Living Heritage Transmission of Traditional Sports at the Donggui Nadam Festival: the Practical Logic of the Cultural Field

Abstract

 To elucidate the practice logic underlying the living transmission of traditional sports heritage at the Donggui Nadam Festival, this study adopts cultural field theory as an analytical framework. Drawing on the historical memory of the Torghut eastward return, traditional sporting practices, and contemporary heritage transmission initiatives, it examines interactions among multiple stakeholders, the conversion of cultural capital, and the reproduction of embodied habitus. The analysis suggests that festival competitions, community-based transmission, school education, and cultural tourism have expanded the social spaces in which traditional sports heritage is practiced and transmitted. Nevertheless, challenges persist, including limited youth participation, the reduction of cultural practices to symbolic displays, and insufficient coordination among stakeholders. Addressing these challenges requires strengthening the interpretation of cultural meanings, improving mechanisms for intergenerational transmission, and fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders to sustain living heritage transmission amid transformations of the cultural field.