Experiencing China's Intangible Cultural Heritage in Role-Playing Games: Comparative Studies Between MMORPGs and Larps

This study examines how China's intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is represented in role-playing games, comparing two massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), A Dream of Jianghu and Justice Online, with a live-action role-playing game (larp) known as Jubensha, exemplified by The Secret of the Gauze Lantern. Drawing on a close reading of these three games, the author argues that both formats can help safeguard Chinese ICH, but in distinct ways: MMORPGs present national-level heritage drawn from many regions, while Jubensha focuses on the customs and traditions of small-scale local communities. The analysis is grounded in a review of heritage and role-playing scholarship and in the author's repeated play of the selected titles, which the study treats as its primary evidence rather than a statistical sample.

The research situates these games within China's broader heritage context, noting that the country has 42 elements on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list and 1,557 nationally recognized ICH items, many of which face decline due to a shortage of young practitioners. The study also reports that the Chinese government invested 7.76 billion yuan in ICH safeguarding over the past decade. Against this backdrop, the author highlights the popularity of RPGs among China's Gen Z, with figures from a 2021 Meituan report indicating that nearly 75 percent of Jubensha consumers are under 30 and over 60 percent play more than twice a month.

In its game analyses, the study finds that A Dream of Jianghu's "Intangible Heritage Block" introduces eleven ICH examples, including Wood-block New Year Pictures and Miao embroidery, through a structure of learning, practice, and reward. Justice Online adapts the Lantern Riddle tradition and the 300-year-old Mooncake gambling custom from Fujian into festival-linked gameplay. The Secret of the Gauze Lantern embeds Gansu heritage such as the Gauze Lantern, Huanxian Shadow play, and Dingxi paper cut within a murder-mystery narrative set in the Hekou ancient town.

The conclusion holds that MMORPGs offer broad, economical exposure to diverse traditions but tend to treat them at an introductory level, whereas Jubensha provides hands-on, in-depth engagement, though its examples have largely centered on Han customs. The author acknowledges that the study's scope is limited to three games and