The Contemporary Construction of Festival Visual Imagery and the Reinforcement of the Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

Within the system of visual representations of the Chinese nation, festival visual imagery is characterized by diversity in its carriers and hybridity in its representational forms. It encompasses material symbols such as architecture, costumes, and ritual artifacts, performative symbols including ritual processes and artistic performances, as well as symbolic meanings rooted in collective memory and value systems. As a key medium of contemporary sociocultural representation, visual imagery not only reflects existing cultural traditions but also participates in shaping contemporary national cultural identity through selective presentation and innovative transformation. Driven by the imperative of strengthening the sense of community for the Chinese nation, research on visual imagery should extend beyond structural analysis and generative mechanisms to clarify its transformation from local knowledge systems into national cultural symbols and its role in identity construction. By constructing a theoretical framework integrating symbolic interpretation, meaning production, and identity construction, this study examines the contemporary representation of festival symbolic structures and the mechanisms through which festival systems visually construct national cultural identity. The findings provide visual strategies for strengthening the sense of community for the Chinese nation while expanding the application of cultural semiotics in identity studies.