Overview

The 21st-century media landscape is transforming how cultural heritage is perceived, practiced, and sustained. While media technologies accelerate global exchanges, tensions persist, if not deepen—between the obsolete and the innovative, local traditions and global narratives, and the past and an uncertain future. These challenges complicate efforts to sustain cultural heritage in inclusive, resilient, and ecologically attuned ways. This book examines how media technologies, environmental shifts, and transcultural exchanges are reshaping intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in contemporary China. Integrating historical, cultural, and technological perspectives, it challenges colonial and modernist biases that have marginalized shamanistic practices and critiques conventional notions of authenticity. Drawing on Actor-Network Theory, Entanglement Theory, Panpsychism, and Indigenous ontologies, it offers a fresh perspective on the interplay between human and non-human actors in heritage-making, repositioning “animism” and “shamanism” as interconnected systems that foster ecological stewardship, cultural resilience, and sustainable governance. It also interrogates UNESCO’s heritage frameworks, highlighting both their potential and limitations in safeguarding shamanistic expressions. Through an interdisciplinary lens blending material-oriented media archaeology with socially conscious critical heritage studies, it interrogates how digital technologies—from animation and immersive storytelling to ICH nomination videos—mediate heritage and shape perceptions. It reveals how media acts as a cultural broker and a disruptive force, reinforcing or challenging marginalization and dominant narratives while fostering participatory, reflexive heritage-making. This approach reintroduces human agency into discussions of technology and sustainability, framing ICH safeguarding as a global niche construction project integral to achieving resilient and sustainable futures. By bridging cultural tradition and media innovation, it provides a timely roadmap for researchers, policymakers, and heritage and media practitioners navigating the complexities of heritage safeguarding, digital transformation, and sustainability. It advocates for participatory and interdisciplinary approaches that value local knowledge and nuance, cultural diversity, and adaptive strategies in an era of rapid socio-technological transformation.

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Jiyun (June) Zhang is an independent animation film practitioner and a scholar in the ARCHES research group at the Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp. She specializes in cultural heritage, media archaeology, and audiovisual storytelling. She holds a Doctorate in Cultural Heritage Studies from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and has an academic and artistic background in journalism and animation film, with degrees in audiovisual arts from KASK & Conservatorium: School of Arts Gent. Her research explores the intersections of intangible cultural heritage, digital media, and sustainability, with a focus on the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Her key publications include: “Framing and Reframing the Participation of the Communities, Groups, and Individuals Concerned: A Media Archaeological Analysis of Nomination Videos of the 2003 Convention Submitted by China,” Heritage & Society, 2025 “Digital Media and Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage of Minority Groups in China: A Case Study of Animated Short Films Orochen Tale of Nisan Shaman and Orochen Creation Story,” 2024/2025, in T. Lähdesmäki et al. (eds.) Heritage Participation—challenges and Opportunities of Engaging Communities in Cultural Heritage, Chapter 10. London: Routledge. Controversies and Heritage, Volkskunde 123 (3). Her audiovisual work focuses on artistic research and interventions to safeguard cultural heritage: Orochen Creation Story “Orochen Tale of Nisan Shaman (2022):“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T28vWBkb9jw Gaxian Cave Heritage Site Inscription Origin Story of the Longobards The Song of the Maple Tree Through an interdisciplinary approach, her work critically engages with UNESCO heritage frameworks, shamanistic expressions, and the evolving dynamics of global cultural narratives, examining the role of media technologies in heritage safeguarding and representation.

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