Authorized Heritage Discourse (AHD) refers to a hegemonic discourse constructed by power relations in cultural heritage interpretation and management, which is prevalent in traditional offline intangible cultural heritage (ICH) promotion by official institutes. The AHD has been critiqued for years due to its over-emphasis on mainstream perspectives, while neglecting others. However, China’s state media have increasingly promoted ICH through short-form videos nowadays, conveying a more inclusive attitudes that significantly differs from traditional channels. Currently, there is insufficient research on how heritage discourse is encoded and represented in official short-form videos promoting ICH. Specifically, there is a notable gap in understanding the characteristics and connotations of AHD in this emerging media, particularly in terms of videography, narrative, and visual elements. To address these gaps, we conducted a multimodal discourse analysis of 479 video clips published on “Intangible Culture Heritage is Coming” (“非遗来了”; ID: feiyitv), a nationally representative official TikTok channel managed by Shanghai Radio. Our preliminary findings indicate that, AHD is progressively being softened in the ICH promotion through short-form videos, showing a negotiation and integration with various subaltern discourse. This evolution is evident in three key aspects of media production: (1) interactive and engaging videography, (2) grassroots and artisan-centered narratives, (3) the inclusion of traditionalized and nationalized visual elements. This process has fostered an inclusive, diverse, and harmonious discourse environment that blends national identity and ideologies with the ICH values of different localities and ethnic groups in China, revealing a symbiotic and inseparable relationship between the two. Based on these findings, practical and theoretical insights were discussed.

Authors:
Ruoxi Liu, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore
Haoran Qiu, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Ruoxi LIU is a University Doctoral Student at Nanyang Technology University in Singapore

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