Breaking Down Barriers and Symbiosis: An Analysis of the Dissemination Pathways of Qinqiang Opera in the Digital Age—Focusing on Synergies with Web Series

Abstract

As one of China’s oldest opera genres, Qinqiang carries the profound cultural memory and aesthetic traditions of the north-western region; however, in the contemporary era, it faces challenges such as a generational gap in its audience, limited dissemination channels, and a shrinking cultural ecosystem. This paper argues that the contemporary dissemination challenges faced by Qinqiang are essentially a product of the fragmentation of the dissemination ecosystem following the disintegration of the ‘theatrical community’, with the core contradiction lying in the tension between the ‘presence’ requirements of traditional opera and the ‘disembodied’ nature of digital media. Based on this, this paper proposes using ‘web series collaboration’ as a breakthrough point to explore pathways for the deep integration of Qinqiang and web series across three dimensions: narrative elements, aesthetic symbols, and production mechanisms. Concurrently, this collaborative strategy must generate synergies with short-video dissemination, digital preservation, and educational transmission to construct a multi-layered dissemination ecosystem. The contemporary dissemination of Qinqiang is not a ‘downgraded accommodation’ of tradition, but rather a creative practice of reconstructing cultural identity within the context of new media.