Guardians of Rural Heritage: Exploring Residents’ Attitudes towards the Inheritance of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Chinese Traditional Villages

  • Huaheng Shen
    School of Fine Arts and Design, Huaihua University, Huaihua 418000, China; School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
    Author
  • Lingyun Yu
    School of Fine Arts and Design, Huaihua University, Huaihua 418000, China
    Author
  • Nor Fadzila Aziz
    School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
    Author
  • Li Peng
    School of Fine Arts and Design, Huaihua University, Huaihua 418000, China
    Author
  • Yufeng Long
    School of Fine Arts and Design, Huaihua University, Huaihua 418000, China
    Author
  • Yu Luo
    School of Fine Arts and Design, Huaihua University, Huaihua 418000, China
    Author
  • Xiaokang Xiang
    School of Fine Arts and Design, Huaihua University, Huaihua 418000, China
    Author

Abstract

As pivotal agents in traditional villages, residents play a crucial role in the preservation and continuation of intangible cultural heritage within these villages. Grounded in the theory of planned behaviour, this study examines residents’ attitudes toward the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage in traditional Chinese villages, using Zhaoxing Dong Village as a case study. To explore these attitudes in depth and from multiple dimensions„ the research collected questionnaire data from 246 village residents. Analytical methods, including Pearson correlation coefficients and mediation effect tests, were employed to investigate the relationships between residents’ perceptions, their willingness to inherit, their actual inheritance behaviors, and demographic differences. The findings indicated that residents generally exhibited positive attitudes regarding cultural heritage inheritance; however, their actual inheritance behaviors were relatively low. A significant positive correlation was observed among residents’ perceptions of cultural inheritance, their inheritance willingness, and actual inheritance actions, with perceptions exerting a strong positive influence on actual behaviours. This willingness to inherit also partially mediated this relationship, underscoring its crucial role in translating perceptions into actions. Moreover, factors such as age, educational background, and length of residence were significantly associated with residents’ inheritance perceptions and behaviours. Finally, specific policy and practice recommendations are proposed to promote residents’ broader, deeper, and more active engagement in the inheritance and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.

Keywords:

Actual Behaviours, Inheritance Intention, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Traditional Village, Willingness

References

    Issue

    2024 Vol.3 No.2

    Copyright & License

    Copyright (c) 2024 Huaheng Shen, Lingyun Yu, Nor Fadzila Aziz, Peng Li , Yufeng Long, Yu Luo, Xiaokang Xiang

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