Modern Social Science Research

The rise of digital media has created new avenues for the cross-cultural dissemination of traditional Chinese culture. Drawing on overseas audience comments from YouTube, this study employs procedural grounded theory and a three-level coding approach to systematically analyze the communication effects and key success factors of Li Ziqi’s short videos, the video game Black Myth: Wukong, and the film Nezha 2. The findings reveal several shared success factors: distinctive cultural characteristics, high production quality, engaging narratives, shared universal values, and audience immersion and emotional resonance. However, challenges such as language barriers and cultural misinterpretations persist. Films evoke emotional resonance through narrative and visual impact; video games foster cultural participation through interactivity; short videos showcase the everyday appeal of traditional culture through authentic scenes. Based on these findings, the study proposes cross-cultural communication strategies tailored to the specific characteristics of each medium.

International communication; Grounded theory; Black Myth: Wukong; Ne Zha 2; Li Ziqi