From Deity to IP: The Generation, Reconstruction, and Cultural Resilience of Tile-cat Cultural Symbols in Yunnan, China

Abstract

This study examines the Tile-cat, a unique folk cultural symbol from Yunnan, China, tracing its evolution from a traditional “deity beast” to a contemporary “cultural IP” amidst societal change. It addresses a gap in systematic diachronic analyses of Tile-cat’s functional and value transformation. Using cultural semiotics, identity construction, and consumer culture theories, and employing multi-site fieldwork, surveys, interviews, and archival analysis, the research maps Tile-cat’s journey from sacred symbol to secular aesthetic object, then cultural commodity, and finally IP. Findings reveal Tile-cat’s significant cultural resilience, maintaining its core “guardian” and “auspicious” genes. Through meaning, aesthetic, and functional negotiation, Tile-cat adapted its form and dissemination. Quantitative analysis confirms cultural authenticity impacts symbolic identity value and purchase intention, elucidating value reproduction in commodification. This study contributes a five-stage framework of heritage-to-IP evolution, a tested full-mediation mechanism (authenticity → identity value → purchase intention), and a concise comparative lens for generalizability.