"I never thought I'd become so fascinated with my hometown's traditional opera because of a game," said Bai Kai, a young man from Yulin, Shaanxi, as he sat on a simple bench, captivated by the Northern Shaanxi storytelling performance on stage. "The singing makes me feel like I'm inside the tale 'Journey to the West,' and for the first time, I'm struck by the charm of my native dialect."

With the rising popularity of the Chinese single-player game "Black Myth: Wukong," a segment featuring Northern Shaanxi storytelling has gone viral. In the game, a headless monk walks through a desert, carrying a three-stringed lute, with his legs tied with clappers, singing. His rhythmic chanting left a deep impression on both domestic and international players. In the real world, the previously overlooked national intangible cultural heritage of Northern Shaanxi storytelling has gained massive online traction, with the segment becoming a hit playlist on social media.

Xiong Zhuying, the artist who performed the storytelling in the game, expressed his surprise, saying, "After so many years in the art form, I never imagined I'd be recognized through a video game."

It's not just Northern Shaanxi storytelling that has caught the spotlight. The ancient architecture of Shanxi and the traditional Chinese murals featured in the game have also sparked widespread interest. Tourism in these regions has seen a surge in visitors. Meanwhile, overseas players have been diving into the original text of "Journey to the West" to better understand the game's storyline, from searching for different translations of the novel to finding related subtitled films and studying the animated adaptations. Videos related to "Journey to the West" on YouTube have garnered millions of views.

At the same time, a wave of fascination with "Dream of the Red Chamber" is sweeping through Chinese social media platforms. Recently, clips of actress Liu Xiaoxu's portrayal of "Daiyu Drinking Medicine" have become a viral trend, with users recreating her furrowed brows and tearful expressions in countless videos. Enthusiastic commenters discuss the subtleties of the performances and analyze details from the original novel.

"I never expected my motivation to pick up 'Dream of the Red Chamber' would come from wanting to imitate Lin Daiyu's makeup," said Li Huan, a young woman from Shaanxi. Initially drawn by the actress' graceful expressions, she turned to the book to capture the essence of her character for making better videos, starting with the description, "Her brows, like wisps of smoke, seemed knitted yet unknit, and her eyes, filled with feeling, seemed joyful yet joyless."

On social media, many content creators are keen to reinterpret classic works such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin." Some post videos analyzing character relationships and sharing insights, while others "innovatively" rewrite the storylines, imagining surreal crossovers like Sun Wukong meeting Lin Daiyu, or the characters of the Three Kingdoms engaging in a rap battle. These unique videos attract a high volume of comments and views.

"At first, I found these videos just amusing, but they sparked my interest in the characters, making me curious about how the original stories or historical events unfolded," said Pan Zhiyuan, a member of the post-2000 generation. "A thousand people can see a thousand different Hamlets." From watching and reading to personally participating in creative reinterpretations, this immersive experience is what draws him to traditional culture.

Source : Lingnan on the Cloud

二次创作“翻红”文化IP ，名著“梗”吸睛中国青年

“没想到我会因为一个游戏对从不感兴趣的家乡戏‘上头’。”坐在简易板凳上，来自陕西榆林的青年白凯对台上正在演出的陕北说书兴致勃勃。“这段唱腔让我仿佛置身《西游记》中，更是第一次震撼于家乡方言的魅力。”

随着中国国产单机游戏《黑神话：悟空》热度不断攀升，游戏中的一段陕北说书爆火“出圈”。游戏界面里，荒漠中走来的无头僧角色怀抱三弦，腿绑甩板，“黄风岭，八百里，曾是关外富饶地……”朗朗唱腔给海内外游戏玩家留下深刻印象。回到现实空间，此前鲜有人问津的国家级非遗陕北说书流量骤增，登上了社交平台的热门歌单。

在游戏《黑神话：悟空》中演绎陕北说书的艺人熊竹英告诉记者，从艺多年，没想到自己被“看见”是通过一个游戏。

不只陕北说书，该游戏中出现的山西古建筑、中国风壁画同样引发玩家关注，各地文旅业因此流量大涨。海外玩家则为了解游戏剧情，掀起研究《西游记》原著的热潮，从搜索小说的不同译本、相关影视资源的英文字幕到“学习”《西游记》主题动画片，截至目前，视频网站YouTube上《西游记》相关视频播放量已逾千万。

与此同时，一股“红楼”风也正在中国社交平台蔓延。近日，刘晓旭版“黛玉喝药”的影视片段被网友争相模仿，“黛玉们”在视频中蹙眉、含泪，百般姿态格外动人，视频下则有网友热情留言，或点评模仿神态，或解读原著细节。

“没想到我捧起《红楼梦》阅读的动力，是为了模仿林黛玉的妆容。”陕西女孩李焕称，起初只是被演员柔美的神态所吸引，为了拍模仿视频时更有神韵，她翻开了《红楼梦》原著，从“两弯似蹙非蹙罥烟眉，一双似喜非喜含情目”读起。

记者在社交平台看到，不少视频制作者热衷将《三国演义》《水浒传》等经典影视资源二次创作。有人发布视频解析传统文学中的人物关系、分享心得，也有人“手动”改写故事走向：让孙悟空和林黛玉梦幻联动、三国人物以说唱方式“舌战群儒”……此类新奇视频的评论热度与浏览量居高不下。

“刚开始看这种视频只是觉得好笑，但也因此对人物本身产生了兴趣，想了解原著或真实历史的‘剧情’是如何发展的。”“00后”潘志远认为，“一千个人眼中有一千个哈姆雷特”，从观众、读者到亲自参与演绎，此般“沉浸式”体验是传统文化吸引他的重要原因。

来源｜羊城晚报·羊城派综合中新网、中国青年报、北京青年报、央视新闻客户端等
译｜赵凡
英文审校｜邹晓华