IN WHAT WAYS MIGHT INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROMOTION OF CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITY? -- BASED ON THE DISCOURSE INVESTIGATION OF OVERSEAS SHORT VIDEOS ON MAZU CULTURE

The "Mazu Belief" has been designated as China's first intangible cultural heritage in the religion category. A comprehensive analysis of the discourse among communicators and users of 226 Mazu culture short videos on the TikTok reveals a deliberate effort by communicators to reinforce the connection between overseas Chinese and China. This effort is manifested through the dissemination of "the common belief in Mazu culture" with the objective of fostering a sense of unity and belonging among the Chinese nation. The high-frequency keywords in the user discourse of the short videos exhibit a strong overlap with those of the communicators, thereby forming a key discourse with beliefs in Mazu culture. The conclusion indicates that the overseas short videos of Mazu culture provide a communication paradigm of intangible cultural heritage for forging the sense of Chinese national community through the path of "empathetic narrative and synergistic communication".