Keywords
Chenggong Festive Lantern Opera
Cultural Adaptation
Elderly
Social Participation
How to Cite
Accepted 2025-02-16
Published 2025-04-28
Abstract
This paper focuses on the individualization process of the elderly in China amidst the risks brought by "second modernity." Through participatory observation of the traditional folk opera, Chenggong Festive Lantern Opera in Yunnan Province, the study explores how the elderly cope with the challenges posed by neo-familism. In the context of China's societal transition, individualization is influenced by indigenous traditions and current realities, with successful individualization requiring both personal self-action and the shaping of public identity. The Chenggong Festive Lantern Opera not only helps rural elderly individuals realize self-worth and emotional expression but also serves as a bridge connecting personal value to national identity, allowing the elderly to link their self-worth to societal value, transcending the nuclear family and embedding themselves in the community of the nation-state. Furthermore, this paper seeks to reveal the adaptability and transformative nature of traditional culture in modern society, as well as its crucial role in promoting social participation and individual development among the elderly.
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Copyright (c) 2025 xi Chen (Author); Jinji Wei (Co-Authors)