Mechanisms of Living Heritage Preservation: The Roles of Display and Experiential Design in Majiayao Painted Pottery

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanisms through which living displays and experiential design drive audience engagement within the Majiayao painted pottery heritage in Lintao, Gansu. Drawing on the paradigm of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) inheritance, an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach was employed. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with ten key stakeholders were first conducted to identify contemporary safeguarding models. Subsequently, a structured questionnaire (N=351) was utilized to examine how interactive experiences influence inheritance effectiveness, measured by cognitive elevation, emotional identification, and communication intention. The results demonstrate that experiential displays foster substantive inheritance by facilitating the reconstruction of the audience’s internal mental models through deep psychological resonance. These findings offer a theoretical framework for the psychological mechanisms of heritage transmission and provide strategic pathways for the sustainable revitalization of prehistoric ceramic culture.