Facilitating Daily Practice in Intangible Cultural Heritage through Virtual Reality: A Case Study of Traditional Chinese Flower Arrangement

TL;DR

The paper investigates how virtual reality can support daily practice of intangible cultural heritage, using Traditional Chinese Flower Arrangement (TCFA) as a case study. It introduces FloraJing, a VR system designed to cultivate both TCFA technical skills and cultural understanding within a culturally enriched, immersive environment. Through a formative study and two user studies, FloraJing demonstrated potential to promote progressive reflection, transfer of virtual experiences to real-life practice, and deeper engagement with TCFA aesthetics, while also highlighting areas for improvement such as multimodal realism and personalized feedback. The findings offer design implications for VR tools that integrate daily ICH practice into contemporary life, aiming to sustain cultural knowledge and practice beyond traditional settings.

Abstract

The essence of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) lies in the living knowledge and skills passed down through generations. Daily practice plays a vital role in revitalizing ICH by fostering continuous learning and improvement. However, limited resources and accessibility pose significant challenges to sustaining such practice. Virtual reality (VR) has shown promise in supporting extensive skill training. Unlike technical skill training, ICH daily practice prioritizes cultivating a deeper understanding of cultural meanings and values. This study explores VR's potential in facilitating ICH daily practice through a case study of Traditional Chinese Flower Arrangement (TCFA). By investigating TCFA learners' challenges and expectations, we designed and evaluated FloraJing, a VR system enriched with cultural elements to support sustained TCFA practice. Findings reveal that FloraJing promotes progressive reflection, and continuous enhances technical improvement and cultural understanding. We further propose design implications for VR applications aimed at fostering ICH daily practice in both knowledge and skills.

Figures (8)

• Figure 1: Part 1 investigates the current challenges in TCFA learners' daily practice and derives design considerations; Part 2 focuses on evaluating whether the VR system can support learners' daily practice; Part 3 is a 7-day pilot longitude study for assessing whether and how FloraJing could sustain daily practice over time.
• Figure 2: (a) One of the TCFA workshop scenes in our study. (b) Difficulties in preparing the TCFA's material. (c) Frustration related to shape stability. (d) Anxiety of irreversible pruning decisions. (e) Burden of post-practice cleanup.
• Figure 3: (a) A virtual Chinese tea room served as the setting to enhance cultural immersion. (b) Material selection panels in FloraJing, including Flower Panel, Leaf Panel and Vessel Panel. (c) Mixed reality passthrough mode in FloraJing.
• Figure 4: (a) Pruning gesture design. (b) Pruning effect design, with trimmed parts disappearing automatically. (c) FloraJing control panel. (d) The cleaning function removes unwanted materials.
• Figure 5: The Study Procedure of One TCFA Session Practice and 7-day Pilot Longitude Study.