The Behavioral Logic of Youth in Inheriting Folk Sports Culture——Based on Analysis and Discussion about the Dragon Dance in Lingdi Village, Western Fujian

Youth are the driving force behind the inheritance of folk sports culture. Unveiling their behavioral logic holds significant importance for the orderly inheritance and modern development of folk sports culture. This study utilizes participatory observation and in-depth interviews to explore the conscious inheritance process of the dragon dance culture by youth in Lingdi Village, Western Fujian. The narrative presents the group's transformation from ordinary individuals to stalwart forces in the inheritance of the dragon dance, across four continuous role stages: Naive audience, assistants and apprentices, main team members, and organizational members. The study concludes that: 1) The behavioral logic of youth in the inheritance of folk sports culture, as represented by this case, encompasses embodied practice, reflective cognition, innovative feedback, and multidimensional identity. Embodied practice is a prerequisite for the conscious inheritance of folk sports culture by youth, while multidimensional identity is a fundamental factor affecting their conscious inheritance. Reflective cognition and innovative feedback hold unique significance in the behavior of youth inheriting folk sports culture. 2) The active inheritance of folk sports culture by youth represents a primary practice mode for the reproduction of folk sports culture, signifying a specific exploration and endogenous path of the modernization of Chinese folk sports culture. 3) Efforts should be made to cultivate more youth willing to inherit folk sports culture, by enriching practical educational channels to increase cultural recognition frequency, creating favorable practical spaces, establishing positive innovative cognition among youth, strengthening the promotion of excellent cases to enhance the legal status of inheritance, and implementing supporting cultural policies and raising awareness among youth regarding the application of folk sports culture policies.