Cultural Heritage Preservation through Visual Storytelling: A Study on the Representation of the Yifan Festival in Contemporary Children’s Animation

Abstract

This study investigates how the Yifan Festival, an intangible cultural heritage of the Mulao ethnic group, can be effectively preserved and transmitted to children aged 6 to 12 through visual storytelling in animation. Traditional rituals of the festival, including spirit offerings, masked dances, and chanting, are often perceived as abstract or intimidating by young audiences. Using a qualitative case study approach centred on the animated short film A-Ming and the Pact with the Spirits, the research applied narrative and symbolic analysis to examine how complex cultural elements can be reimagined in a child-friendly format. A three-tiered 3D animation translation model focusing on image, emotion, and meaning guided the adaptation of visual and ritual symbols. A referenced educational experiment compared the impact of animation with traditional teaching, revealing significantly higher levels of symbol recognition, emotional preference, and narrative recall among children exposed to the animated content. The findings highlight that animation, when grounded in cultural authenticity and narrative empathy, serves as an effective medium for heritage education. This research offers valuable insights for educators, cultural policymakers, and animators in designing culturally sensitive and pedagogically effective media for children, supporting the long-term transmission of intangible cultural heritage through emotionally engaging and visually compelling storytelling.