Holistic Output: The Agency of Cultural Transmission—A Case Study of the Digitization and International Dissemination Project of Naxi Dongba Culture
This article examines the Naxi Dongba culture digitization and international communication project as a model of "holistic cultural output." Dongba culture, a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage and key component of Chinese minority culture, is distinguished by its uniquely surviving pictographic script and its fusion of diverse religious and cultural influences (Dongba religion, Han, Tibetan, Buddhist, Daoist, and ancient Indian/Greek elements). While Lijiang's tourism economy has long relied on this heritage, growing environmental and resource pressures threaten the sustainability of experience-based cultural tourism. Drawing on Tylor's and Malinowski's theories of culture as an integrated system of spiritual and material elements, the author argues that fragmented, market-driven transmission (e.g., souvenir sales, superficial tourist experiences) causes interpretive bias, cultural over-exploitation, and loss of tradition. The paper advocates a holistic output strategy—leveraging digitalization and international mainstream media platforms alongside traditional on-site tourism—to comprehensively preserve, transmit, and sustainably develop Dongba culture globally.
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