Dragon boat culture in Chebei: a case study of narratives of cultural memory in short videos

Chebei Village in Guangzhou is home to the Chebei dragon boat culture, which is an important kind of intangible cultural heritage in China. The cultural attributes and spirit that it contains are essentially cultural memory. Given the rapid development of contemporary technology and the proliferation of new entertainment possibilities, it is imperative that intangible cultural heritage be passed down and developed. By providing a way to preserve the visual and aural memories related to the Chebei dragon boat culture, media can be used to communicate and save cultural memories. In particular, media facilitate memory reconstruction by capturing both the transmission and retention of memories as well as the interactions of villagers of all ages from various households. Furthermore, the bounds of space and time in the offline world can be overcome through new media. Watching short videos on new media platforms allows people who live in or are originally from Chebei to recall, preserve, share, and convey memories from different generations whenever and wherever they are, potentially fostering a milieu of cultural sustainability and spreadability.