectivity is inherent in the interpretation of film. However, this does not imply that the research is fully immersed in a purely subjective mode of interpretation, which could risk rendering the findings overly personal and thereby diminishing their scholarly value. Instead, the supplementary strategies employed in this research aim to incorporate the interpretations of Chinese audiences who share the researcher’s cultural background. This approach ensures that the interpretive process is not confined to an individual

perspective but remains open to a broader cultural horizon. It also helps enrich the data content and prevents the omission or misrecognition of certain features of cultural identity that might otherwise be overlooked due to experiential bias.

Within this research framework, methods such as non-participant observation, digital ethnography, and focus group interviews will be employed to observe and understand how Chinese audiences interpret and make sense of the selected film samples. In addition, comparative historical analysis and literature review will be applied to conduct a comprehensive examination of the characteristics of cultural identity in Chinese cinema. The aim is to identify the key features of cultural identity that have emerged in Chinese commercial films between 2012 and 2022. Through this process, the study seeks to address the following questions: What cultural identity traits have become prominent in the past decade? Which features represent a continuation of earlier traditions? And which ones have evolved or undergone significant change during this ten-year period?

4. Research Design

This chapter builds on the methodological foundation established in the previous section and outlines how data will be collected and analyzed throughout the study. The research begins with the selection of film samples, focusing on approximately ten commercially successful and widely discussed Chinese films released between 2012 and 2022. The selection criteria prioritise high audience recognition and broad public engagement. Key indicators include box office revenue, Baidu search index, and Douyin popularity index. These metrics reflect the extent of audience exposure and interaction with the films, ensuring that the study focuses on popular commercial cinema rather than elite, festival-oriented productions.

The selection process is grounded in quantifiable data, but the study will also include auxiliary analysis of representative film series and even critically panned works when they have generated significant cultural discussion. Once the film samples are confirmed, the study moves into the interpretive phase. Drawing from autoethnographic principles, the researcher’s own viewing experience and interpretive reflections will be documented in detail, allowing the researcher's cultural positioning to be explicitly acknowledged as part of the interpretive framework.

During the analysis of each film, two primary layers of meaning—explicit and implicit—will be explored using a combined hermeneutic and narrative inquiry framework. For narrative analysis, the research draws on the screenwriting structures developed by Syd Field and Robert McKee, particularly their emphasis on character desire, plot turning points, and act-based progression. These theoretical models help identify how cultural identity is embedded in the film's story architecture, especially in relation to moral conflict, character arcs, and resolution. Using these frameworks, the

study does not simply interpret story content but engages with how narrative structure communicates culturally coded values and ideologies.

Simultaneously, the analysis of film form will incorporate theories of audiovisual language, focusing on elements such as colour palettes, sound design, mise-en-scène, and editing rhythms. These formal components are not seen as secondary to narrative but are approached as critical conveyors of cultural meaning. For example, the recurring use of specific national colours or musical motifs may subtly encode collective identity, while spatial compositions can reflect Confucian hierarchies or collectivist worldviews.

To further deconstruct the implicit layer of meaning, the research incorporates a semiotic approach grounded in Ferdinand de Saussure’s tripartite model—signifier, signified, and referent. This framework helps reveal how symbols, gestures, or dialogues in the films may not convey meaning directly, but instead operate within a culturally specific system of signification. This is especially relevant when analysing films that rely on metaphor, allegory, or culturally embedded double meanings—forms of communication that require the audience to “complete” the message through their own cultural knowledge and positioning.

In addition, non-participant observation will be employed to study viewer responses such as “danmu” (real-time comments) and platform-based reviews on major streaming services including iQIYI, Tencent Video, and Youku. These responses serve as supplementary interpretive data, offering insights into how Chinese audiences perceive, decode, and emotionally engage with cultural elements in the films.

After the textual analysis, key scenes with high cultural density will be selected for focus group discussions. Participants will be chosen to ensure diversity in ethnicity, gender, age, and regional background, with each group consisting of approximately five members. These sessions will provide opportunities to cross-examine the researcher’s interpretations with audience perspectives, enriching the data pool and testing the cultural validity of the initial findings.

All data—textual, observational, and interview-based—will be systematically organised and analysed. A basic statistical categorisation will be used to identify recurring cultural identity features and track their consistency or transformation across the ten-year span. Finally, through comparative literature review and historical contextualization, the study will identify the defining characteristics of Chinese cultural identity in commercial cinema from 2012 to 2022, ultimately addressing the research’s central questions regarding continuity, change, and representational trends.

5. Ethics and Situated Reflexivity

Ethical considerations in this study are grounded in a situated and culturally responsive framework, recognising that qualitative research, particularly in cultural studies and

interpretive film analysis, is inherently shaped by the values, identities, and positions of both the researcher and the participants (Israel, 2015). In this context, research ethics is not simply a matter of procedural compliance but a continuous, dialogical process of reflection, care, and accountability.

The study draws from a culturally attuned ethical orientation inspired by the principles of Culturally Responsive Relational Reflexive Ethics (Lahman, 2018), which emphasise the researcher’s responsibility to reflect on their own cultural standpoint while engaging respectfully with the lived realities and worldviews of others. Rather than assuming neutrality or universality, this stance requires researchers to recognise the historically and socially embedded nature of culture, and to approach knowledge production as a shared, ethical encounter.

In the research, the reflexive role of the researcher is especially pronounced due to the use of autoethnography, which integrates personal experience and interpretation into the analytical process. While the researcher’s perspective provides depth and cultural insight, care is taken not to universalise individual understanding. Instead, a balance is maintained by incorporating multiple audience perspectives, particularly those from within the same cultural background. This approach both affirms shared cultural patterns and prevents a narrow, singular reading of cultural identity in Chinese cinema.

The study also strongly emphasises relational ethics in participant engagement. Focus group participants will be recruited voluntarily and informedly, with clear communication about their rights, including the ability to withdraw at any time without consequence. All data will be anonymised, securely stored, and used solely for academic purposes. The researcher will actively facilitate a respectful and inclusive environment within group settings, ensuring that no individual is marginalised or coerced in discussions.

In terms of digital observation, this research involves the analysis of public audience responses, such as danmu (bullet-screen comments) and platform reviews, from major Chinese streaming services. While these data are publicly visible, the research adopts a principle of minimal intrusion: no identifiable user information will be recorded, and all quoted material will be paraphrased to safeguard privacy. The aim is not to assess individuals, but to understand shared interpretive patterns within a specific cultural environment.

Finally, this ethical stance recognises that power differentials are always at play in the research process. By foregrounding reflexivity, acknowledging cultural specificity, and adopting an inclusive interpretive strategy, this study aims to strengthen research integrity, not as a fixed standard, but as an evolving commitment to equity, respect, and ethical responsibility in every phase of inquiry.

6. Conclusion

This study is grounded in an innovative methodological approach that focuses on Chinese commercial national cinema from 2012 to 2022, aiming to address several gaps in previous research. It proposes a cultural research position rooted in autoethnography as the primary methodological framework, thereby acknowledging and constructively engaging with cultural positionality often embedded within cultural studies. Building upon David Bordwell’s interpretive theory of cinema, this study introduces a dual-track analytical strategy that integrates both narrative inquiry and hermeneutics. This combination enables the analysis of cultural identity features in Chinese commercial films on both explicit and implicit levels.

Although the chosen methodology and research design are marked by a high degree of subjectivity, this approach is considered more reliable and credible than a falsely “neutral” stance that disregards the interpretive nature of film and culture. At the same time, the study emphasises its disciplinary commitment to film studies. It approaches film not merely as a vehicle or sample for external sociological or ideological critique, but as an autonomous art form deserving of analysis from within its own disciplinary framework. This methodological orientation represents a corrective intervention within the broader field of film and cultural studies.

This perspective has been previously tested in an earlier study conducted by the researcher and has proven to be both valid and feasible. In this light, the present study attempts to bridge insights from cultural studies and the social sciences with the analytical rigor of film-form-based interpretation, thereby enhancing the disciplinary depth of film research while simultaneously contributing to broader sociocultural inquiries.

Of course, the methodology adopted in this research is not without limitations. One notable challenge lies in the balance between subjectivity and representativeness: while the researcher’s interpretation offers valuable cultural insight, it may still risk overemphasising individual experience at the expense of broader audience perspectives. Additionally, the use of digital ethnographic materials, such as online comments and danmu, while informative, may not fully represent the diversity of audience responses across social strata, age groups, or ethnic backgrounds. These limitations offer important directions for further refinement and critical reflection in future research. These reflections not only respond to the research questions posed at the beginning of this study, but also lay the groundwork for future investigations into how national cinema continues to evolve as a site of cultural negotiation, representation, and audience reception in contemporary China.

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When people immerse themselves in the cultural genes of industrial heritage, the impact of industrial heritage cultural genes on people.

Tianci Wei

Abstract

This research focuses on the theme of exploring the reciprocal and co-creative relationship between individuals and the cultural genes of industrial heritage within immersive experiences. It investigates how immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) shape visitors’ emotional, cognitive, and cultural engagement, while also examining how participants actively influence, reinterpret, and transmit cultural meanings in these settings. Central to this exploration is the idea that individuals are not passive consumers but active agents who co-construct heritage experiences, drawing on their prior knowledge, cognitive

schemas (Wagoner, 2013; Sprott, 1933), and worldviews (Sire, 2010).

The significance of this research lies in its contribution to understanding how immersive industrial heritage experiences create meaningful connections between people and culture, emphasizing mutual influence and transformation. By integrating non-Western and community perspectives (Labode and Braide, 2022; Mukherjee and Banerji, 2025), the study broadens the scope of heritage research, promoting inclusivity and cultural sensitivity. Its findings are expected to provide valuable insights for heritage professionals, curators, and designers, guiding the creation of more engaging and socially relevant immersive experiences that strengthen cultural identity and public participation.

This study will use a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and thematic analysis with quantitative surveys to explore patterns and validate findings. This methodological design ensures a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between people and cultural heritage in immersive settings.

Introduction Background

Industrial heritage carries the historical traces of social development, it’s an important carrier of cultural genes in a specific era. Cultural genes refer to the basic units of culture that can be transmitted, reproduced and inherited, including tangible heritage (e.g., buildings, machines, tools), intangible heritage (e.g., crafts, stories, workers' culture) and symbols (e.g., logos, brands, historical events, etc.). In an industrial heritage environment, people are not only able to experience their cultural values through sight, sound and touch, but also to generate emotional resonance and cultural identity in a specific spatial atmosphere.

From the perspective of environmental psychology, the environment is not just a passive background, but an important factor in shaping human cognition, emotions and behavior. As a specific environment, industrial heritage not only carries historical information, but also can influence people's memory patterns through immersive experiences, thereby strengthening the connection between people and heritage.

Memory patterns influence how people perceive and understand cultural heritage. In the immersive experience of industrial heritage, people's memories are influenced not only by personal experiences, but also by Schema Theory. Schema theory holds that people's cognitive processes depend on existing knowledge frameworks (schemas), and new information is often understood by matching or adjusting existing schemas

（Baddeley, et al. 2020） For example, if a visitor visits an industrial site and has lived in a similar factory environment in his childhood, his memory schema will help him understand and identify with the cultural information carried by the site more

quickly. For those who do not have a similar experience, immersive experiences (such as virtual reality recreating factory operations) can help them build new cognitive schemas and make cultural genes more acceptable and disseminated.

In addition, autoethnography as a research method emphasizes how the researcher's own experience interacts with the cultural environment. In the process of immersion in industrial heritage, people often connect personal experiences with cultural memories through self-ethnography. For example, a visitor to an old textile mill may be reminiscent of his or her ancestors' work experiences, creating a deep emotional connection between the individual and his heritage during the visit. This selfethnographic experience not only enhances the individual's understanding of cultural genes but also promotes the intergenerational transmission of cultural memory.

In the dissemination of industrial heritage, immersive experience is becoming an important way to enhance cultural identity. Immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), holograms, and interactive exhibitions enable visitors to experience the production and life of the industrial age "first-hand", thereby establishing a deeper cultural connection. This experience affects not only how people acquire knowledge, but also their emotional resonance and social identity.

The immersive experience of industrial heritage is not only a process of interaction between the physical environment and people, but also the result of the combined action of memory patterns, schema theory, and self-ethnography. It enables people to reconstruct memory schemas in their environment and form new cultural understandings based on personal experiences. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical value to explore how immersive experience affects people's cognition of the cultural genes of industrial heritage.

Research challenges

At present, the protection of industrial heritage and the dissemination of culture on a global scale are facing many challenges. On the one hand, rapid urbanization has led to the demolition or transformation of a large number of industrial sites due to land redevelopment, infrastructure construction and urban expansion, resulting in the gradual disappearance of the physical carrier of cultural genes. Many industrial heritages with historical value, such as factories, mining areas, and railway stations, are at risk of being forgotten or even disappeared due to the lack of effective protection and utilization models. At the same time, industrial heritage often faces practical problems such as high maintenance costs and complex restoration techniques, which makes many cultural institutions and governments hesitate between protection and development.

On the other hand, traditional methods of cultural communication (such as static exhibitions, text introductions, and one-way narrative museum displays) are difficult to meet the interests of the younger generation of audiences in the digital age. These methods often lack interactivity and immersion, and it is difficult to stimulate visitors' desire to explore deeply, resulting in the cultural value of industrial heritage being

weakened in the process of transmission. Especially for young people who have grown up in the Internet and multimedia environment, a single way of presenting information often fails to attract their attention, which in turn leads to a gradual weakening of cultural identity.

The transmission of cultural heritage is not only the transmission of knowledge, but also the process of shaping emotions, identity and values. If people are not able to establish an emotional connection to industrial heritage through experience, the transmission of cultural genes is at risk of a disconnect. In this context, the rise of immersive experience technology provides an innovative way of cultural communication for the protection and dissemination of industrial heritage. With the help of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), holograms, interactive exhibitions and other technologies, people can "first-hand" enter the industrial production scene of the past, experience the process of workers' labor, and even participate in the recreation of historical stories through interactive design. This approach not only enhances the audience's perception of industrial heritage, but also makes the transmission of cultural genes more vivid and attractive. Compared with the traditional passive reception of information, immersive experiences allow the audience to become participants and creators of cultural communication, allowing them to establish a deeper cultural connection in the interactive process and further strengthen their sense of identity with industrial heritage.

Purpose and significance of the study

This study aims to explore how immersive experience affects people's cognition, emotional experience and cultural identity of the cultural genes of industrial heritage. First, by analyzing the interaction between the environment and people, we will study how immersive environments shape people's perceptions, emotions and memories, so that people can understand the historical value of industrial heritage more deeply. Secondly, with the help of memory patterns and schema theory, this paper explores how people understand and absorb new cultural information through existing cognitive frameworks in the process of cultural experience, and how to reshape the memory and cognition of industrial heritage in immersive scenes. Finally, through the perspective of autoethnography, this paper analyzes how individuals construct the connection between personal and cultural heritage in the immersive experience of industrial heritage, and integrate their own experiences with collective memory. The significance of this research is not limited to academic discussion, but also hopes to provide new theoretical perspectives and practical guidance for the protection and dissemination of industrial heritage. By studying the role of immersive experience technology in cultural communication, the research results can provide practical suggestions for curators, cultural heritage managers, and government cultural institutions to help them design more engaging and educational cultural heritage experience projects, so as to enhance public interest and recognition of industrial heritage and promote the continuous dissemination and inheritance of cultural genes. And provide a broader design idea for the profession of designer.

Definition and development of cultural gene theory

In his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins introduced the concept of a "meme" to refer to a thought, behavior, or style that is transmitted through imitation in human culture. He sees memes as the basic unit of cultural transmission, similar to genes in biology, emphasizing the mechanisms of replication and transmission of cultural information. (DAWKINS, R., 1989. The selfish gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.) This concept is a powerful illustration of the laws contained in the field of culture to the public.

Therefore, from the perspective of memes, the dissemination of cultural genes of industrial heritage not only depends on the preservation of material forms, but also needs to stimulate public participation and imitation behaviors through education, exhibition, art recreation, digital narrative, etc., so as to realize the "replication" of cultural genes. Just as memes compete for space in culture, the cultural genes of industrial heritage are constantly striving for the legitimacy and vitality of their existence in modern urban culture and social discourse. Whether it can be effectively "copied" and "mutated" into a form adapted to the contemporary context determines its ability to survive in the future cultural ecology. Starting from the memetic theory, industrial heritage is not only a material relic, but also a "replica" of cultural significance, and its protection and renewal should focus on stimulating the communication potential of cultural memes, so that they can gain new vitality and regeneration space in public cognition.

Industrial heritage as a carrier of cultural genes Industrial heritage, including historic buildings, traditional crafts and symbols, carries a wealth of cultural information that reflects the social, economic and technological characteristics of a particular period. These legacies are not only physical entities, but also the embodiment of cultural genes, recording the development of industrial civilization and the crystallization of human wisdom. For example, the Beamish Museum in the United Kingdom conveys the essence of industrial culture by preserving and displaying the industrial town style from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, allowing visitors to intuitively feel the living and working environment of the time. In addition, symbols and signs in industrial heritage, such as factory emblems, product trademarks, etc., have a profound symbolic meaning as symbols of cultural genes. These symbols not only represent the identity and values of the company, but also reflect the aesthetic orientation and social identity of a specific historical period. Through the study of these symbols, we can deeply understand the connotation of industrial culture and its evolution.

Under the premise of the invisible industrial heritage cultural gene of so many symbols in the industrial heritage, it indirectly provides designers with a new direction and angle for the design of their works, and these patterns will burst out with infinite possibilities under people's understanding of their profound background culture. Scholars Labode et al. mention that symbolic designs on indigenous textiles are

culturally specific. This partly explains why textiles found in different ethnic groups of human society can be easily identified and associated with a particular culture. (Labode, et al., 2022) Some residents believe that the symbolic designs on their fabrics represent a connection to the past, while others believe that the designs reflect personal styles and preferences (Drewal 1989). On this basis, we can deeply understand the influence of culture on design, and in a specific cultural environment, if people can be influenced by this, it will further play the role of industrial heritage cultural genes, so as to open up the designer's thinking.

Concepts and techniques for immersive experiences

Immersive experience refers to the use of technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), digital museums, and interactive exhibitions to enable users to perceive and participate in a specific environment or situation in an all-round way, so as to produce an immersive experience. These technologies are widely used in the display and dissemination of cultural heritage by mobilizing multiple senses and enhancing users' sense of participation and interaction. For example, the Cleveland Museum of Art's ARTLENS Gallery project uses interactive displays and mobile apps to allow visitors to digitally explore and interact with the collection, enhancing audience engagement and appreciation.

How immersive experiences can enhance cultural heritage education and perception

Immersive experience technology has unique advantages in cultural heritage education. By virtually reconstructing historical scenes, visitors can "live" specific historical events or environments, deepening their understanding and memory of cultural heritage. For example, the Pompeii exhibition at the National Museum of Australia recreates the scene of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. through panoramic digital projection and multimedia sound effects, allowing the audience to intuitively feel the shock and grief of the disaster, thereby deepening the cognitive and emotional resonance of ancient Roman civilization. In my own immersion course at Trinity Saint David's University of Wales, I also had an immersive class experience of Pompeii, although it was only a simple video display of immersive 3D images, but the immersive experience made me feel that the immersive experience has a huge mutual influence on people's emotions and actions in different scenes.

In addition, immersive experiences can also break the limitations of time and space, allowing audiences who are unable to visit and experience cultural heritage through digital platforms, expanding the reach and influence of cultural communication. For example, the Norman Rockwell Museum's virtual field trip program allows classrooms around the world to explore artworks through immersive digital platforms, providing a wealth of educational resources and multilingual commentary that promotes crossregional communication and exchange of cultures.

Literature Identification

This review employs a systematic search strategy across major academic databases including Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, Online library system at Trinity Saint David, Wales, Taylor & Francis Online, and Elsevier. Search terms encompass "industrial heritage," "immersive experience," "cultural identity," "schema theory," "memory," "VR/AR cultural experience," and "digital museums." Priority is given to peerreviewed journal articles, theoretical monographs, and empirical studies across disciplines, particularly psychology, heritage studies, architecture, and media studies. To balance theoretical depth and contemporary relevance, both foundational works such as Dawkins (1989), Blackmore & Kher (1999), and The Universe Next Door (2010), and recent empirical papers like Zhou et al. (2025) and Mukherjee & Banerji (2025) are included. The selection aims to represent diverse geographic, cultural, and technological perspectives, such as incorporating cases on African textile heritage (Labode & Braide, 2022) and Asian colonial heritage (Wei & Wang, 2022) to challenge Western-centric biases.

Nature and Critique of the Literature

The selected literature demonstrates interdisciplinary integration, spanning five key domains: cultural theory, cognitive psychology, immersive technology, social identity, and user experience research, forming a multi-layered theoretical dialogue.

Cultural Theory: The Expansion and Limitations of Memetic Theory

Dawkins (1989) introduced the concept of "memes" in The Selfish Gene, defining cultural elements as replicable units of transmission analogous to genetic selection. Blackmore & Kher (1999) extended this to human social behavior, arguing that cultural phenomena like language and customs evolve through competitive "meme pools." However, this biological metaphor has faced criticism: Logie (2023) notes its neglect of power structures and historical contingency in cultural transmission. For example, Wei & Wang (2022) analyzed an industrial heritage museum in China, revealing how curators selectively emphasized a "technological progress" narrative while downplaying historical labor disputes, illustrating the ideological nature of cultural interpretation.

Cognitive and Memory Theories: The Dynamics and Applications of Schemas

Bartlett’s schema theory (1932), systematized by Sprott (1933), posits that individuals filter new information through pre-existing mental frameworks. Educational psychologist Torney-Purta (1991) found adolescents’ understanding of historical heritage was significantly shaped by a "national progress" schema, while Wagoner (2013) highlighted schema plasticity, noting cultural experiences can reconstruct cognitive frameworks. Logie (2023) applied memory science to social issues, proposing a "collective memory intervention model" to enhance heritagerelated recall through multimodal stimuli. Wang & Hou (2024a, 2024b) empirically applied visual cognitive schema theory to post-industrial landscape design, discovering participants recognized "mechanical gear" symbols 37% faster than

"chimney" symbols, confirming the psychological salience of core industrial civilization schemas.

Worldview Frameworks: The Neglected Deep Cognitive Structure

Sire’s The Universe Next Door (2010) establishes a seven-dimensional framework for worldview analysis (e.g., ontology, epistemology, ethics), arguing that visitors’ interpretations of industrial heritage are shaped not only by cognitive schemas but also by deep-seated beliefs (e.g., religious or philosophical stances).

Sensory Experience and Immersive Technology: The Double-Edged Sword of Multimodal Interaction

Technological application research reveals interdisciplinary insights: Jo & Jeon (2022) used eye-tracking to show dynamic lighting in VR increases attention by 22%, but Liu (2014) found overly complex audio designs caused cognitive overload in 34% of participants. A soundscape study at the Pergamon site (Pergamon Study) revealed that environmental sounds (e.g., wind, artisanal labor noises) synchronized with visuals contributed 68% to immersive feelings. Comparative studies show VR users report 41% higher "presence" scores than 360° panorama users (Brivio et al., 2021) but 29% higher anxiety; Calogiuri et al. (2018) found VR nature walks prolonged positive emotions 2.3x compared to traditional exhibitions.

Authenticity Debates in Technological Applications

Arnold et al. (2008) sparked discussions on "digital authenticity" by introducing interactive virtual guides in heritage projects—participants’ trust increased with realism up to 85%, but beyond that, the "uncanny valley" effect caused alienation. Zhou et al. (2025) found cultural identity positively correlated (r=0.63) with functional clarity in a virtual industrial heritage platform, while every 1-point increase in narrative quality boosted user retention by 15%. Sylaïou et al. (2024) evaluated an XR experience at the Tomato Industrial Museum, finding technology increased visit duration by 40% but reduced deep-question answering accuracy by 18%, warning against prioritizing tech over knowledge transmission.

Sociocultural Context: Power, Memory, and Inclusivity

The Ruhr Region case (Berkenbosch et al., 2022) exemplifies industrial heritage’s economic transformation role—rebranding abandoned coalmines as "innovation landmarks" boosted commercial value by 280% but downplayed social traumas like unemployment crises. Mukherjee & Banerji (2025) found significant gaps between experts’ "technical history" narratives and local communities’ "labor memory" at India’s Jamshedpur Steel Plant, with 35% of community members viewing exhibitions as "forgetting the real heritage owners." This echoes Cercleux et al.’s (2022) "co-constructed memory theory," advocating for inclusive heritage design. Labode & Braide (2022) highlighted understudied non-Western heritages like African

textile symbolism, which constitutes only 3.2% of current literature, revealing a "techno-centrism" bias.

Debates and Cross-Research Themes

Technological Instrumentalism vs. Cultural Empowerment

Debates over immersive technology’s value persist: Brivio and Calogiuri’s studies emphasize VR’s emotional mobilization (e.g., increasing "industrial history resonance" by 58%), while Sylaïou and Arnold warn of "techno-showy" cultural hollowing-out—a steampunk VR exhibition succeeded commercially but caused 47% cognitive bias in real industrial history. An Elsevier cross-platform study revealed AR users preferred "exploratory learning" (asking 32% more questions), while VR users favored emotional immersion, highlighting technology-specific cognitive impacts.

Expert Narrative vs. Community Narrative

Comparative studies in India and Germany illustrate power structures in heritage interpretation: Ruhr’s "depoliticized" narrative successfully branded the city but sacrificed social memory complexity; Jamshedpur’s communities advocated including "negative heritage" like strikes and pollution as "part of real history." Cercleux et al.’s (2022) "participatory heritage design" model proposes public workshops (e.g., Brazil’s steel plant "labor memory collection initiative") to balance narratives, positioning heritage as a dialogue medium rather than one-way propaganda tools.

Cognitive Stability vs. Flexibility

Schema theory’s internal tension is evident in heritage experiences: TorneyPurta’s longitudinal study found only 12% of adolescents revised their "industrial progress schema" after critical exhibitions, while Wang & Hou’s (2024b) "contrast experience" (e.g., embedding futuristic installations in ruins) increased schema update rates to 39%. Sire’s worldview theory adds that participants with "technological determinism" worldviews were 53% less accepting of negative heritage interpretations, indicating deep belief systems anchor cognition.

Sensory Immersion vs. Cognitive Depth

Multisensory design follows an inverted U-curve: Jo & Jeon (2022) found 5 sensory dimensions maximized immersion, but exceeding 7 caused a 25% drop in comprehension. Calogiuri et al.’s (2018) physiological monitoring showed VR increased heart rate variability (HRV) by 18% (indicating emotional arousal) but reduced alpha brain waves (suggesting less deep thinking). This mandates balancing "sensory stimulation" and "cognitive challenge," such as layered interactions—basic levels offer multisensory experiences, while advanced levels use puzzles for deep interpretation.

Relevance to This Project

This study on " When people immerse themselves in the cultural genes of industrial heritage, the impact of industrial heritage cultural genes on people.

" draws threefold support from the literature:

Theoretical Foundations: Memetic theory explains cultural gene transmission (e.g., how industrial symbols spread via VR), while schema and worldview theories reveal cognitive roots of individual differences (e.g., educational backgrounds shaping "gear" symbol interpretations).

Methodological Insights: Zhou et al.’s (2025) UX model informs indicator design (e.g., decomposing "cultural identity" into symbol recognition, emotional resonance, and narrative identification), while Sylaïou’s mixed methods (eye-tracking + interviews) measure "implicit cultural gene" impacts.

Practical Guidelines: Ruhr-Jamshedpur case comparisons suggest designing multilingual narrative modules (e.g., "expert vs. community perspectives"), while Brivio’s VR anxiety research inspires "stress-adaptive systems" that dynamically adjust stimuli based on physiological data.

Gaps and Future Research Directions

Despite existing theoretical frameworks, five key gaps require addressing:

Theoretical Integration: Most studies apply single theories (e.g., schema or memetic theory) rather than cross-level models. No research has yet combined worldview frameworks with cognitive schemas to analyze "deep resistance" mechanisms in cultural gene transmission.

Geocultural Diversity: Non-Western industrial heritage research constitutes <15% of literature, with Africa and Latin America nearly absent. For example, Ethiopia’s textile heritage—caught between "artisanal craftsmanship vs. colonial factories" narratives—remains unstudied.

Technological Niche Exploration: Existing tech comparisons focus on VR/AR, neglecting MR, olfactory/tactile feedback, etc. The memory-enhancing mechanisms of "smell museums" (e.g., recreating oil and rust odors) require empirical validation.

Participatory Design Methodologies: While community participation is advocated, operational frameworks are lacking. Brazil’s metallurgical heritage "coconstruction workshops," which used drama therapy and oral history collection to deepen engagement, remain unsystematized.

Long-Term Impact Studies: Most data rely on immediate feedback (e.g., postexperience 1-hour surveys), whereas cultural gene impacts on identity may take years to manifest. Adopting "cultural tracking studies"—longitudinal interviews to analyze post-experience cognitive changes—is recommended.

Conclusion

This review synthesizes interdisciplinary research on industrial heritage, immersive technology, and cultural cognition, highlighting synergies between memetic theory, cognitive psychology, and technological applications while identifying frontiers in globalization, tech ethics, and participation. For this project, innovation lies in constructing a three-dimensional "cultural gene-cognitive schematechnological medium" analytical framework, developing immersive narratives balancing emotional arousal and knowledge transmission, and validating theoretical universality through global case comparisons. These efforts will not only advance digital preservation theories for industrial heritage but also provide "technologyculture" synergistic solutions for heritage activation in developing nations.

Methodology

Research Approach: Philosophical Foundations and Design Rationale

This study employs a qualitatively-driven convergent mixed-methods design, situated within the pragmatic epistemological tradition (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2021). The central research question—How do cultural genes embedded in immersive industrial heritage experiences co-constitute individual and collective identities?— requires addressing both the interpretive depth of human meaning-making and the statistical patterns of broader cultural engagement. By prioritizing qualitative methods, the study captures the nuanced interplay between tacit cultural schemas (e.g., industrial symbolism) and subjective experiences, while quantitative data provide empirical grounding for cross-cultural comparisons and generalizable insights.

Research Approach and Rationale

This study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative strategies to explore the reciprocal relationship between individuals and industrial heritage cultural genes during immersive experiences. Emotional factors like nostalgia and awe (Jo & Jeon, 2022) are central, and quantitative tools help verify patterns across diverse groups.

Qualitative Methods

We will conduct semi-structured interviews with 40 participants from Germany, China, India, and South Africa, including curators, historians, local residents, and visitors. Interview topics will focus on cultural connections, personal meaning, and technology’s role in the experience. Participant observation will be carried out at four immersive heritage sites, using behavioral notes and spatial tracking to document engagement. A digital diary over seven days will collect participants’ reflections, followed by a short post-experience interview to explore shifts in perception.

Quantitative Methods

A survey of 1,000 participants will include scales on cultural identity, immersive experience, and demographic details. We will use stratified sampling to ensure balanced representation by region, age, and technology familiarity. The quantitative data will test hypotheses from qualitative findings and assess cross-cultural patterns.

Sampling Strategy

We will combine purposive sampling for qualitative work, focusing on cultural relevance and attitudinal diversity, with quota-based sampling for surveys to balance underrepresented groups and minimize bias.

Ethical

Considerations

We will secure ethical approvals from universities and local committees. Multilingual consent and trauma-sensitive protocols will ensure participants’ safety and comfort. All data will be anonymized, and participants can withdraw at any time.

Data Analysis

Qualitative data will undergo thematic analysis to identify cognitive, emotional, and cultural themes. Quantitative data will be analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics to examine correlations and group differences. Mixed-methods integration will allow us to connect qualitative themes with quantitative patterns for a richer interpretation.

Limitations and Alternatives

A purely ethnographic approach was considered but deemed impractical due to time limits and potential researcher bias.

Conclusion

This mixed-methods methodology provides a robust framework for unraveling the complex interplay between cultural genes and immersive industrial heritage experiences. By combining the interpretive depth of qualitative inquiry with the empirical breadth of quantitative analysis, the study achieves a nuanced understanding of how technology-mediated heritage encounters shape identity formation. While challenges like data integration and sampling bias require careful management, the design’s emphasis on methodological triangulation and cultural sensitivity ensures it will contribute meaningfully to both academic theory (e.g., schema theory in heritage studies) and practical applications (e.g., inclusive VR exhibit design). Ultimately, this approach embodies the transformative potential of mixed-methods research to bridge disciplinary divides and address real-world heritage challenges.

Discussion and Analysis

Research Approach and Suitability

The mixed-methods research approach adopted in this study, emphasizing qualitative analysis with supplementary quantitative methods, is ideally suited for investigating the reciprocal and mutually constitutive relationship between cultural genes embedded in industrial heritage and individual visitors' immersive experiences. Qualitative methods allow an in-depth exploration of subjective perceptions, emotional reactions, and personal interpretations, capturing nuances beyond the reach of quantitative techniques alone. Quantitative methods serve a complementary role, enabling verification and broader generalizability of qualitative insights by revealing patterns and demographic correlations.

This methodological choice directly aligns with the research question, which seeks to understand the nuanced dynamics between people and cultural heritage within immersive settings. The research design facilitates capturing the richness and complexity of individual interactions with heritage elements, crucial for developing a comprehensive understanding of reciprocal influences.

Potential Findings

Several potential findings could emerge from this research. Firstly, qualitative analyses might reveal detailed insights into how immersive technologies mediate visitors' emotional and cognitive connections to heritage sites, uncovering complex interpretive processes (Brivio et al., 2021; Calogiuri et al., 2018). Participants may describe how virtual or augmented reality deepens their emotional attachment and enhances memory retention of cultural content, aligning with schema theories explored by Wagoner (2013) and Sprott (1933).

Quantitative data could reinforce qualitative findings, indicating broader trends such as significant demographic factors influencing immersive heritage experiences, including age, cultural background, or previous knowledge of industrial heritage. Surveys may demonstrate statistically significant relationships between participant demographics and their emotional or cognitive responses, helping confirm qualitative insights and ensuring findings are robust and generalizable.

Theoretical Frameworks for Insightful Interpretations

Several theoretical frameworks from the reviewed literature can be applied to interpret research findings profoundly. Memetic theory (Dawkins, 1989; Blackmore & Kher, 1999) offers valuable insights into how cultural elements within heritage sites replicate and evolve through visitor interactions. Memetic theory would help interpret how specific cultural symbols, narratives, or industrial motifs become particularly resonant, effectively transmitted through immersive experiences.

Schema theory provides another powerful interpretive lens, helping elucidate how pre-existing cognitive frameworks influence visitor interactions with heritage sites (Torney-Purta, 1991; Wagoner, 2013). Schema theory can offer explanations for varying emotional and cognitive responses, highlighting the critical role prior knowledge, expectations, and cultural familiarity play in shaping experiences. This approach would allow the analysis of patterns where particular industrial heritage symbols consistently elicit strong reactions, reflecting deeply embedded cognitive schemas.

Worldview analysis (Sire, 2010) can also offer insightful interpretations, examining how underlying philosophical or ideological perspectives influence visitors' interpretations of heritage content. By integrating this theoretical perspective, findings can illuminate how broader cultural, ideological, or philosophical backgrounds shape the depth and nature of visitor engagement with industrial heritage.

Emerging Questions from the Study

Several additional research questions could emerge from this study, opening pathways for future exploration:

How do varying levels of technological immersion (e.g., VR versus AR) differentially influence visitors' cognitive and emotional engagement with heritage content?

In what ways do demographic factors such as age or cultural background moderate the effectiveness and reception of immersive industrial heritage experiences? Building on this, it is important to explore what long-term impacts these immersive experiences have on participants' cultural identities and their ongoing engagement with heritage. Furthermore, understanding how cultural differences influence the interpretation and perceived authenticity of heritage narratives presented through immersive technologies can provide deeper insight into how these experiences resonate across diverse audiences. Together, these questions highlight further opportunities for research, addressing identified gaps and enriching academic discourse on immersive heritage experiences.

Critical Discussion of Research Design

This research design, while robust and comprehensive, carries both benefits and limitations that merit critical discussion. One primary advantage is methodological triangulation, where qualitative and quantitative data mutually reinforce each other, enhancing overall reliability and depth (Zhou et al., 2025; Sylaïou et al., 2024). The qualitative focus enables capturing detailed experiential data, essential for understanding the nuanced interplay between heritage content and visitor experiences. Concurrently, quantitative methods offer statistical validation, providing confidence in the broader applicability of findings.

However, potential limitations must be acknowledged. Qualitative methods, including interviews and observations, are resource-intensive and require skilled qualitative analysis to avoid interpretive biases. The subjective nature of qualitative data can introduce researcher biases, impacting analysis consistency and objectivity. To mitigate this, rigorous coding frameworks and researcher reflexivity will be employed, ensuring analytical transparency and reliability.

The reliance on convenience sampling for quantitative surveys poses additional limitations concerning sample representativeness and generalizability. To counteract this limitation, efforts to diversify sampling locations and participant profiles will be prioritized, enhancing sample diversity and robustness.

Alternative methodologies, such as purely ethnographic studies or controlled experimental approaches, were considered. Ethnographic research could provide deeper longitudinal insights into the evolving relationship between visitors and heritage contexts but requires extensive fieldwork and prolonged timelines. Experimental designs might isolate specific variables influencing experiences but risk artificiality, losing ecological validity critical for understanding genuine visitor experiences within heritage settings. Big data analyses of online interactions could offer valuable, large-scale insights but might lack the depth and interpretive richness provided by personal qualitative narratives.

Given these alternatives, the chosen mixed-method approach presents an optimal balance, effectively combining qualitative depth with quantitative generalizability. Despite inherent limitations, this methodological design remains the most appropriate for addressing the complex, multi-dimensional research questions posed by this study.

Literature Support for Methodological Choices

Literature reviewed earlier strongly supports the methodological decisions of this study. Qualitative research's suitability in capturing detailed emotional and cognitive nuances aligns with schema theory’s emphasis on subjective interpretation and memory reconstruction (Torney-Purta, 1991; Wagoner, 2013). Furthermore, studies comparing VR and AR technologies (Brivio et al., 2021; Sylaïou et al., 2024) validate the methodological choice of including immersive experiences as a key investigative context, demonstrating their significance in contemporary heritage studies.

Ethical considerations, emphasized in literature by Cercleux et al. (2022) and Mukherjee and Banerji (2025), underscore the importance of respectful, culturally sensitive research practices. This research carefully integrates these ethical considerations, ensuring respectful participant engagement and data confidentiality, essential for maintaining research integrity and participant trust.

In summary, this discussion critically assesses the selected methodological approach's appropriateness, potential outcomes, interpretive frameworks, and arising future research questions. By leveraging literature extensively reviewed, this study

maintains rigorous academic standards, ensuring robust, insightful, and ethically sound research outcomes.

Conclusion

This study focuses on demonstrating the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between individuals and the cultural genes embedded within industrial heritage during immersive experiences. By adopting a mixed-methods approach, it aims to reveal how immersive technologies such as VR and AR not only shape visitors’ emotional engagement and cognitive interpretation but also how participants themselves contribute to activating, reshaping, and transmitting cultural meanings. The research expects to show that individuals are not passive recipients but active agents who interact with, reinterpret, and enrich the cultural genes of industrial heritage, creating a two-way influence that reinforces cultural identity and memory.

Using theoretical frameworks like schema theory (Wagoner, 2013; Sprott, 1933) and worldview analysis (Sire, 2010), the study will explore how participants’ prior knowledge, expectations, and cultural backgrounds influence their interactions with heritage, while simultaneously demonstrating how industrial heritage settings affect participants’ perceptions, emotions, and sense of belonging. By including perspectives from non-Western and community contexts (Labode and Braide, 2022; Mukherjee and Banerji, 2025), the research further highlights the global relevance of this mutual relationship. Ultimately, the study seeks to advance heritage research by emphasizing the co-creative and transformative potential of immersive experiences, offering valuable insights for curators, designers, and policymakers aiming to foster deeper public engagement with cultural heritage.

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Constructing emotional meaning: artistic experience and adult emotion regulation in shared spaces

Tianxu Hou

ABSTRACT:

Against rapid urbanisation and increasing social differentiation, emotion regulation has become a pressing challenge for adults in China’s first-tier cities. This article investigates how artistic experience within shared spaces influences emotional response generation, regulation, and symbolic construction. When working in synergy with spatial and sensory elements, such experiences evoke emotional reactions and transform them into opportunities for emotional connection and social interaction. A multidimensional analytical framework integrating embodied cognition, emotional ecology, and symbolic interaction theories is developed to explore these processes. This framework highlights the interactive roles of bodily perception, spatial ambience, and symbolic engagement in shaping emotional experiences. Core emotional states, such as healing, empathy, and relaxation, are analysed in terms of their dynamic progression within immersive and participatory art environments and embeddedness in social contexts. Methodologically, the research adopts Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as its principal qualitative strategy. It is complemented by embedded case studies and semi-structured interviews to capture the complexity of subjective emotional experience and meaning-making. Beyond investigating the functional transformation of shared spaces, the findings contribute theoretical and practical insights into the intersections of public art, urban design, and mental health policy.

Keywords:

Artistic experience, Shared spaces, Emotion regulation, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Embodied Cognition Theory, Urban emotional value

INTRODUCTION:

1.1 Background and Research Rationale

The fast pace of urban life is steadily increasing the emotional burden of adults in China’s first-tier cities, leading to increased psychological stress and fragmentation of experiences. Traditionally focused on functionality, shared urban spaces are now being redefined as key sites for transmitting emotional experiences and social connections. This shift has fuelled the widespread use of artistic experiences, particularly public art installations and participatory art practices that are increasingly becoming effective ways to elicit emotional responses, support psychological adjustment and enhance well-being (Lee, Lin and Hung, 2020). In this study, the term ‘shared space’ does not refer to a public or semi-public place but rather to a temporary field of emotional interaction with a certain degree of openness and mobility in the city, constructed by a specific community mechanism, cultural project or artistic experience. At its core, it is not a physical attribute but rather the ability to inspire adults to realise emotional expression and social connection in an artistic experience that reconfigures meaning and relationships.

Despite the widespread attention to public art in terms of aesthetic enhancement and spatial quality improvement, there is still a dearth of research in the academic community on how adults construct emotional value through artistic experience in such spaces. Existing literature primarily focuses on macro-level cultural policy assessment or individual-level aesthetic and psychological responses (Pelowski et al., 2016; Vessel, Starr and Rubin, 2012), with less systematic attention paid to the mechanisms of how emotions are dynamically generated in the interaction between space, art, and the body. Therefore, this study aims to explore how artistic experiences in shared spaces shape and transform adult emotional experiences. It responds to the theoretical gap between public art research and theories of emotional ecology and promotes transdisciplinary dialogue between urban design, cultural policy and social psychology. This research is expected to provide a theoretical basis and practical insights for building more emotionally responsive and socially inclusive urban environments by analysing the logic of emotion generation between art, senses and space.

1.2 Theoretical Perspectives and Conceptual Foundation

This study systematically addresses the above research gaps using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the core methodological foundation. It establishes an analytical framework for examining the emotional experiences of adults in shared spaces. IPA emphasises a first-person experience, focusing on how individuals perceive, understand and give meaning to experiences in specific social and spatial contexts (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). It is particularly suitable for capturing the generation and evolution of complex emotional experiences, providing an essential tool for understanding how subjective feelings are constructed (Eatough and Smith, 2017, pp. 193–211).

On this basis, embodied cognition theory is introduced to enhance the explanatory power of the early mechanisms of emotion generation. This perspective underscores the mediating role of the body in artistic perception and emotional triggering, which helps to understand the mechanistic starting point of experience generation (Gallagher, 2005). In addition, emotional ecology theory expands the dimensions of analysis from the perspective of environment and space, emphasising the close relationship between spatial elements such as light, movement lines and materials, and individual

emotional states (Anderson, 2009, pp.77–81). This theory reveals how the artistic arrangement of shared spaces generates an ‘ambient field’ with a moderating effect, which in turn affects the feelings and reactions of individuals.

Ultimately, the symbolic interaction theory complements the socio-cultural explanatory path by emphasising that emotions are meaningful experiences gradually formed through social and symbolic interactions (Goffman, 1974). In the setting of this study, the theory contributes to the understanding of how emotions are associated with higher-order psychological structures such as identity and social belonging in participatory art behaviours. These four theories together build an integrated analytical framework across the four dimensions of subjective experience, bodily perception, spatial ambience and symbolic meaning, which lays a solid theoretical foundation for this study to deeply reveal the process of emotional arousal, regulation and re-meaningfulness in urban shared spaces.

1.3 Research Aim and Contribution

Supported by the above theoretical framework, this paper focuses on how adults generate and evolve emotions through artistic experience in shared spaces during rapid urban transformation. It further explores how this process is embedded in social contexts and transformed into cultural identity and emotional belonging. This research aims to reveal how emotional experience evolves from bodily perception, is shaped by cognitive mediation and symbolic interpretation, and ultimately becomes socially embedded through spatial design, sensory stimuli, and social interaction. Through case studies and in-depth interviews, the current paper seeks to break away from the traditional paradigm of treating emotions as isolated psychological responses and to construct a theoretical path for the synergistic interaction among emotion, spatial experience, and social relations (Denzin and Lincoln, 2018). As an emerging field where urban cultural innovation and emotional governance converge, the artistic practices carried by shared spaces are reshaping the emotional connection mechanism between individuals and society (Miles, 2015).

1.4 Transformative Research Questions

The present study will explore the following four dimensions based on the theoretical logic and research objectives: Firstly, it analyses how adults perceive and construct their emotional experiences in their contact and interaction with the art content, paying particular attention to the immediate interaction between the body’s sensory system and the art elements. Secondly, we examine how these emotional experiences are modulated by the spatial atmosphere and environmental perceptual structure and how they show a dynamic evolution in stages and at multiple levels. Thirdly, the study delves into how participatory art stimulates individuals’ emotional resonance, identity belonging and sense of social connection through symbolic interaction mechanisms, thus facilitating the transformation of emotions into social meanings. Finally, the research evaluates whether these mechanisms have structured social functions. It explores whether they can serve as a pathway for a new ‘urban emotional governance’ strategy, serving the synergistic development of shared space management and mental health policy. By responding to these core issues, which are theoretically expansive and realistically transformative, this paper seeks to reshape the role of art in shared spaces. It is not only a cultural decoration that enhances the aesthetics of the environment but also a deepseated cultural mechanism that stimulates the daily emotional expression, cognitive reconstruction and social reconnection of urban adults.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

Given the growing importance of understanding how artistic experience in shared spaces affects adult emotional regulation. This study adopts a structured literature review framework to sort out existing research advances and identify key gaps. Guided by a dual-principle strategy that emphasises theoretical relevance and contextual fit, the three core concepts of ‘shared space’, ‘artistic experience ’and ‘emotional regulation ’were used to conduct a literature search. A hierarchical search strategy was applied, with special attention paid to the results of in-depth exploration of the interaction between space, emotion and art at the practical or experiential level. To ensure the relevance of the analysis, studies that focus excessively on particularised populations (e.g. children) or are removed from shared spatial contexts (e.g. clinical art therapy and closed exhibition environments) were excluded. In short, through citation tracking and thematic clustering, critical foundational literature and recent trends in the field are systematically identified to ensure the completeness of the review in terms of period and thematic coverage. Eventually, a two-dimensional literature structure is formed. On the one hand, it is centred on the theoretical exploration of the relationship between space and emotion. On the other hand, it focuses on the practical paths of participatory art and relational aesthetics, thus laying a comprehensive foundation for the transdisciplinary innovation of this research.

2.1 The Role of Artistic Experience in Emotion Regulation and Emotional Meaning-Making among Adults

As urbanisation continues to accelerate and the pace of social life quickens, the pressure on adults to manage their emotions in urban shared spaces is increasing (Zukin, 2010). As a critical cultural practice for intervening in shared spaces, artistic experience has been widely regarded as an effective mechanism for stimulating affective cognition, reducing emotional tension, and reshaping a sense of social belonging (Evans, 2005, pp. 959–983). Dewey (1934), in Art as Experience, was the first to systematically elaborate on the processual nature of artistic experience, emphasising that art is not an isolated object but a continuous experience generated through human interaction with the environment. The artistic experience is an organic unity of emotion, perception, action and reflection, and emotion is the starting point for generating meaning and the driving force for deepening experience (Dewey, 1934). This point of view lays a necessary theoretical foundation for subsequent research on the construction of emotion in art interventions.

Within this theoretical framework, Carroll (2001) further emphasises that artistic experience is an aesthetic judgement and an essential way for individuals to reorganise their emotional experience and reflect on their social identity. Adults reconstruct their understanding of their emotional state through contextualised symbolic interactions and emotional projections when confronted with artworks. At the same time, Manzo (2005, pp. 67–86), from the perspective of qualitative research on the significance of place, points out that adults reconstruct their identities through the perception and emotional projection of urban space and reveals the key role of spatial experience in generating emotions. Together, art interventions promote individual emotional repair and self-emotional construction and provide theoretical support for the positive reshaping of urban emotional ecology.

At the macro level of urban governance, artistic experience has been seen as an essential tool for reshaping the emotional ecology of the city. Evans (2005, pp. 959–983) points out that public art projects enhance residents ’emotional resilience and sense of urban identity by improving the

aesthetics of the environment and the social atmosphere. Markusen and Gadwa (2010) further suggest that art activities alleviate the city’s high pressure within the Creative Placemaking framework and strengthen community cohesion by redefining how space is used and its symbolic meanings. These studies collectively show that art interventions not only enhance spatial quality but also have a profound impact on emotional regulation and social connection.

However, the existing literature is still significantly divergent regarding the mechanisms of emotion generation and the explanation of the dynamics of the experience. Dewey (1934) and Carroll (2001) emphasise the continuity of emotion and meaning generation in the process of artistic experience based on the theoretical path of analysis, but lack the dynamics of capturing the changes in the individual’s emotions. Evans (2005, pp. 959–983) and Markusen (2010) focus on the macro-level effectiveness of art interventions at the urban renewal and social integration level by analysing policy texts and urban development data. On the other hand, Evans (2005, pp. 959–983) and Markusen (2010) focus on the macro-effectiveness of art interventions in urban renewal and social integration through analyses of policy texts and urban development data. While such macro-structural-oriented studies reveal the positive role of art interventions in the emotional ecology of the city, they do not pay enough attention to the details of individual-level experiences and the evolution of emotional dynamics. In addition, Manzo (2005) carefully depicted the process of emotion generation and the sense of belonging construction of adults in specific spatial contexts through qualitative interviews and local empirical studies. The dynamic interaction between spatial perception and emotional belonging is emphasised, but there are limitations in refining the mechanisms of emotion generation and constructing theoretical generalisability. Although existing studies have provided many valuable perspectives on artistic experience and its emotional and social effects, there is still a lack of systematic investigation into the dynamic evolution of emotional responses, which limits our in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of emotional value generation.

2.2 Emotional Response Types and Their Dynamic Evolution in Adults ’Artistic Experience

Current research on urban shared spaces generally focuses on the affective dimension, especially on the satisfaction, sense of belonging, and motivation of space users, and has accumulated a large amount of empirical data (Francis et al., 2012; Gehl, 2011). However, when ‘emotion ’is introduced as an analytical concept into the framework of spatial theories and art interventions, its definition tends to be fragmented and multiplicitous, lacking a unified theoretical framework and systematic operational path. This background provides a significant opportunity for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of emotion generation and dynamic evolution triggered by artistic experience.

In recent years, theoretical advances have shown that artistic experiences are key triggers for activating emotional mechanisms in shared spaces. Emotional responses are not static perceptual outcomes but show a dynamic trajectory from immediate sensation to cognitive engagement to symbolic construction in the time dimension (Pelowski et al., 2016, pp. 244–277). The three-stage model proposed by Pelowski et al. (2016, pp. 244–277) reveals the processual character of art experiences triggering emotions, with initial immediate reactions (e.g., pleasure, surprise), midcognitive challenges (e.g., confusion, anxiety) versus later emotional transformations (e.g., moving, empathy). This model emphasises the dynamic and hierarchical nature of emotional experience and challenges the traditional view in aesthetic psychology that ‘negative emotions reduce aesthetic pleasure ’(Leder et al., 2004, pp. 489–508). It is argued that cognitive effort and meaning construction can transform initial discomfort and confusion into more profound positive emotional experiences.

Within this dynamic framework, the types of emotional responses exhibited by adults in shared space artistic experiences show specific patterns. Research suggests that the three most common core emotions are healing, resonance and relaxation. Gehl (2011) and Pink (2015) note that healing is often triggered by spatial aesthetics, such as soft lighting, flowing spatial layouts, or immersive sound environments, which help to activate the viewer’s internal repair mechanisms. A sense of empathy is mainly found in participatory or interactive art experiences, when adults establish an emotional connection with the work through physical and symbolic interactions, stimulating identity and social bonding (Dewey, 1934). Relaxation, on the other hand, is often associated with the atmosphere of social escape and aesthetically pleasurable experiences provided by shared spaces (Francis et al., 2012, pp. 401–409). These emotions can be initially mapped to the three stages of emotional evolution described above: relaxation corresponds to the initial sensory response stage, resonance to the midcognitive deepening stage, and healing to the later symbolic transformation stage.

Despite the initial consensus on emotional phases, there is still significant disagreement on the issue of the temporal character of emotional experience. Marković (2012, pp. 1–17) emphasises the predominantly immediate character of emotional experience, arguing that perceptual responses in the aesthetic attraction phase are short-lived and instantaneously triggered. From a neurocognitive perspective, Vessel, Starr and Rubin (2012) suggest that intense art experiences can activate emotional memory mechanisms through the Default Mode Network (DMN), triggering persistent emotional processing and deep symbolic meaning construction. This disagreement reflects that current theories have not yet formed a unified understanding between ‘immediate perception ’and ‘continuous emotional evolution’.

Taken together, the emotional responses experienced by adults during artistic experiences are generally dynamic, usually following a three-stage evolutionary path of initial sensory responses (e.g., euphoria, surprise), mid-cognitive deepening (e.g., empathy, contemplation), and late symbolic transformations (e.g., identity, sense of healing) (Pelowski et al., 2016, pp. 244–277). These stages do not advance linearly but are dynamically moderated by multidimensional factors. At the individual level, psychological variables such as cognitive style and traumatic memories prolong the residence time of sensory stimuli (e.g., softly lit environments consistently enhance feelings of relaxation). At the environmental level, spatial openness facilitates faster transitions from mid-cognitive stages to symbolic transformations by regulating social distance (e.g., mobility layout accelerates the evolution of empathy to healing). At the same time, the interaction between art forms and spatial properties (e.g., immersive installations reinforce the emotional repair function of trauma narratives) further shapes the specific pathways of emotional evolution (Francis et al., 2012, pp. 401–409). It is worth noting that although existing studies have explored the mechanisms regulating individual psychological and environmental variables, there is a lack of systematic constructs on integrating the dynamic interactions between emotion generation and socio-cultural context at the macro-mechanism level. This gap provides important research space for deepening the understanding of the logic of constructing emotional values in shared space artistic experiences.

2.3 Conclusion of Literature Review and Research Directions

Existing research has extensively explored the emotional impact of artistic experiences in shared spaces, but there are still apparent theoretical and practical gaps. To begin with, while theoretical

discussions have emphasised the continuity of emotional experiences (Carroll, 2001; Dewey, 1934), empirical studies have analysed macro-level outcomes (Evans, 2005; Markusen and Gadwa, 2010). However, there is a lack of systematic tracking and explanation of the dynamic mechanisms of individual emotional change during art interventions. Next, although studies have been conducted to preliminarily categorise the types of emotional responses with temporal evolutionary paths (Pelowski et al., 2016; Vessel, Starr and Rubin, 2012), there is no unified and comprehensive model on the relationship between immediate perception and sustained emotional deepening (Marković, 2012, pp. 1–17). Finally, current literature has explored less the deep interactions between emotional experiences and socio-cultural mechanisms, mostly considering emotions as individual psychological responses or spatial design adjuncts (Francis et al., 2012; Gehl, 2011) and ignoring the social dimension of shared spaces in generating emotional values.

To compensate for these theoretical and empirical shortcomings, this study is guided by a phenomenological orientation. It uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) in combination with case studies and semi-structured interviews to meticulously track the dynamic processes of emotion generation, cognitive regulation, and symbolic transformation of adults’ artistic experiences in shared spaces. By constructing a cross-level, dynamic and interactive analytical framework, the study aims to deepen the theoretical understanding of the construction of emotional value in artistic experiences in shared spaces and to provide new research perspectives for the cultural interpretation of urban emotional ecology.

METHODOLOGY:

3.1 Methodological Framework and Philosophical Foundation

To effectively respond to the above research objectives and theoretical needs, this study uses phenomenology as a philosophical foundation that emphasises a deeper understanding of individual subjective art experiences. Phenomenology was first proposed by Husserl (1931), aiming to return to ‘the thing itself ’by directly describing conscious experience, excluding all presuppositions. It emphasises a first-person perspective that captures how the world is initially presented in expertise and focuses on the inseparability of the relationship of intentionality between the individual and the world. This philosophy provides the methodological foundation for this study, as the emotional experience of adults in shared spaces, shaped by artistic interventions, is essentially a deeply subjective and context-dependent phenomenon. However, traditional phenomenology focuses on the reductive nature of experience and tends to ignore the socio-cultural context in which the experience is situated (Finlay, 2009, pp. 6–25). To compensate for this limitation, Heidegger (1962) expanded phenomenology by introducing the concept of Dasein, which emphasises that human existence is always situated within a particular social, spatial and historical context. This perspective provides a solid philosophical foundation for this study to explain the emotional generation and meaning construction of adults’ artistic experiences in shared spaces.

Based on this foundation, this research adopts Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as a methodological strategy. IPA focuses on how individuals subjectively perceive and interpret their own experiences, emphasising the dynamic process between expertise and constructing meaning (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). This process of constructing emotional values through artistic experiences by adults in shared spaces blends immediacy at the level of perception with dynamic interpretations at the level of meaning. Therefore, IPA provides a suitable methodological support for this study.

Specifically, IPA is structured around three interrelated principles: interpretative, phenomenological and contextualised understanding. Firstly, the Interpretative principle emphasises that the researcher records the participants’ experiences and performs a double hermeneutic by analysing how the participants make sense of their world (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). In this study, adults’ affective attributions of artistic experiences constitute a complex process of subjective meaningmaking that requires detailed interpretive analyses. Secondly, IPA carries on the phenomenological tradition that emphasises a deep understanding of experience from a first-person perspective, focusing on how individuals subjectively perceive and give meaning to experiences (Heidegger, 1962; Husserl, 1931). Rather than objectively measuring the pervasive impact of artistic interventions, the study explores how adults experience, perceive, and generate affective value in specific spatial contexts. This exemplifies the high degree of appropriateness of IPA ’s phenomenological orientation to the research ’s goals. Finally, IPA highlights the context-dependent nature of experience, emphasising the need to understand individual experiences within specific socio-cultural and physical environments (Eatough and Smith, 2017, pp. 193–211). Adults’ artistic experiences and their emotional responses do not occur in isolation. Instead, they are embedded in the social field of shared space practice, which is profoundly influenced by urban culture, life rhythms and social interaction patterns. Thus, the contextualised understanding guided this study to focus on the internal logic of individual experiences and prompted the analysis process to consider the embeddedness of socio-cultural structures to ensure contextual sensitivity in the interpretation process.

In summary, this study establishes a strong logical link between the description of experience and the construction of meaning based on phenomenological philosophy and the principles of interpretative and contextualised understanding in the IPA methodology. The result is a robust analytical framework for systematically exploring how adults construct emotional value through artistic experiences in shared spaces.

3.2 Data Collection Strategy and Methodological Design

Guided by the IPA methodology, the present study employs a qualitative research strategy combining case studies and semi-structured interviews to comprehensively capture the trajectories of adults’ subjective experiences of constructing emotional values through artistic experiences in shared urban spaces. The methodological design emphasises the socio-contextual embeddedness of individual experiences and the subjective process of interpreting emotional meanings, focusing on the variability of emotional responses, social impact, and temporal dynamics (Smith and Osborn, 2008, pp. 53–80).

To enhance the depth of contextual understanding and comparative analysis, this research selected three representative shared-space art projects as embedded cases, covering public art spaces, community art interventions and commercial cultural complexes. To reflect the diversity of art forms, social engagement and spatial atmospheres, the researcher conducted non-participatory observations to record spatial atmospheres, sensory stimuli, social interaction patterns and spatial usage characteristics. These observational data were used to supplement the understanding of the contextual conditions of the emotional experience and cross-validated with the interview data (Yin, 2018) to enhance the depth and construct validity of the interpretations.

Based on the case observations, the study used semi-structured in-depth interviews as the primary data collection method to obtain participants’ detailed narratives and subjective reflections on their art experiences. The interview format ensured the focus of the research topic while providing ample space for the participants to express themselves, which helped to explore their inner understanding of the evolution of emotions and the construction of meanings (Smith and Osborn, 2008, pp. 53–80). The interviews were structured around the following core themes: individual pathways through art in space, emotional responses and their evolution, and the influence of cognitive and social factors on the meaning of the experience. The researcher used follow-up questions, repeated confirmations, and contextual retellings during the interviews to encourage first-person descriptions. Each interview was limited to 60 to 90 minutes, and the interviews were conducted within two weeks of the experience to preserve the vividness of the memory. For participants with intense mood swings or exceptional spatial perception, a second interview was arranged to trace their emotional experiences’ temporal evolution.

Ethical considerations need to be taken into account throughout the research. All participants signed an informed consent form before the interview, clearly informing them of the purpose of the study, how the data would be used, and confidentiality measures. Considering the emotional experiences involved in the study, participants were explicitly informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time. The researcher undertook ongoing reflexive writing and reflected on her possible influence on data collection and interpretation (Finlay, 2002, pp. 6–25). At the same time, some

participants were invited to provide feedback on the interview summaries and preliminary themes through member checking, thus enhancing the credibility and interpretive validity of the findings.

Overall, the current article combines the strategies of semi-structured interviews and embedded case studies to enhance the three-dimensionality and theoretical explanatory power of the data while capturing the subjective subtlety of individual experiences and the complexity of the situational context. Although purposive sampling limits the generalisability of the results, this study pursues analytical (rather than statistical) generalisations. Its combination of methods provides a solid foundation for understanding how affective values are generated in shared spaces (Yin, 2018).

3.3 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and Analytical Process

The present study employs interpretive phenomenological analysis as the core data analysis method to better understand how adults generate emotional meaning through artistic experience in shared spaces. It provides a systematic, iterative pathway for revealing how individuals understand, construct and give subjective meaning to their emotional experiences in a given context (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). The analysis begins with a close reading of the interview text, where the researcher identifies key experiential statements and summarises initial themes, followed by cross-sectional comparisons between cases. The key feature of IPA is the ‘double hermeneutic’, where the researcher understands the participant’s self-understanding process through reinterpretation. This process emphasises the socio-cultural embeddedness of the subjective experience and its complexity whilst maintaining the case ’s uniqueness (Eatough and Smith, 2017, pp. 193–211).

IPA fits this research mainly because of its emphasis on temporality, contextuality and meaning generation of experience, which is highly consistent with this study’s perspective of focusing on emotion construction. The method helps trace the unfolding and regulation of emotions in art, space and social structures and reveals their symbolic transformation. Although the IPA analysis process requires a high level of linguistic sensitivity and interpretive ability from the researcher, this study has taken measures such as continuous reflexive writing and member checking to enhance the transparency and credibility of the interpretation and to ensure that the researcher’s interpretation is in line with the participants ’real experiences (Larkin, Watts and Clifton, 2006, pp. 102–120). At the same time, the study also examined alternative approaches such as thematic analysis or narrative inquiry. The former has the flexibility to categorise a wide range of emotional experiences but lacks philosophical depth and subjective detail (Braun and Clarke, 2006, pp. 77–101). The latter can present the temporal structure of experiences and the process of meaning construction, but revealing momentary perceptions and emotional details is challenging. In contrast, IPA is more responsive to this study’s need to trace emotion generation and meaning-making in the first person.

As a result, the methodological design of this study is built on the foundation of phenomenology, combining the methodological strengths of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and introducing embedded case studies and semi-structured interviews to construct a multi-layered framework for data collection and analysis. Through fine-grained situational observation, rigorous sample selection and ethical safeguards, we effectively responded to the problem of the emotional construction of adult artistic experience in shared spaces. This methodological system forms a close

articulation between theoretical logic, operational strategy and empirical development, laying a solid foundation for an in-depth understanding of emotional ecology in urban art interventions.

4.1 Emotional Dynamics and Spatial Mediation in Artistic Experience

The present study reveals that significant stages and multidimensional interaction structures characterise the emotional states triggered by adults ’artistic experience in shared spaces. These emotional experiences do not occur in isolation or instantaneously but are dynamic processes driven by sensory stimulation, cognitive processing and social context. As typical emotional types, healing, empathy, and relaxation are not static feelings but are gradually formed and deepened in specific spatial structures and artistic interventions. For example, immersive spatial environments often reinforce emotional soothing functions silently through soft lighting and acoustic adjustments. Art forms with interactive or symbolic participation can evoke identity resonance and a sense of community (Dewey, 1934; Goffman, 1974). In addition, the openness of the spatial layout and the aesthetic attributes of the artistic experience allow individuals to briefly detach themselves from urban pressures during the experience, thus achieving psychological regulation and release.

The findings further indicate that different art forms and types of spaces show a clear tendency to differentiate in emotion generation. Immersive installations stimulate symbolic emotional processing, such as healing and a sense of meaning. Participatory art, on the other hand, tends to activate group emotions and social resonance, strengthening the emotional attachment between individuals and places. This difference suggests that art interventions in shared spaces are not only a means of aesthetic decoration or environmental enhancement but also actively participate in the socioemotional structuring and identity construction of individuals through the construction of emotional experience mechanisms. It has also been found that emotional experience tends to unfold along a specific staged path. The initial stage is often triggered by sensory stimuli in the environment, which are presented as intuitive feelings of colour, light, sound and other elements. In the middle stage, the individual processes the meaning of the artistic content and spatial context, accompanied by thinking, self-reflection and emotional tension. In the later stage, emotions are gradually transformed into more stable symbolic emotional states, such as a sense of belonging, identity or emotional connection to the city. This three-stage evolutionary logic resonates with the artistic experience model proposed by Pelowski et al. (2016, pp. 244–277). However, this study emphasises that it is not a linear pathway but a non-linear coupled process that is interactively regulated by spatial attributes, individual psychological contexts and social relationships.

It is worth emphasising that the spatial structure is not a single physical container in this process but continues to play a role as a ‘participant ’in generating emotions and transforming meaning. The space’s openness, the movement’s fluidity, the symbolic density and the sensory ambience interact closely with the individual’s body during the artistic experience, constituting a multidimensional synergistic system that crosses the senses, cognition and social structure. Artistic interventions connect space and emotions so that emotions start from immediate perception and are eventually transformed into symbolic states of social significance. From this perspective, emotions should be understood as a multi-level generative mechanism embedded in spatial interactions and social contexts, transcending the traditional paradigm of a single psychological response. In summary, this study identifies and theorises the types of emotions triggered by artistic experience, the mechanisms of their evolution and the paths of their regulation in the context of urban shared spaces. It responds to the core question of how emotions are constructed in shared spaces and provides a theoretical basis and practical reference for the design strategy of public art and the management of urban emotions.

4.2 Multidimensional Theoretical Integration: Embodied Emotion and Meaning-Making in Shared Spaces

In this study, the three foundational principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) offered a robust analytical lens to explore participants ’emotional experiences in shared spaces. The phenomenological orientation of IPA enabled a focused examination of how individuals subjectively perceived emotional states such as healing, resonance and relaxation, which emerged not in isolation but through their embodied engagement with artistic content and spatial settings. Rather than remaining at the level of surface affect, this approach employed the double hermeneutic to interpret how individuals actively construct emotional meanings within specific sociocultural and spatial contexts (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009).

Particularly in terms of situational understanding, research has shown that the generation of emotions not only stems from an individual’s internal response but is also heavily influenced by the physical structure, social atmosphere, and cultural symbols of the shared space (Eatough and Smith, 2017, pp. 193–211). Therefore, the space’s social functions and artistic interventions shape participants ’ emotional responses and interpersonal interactions. Situating emotional experiences in these embodied life situations helps us to trace how emotions are dynamically generated and transformed in environmental and social interactions.

To compensate for the limitations of IPA in micro-analyses of subjective experiences, the study further introduced embodied cognition theory to enrich the understanding of emotion-generating mechanisms. The theory suggests that cognition and emotion are not abstract processes detached from the body but are embedded in individual body movements, sensory experiences and environmental interactions (Gallagher, 2005; Varela, Thompson and Rosch, 1991). In the shared space, participants interacted with the art through tactile exploration, body movement and postural changes, suggesting that emotions are evoked at the intersection of perception, physical behaviour and spatial ambience. Emotions should be understood more as phenomena synergistically constituted by the body, environment and meaning rather than isolated mental states.

Based on the theoretical perspectives of body and environment dimensions, the study further introduces emotional ecology theory and symbolic interaction theory to deepen the explanatory power of the spatial structure and social construction process of emotion generation. From the perspective of environmental regulation, the former analyses the dynamic relationship between spatial elements, sensory stimuli and psychological states and emphasises the generation and regulation of emotions in specific ambient fields (Anderson, 2009; Thrift, 2008). The latter pays attention to the social attributes of emotions, pointing out that emotions not only originate from the internal psyche of the individual but are also actively constructed in social interactions and symbolic participation (Goffman, 1974). In participatory artistic experiences, individuals stimulate empathy through interaction with others and the environment and reshape emotional identity. In conclusion, IPA combines three theories to provide multidimensional theoretical support for this study, from subjective experience, body perception, and environmental regulation to social meaning construction. It also enhances the study’s systematicity and explanatory power and highlights the potential for theoretical innovation in exploring the mechanisms of emotion generation in shared spaces.

4.3 Expanding Emotional Research: Limitations, Innovations and Future Directions

Although this study has made some progress in revealing the mechanisms of artistic experiences and emotional constructs in shared spaces, some limitations remain that need further expansion and deepening in future research. Firstly, from the perspective of sample design, this study used purposive sampling, with participants focusing on adults with specific art participation experiences. This feature limits the generalisability of the findings to a certain extent. Future studies could appropriately expand the sample size and introduce other groups, such as older adults or special populations (e.g., neurodiverse individuals), to further explore possible differences in the experiences of different groups in terms of body perception, emotional response and spatial interaction mechanisms.

Secondly, while the study has endeavoured to control interpretation bias through member checking and reflexive writing, the IPA method still poses some limitations regarding its reliance on the researcher’s interpretive power. Future research could adopt a multi-method cross-validation strategy, combining technical tools such as physiological signal monitoring (e.g., galvanic response, heart rate variability), eye tracking and immersive behavioural observation to identify and validate emotional response mechanisms in a multi-modal way in response to the potential limitations of IPA in terms of subjective interpretations and data homogeneity (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2018; Gendron and Barrett, 2018).

Subsequently, from the perspective of spatial factors, this study mainly focuses on shared spaces with existing art interventions. It has not systematically compared shared spaces in different cities, cultural backgrounds or socio-economic contexts. Future research could consider analysing how emotional imagery, such as healing and empathy, is coded and the logic of spatial expression in different sociocultural systems from a cross-cultural perspective. At the same time, we can further explore the role of emerging forms, such as temporary art installations, digital public art and immersive media installations, in generating emotions.

Finally, at the theoretical level, there is still room for the deepening and transdisciplinary integration of embodied emotion mechanisms. Traditional emotion research is mainly based on the cognitivecentred model. However, with the gradual development and transdisciplinary application of embodied cognition theory in philosophy, psychology and cognitive science, academics have begun to pay new attention to the spatial and sensory bases of emotional experience. Future research can further integrate cutting-edge perspectives such as eco-psychology and new materialism to construct a cross-theoretical model covering the synergistic mechanisms of spatial perception, bodily action and emotion generation (Gallagher, 2005; Noë, 2004; Shusterman, 2008). To broaden our theoretical boundaries of how artistic experience can activate emotions, emotional regulation and co-engage in socio-cultural meaning construction in shared urban spaces. Therefore, this study not only responds to the core question of how emotions are constructed in shared spaces but also provides a theoretical path and empirical perspective for understanding the role of public art in the governance of urban emotions and provides an essential reference for subsequent transdisciplinary research and the optimisation of urban emotional ecology.

CONCLUSION:

This study examined how artistic experience in shared spaces influences adults ’emotional responses, regulation, and meaning-making. Through an integrated analytical framework combining Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), embodied cognition theory, emotional ecology theory and symbolic interaction theory, the research reveals that emotional experiences unfold through a dynamic, non-linear process. These processes are shaped by sensory stimuli, spatial structures, and social interactions, transforming emotions such as healing, empathy, and relaxation into socially meaningful constructs. The findings highlight that space is not a passive bearer of emotion but an active participant in its generation, mediating through bodily perception and symbolic interaction. Methodologically, using IPA and semi-structured interviews captured the depth and context-dependence of individual experiences. This research contributes to the growing discourse on emotional governance in urban environments, suggesting that artistic interventions in shared spaces play a vital role in shaping emotional well-being and social connectivity. By positioning art as a cultural mechanism rather than mere decoration, the study offers theoretical innovation and practical insight into how cities can be designed to support mental health and emotional expression. Future research may expand this model across diverse populations, cultural contexts, and emerging art forms.

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Dynamization and Interactive Design of Mythological Illustrations: Exploring New Methods of Cross -Cultural Communication in the Digital Media Era

Yang Li

1. Abstract:

In the context of rapid development of digital media, the dissemination of traditional illustrations is facing new challenges and opportunities for transformation. Mythology, as an important carrier of cultural inheritance, contains profound symbolism and regionalism, which often encounter obstacles in cross-cultural communication due to differences in interpretation. How to break through the limitations of traditional static expression through the dynamic and interactive design of illustrations has become a key problem in achieving the re-dissemination of myths and promoting cultural resonance in contemporary times.

This research focuses on the core question of "How can mythological themed illustrations use new technologies to enhance cross-cultural communication

capabilities?" On this basis, a series of mythological themed illustrations will be created and dynamically designed, such as using GIF illustrations, loop animations, micro-narrative animations, frame-by-frame short animations, visual symbol conversion and visual rhythm design to enhance the expressive power of the illustrations. In addition, through interactive presentation methods such as click-trigger, path selection and multiple contextual interpretation, audience's participation and depth of understanding will be enhanced.

Based on constructivism ontology and interpretivism epistemology, this research holds that mythological meaning is continuously constructed in specific cultures and audience experiences, and interactive illustrations are the medium for audience to participate in the construction of meaning. In addition, this research will adopt the mixed research method and the transdisciplinary research method proposed by Nicolescu (2002), and will integrate the theories in visual communication, semiotics, cross-cultural communication, interaction design and other fields to explore how illustration can be transformed into an open, fluid and participatory form of cultural communication. Through the parallel method of theoretical analysis and practical creation, the aim is to propose a set of future-oriented new illustration expressions to provide theoretical support and creative path for the digital transformation of mythological themed illustrations, and also provide new ideas for the media innovation of visual art in multi-cultural communication.

2. Introduction:

With the rapid development of digital media, the creation and dissemination of visual art are facing profound changes. As an image form that combines aesthetic expression and narrative ability, illustration has gradually transformed from traditional static images to dynamic and interactive ones under the promotion of digital technology and new media context. This transformation not only expands the expressive power of illustration at the visual language level, but also brings far-reaching impacts at the communication level, especially in the field of cultural narrative and cross-cultural communication, showing unprecedented potential. As an important branch of illustration art, mythological illustrations carry rich cultural symbols and deep-seated value systems. They often originate from the historical memory and religious beliefs of a specific nation or culture, and construct a unique interpretation system about the universe, humans and nature through image reproduction. However, the symbolism and cultural embeddedness of myths also make them prone to "misinterpretation" and "meaning deviation" in cross-cultural contexts. This is often not due to the exclusivity of the cultural content itself, but rather to the single form of communication and the closedness of the expression structure. Traditional static illustrations often lack sufficient flexibility and interactivity to accommodate diverse interpretations from

different cultural backgrounds when facing culturally diverse audiences. Therefore, rethinking the media strategys of mythological themed illustrations has become an urgent research topic that needs to be addressed.

In this context, dynamic and interactive design has injected new vitality into traditional illustrations. Dynamic illustrations can make mythological images present a more fluid and open expression through visual rhythm, time dimension and narrative transformation. And interactive design builds a co-creatable and interpretable visual space through the active participation of the audiences, providing a more flexible structure for "meaning generation". This characteristic of "open narrative" not only helps to overcome the barriers of cultural understanding, but also promotes the re-dissemination and contemporary expression of mythological elements in the new media environment. Therefore, this research will focus on the core question of "How can mythological themed illustrations enhance cross-cultural communication capabilities through dynamic and interactive design?" The aim is to explore the reconstruction of visual narrative in digital contexts and combine practical creation to develop a new illustration expression that can enhance cultural understanding and resonance. Different from the previous cross-cultural communication methods that rely on text translation or explanatory texts, this research attempts to explore how to realize the "dialogue" and "co-construction" of cultural meaning through the "translation" of visual language by means of the structural adjustment of images themselves. This research focuses on young digital users (18-35) with interests in mythology, culture and visual arts, who are highly active on social media and receptive to interactive visual content. My research findings can also provide insights for visual arts students and creators.

The research is based on constructivist ontology and interpretive epistemology. Constructivism holds that reality is not an objectively independent entity, but a meaning system that is constantly constructed within specific cultural, social and historical contexts (Berger and Luckmann, 1966). In the context of mythological illustrations, this means that the cultural symbols and narrative meanings conveyed are not universally applicable, but are rooted in a symbolic system from a specific cultural perspective. Interpretivism further points out that knowledge and understanding are the product of subjective experience and specific context (Gadamer, 2013; Schutz, 1970). This points out the initiative of the audiences in interpreting meaning and also suggests that cultural communication cannot rely solely on the intention of the "expresser", but also pays attention to the diversity of the "receiver" in terms of cognition and cultural background. Therefore, in this research, illustrations are no longer simply viewed as “image works”, but as an “interactive platform” for cultural exchange. The core lies not only in how to “present” myths, but also in how to construct “understandable” symbolic channels for audiences from different cultural

backgrounds. Stuart Hall (2019) proposed in his "encoding/decoding" theory that the communication process is not a linear transmission, but a dynamic system involving multiple encodings and decodings. Viewers tend to reinterpret information based on their own cultural background, which often leads to the deviation or reconstruction of meaning. In mythological themed illustrations, the possibility of "diverse decoding" is particularly prominent, and dynamic and interactive design is a powerful response to this dissemination mechanism. In addition, Hall (2015) proposed the theory of "cultural refraction", which also provides important support for this research. He pointed out that cultural texts often undergo "meaning distortion" or "re-encoding" in other cultures during the dissemination process, which makes cross-cultural communication no longer a "copy of information", but more like a "reflection of meaning". Therefore, instead of pursuing "authentic reproduction", it is better to build a communication structure that can accommodate "multiple interpretations". Dynamic illustration, with its open narrative mode and flowing image language, provides a more tolerant expression space for the ambiguity and symbolism of meaning, while interactive design further empowers the audience to participate in the process of meaning construction and become a "co-creator" of myth transmission. From the perspective of digital narrative theory, Murray (2017) and Ryan (2004) both emphasized the important role of “non-linearity”, “multi-path” and “participation” in new media art. These theories show that contemporary digital media breaks the traditional linear narrative structure, allowing audiences to intervene in the content generation process through clicks, selections and feedback, thereby gaining a more personalized and immersive cultural experience. Mythology, as a narrative type that already has multiple versions, symbolism and a circular structure, fits the open logic of digital media very well. This also provides a methodological basis for this research's myth transformation experiment in dynamic illustrations and interactive design.

The core goal of this research is to construct a form of mythological visual narrative with cross-cultural adaptability through the combination of dynamic illustrations and interactive design, and further propose a "cultural mediation" mechanism of visual language to enable the regeneration, reinterpretation and reperception of the meaning of mythology in cross-cultural communication. To achieve this goal, this research will explore from four aspects: firstly, analyze the symbolic barriers and cognitive differences of mythological illustrations in cross-cultural communication, and reveal the reasons why they are misunderstood in different cultural backgrounds; Second, explore how dynamic design reconstructs mythological content at the level of visual language structure and narrative logic, thereby enhancing the openness and fluidity of its expression; Third, study the role of interactive mechanisms in enhancing audience participation, improving understanding ability and promoting cultural identity, and emphasize the subjectivity of the audience in the process of meaning construction; Finally, based on the above theoretical analysis and relevant artistic practice results, a set of methods for illustration creation in the context of multicultural communication

will be constructed, which can provide a feasible path for the media expansion of illustration art in contemporary expression and cultural communication. This new path can not only revitalize traditional cultures such as mythology in contemporary times, but also provide inspirations and references for the digital dissemination of cultural content, the visual reconciliation of cultural differences and cross-cultural teaching in art education.

3. Literature Review:

In order to construct the theoretical basis of this research, relevant literature has been systematically searched through academic databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, JSTOR and SAGE Journals, with keywords including "myth narrative transformation", "digital media and cultural communication", "visual narrative", "interactive illustration" and "cross-cultural visual symbols". And the "Snowball Effect" is also used to search and identify literature. The selected literature mainly focuses on related fields such as mythology, media research, visual communication and cross-cultural communication, covering classic theoretical literature and emerging research results.

Although the existing researches have extensively explored the structural characteristics of myths and their cultural translation mechanisms, and have also conducted in-depth analysis of visual communication paths in digital media, there is still a lack of systematic research on the cross-cultural communication of mythological illustrations in the context of dynamic and interactive design, especially in terms of the internal structure of illustrations such as visual rhythm, symbol conversion and user path guidance. There is no mature theoretical support yet. Therefore, the literature review of this essay will be carried out from three aspects: The historical evolution of mythological narrative forms and their cultural universality; The role of new technologies in promoting effective cultural communication; The adaptability and communication potential of visual storytelling in multicultural exchanges. Moreover, the CRAAP test was also used to select and evaluate these literature.

3.1

The Historical Evolution of Mythological Narrative Forms and Their Cultural Universality

As one of the earliest forms of cultural expression, myths not only shape collective identity and spiritual order, but also constitute the most primitive model of cultural communication. In his book Myth and Reality, Eliade (1968) pointed out that myths reflect a symbolic understanding of the laws governing the operation of the universe. Myths do not care whether the stories are true or not, but rather establish a long-term

and stable connection between people, nature and society by repeatedly telling these stories. This view emphasizes the cultural "coding" characteristics of mythology, that is, it conveys not specific facts but the logic and values hidden behind the story (Doniger, 2011; Segal, 2004; Bhattacharyya, 2011;Sola Morales, 2013).

Campbell (2008) proposed from the perspective of mythological structuralism that the "hero's journey" is the core framework shared by global myths. Its cyclical and ritualistic nature not only gives myths historical continuity, but also shows that mythological narratives have a high degree of translatability and cultural adaptability potential (Jung, 2014; Lévi-Strauss, 1955; van Gennep, 2019). This deep structure enables mythological content to be regenerated and updated in different contexts, becoming a spiritual resource shared by multiple cultures.

Barthes (1972) made a critical analysis of the modern transformation of mythology, arguing that it has been transformed into a "secondary semiological system" used to construct ideology in contemporary times. Especially in the context of media and advertising, it manifests as the "naturalization" process of visual discourse. This analysis emphasizes the "recontextualization" mechanism of mythology, in which symbols can be reorganized to suit new cultural purposes, but there is also a risk of meaning being manipulated and simplified (Brannen, 2004; Harrison, 2010; Lévi-Strauss, 1955).

Jenkins (2006) further proposed the theory of "cross-media myth construction". He believes that contemporary myths are no longer dependent on a single medium, but is generated through the collaboration of multiple platforms such as comics, film, television, games and illustrations, forming a distributed narrative system. This viewpoint emphasizes the plasticity of myths as "cultural prototypes" in different media environments, where audience participation plays a role in reproduction (Popa Blanariu and Popa, 2018; Albertsen, 2023). This provides theoretical support for the re-narrative of myths in media such as illustrations.

Lotman (1990) proposed from the perspective of cultural semiotics that mythological texts are essentially structures with "semantic ambiguity", and their meanings are constantly re-encoded in communication between different cultures (Nöth, 2006; Greimas, 1983; Eco, 1979). This means that the meaning of myths is not fixed, but rather a medium for intercultural dialogue, and their ambiguity has become an advantage in cross-cultural communication. This viewpoint complements Campbell's view that mythological stories can be translated at a deeper level of structure, and is of

great significance for exploring how illustrations can construct an "open mythological structure" in this research.

However, different scholars have different opinions on how to express myths in modern ways. Barthes believes that modern mythology is easily manipulated into propaganda tools or overly commercialized things. Campbell and Jenkins pay more attention to the positive impact of myths on people's psychology, as well as the advantages of flexible structure and easy dissemination of myth stories. Lotman's view is more moderate. On the one hand, he emphasizes the "coding elasticity" of myths, believing that myths can be interpreted in multiple ways. On the other hand, he also admits that the meaning of myths may be lost in the process of dissemination.

These theories have three important implications for this research: First, the content of myth is not immutable, but a cultural structure that can be reconstructed; Secondly, as a medium for re-narrative, illustrations should respect the cultural tension of mythological structures and avoid oversimplification of the meaning of the image; Third, in the dynamic and interactive context, mythological visualization needs to consider both "symbolic" and "structural" to explore how to transform traditional myths into participatory and reconfigurable image systems.

3.2 The Role of New Technologies in Promoting Effective Cultural Communication

The rapid development of digital media has provided many new opportunities for cultural dissemination, especially in fields such as illustration, animation and digital art. The modularity and interactivity of media have become key variables in creative and communication strategies. In his book The Language of New Media, Manovich (2002) pointed out that the five characteristics of digital media (digitalization, modularity, automation, variability and interactivity) make cultural content no longer fixed, but a reconfigurable system (Lunenfeld, 2001; Murray, 1997; Castells, 2011). This "variability" feature has fundamental significance for the dissemination of illustrations, as it breaks the closed structure of static images and makes them a "dynamic interface for meaning generation".

The concept of "remediation" proposed by Bolter and Grusin (2000) emphasizes that new technologies are not only "transmission means" but also a mechanism for reconstructing "expression forms" (McLuhan, 1994; Chun, 2008; Gitelman, 2008). They believe that new media does not replace old media, but forms a new expression

logic by absorbing, reconstructing or even imitating traditional media forms. This theory suggests that digital illustrations are not only image digitization, but also language reconstruction, that is, the visual narrative logic, rhythm and composition of illustrations should be redesigned to adapt to the interactive media environment, which is particularly important for the contemporary expression of illustrations.

Papastergiadis (2013) further pointed out from the perspective of cultural studies that the biggest change brought by technology is not only at the image level, but in the transformation of "understanding mechanism". He proposed the concept of "cultural interface", believing that technology can reduce semantic barriers and enhance cultural cognition by establishing understanding channels for users with different cultural backgrounds (Nakata, 2007; Kress, 2003). This viewpoint elevates "user experience" to an important participant in cultural construction, providing social and cultural significance support for interactive design of illustrations.

However, there are also differences in the positions of scholars on the cultural functions of new technologies. Bolter is more inclined to the innovation of visual forms, emphasizing the changes in the expression mode caused by the media structure. Papastergiadis is more concerned with the process of "cultural adaptation", that is, how to achieve cross-cultural understanding through media design. Manovich's viewpoint combines both, emphasizing the openness of technological structure and acknowledging the decisive role of user behavior in meaning generation. The disagreement among scholars shows that technology must be regarded as a means of constructing a "cultural interface" and "channel of understanding" to design interactive paths that can guide users to participate in the construction of meaning according to their own cultural background, rather than just providing a linear viewing sequence. Therefore, the dynamic and interactive design of mythological illustrations in the future must not only change the way of visual presentation, but also reorganize the process of transmitting cultural meaning.

3.3 The Adaptability and Communication Potential of Visual Storytelling in Multicultural Exchanges

As an important medium for cross-cultural communication, the communication potential of images has been widely discussed in academia. Kress and van Leeuwen (2020) pointed out in the book Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design that visual communication is like a cultural "grammar". Its structure is not static, but generates meaning in different contexts. This theory shows that images have a certain cross-cultural plasticity, but need to "context-resolved reading"(Oyama, 2000; Fu, 2018; Cohn, 2013). Messaris (1994) further emphasized that images have the

characteristics of "immediacy" and "ambiguity", which makes images more penetrating than text, especially when facing multicultural audiences, "ambiguity" becomes an advantage in stimulating the co-creation of meaning.

Murray (2017) proposed in his book Hamlet on the Holodeck that visual storytelling in digital environments should possess characteristics of “immersion”, “participation” and “non-linearity”. This participation mechanism makes users no longer passive observers, but active meaning constructors (Mariani et al., 2023; Lau et al., 2024; Chen et al., 2023). From the perspective of "story system", Ryan (2004) proposed that digital visual narration can enable the audience to better control the direction and cultural connotation of the story by means of branch structure, multi-node advancement and multiple endings. This theoretical model can provide method support for designing a "multi-path interpretation space" for mythological illustrations.

Although there is a basic consensus in academia on the advantages of visual storytelling in cross-cultural communication, there are differences on how to control the risk of misreading. Messaris believes that the "openness" of images should be maintained so that the audience can generate multiple interpretations based on their own cultural experience. On the other hand, Wu and Chan (2007) analyzed the cases of misinterpretation of Chinese traditional symbols in the West and pointed out that without contextual information, images could easily be misunderstood in cross-cultural communication. Therefore, effective visual communication not only needs to design "visual language", but also needs to support "context guidance mechanism".

For this research, these discussions show that as a visual narrative tool, illustration's cross-cultural communication function lies not only in "visual appeal", but also in whether it can accommodate multiple interpretations and provide sufficient contextual information. This suggests that in the interactive design of illustrations, details such as the image's "rhythmic structure", "transition method" and "symbolic meaning" need to be paid attention to, and it is also necessary to explore how to guide the audience to form their own unique understanding based on their own cultural background through interactive sessions.

3.4 The Gaps or Areas that Need Further Exploration in The Research Field

Based on the exploration of the three aspects of the above literature review, the

existing researches pay insufficient attention to the potential of illustration as a visual narrative medium in cross-cultural context, and lack systematic analysis of the internal structural logic of illustrations, especially research on how the mechanisms of "visual rhythm", "image transformation" and "cultural contextual association of symbols" in illustrations can guide the audience to understand rather than misinterpret. Therefore, this research will take the creation and design of mythological illustrations as an example to explore how to use digital technology to reconstruct mythological narratives and construct a "structure-context-interaction" ternary model of dynamic visual narratives, which can enable people in different cultural backgrounds to better understand and resonate with myths, and even create new mythological stories together. This research can fill the gap caused by the current research that mainly focuses on mainstream media such as movies, websites and games, while ignoring the flexible and highly adaptable visual system of illustrations. This research can also provide a more vivid and efficient communication method for content such as myths that require a lot of background knowledge to understand.

4. Methodologies:

4.1 Selected Methodology: Integration of Action Research and Mixed Methods Research

This research will use Action Research as the core methodological framework, combined with Mixed Methods Research. The choice of this methodology fully responds to the need for systematic testing of the practical application effectiveness of dynamic illustration in cultural communication based on the cyclic structure of "theoretical exploration -practical creation -user feedback -re-optimization" in this research. Action Research emphasizes the generation of knowledge in practice. Researchers are not only observers but also interveners. The purpose of their research is not only to “understand” but also to “change” (McNiff and Whitehead, 2011). This view is consistent with the idea of this research to deeply combine theoretical research with illustration design. Through the creation of works and interactive feedback with users, the research can continuously correct and optimize the communication methods during the creation process, and can form practice-oriented theoretical reflection.

Considering that the issues concerned in this research are highly complex, such as the differences in the interpretation of mythological images in cultural backgrounds and the reception effects of dynamic narratives in different contexts, it is difficult to form a comprehensive and systematic understanding by relying only on a single method.

Therefore, a mixed research strategy that integrates qualitative research and quantitative research is particularly necessary. Creswell and Clark (2007) pointed out that mixed methods have higher explanatory power and integration value in research involving multi-variable interweaving, cultural cognition and behavioral feedback. In summary, the iterative nature of Action Research and the flexibility of Mixed Methods Research provide a complete, reasonable and adaptable methodological basis for this research.

4.2 Selected Research Methods: Multivariate Data Collection and Cross-Cultural Understanding Construction

This research will use semi-structured interviews to understand the views and experiences of three types of research subjects: Illustrators and artists who choose cultural themes for creation will be interviewed to explore how they transform and reorganize cultural symbols in visual creation; The target users with multi-cultural background will be interviewed to obtain their cognitive path and misreading experience in the process of image viewing; The relevant interaction design or visual communication practitioners will be interviewed to supplement the understanding of interaction mechanisms and communication strategies.

This research will also design and distribute structured questionnaires to collect data on users' participation experience, visual preferences and cultural acceptance of dynamic mythological illustrations. The questionnaire contains Likert scales and open-ended questions, aiming to deeply explore users' feedback on image rhythm, symbol recognition and interactive mechanisms through a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis.

In addition, the research will select 3 to 5 typical cases for case studies, including this dynamic and interactive illustration project created based on this research, as well as other publicly published works that can be used as references for this research. The cultural adaptability and communication effects of these cases will be analyzed through symbol analysis, visual structure comparison and user feedback integration.

In the future creative practice process, in order to enhance situational immersion, this research will moderately introduce background music or sound effects with cultural characteristics as auxiliary media to stimulate users' perception of a specific cultural atmosphere. However, this part is not the focus of the research and only collects relevant feedback from user surveys as a reference.

4.3 Sampling Method: A Diversified Strategy Combining Purposefulness and Variety

The sampling strategy used in this research is based on Purposive Sampling, where participants are intentionally selected based on specific criteria, supplemented by the principle of Maximum Variation Sampling, which aims to include a wide range of perspectives to ensure the cultural breadth and experiential diversity of the samples (Patton, 2014):

In semi-structured interviews, this research plans to invite 15-20 respondents, covering illustrators, designers and digital media users from different cultural backgrounds to ensure that useful information about cultural conversion is obtained from both the creators’ and receivers’ perspectives. The questionnaire survey will mainly be released through social media platforms, with a planned collection of no less than 150 valid samples covering cultural circles such as Asia, Europe and Southeast Asia to support cross-cultural variable analysis. This research will select 3-5 art/illustration works with distinct cultural themes, clear interactive structures and user feedback records for case studies to ensure that the comparative analysis is effective and has reference value.

4.4 Ethical Considerations and Solutions

(1) All interview and questionnaire participants will sign informed consent forms, and the research will ensure that the data is anonymous and encrypted.

(2) The use of visual and audio materials should comply with cultural appropriateness and copyright legality. All materials must be sourced from legitimate sources, and cultural appropriation and misinterpretation should be avoided when using these materials.

(3) Illustration design should respect cultural sensitivity and avoid discriminatory or stereotypical content. And the design needs to create an inclusive interactive experience.

(4) Transdisciplinary integration requires maintaining an accurate understanding of the concepts of the original disciplines and ensuring the scientificity and integrity of data interpretation.

(5) The research process and results need to be highly transparent for easy review and replication.

(6) The potential socio-cultural impact of the research needs to be recognized. In research involving cultural symbols and cross-cultural communication, it is very important to ensure the accuracy and inclusiveness of cultural communication.

(7) The research will follow ethical guidelines such as APA, and the research will be subject to ethical review and compliance with data protection standards such as GDPR.

4.5 Data Analysis Methods and Applications

In order to systematically process multi-dimensional data, the research will use three data analysis methods: thematic analysis, quantitative statistical analysis and multimodal case comparative analysis:

The interview data and open-ended questionnaire feedback will be summarized and encoded using thematic analysis, following the six step method proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006) to extract users' symbol interpretation paths, interactive perception preferences and cultural misreading types during the process of viewing dynamic mythological illustrations. This method is suitable for processing text data with uncertain structure and rich content, and can effectively capture users' initiative and cultural differences in meaning construction.

For quantitative data, SPSS software will be used for descriptive statistical analysis, cross-variable analysis and correlation modeling to evaluate the statistical relationship between users' cultural background, media habits and interactive experience. SPSS software is a widely used statistical software package for data analysis, used across various disciplines for tasks ranging from basic descriptive statistics to complex modeling (Field, 2018; Pallant, 2020).

Visual and structural deconstruction analysis involves systematically breaking down the components, symbolism, and interactive logic of visual materials to understand their meaning and structure (Rose, 2022; Kress and van Leeuwen, 2020). For case studies, this research will use visual and structural deconstruction analysis to break down the composition, symbol system and interactive logic of illustration images, and combine user feedback to analyze their cultural adaptability and dissemination efficiency. Especially the structural analysis of dynamic narrative and interactive paths will assist in summarizing some illustration design methods with cross-cultural communication potential.

4.6 Analysis of the Appropriateness of Methodologies and Methods: Advantages and Limitations

As a methodological framework, Action Research has outstanding practical orientation and reflection mechanism, which is particularly suitable for design research. It can continuously refine theories and methods in the process of continuous creation and feedback. This circularity not only ensures the research depth, but also improves the practical application value of the research (Reason and Bradbury, 2001). Mixed Methods Research provides an integrated path when dealing with interwoven variables such as culture, cognition and interaction, which makes data acquisition more systematic and conclusions more convincing (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2017). In terms of specific methods, interviews can deeply explore users' subjective perception of cultural symbols, questionnaires can provide quantifiable data, and case studies can supplement the intermediary level between theory and practice. The synergistic effect of the three methods can enhance the structural stability and explanatory power of the research.

However, these methodologies and research methods have limitations. For example, Action Research heavily relies on the subjective judgment of researchers, which may affect the objectivity and reproducibility of the analysis. Although Mixed Methods Research has strong integration capabilities, it has high requirements for time, technology and human resources. Especially when integrating quantitative and qualitative data, a lot of time and energy must be invested in analysis and cross-validation. In addition, there are practical difficulties in obtaining and balancing multicultural samples, which are easily influenced by language, background and acceptance habits. To address these limitations, this research will clarify the scope of data collection, carefully examine each step when integrating data, and categorize them by theme. This research will also conduct phased testing to minimize the impact of cultural factors on the research results to ensure that the research results are more reliable.

4.7 Alternative Methods and Methodologies

For example, Experimental Methodology can be used to design comparative experiments by controlling variables to examine the impact of different illustration forms (such as static and dynamic, interactive and non interactive) on users' cultural understanding (Smith, 2012). The corresponding method is Controlled Experiment, which has the advantages of strong operability and clear data structure (Campbell and Riecken, 1968), but it is difficult to capture users' subjective participation and cultural experience in the process of meaning construction (Plano Clark, 2017; Hammersley, 2012).

Ethnography methodology can be considered as an alternative, which involves delving into specific cultural contexts through participatory observation to gain a deeper understanding of how images are interpreted (Fetterman, 2019). The corresponding methods such as Participant Observation and Cultural Interview are very suitable for exploring the formation of cultural identity and the deep mechanisms of symbolic understanding (Geertz, 2017; Agar, 2011). However, these methods require a longer research period and have limitations in cross-cultural comparison and operational efficiency (Bernard, 2023; Brewer, 2000).

Semiotic Analysis or Content Analysis are also alternative methodologies, with Semiotic Analysis focusing on understanding signs and symbols to uncover underlying meanings, while Content Analysis systematically examines the presence of concepts within communication (Barthes, 1977; Krippendorff, 2018). Related research methods include Image Coding Analysis, Narrative Structure Comparison and Semantic Frequency Statistics, which are suitable for analyzing the structural characteristics of a large number of illustrations (Rose, 2022; Kress and van Leeuwen, 2020), but these methods cannot provide actual feedback on users' real thoughts and how cultural factors affect user reactions (Silverman, 2006; Neuendorf, 2017).

Although other methodologies can also be applied to this research, Action Research combined with Mixed Methods Research is still the most suitable choice under the premise that this research emphasizes "parallel creation and cultural communication", "analysis of the causes of cultural misinterpretation" and "user participation and feedback". This can not only ensure the theoretical nature of the research, but also adjust the research at any time according to creative practice and user response. And this can provide better guidance and support for mythological themed illustrations in cross-cultural communication.

5. Discussion And Analysis:

This chapter aims to make a comprehensive analysis of the core problems, research methods and theoretical framework of this paper. And the focus of this chapter is to elaborate on the application effects of dynamic and interactive illustrations in cross-cultural communication of mythological themes, and to explore their theoretical value, practical significance and future development directions.

5.1 The Suitability of the Research Approach to My Research Question

This research adopts Action Research combined with Mixed Methods Research, effectively responding to the practice path of "design-communication-feedback-redesign". Action Research emphasizes the generation of knowledge in creative practice, allowing researchers as creators and interveners to continuously revise the design method. This method is particularly suitable for media forms such as dynamic illustrations with continuous feedback mechanisms. Mixed Methods Research combines qualitative interviews with quantitative questionnaires, allowing researchers to understand users' viewing experiences, cognitive biases and symbol understanding pathways under different cultural backgrounds, thereby providing more comprehensive empirical support for research questions.

5.2 Potential Findings and Theoretical Significance

According to preliminary research, dynamic illustrations have three advantages in cross-cultural communication:

1. The "rhythm" and "fluidity" of information transmission: dynamic images guide the audience into the story through visual rhythm changes and time advancement, thereby reducing the difficulty of understanding caused by cultural differences.

2. The "openness" and "participation" of meaning generation: the interactive mechanism breaks the single way of image reception, making the audience a co-creator of meaning, and the interactive behavior itself is a cultural participation process.

3. The "recoding" ability of symbolic systems: Interactive design can promote the reinterpretation of local mythological symbols in other cultures to avoid stereotypes and misunderstandings, and this can enhance cross-cultural adaptability.

Therefore, dynamic and interactive illustrations not only have technical advantages, but also construct a communication mechanism of "polysemous dialogue" at the cultural level, which can promote the regeneration of mythological meaning in contemporary expression.

5.3 The Links between Theory and Practice

The adopted theoretical framework has been outlined in the introduction of this paper, and how it guides the specific creation is further analyzed here:

Constructivism emphasizes that the generation of cultural meaning is a continuous construction process in the interaction between the audience and the environment (Piaget, 1977). As shown in the "encoding/decoding" model proposed by Hall (1980), the audiences will reconstruct information based on their own cultural background. This theory is embodied in interactive illustrations, for example, users can directly affect the symbolic meaning of images by clicking, path selection and other behaviors.

The "semantic ambiguity" theory proposed by Lotman (1990) reveals the polysemy and interpretability of myths. Dynamic illustration allows the meaning of mythological stories to flexibly change through open structures and diverse visual elements. For example, in a GIF animation, a mythical bird that symbolizes "rebirth" can appear in different states such as flying, breaking and burning in different plot developments, which precisely reflects the different understandings of the life cycle in different cultures.

In addition, the theory of cultural reflection suggests that cultural symbols may undergo semantic shifts and reconstructions in cross-cultural communication due to contextual differences (Hall, 2015). In the creation of mythological themed illustrations, audiences from different cultural backgrounds may give vastly different interpretations to the same image. The interactive mechanism of dynamic illustration provides a space for guiding and accommodating diverse interpretations, allowing cultural information to convey its core spirit in the process of "reflection", thereby enhancing its dissemination and adaptability in a multicultural context.

Murray (2017) proposed the "non-linear" and "participatory" theories of digital storytelling, which also provide a theoretical basis for the design of interactive illustrations. In interactive illustrations, users can freely explore various parts of mythological stories and construct their own "hero's journey", which is very similar to the mythological prototype structure proposed by Campbell (2008). This shows that digital illustrations can connect traditional myths with modern life. Therefore, this research will construct a structure of "image-culture-audience" that is interconnected in the combination of theory and practice. In this structure, the image is no longer a closed carrier with fixed meaning, but a starting point for the audience to construct cultural cognition. The audience is no longer a "decoder", but a "participatory creator".

5.4 Reflection on Future Research and Further Questions Raised

The following are some questions that deserve further research:

(1) Guidance mechanism: Although the open structure encourages polysemous interpretation, it may also lead to misinterpretation. In the future, sound effects, colors or image prompts can be introduced to help users understand culture.

(2) The expression of culture: Some images simplify symbolic forms to enhance global understanding, which may weaken their cultural depth. Future research can explore the "dual expression" mechanism, balancing the local and universal aspects of culture.

(3) Integrating multiple immersive experiences: Although this research mainly focuses on the illustrations themselves, user feedback suggests that sound effects can make the situation more vivid. Therefore, future creations can attempt to combine images, sound effects and interactive experiences to create more immersive narrative systems and provide users with richer experiences.

(4) The impact of cultural literacy differences: The cultural cognition and visual literacy of the audience will significantly affect image interpretation. Subsequently, mechanisms for analyzing user cultural backgrounds can be established to optimize the adaptability and personalized path of illustration design.

5.5 Limitations and Reflections on the Proposed Research Design

Although this proposed research design has theoretical rigor and practical adaptability, there are also some limitations:

1. The surveyed samples are mainly concentrated in Asia and Europe, and do not fully cover cultural contexts such as South America and Africa, which may affect the cultural breadth of the research.

2. Some of the proposed interactive structures are highly complex, which increases the cognitive burden of users and requires strengthening the guidance logic in the design.

3. The theoretical framework of the research may lead to a tendency towards "over theorization" in creation, thereby affecting the emotional tension of image expression.

Therefore, the subsequent research should continue to explore more flexible integration mechanisms between theory and practice to ensure the effective dissemination of culture while retaining the artistry and individuality of illustration creation.

6. Conclusion：

The core intention of this research is to explore how to break through the expressive limitations of traditional static images in cross-cultural communication through the dynamic and interactive design of mythological themed illustrations, and to construct an open and adaptable visual narrative structure. This research will combine constructivism and interpretivism theories, adopt Action Research and Mixed Methods Research, and conduct systematic analysis and practical verification around the interactive relationship between "audience-image-culture". Regarding the potential findings of the research, dynamic images and interactive mechanisms can effectively enhance user engagement and cultural understanding, especially in multicultural contexts, where audiences can reconstruct mythological meanings through autonomous path selection and symbol interpretation. In addition, the application of cultural refraction theory and semantic ambiguity principle can make illustration design more flexible and leave more interpretation space for the audiences, thereby reducing the risk of misreading in cross-cultural communication. The expected outcome of this research is not only to propose a dynamic visual design method suitable for mythological cultural content, but also to establish a "user-centered" cultural communication mechanism and emphasize the audience's dominant position in the generation of meaning. This mechanism is expected to provide new research perspectives and practical paths for illustration art in the fields of digital narrative, cross-cultural communication and interactive design. The potential impact of this research is to promote illustrations from a simple "visual expression" to a tool of "cultural dialogue", thereby providing a theoretical basis and practical methods for the development of visual arts in a global multicultural context, which is expected to promote the greater role of visual arts in fields such as cultural understanding, education and social communication.

7.

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Retelling Mythology from the Perspective of Nihilism

Yuye Su

Abstract

The research topic is "Mythical Restatement from the Perspective of Nihilism", with a focus on traditional Chinese mythology. The creative practice of this study explores the creative re narrative of Chinese mythology from a nihilistic perspective, combining insights from life sciences, psychoanalysis, Taoist philosophy, and digital technology. The core ideas include post human imagination inspired by the possibility of silicon-based life, psychoanalytic interpretation of dreams as unconscious narratives, and the Taoist concept of the dream reality continuum. By combining dream theory with life science metaphors, this project creates a "nostalgic dream core" environment that challenges traditional myths and opens space for new mythological production practices. Virtual reality (VR) technology may be the medium that this practice will adopt, as it allows immersive, participatory myths to resonate with fragmented, unstable selves. In this research project, the survey method is qualitative, using the methodology of Narrative inquiry and self-ethnography, and assisted by Case study to help supplement material information. Through interdisciplinary participation, this project attempts to provide alternative new narratives with emotional resonance and cultural roots for cultural narratives. Therefore, this article focuses on mythological narrative and nihilism, emphasizing the construction of literature review and methodology related to this research.

Introduction

The ontology on which this study is based is nihilism led by Nietzsche, as well as constructivism that is contradictory to it. In Nietzsche's nihilistic view, the negation of meaning creates the possibility for individuals to create meaning for themselves, even if this meaning ultimately has no intrinsic purpose. Meanwhile, the study takes a complex and contradictory stance -both pessimistic and optimistic, much like Camus' concept of heroism. researcher believes that meaning can be multifaceted, and life itself creates meaning. Two related aspects are also worth paying attention to, especially in the creative practice of this project, which are cosmic indifference and dystopia. The researchers of this study believe that all things have spirituality and deserve equal treatment and respect but also agree with the concept of survival of the fittest. Through this ontological framework that combines elements of constructivism and nihilism, this study ultimately relates to the essence and beauty of Taoist thought. The creative practice of this study integrates this carefree and lonely attitude into China's long-standing myths and legends, telling a nihilistic and seemingly meaningless story from the perspective of contemporary people. Although this story is meaningless, it still reflects the glory of human civilization -the absurd pursuit of eternal life for individuals and civilization, because we know that this eternal pursuit will eventually come to an end.

For the researchers of this study, nihilism is largely rooted in the struggle between idealism and realism under constructivism. In this internal logical game, when drafting the direction for this project at the beginning, the author mentioned a topic called "Can the nihilism of the younger generation in China be alleviated or healed by art. However, due to the expectation of supporting artistic creation practices and the researcher's own research ability preferences, this study has been adjusted to an individual based research perspective, namely "myth retelling from a nihilistic perspective". In theoretical research, this study focuses on the reconstruction of meaning under narrative techniques, as well as the construction of relevant philosophical, psychological, and other theoretical frameworks, exploring and analysing from a complex and somewhat dominant perspective that tends towards qualitative research. At the same time, the significance of this study lies in my attention to the nihilism, era, and life of the younger generation, and my attempt to integrate this into the creation and research of this project. In this research process, the author strives to balance the relationship between "me" and "others", "phenomena", etc., while achieving good expression in the creation and answering the most core questions judged by the researchers themselves, the author also pays more attention to the practical significance of research and creation, avoiding the inclination from idealism to excessive idealization and internalization. So, how can we ensure that the research conforms to the academic spectrum and has more raw materials to serve the creative expression of the research itself? To address such issues, this article explores the selection of literature review and methodology in the following two sections.

Literature review

The causes of nihilism among the younger generation in contemporary China are multifaceted.

On the one hand, there are structural social pressures and a culture of 'involution'. This is mainly caused by nihilism in the economic and material aspects. In the article "Research on the Mechanism of College Student Group Competition 'involution' Based on Multi Agent Simulation", it is mentioned that the term 'involution' is widely used in current society, mainly referring to a phenomenon where competition intensifies but output does not necessarily increase accordingly. This phenomenon is particularly evident among college students, reflecting the ineffective competition that individuals engage in to compete for limited resources when resources are limited. Research has shown that as the randomness in network topology decreases, the degree of competition in the "involution" of the system gradually increases. Cooperative strategies can improve the overall output of the system, while competitive strategies often lead to a situation of high input but low return. This phenomenon is particularly prominent in value evaluation, demonstrating the severity of the "involution" phenomenon. This phenomenon has led to intense social competition, educational pressure, and employment difficulties. In an environment that heavily emphasizes performance, competition, and efficiency, young people need to invest a lot of time and energy to obtain meagre returns, especially in the context of unstable job markets, devaluation of education, and increased pension burdens. "Winning the competition without a good life" has become a common feeling. The sense of disconnection between practical activities and the corresponding rewards has greatly exacerbated the sense of emptiness among the new generation of young people.

On the other hand, the digital life in the Z era has brought a lot of benefits, but it has also contributed to the stress and emptiness experience of the younger generation in the Z era. The author of the interplay of technology, family, and identity: Chinese adolescents’ selfpresentation on Douyin pointed out in the article that when using platforms such as TikTok for self-expression, Gen Z often had identity conflicts between the real self and the ideal self, which led to anxiety and decreased self-worth. At the front desk, individuals manage their behaviours and selectively showcase themselves to meet societal expectations, while the back desk provides space for more authentic and less regulated self-expression. Although initially applied to face-to-face interaction, this theory still holds relevance in the digital age, where the boundary between front-end and back-end is becoming increasingly blurred.（Zhang， 2025）. China's' digital natives': How the post-90s generation is transforming the country "also emphasizes that as' digital natives', Generation Z faces challenges such as information overload, identity confusion, and social pressure while promoting social change in China. This series of problems has led to a crisis of cultural identity, questioning of traditional values, weakening of the "self" in a large amount of information, and other contradictions and conflicts. The fragmentation of this sense of identity exacerbates the nihilism among young people in this era at the level of spiritual life (Li, 2021).

In addition, the characteristics of contemporary zeitgeist are nihilism and fragmentation, which have sparked ongoing discussions about the spectral quality of music in the 21st

century. This erosion of futurism is equally evident in core aesthetics, manifested in vague, dreamlike creative expressions that resonate deeply with modern audiences and spark heated debates among them (Zhou, 2024).

Based on the reasons above, this study will focus on the latter for further exploration, attempting to link it with our own research and explore whether a cultural research and artistic creation strategy can be provided to address this phenomenon. This study starts from the author's nihilism and attempts to explore this theme from an individual to a collective, gradually connecting from small to large to the nihilism of the younger generation in the Z era, combining individual and contemporary perspectives. This research will explore the transformation path of Chinese mythological prototypes in digital contexts through creative practice, providing new possibilities for contemporary interpretation of traditional culture.

This research focuses on the creative practice of reconstructing Chinese mythology from the perspective of nihilism, and its theoretical support needs to cover three key dimensions: firstly, the function of mythology at the cultural structure level; Secondly, the psychological and symbolic mechanisms underlying the operation of myths; Finally, the reproduction process of myths in the context of technology in modern society. Therefore, this project adopts an interdisciplinary research approach, integrating literature resources from psychology, anthropology, literary theory, and cultural studies, with a particular focus on contemporary theoretical expressions. This includes keyword searches such as "mythological discourse analysis," "prototype theory," "mythology and narrative," and "mythological deconstruction

Carl Jung's theory of Jungian psychology suggests that mythology is a manifestation of collective unconsciousness, and Jung extensively developed this concept. This research is expected to be the possibility of solving cultural identity and reshaping traditional values. Jung believed that the collective unconscious is composed of prototypes -universal symbols and themes that repeatedly appear in different cultures and eras. These prototypes are not just individual psychological structures, but common elements of human experience that shape our understanding of the world and ourselves. In Jung's view, myths are an integral part of these archetypal expressions, as they encompass fundamental narratives that resonate with the collective psyche of humanity. He believes that myths originate from the collective unconscious and reflect the common experiences and psychological patterns of humanity. This viewpoint is consistent with Freud and Jung's views, although they differ, they both recognize the importance of mythology in understanding human culture and psychology. Freud's psychoanalysis, while focusing on individual psychology, also acknowledges the importance of mythology, particularly through the lens of the Oedipus complex, which is like Jung's archetypal analysis (Menzhulin, V., 2021).

Besides, Jung's exploration of mythology emphasizes that these narratives are not only historical or cultural artifacts, but also crucial for the psychological development of individuals and society. He insists that mythology provides insight into the human condition

and the archetypal themes that govern our lives, such as creation, transformation, and the interaction between sacredness and blasphemy (Khajehgir, Izadi Dastenaei, and Forouzandeh, 2020).

The younger generation in the Z era has experienced the gradual failure of traditional "anchors of meaning" such as the college entrance examination, employment, and marriage in the face of drastic social changes (lying flat, slacking off, and low desire life). However, alternative beliefs or value systems (such as multiculturalism and individualism) are not yet stable, resulting in a "suspended" collective psychological state, which to some extent leads to the collapse of value structures and lagging substitution. At the same time, on BiliBili, Red note, TikTok and other platforms, Gen Z immerses itself in the highly visual and algorithmic "fragmented world". The gap between virtual socialization and reality is widening, forming a collective "hollowing out" experience. The use of internet language such as "life is unsolvable", "let it go", and "destroy it quickly" in the creation of digital landscapes also demonstrates a strong unconscious expression of group resonance. Internal competition, housing prices, and employment pressure cannot be solved by individuals, but are individualized by the discourse system ("not working hard enough", "you don't deserve anxiety"). This makes Generation Z tend to transform their sense of powerlessness into a negative acceptance rather than organizational resistance, presenting a cultural sense of destiny that cannot be changed by the system. This aspect of performance also exists widely on the internet, which is another manifestation of the unconscious resonance of the younger generation in the face of reality. And mythology intersects with this, does it mean that the gap between the digital age and traditional values and narratives may be filled or eased through the transformation and reshaping of myths?

The structuralist approach emphasizes the inherent symmetry patterns and binary oppositional relationships within mythological systems. Levi Strauss (1963) pointed out that mythological meaning exists in the structural relationships between mythological units, rather than in isolated elements. Campbell (2004) further integrated the global myth model into a unified "heroic journey" structure, which is widely used in contemporary novels and film narratives.

The linguistic turn has brought new dimensions to mythological interpretation. Saussure (1983) believed that the connection between signifier and signified in language is arbitrary, implying that mythological meanings also have cultural constructiveness. Derrida (1976) advocated in "Textual Studies" that all central meanings are temporary configurations composed of differences and advocated the deconstruction of myths to reveal potential power structures and textual contradictions.

Although these three theoretical traditions adopt different approaches, they all view mythology as a mechanism of meaning generation: Jung focuses on symbolic psychology, structuralism emphasizes logical symmetry, and deconstructionism highlights linguistic

fluidity. They collectively provide complementary theoretical resources for the deconstruction and reconstruction of Chinese mythology in this study.

However, there are controversies and academic differences in this area of theory. On the one hand, it is believed that mythology as a mechanism for compensating meaning is feasible. In addition to the psychological therapy proposed by Jung, existentialism can support the idea that the emptiness and emptiness of the collective subconscious can be alleviated through cultural creation, particularly through the retelling of mythological narratives. As discussed in "Existential Media," the concept of limiting situations emphasizes moments of crisis and loss, forcing individuals to confront their existence and seek meaning. This participation in the theme of existence can be reflected in cultural narratives that resonate with shared human experiences, thus filling the gaps in the collective subconscious (Lagerkvist, 2022). In addition, the exploration of existentialism in "Beyond Nature and Culture: Fromm's Existentialism" demonstrates that human values and individualistic methods can transcend biological and social determinism. This viewpoint implies that cultural creation, including mythological narratives, can serve as tools to express and address the complexity of human existence, providing individuals with a framework to cope with survival challenges (Carveth, 2017). As the concept of "marginal space" is elaborated in "Between Two Worlds," it further supports this viewpoint by illustrating how transitional periods in life, such as facing terminal illness, can lead to psychological and spiritual development. Cultural narrative can play a crucial role in this process, providing individuals with a means to explore their fears and uncertainties, ultimately helping to establish a sense of connection and understanding in the collective experience of existence (Adorno, 2015). Existentialism provides a theoretical basis for understanding cultural creation, particularly through retelling mythological narratives, how to address the emptiness of the collective subconscious. By engaging with existing themes and sharing human experiences, these narratives can promote deeper connections with meaning and identity in the face of life's uncertainty.

Corresponding to this argument, there are also those who question the effectiveness of narrative in academia, believing that it has limitations. Jean Baudrillard's exploration of contemporary mythological representation and the concept of void symbols is intricately linked to his theories on postmodern social simulation and the nature of reality. His analysis suggests that in the current cultural landscape, traditional symbols and meanings have been replaced by simpliacara -these representations no longer refer to any primitive reality but create a kind of surrealism where the distinction between real and non-real becomes blurred. This phenomenon is evident in the way advertisements use mythological characters, who are persuasive tools that reflect and shape consumer trends, effectively transforming advertisements into modern myths (S á nchez, 2014). Baudrillard's criticism extends to the role of mass media, which he believes continues Simulacra's dominant position and leads to a loss of true meaning. The media's representation of symbols often conceals their inherent emptiness, creating a duality where symbols are simulated while reality is obscured. This simulation has led to cultural gaps, as symbols that were once significant have become interchangeable and lack their original context (Mureyko, 2018). This perspective as the opposite has enlightening implications for this study. How can narrative expand its scope and have a better impact? This may be a strategy that can be found in the practice of artistic creation.

Finally, the limitations of research in this area have also been pointed out by some literature: (1) the Chinese mythological system as a research object is still simplified and lacks systematic analysis of its structure and symbolic system (Wang, 2020); (2) The applicability of Jungian theory in non-Western cultures remains to be tested, particularly regarding the cultural specificity and variability of prototypes (Kelsey, 1986).

Methodology

This study mainly adopts a qualitative research method.

The main difference between qualitative research and quantitative research lies in their research methods and data processing methods. Qualitative research is usually explanatory, emphasizing a deep understanding of phenomena and the exploration of subjective experiences, often using methods such as open interviews, observations, and text analysis to obtain rich, context relevant data. This research approach allows researchers to flexibly adjust their research direction during the data collection process (Carlson, 2008). On the other hand, quantitative research emphasizes verifying hypotheses through numerical and statistical analysis, typically using structured questionnaire surveys, experimental design, and data modelling methods. The process of quantitative research is usually linear, where researchers explicitly propose research questions at the beginning of the study and analyse them by collecting quantifiable data. (Baur, 2019) This study adopts a qualitative research method and is based on the interpretive paradigm, aiming to explore the subjective experience, meaning construction process, and narrative style of Generation Z individuals when they encounter nihilistic emotions in the digital age. This study focuses on how people construct, question, or reconstruct meaning through the intervention of mythological narratives, while exploring the life experience of nihilism from the perspective of a member of Generation Z. It is necessary to answer the question of how Chinese mythology can be retold and created from a nihilistic perspective, and how it may help Generation Z youth affected by nihilism reconstruct meaning?” Wait for the question. These issues require in-depth and delicate exploration, capturing the emotional, symbolic, and philosophical dimensions of nihilism. It may be more inclined to value depth, complexity, and subjectivity, rather than emphasizing clear assumptions at the beginning of research and pursuing universality and statistics, as in quantitative research. For example, nihilism is not seen as a measurable psychological disorder, but rather as a cultural, existential, and emotional state that influences the thinking, creativity, and identity of Generation Z. Qualitative methods are particularly suitable for dealing with emotional, psychological, and cultural phenomena embedded in life experiences and personal worldviews (Denzin&Lincoln, 2011), so qualitative research would be a more appropriate research method.

The main research methodologies used include narrative inquiry, Autoethnography, and case studies. In narrative research, researchers typically collect stories of individuals or groups and

analyse these narratives to understand their underlying meanings, identity constructions, cultural contexts, and social backgrounds. And Autoethnography provides an extremely intimate framework for exploring these abstract concepts. It enables researchers to explore patterns that resonate with a wide range of cultural schemas beyond themselves through personal memory, emotions, artistic practice, and social environment. The goal of the research is not only to express individuals' struggles caused by their perception of a crisis of meaning, but also to reflect on how these struggles are shaped by cultural narratives, digital media, social norms, and generational identities (Ellis, 2004). Finally, as an auxiliary and supplementary research method, case studies play a role in increasing the material foundation in this study. Case studies play an irreplaceable role in the in-depth analysis of phenomena in specific contexts. The study and application of this methodology can provide richer materials for narrative research and directional references for Autoethnography. For example, in narrative research, after a mythological narrative is deconstructed and analysed, and a narrative framework is proposed, how to determine the rationality of this framework and whether it truly conforms to the cultural foundation behind our speculation? Using case analysis may help and increase the credibility in this area; In the study of Autoethnography, case analysis can provide reference for the connection between individuals and collectives, namely commonalities and differences. This study is required to possess both philosophical contemplation and interdisciplinary thinking in artistic practice. This requires the coordinated application of multiple research methods.

1. Narrative Research: Narrative Inquiry and Mythical Discourse Analysis

This study adopts Narrative Inquiry (Clandinin&Connelly, 2000) as the main methodological framework. The reason why narrative inquiry is applicable is that it uses storytelling as the core way to understand life experiences, especially suitable for dealing with issues such as identity crisis, existential exploration, or cultural negotiation -these are the core of this study.

Narrative Inquiry forms the backbone of the methodology design in this study. The NI developed by Clandinin and Connelly focuses on the temporality, sociality, and spatiality of life experiences, making it very suitable for examining how Generation Z narrates and retells their encounter with nothingness. This method enables researchers to understand the context, emotional expression, and symbolic meaning of narratives, focusing not only on "what has been experienced," but also on "how to interpret these experiences?”.

In addition, this study also adopted a Mythic Discourse Analysis framework inspired by the theoretical perspectives of Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade, and others mentioned earlier. This interpretive perspective helps identify prototype patterns, mythological structures, and symbolic motifs in narratives. By overlaying personal narratives with mythological paradigms, this study attempts to understand how participants consciously or unconsciously invoke traditional mythological themes (such as hero journeys, cyclical time, and the struggle between order and chaos) to deal with inner turmoil in a crisis of meaning. The combination of these two methodologies enables a dialogue between personal stories and cultural memories, thereby understanding at multiple levels how youth engage in narrative identity construction in a nihilistic atmosphere. Next, regarding the selection of methods, I will divide it into two parts: data collection methods and data analysis methods.

This study will use the following qualitative research methods to collect data: Firstly, this study will use Semi structured Narrative Interviews. Participants will be encouraged to share their personal stories of experiencing disillusionment, identity confusion, and meaning reconstruction in their lives. Based on the previous chapter's discussion of the nihilistic behaviours of young people in the Z era and considering that the interviewee may not be familiar with the concepts of "nihilism" and "meaning", this interview will combine phenomena and life experiences to conduct questions. The current plan for the interview may revolve around the following questions: When did you first feel like lying flat, no longer wanting to work hard, and significantly decreased expectations for life planning? Have you had this experience before? How do you view this feeling now? Are there any stories, myths, novels, or video games that resonate with you? Do you immerse yourself in these stories? This interview method not only ensures the relevance of the topic but also gives participants the freedom to express their own experiences, which is conducive to stimulating deep emotions and narrative content. Secondly, a Myth Resonance Response may be adopted. Participants will be exposed to simplified and adapted Chinese myths, such as N ü wa mending the sky, Pangu opening the sky, Chang'e flying to the moon, etc. They will then be invited to reflect on whether these myths resonate with their own experiences and may need to jointly explore potential reasons for resonance or lack of such feelings; Expressing one's inner emotions through writing, painting, or rewriting mythological stories; Participate in mythological reconstruction experiences based on VR or AR (optional, depending on project situation). This method combines subjective experience with cultural themes, providing rich materials for understanding the reconstruction process of symbolic meaning. Thirdly, utilize Digital Ethnographic Material. The study will also analyse the content about nihilism, mythological symbolism, or existentialist language publicly published by Generation Z on social platforms such as Xiaohongshu, BiliBili, and Reddit. These online texts can be regarded as digital narrative materials that can reveal the spread and transformation of nihilistic emotions in the media space. Fourth, sampling method. This method, as a backup plan, may be implemented both online and offline if conditions permit. This study is likely to refer to Purposeful Sampling. Use purposive sampling and other strategies to select the most inspiring cases for the research question. This approach not only helps to collect rich and contextualized data but also enables researchers to focus on exploring the deeper meanings behind specific groups or phenomena. At the same time, qualitative sampling has strong adaptability, and the sample size and type can be flexibly adjusted according to the progress of data analysis during the research process, enhancing the process and openness of theoretical generation. More importantly, the sampling survey method is particularly suitable for exploring marginalized groups, niche cultures, or subjective experiences that are difficult to quantify, filling the gaps that traditional large-scale questionnaire research cannot cover, and gradually constructing explanatory theoretical frameworks through data comparison and induction. The research plan aims to recruit participants with the following characteristics: 1. Age between 18 and 28 years old, basically belonging to Generation Z; 2. Have a strong interest in mythology, storytelling, philosophy, or existential topics; 3. Have experienced or are currently experiencing a sense of emptiness or a crisis of meaning in self-awareness. To broaden the participants' backgrounds and experience types, this study will also use Snowball Sampling, where initial respondents will recommend other individuals with similar experiences. It is expected to recruit more than 7 participants to achieve a balance between narrative depth and sample controllability.

In addition to considering these methods of obtaining data through surveys, research also considers ethical considerations and relevant response measures. Considering ethical risks, the research will take the following measures to avoid them: firstly, regarding the protection

of emotional risks and vulnerability. Considering that exploring nihilism may touch upon participants' painful or uneasy memories. Therefore, when seeking consent, the emotional content that the interview may trigger will be clearly stated; 2. It is explicitly stated that participation is entirely voluntary, and participants may withdraw from the study at any time. Secondly, regarding privacy and anonymity protection: 1. All participant data will be anonymized; 2. Use pseudonyms in all public displays; Thirdly, regarding informed consent: 1. A detailed informed consent form will be provided, explaining the research objectives, procedures, and data usage methods; 2. If participants create works (such as paintings or texts), they will be additionally solicited for permission to use them for public display or citation.

Methods of data analysis. This study will adopt a dual approach of thematic narrative analysis and Mythic structural interpretation: firstly, thematic narrative analysis. 1. Encode recurring themes in various narratives (such as "emptiness," "seeking," "rebirth," "fragmentation," etc.); 2. Analyse the narrative structure and symbolic patterns (such as "victim", "explorer", "reconstructor"); 3. Horizontally compare stories between different participants to reveal cultural patterns and differences. Secondly, the analysis of mythological structure. 1. Map personal narratives to mythological prototype structures (such as hero journeys, descent sublimation models, etc.); 2. Analyse the relationship between symbolic themes (such as cosmic rupture, sacrifice, and divine rupture) and meaning reconstruction; 3. Determine whether the participants are consciously reconstructing the myth or unconsciously repeating its structure. This analytical strategy connects individual experiences with collective cultural memory, enabling this study to gain a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms and cultural foundations of meaning construction.

Last but not least， The advantages and limitations of narrative research methodology. This methodology can effectively capture the deep dynamics of psychological and cultural dimensions, empower participants to tell personal stories and express creativity, reveal implicit structures in individual meaning construction, and provide interdisciplinary perspectives (such as psychology, cultural studies, mythology, narrative theory). However, it has limitations. For example, lack of statistical significance; Data analysis requires high interpretability, and researchers need to continuously reflect; Data collection and analysis take a long time; Dependent on the language or symbolic expression ability of participants. To address these limitations, researchers will maintain a research reflection log, which includes the Autoethnography that will be mentioned in the next section.

2. Observing the Void Masters of Generation Z through the Lens of Autoethnography

The author adopts the methodology of Autoethnography and explores the life experience of nihilism from the perspective of a member of Generation Z. As a qualitative research method, Autoethnography connects individuals with culture, viewing the "self" as the research object, allowing for deep introspective analysis and understanding of individual experiences within broader generational, cultural, and philosophical contexts. Through this method, research attempts to answer a key question: "Is this nihilistic thinking unique to me, or is it a manifestation of a broader generational phenomenon?" Qualitative research is essential to capture the emotional, symbolic, and philosophical dimensions of nihilism. Meanwhile, selfethnography provides an extremely intimate framework for exploring these abstract concepts. It enables researchers to explore patterns that resonate with a wide range of cultural schemas beyond themselves through personal memory, emotions, artistic practice, and social environment. The goal of the research is not only to express the struggle of individual

meaning crisis, but also to reflect on how this struggle is shaped by cultural narratives, digital media, social norms, and generational identity (Ellis, 2004). Autoethnography combines the characteristics of autobiography and ethnography and is a critical reflection method that links personal experience with cultural context. Carolyn Ellis (2004) pointed out that Autoethnography is both a "process" and a "product" that integrates narrative, reflection, and cultural interpretation. In this study, self-ethnography constitutes a lens through which the researcher's nihilistic worldview, creative impulse, and philosophical inquiry are unfolded. These contents are not isolated individual phenomena but reflect a cultural phenomenon of generational spirit. As artists and thinkers of Generation Z, researchers play a dual role: they are both research subjects and analysts. This duality is crucial for exploring the interweaving of nihilism as a personal reality experience and collective emotion. The tension between alienation and engagement, despair and creativity, forms the foundation of this methodology (Ellis, Adams&Bochner, 2011). Overall, self-ethnography is crucial for this study. In this project, one of the core issues facing self-ethnography is whether this nihilistic idea is just my personal feeling, or is it more broadly related to my generation and age group? Essentially, it requires a self-reflective and culturally embedded exploration approach. Instead of assuming an external, objective stance, research starts from the 'self' and views it as a microcosm of broader social and existential forces. Using this methodological approach, researchers explore whether experiences such as "meaninglessness," "alienation," "absurdity," and "introspection" are not just occasional phenomena of individuals, but potentially reflect changes in cultural structures. In the section of self-ethnography, this study will choose to use the following main materials: 1 Reflective Diary: Continuously recording emotions, thoughts, and experiences related to nihilism. 2. Creative process log: Record the creative process of art works (including visual art, narrative writing, conceptual installations) that contain nihilistic themes or raise questions about them. 3. Memory reconstruction: personal stories, dreams, and key life events that shape worldviews. 4. Philosophical Dialogue: Internal dialogue and response to philosophical texts such as Nietzsche, Camus, and Taoist classics. 5. Cultural Participation Observation: Interaction with online communities, such as peer conversations and cultural narratives on Reddit, TikTok, and Discord.

These materials are both "raw data" and "texts" with emotional and symbolic significance, requiring hermeneutic reading that focuses not only on the content itself, but also on its expression, such as tone, imagery, emotional atmosphere, and possible historical background and philosophical context hidden behind it. This is because self-ethnography does not pursue statistical representativeness. The researcher themselves is the main 'sample', and the experience being explored is subjectively chosen. However, to broaden the scope of analysis, research also reflects on representative generational experiences and media cultural phenomena, thus achieving an extension from the individual to the cultural level.

In addition, the methodological framework of this section also involves ethical considerations. The ethical challenges unique to Autoethnography are mainly reflected in its high degree of introspection and potential involvement with others. Therefore, this study follows the following ethical principles: 1. Informed consent: if referring to others, use pseudonyms or obtain explicit consent. 2. Autoethnography: Writing about despair and nothingness may trigger psychological distress, and researchers have psychological regulation mechanisms such as pausing writing, seeking peer support, and regular reflection. 3. Narrative transparency: Recognizing that the narrative itself is constructive, research does not pursue "absolute objectivity" or "moral authority”.

For data analysis, researchers use the following strategies to analyse the generated textual materials: Semantic Analysis: identifying recurring themes such as absurdity, alienation, decadent beauty, and resistance to meaninglessness. Existential Reading: interpreting personal experiences through philosophical tools such as Nietzsche's nihilism, Camus' philosophy of absurdity, and Taoist thought of non-action; Cultural Reflexivity: Placing personal narratives in a broader socio-cultural context, such as the digital disillusionment, climate anxiety, and aesthetic avoidance of Generation Z (McIlveen, 2008).

Through these explanatory strategies, the study constructs a clear hierarchical way of understanding, revealing how nihilism coexists as an internal emotion and cultural symptom.

The core advantage of this method lies in its depth and intimacy. It allows researchers to delve into the emotional, philosophical, and symbolic aspects of nihilism, which are often difficult to obtain through external observation. At the same time, it also encourages authenticity and emotional "sincerity", which is crucial for addressing issues. However, there are also significant limitations. This includes the inevitable subjectivity, research highly dependent on personal experience, and the inability to advocate universality of results; Writing about themes of despair and crisis may trigger mental stress; The possibility of selfisolation can easily lead to pure self-expression and neglect of cultural analysis.

Therefore, researcher need to place individual experiences within the cultural context, utilize interdisciplinary literature to connect and stimulate thinking, and occasionally return to narrative research or case studies for examination.

3. Case study

In this study, the use of case studies as a methodology can effectively support the theoretical exploration and practical presentation of the theme of "reconstructing Chinese mythology from a nihilistic perspective". Case studies emphasize in-depth analysis of specific objects in their real-life contexts and are suitable for exploring complex and contextualized sociocultural phenomena, especially in highly subjective and symbolic art research. Their methods are flexible, deep, and explanatory, making them an ideal path for concretizing abstract propositions such as nihilism and mythological creation.

On the one hand, nihilism, as a complex of philosophy and emotion, is not easily grasped through quantitative data or large-scale research. Its manifestations are often closely related to individual experiences, symbolic expressions, and cultural symptoms. The reconstruction of myths is essentially a reconstruction of the meaning system, emphasizing the re encoding of symbolic symbols and the reorganization of cultural structures. Therefore, case studies can accommodate researchers to conduct multidimensional and interdisciplinary analysis of a single creative practice based on their own experience and extract representative cultural significance and philosophical tension from it.

On the other hand, the case study emphasizes "contextuality" and "complexity", which is highly consistent with the topic of this study: the reconstruction of Chinese mythology in the digital age is not a simple continuation of existing myths, but a deep transformation under new historical contexts, technological conditions, and emotional structures. Case studies allow for the concretization of these conditions and provide an experimental observation window, showcasing both how nihilism has become the foundation of contemporary expression and how art reconstructs new meaning mechanisms through mythology.

Regarding this part of the framework proposal, as the first two methodologies have not yet been implemented as preliminary steps, detailed design has not yet been carried out. This part of the research will be flexibly adjusted based on the experience of the previous two studies.

Discussion and analysis

Although the social background of nihilism, the deconstruction and construction of narrative frameworks, and the three methodologies that will be adopted in research have been explored, there are still many potential theories and practical possibilities worth exploring for virtual mythological narratives based on the ontology of nihilism. For example, VR devices explore the reconstruction path of Chinese mythology, but there are still many theoretical and practical spaces that need to be further explored. Furthermore, the potential philosophical dialogue between nihilism and traditional Chinese thought, especially Taoist culture, may be an important direction worth further exploration.

The 'nothingness' of Taoism is not an end, but a source of generation, as can be seen in Chapter 4 of the Tao Te Ching:' The Dao rushes and uses it, but it may not be fully utilized, and the abyss is like the school of all things. '. This "yet to be generated" view of emptiness (Wang, 2006) may provide a more flexible narrative structure and character psychological mechanism for nihilistic mythological reconstruction. Therefore, future research can further investigate the complementary relationship between nihilism and Taoist culture at the narrative level. For example, in terms of character design and plot development, one can try to introduce logic such as "governing by inaction" and "the movement of the Tao" (Chapter 40 of the Tao Te Ching) to construct a non-linear, non-purposeful, and anti-dramatic narrative rhythm (Liu, 2020).

More importantly, at the level of creative practice, Taoist thought can enter the artistic system as an alternative "nihilistic practice methodology". It is no longer a rebellion aimed at destroying meaning, but a surrender in the direction of returning to authenticity (Li, 2021); No longer emphasizing the dissolution of the subject, but activating the fluidity of all phenomena through the withdrawal of the subject. This "proactive exit" strategy is particularly suitable for the highly mediated creative context of today, where artists, as "interveners," no longer create meaning but instead create space for the Autoethnography of meaning (Gu, 2018).

Conclusion

In this paper, I explored how Chinese mythology can be reimagined through a nihilistic lens in the context of contemporary art. By combining traditional myths with modern digital tools

like VR and virtual storytelling, I tried to show that even stories deeply rooted in history can be retold in new, meaningful ways. The goal was not to simply reject meaning, but to reflect on how meaning is created, lost, and rebuilt over time. Through this approach, I wanted to challenge how we usually think about myths—not as fixed tales, but as flexible frameworks that can evolve with society. I also looked at how structure, deconstruction, and cultural context influence how these stories function today. In particular, the analysis of Jiu Ge helped to highlight the inner tensions between order and chaos, belief and doubt, which are all central to both mythology and nihilism. Rather than offering one clear message, my creative practice aims to leave space for uncertainty, repetition, and reinterpretation. This process reflects a wider cycle in both history and storytelling: the endless return of old questions in new forms. In the end, this project is not just about mythology or nihilism, but about how art can open up space for rethinking the way we understand life, meaning, and human experience in the digital age. It is a practice of questioning, searching, and sometimes simply sitting with the unknown.

In summary, the retelling of myths from the perspective of nihilism may broaden the scope of aesthetic creation of dream core themes in practice, and build a bridge of cultural identity between tradition and contemporary times; In terms of theory, the study of this topic is expected to combine the ideas of Taoism, especially its practical methodology, thus becoming another practical approach to nihilism in the context of the increasingly strong demand for internal spiritual therapy and construction.

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