The Glocal Dilemma and Identity Reconstruction of Intangible Cultural Heritage: a Critical Literature Review

1. Introduction: The Paradox of ICH Identity in the Context of Globalization

The process of globalization has profoundly altered the ecosystem for the survival of Intangible Cultural Heritage. On one hand, global interconnectedness provides unprecedented international platforms for local knowledge and cultural practices (such as the ICH of Shandong). On the other hand, this process has also plunged them into a dilemma of "suspended cultural identity," whereby their cultural symbols are easily "spectacularized" in cross-cultural decoding, their emotional structures struggle to resonate, and their deep value identity faces alienation. This paradox constitutes a core issue in current ICH research. Through a critical review of the relevant academic history, this paper aims to delineate the theoretical trajectory and core debates in this field and, on this basis, identify key knowledge gaps to establish a theoretical foundation for future research.

2. The Paradigm Evolution of ICH Research: From Static Preservation to Dynamic Identity

2.1. The First Paradigm: Preservationism within an Institutional Framework and the Concern of "Fossilization"

The starting point of ICH research is closely linked to the institutional framework established by UNESCO. Early academic discourse primarily revolved around the nomination for lists, the formulation of standards, and the "rescue and protection" of heritage. However, this "preservation"-centered paradigm soon came under academic scrutiny. Lusenet (2007) astutely pointed out that while technical means like digital archiving can document the forms of heritage, they also harbor the risk of "fossilizing" dynamic cultural processes by stripping them of their living social contexts and practices.

2.2. The Second Paradigm: The "Living Heritage" Turn and the Subjectivity of Community Identity

As research deepened, the academic focus began to shift from "static objects" to "living people." The prominence of the "Living Heritage" concept marked a significant paradigm shift. The research by Borodin et al. (2023) emphasizes that the international consensus on ICH protection has shifted to an absolute focus on "community identity," recognizing and respecting the subjectivity of cultural practitioners. This shift is also clearly reflected in domestic research. He Lichun et al. (2018) constructed an internal identity system from "cognitive understanding" to "emotional resonance," stressing the importance of the internal perspective of heritage bearers. The studies by Peng Mu (2025) and Shi Aiqin (2025) further delved into this from sociological and anthropological perspectives, exploring the interactions and power dynamics among the government, scholars, communities, and groups in "research-based protection," calling for a transformation from "making decisions for the people" to "letting the people make their own decisions."

At the same time, Critical Heritage Studies has injected a stronger speculative color into this paradigm. Through an analysis of concepts like "cultural landscapes," Brumann (2021) revealed the underlying Eurocentric tendencies behind the World Heritage system. Meanwhile, the research of scholars like Zamarbide Urdaniz (2018) goes a step further, dedicated to "Decolonizing Heritage," aiming to uncover the deep-seated cultural power relations within the global heritage discourse system and providing theoretical tools for non-Western cultures to strive for equal rights of representation.

3. The Dual Effect of the Digital Wave: Communication Empowerment and the Dissolution of Cultural Connotation

3.1. Digitalization as an Empowering Tool: Spatiotemporal Reconstruction and Enhanced Visibility

The rapid development of digital technology has brought revolutionary changes to the recording, inheritance, and communication of ICH. The academic community has widely noted the immense potential of technological applications. For instance, through 3D scanning and motion capture technology, ICH craftsmanship can be precisely recorded and virtually reproduced (Zhang et al., 2023). Jian Wu (2024) and Ziyi Lian (2024) further explored the application prospects of cutting-edge technologies such as the metaverse and digital twins in creating trans-spatiotemporal experiences of ICH, breaking through physical limitations.

3.2. The Inherent Risks of Digitalization: Cultural Simplification and the Loss of Authenticity

However, the academic optimism towards digitalization is not without reservations. A core concern is that the process of digitalization may lead to the "dimension reduction" and "disembedding" of cultural connotation. Buragohain et al. (2024) warned that generative technologies like AIGC pose a risk of "cultural simplification" when recreating ICH content, reducing complex and subtle cultural practices into easily communicable visual symbols. Lu Renjing (2024) profoundly pointed out that digital communication could lead to "the disconnection between cultural connotation and practical context," reducing ICH to decontextualized objects of spectacular consumption. This perfectly echoes Habermas's classic critique of the "colonization of the lifeworld by the system": the logic of technology (such as algorithmic recommendations and traffic-first principles) may erode or even replace the intrinsic logic and richness of the cultural practices themselves.

4. Research Review and Theoretical Gaps: Theoretical Construction from "Cultural Discount" to "Identity Resilience"

In summary, ICH research has evolved from the early stages of "what it is" (ontological description) and "how to preserve it" (technical strategies) to deeper levels of "for whom" (community subjectivity) and "to whom power belongs" (critique of discourse power). However, when these issues intersect with "international communication," a core theoretical gap becomes apparent: existing research has failed to adequately theorize the internal mechanisms for achieving "effective identity" in the glocal interaction of ICH.

Most communication strategy studies (e.g., Yang Xiao, 2024) tend to approach the issue from an instrumental-rational perspective, exploring how to use new media to "tell stories well," but they lack a deep semiotic and emotional-sociological analysis of why these stories can (or cannot) be profoundly understood and resonated with. On the other hand, cultural identity research (e.g., Zhang Yiyi, 2024), while focusing on identity construction within communities, seldom tests it within the complex field of cross-cultural decoding. Although Hall's "encoding/decoding" theory reveals the universality of "cultural discount," it serves more as a diagnosis of the problem rather than a solution.

This study argues that there is an urgent need for a theoretical framework that can bridge the aforementioned gap. This framework must answer: How are ICH cultural symbols negotiated and reconstructed in their cross-cultural journeys? How can local emotional structures be transformed into universally appealing emotional calls? And how can a value system rooted in a specific cultural soil achieve "value resonance" with the values of others? This is the theoretical motivation behind this study's proposal of the concept of "Cultural Identity Resilience." It attempts to transcend the binary opposition of "original flavor" versus "excessive packaging," focusing instead on the proactive capacity of ICH itself to achieve cross-cultural identity construction through dynamic adaptation, symbolic reconstruction, and emotional connection, all while maintaining its core values. This construct aims to shift the evaluation of communication effectiveness from the superficial level of symbolic recognition to the depth of emotional projection and value resonance, providing an operational analytical tool to systematically address the "suspended identity" dilemma in the international communication of ICH.

5. Conclusion

Through a literature review of ICH identity and communication studies, this paper has revealed the theoretical evolutionary trajectory of the field, from preservationism to "living" identity, and further to a reflection on digitalization. The core argument of this paper is that, despite remarkable research achievements, under the practical pressures of global communication, academia still lacks a systematic and in-depth theoretical construction of the internal mechanisms by which ICH can maintain cultural authenticity while achieving effective cross-cultural communication. Future research should focus on the core issue of "Cultural Identity Resilience," integrating multi-disciplinary perspectives such as semiotics, emotional geography, and the political economy of communication. It should conduct solid fieldwork and use innovative research methods to deeply analyze specific cases like the ICH of Shandong, thereby providing a more theoretically profound and practically guiding framework for the international communication of ICH.