From Folk Fluidity to Visual Mediatization: The Production of Heritage Meaning in Fujian Youshen
From Folk Fluidity to Visual Mediatization: The Production of Heritage Meaning in Fujian Youshen

Summary/Abstract: This study investigates the transformation of Fujian Youshen from a localized folk ritual into a mediatized form of living heritage in the digital era through the lens of Critical Heritage Studies (CHS). As an open and evolving everyday cultural tradition grounded in local temple networks, lineage systems and kinship relations, Youshen was long insignificant and positioned outside mainstream state-led heritage narratives. Yet, recent years have witnessed Youshen extending beyond its traditional lineage and regional contexts, becoming a mediatized form of heritage with a broader public presence. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Changle (Fuzhou), Quanzhou, alongside media textual analysis, this paper explains that Youshen has shifted heritage value from historical authenticity toward forms of ritual efficacy produced through visual mediatization, digital aesthetics and sensory participation. The case of Youshen demonstrates how living heritage is continually reproduced through visual mediatization. The vitality of cultural heritage lies in its capacity to remain connected to lived experience, sensory participation and shifting social contexts.

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