Author(s)

YiShu Zhang

Affiliation(s)

School of Culture & Communication, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, Shandong, China.

Corresponding Author

YiShu Zhang

ABSTRACT

The "cultural gap" in cross-cultural communication has long constrained the effectiveness of international communication of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) culture. The underlying cause lies in the prevailing "canon-centered" communication ideology, which transforms dynamic, lived knowledge into abstract theoretical texts, thereby excluding the dimension of life. Drawing on Husserl's lifeworld theory, this paper proposes "life-oriented communication" as a core pathway for conceptual innovation, advocating a shift from interpretive theory to the presentation of life and the cultivation of cross-cultural empathy through the activation of shared embodied human experiences. This study first traces the "life genes" of Qilu TCM culture, demonstrating that its practices—such as the integration of medicine and food, seasonal health preservation, and bodily techniques—inherently possess the potential for cross-cultural empathy. It then critiques the current "absence of life" in TCM communication, clarifying the theoretical connotation of life-oriented communication as a reconstruction of communication philosophy. Finally, taking short video practices as an empirical focus, it analyzes how medium affordances, including vertical screen immersion, daily scenarios, and personalized narratives, provide technical carriers for life-oriented communication, and how the progressive mechanism of "embodied activation → emotional projection → cultural curiosity" enables empathetic communication. The research suggests that life-oriented communication marks a paradigm shift in international communication from "cultural output" to "life sharing," offering new conceptual resources for the internationalization of TCM culture and the creative transformation of China's fine traditional culture.

KEYWORDS

Life world; External communication; Traditional Chinese medicine culture; Short videos; Life-oriented communication; Concept innovation

CITE THIS PAPER

YiShu Zhang. Life world as a method: conceptual innovation in the practice of short videos on traditional Chinese medicine culture from the perspective of international communication. Trends in Social Sciences and Humanities Research. 2026, 4(1): 54-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/tsshr3211.

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