Embodied Practice and Cultural Identity: "#BecomingChinese" through Wellness Imitation and Cross-Cultural Communication on TikTok

Abstract

In the digital streaming era, the mechanisms underpinning the formation of cultural identity are undergoing profound transformations. Initiated by diasporic Chinese creators on TikTok, the viral "#BecomingChinese" trend attracted widespread global participation. Foreign users actively mimicked Chinese everyday wellness practices—such as drinking warm water, practicing Ba Duan Jin, and consuming herbal broths—spontaneously expressing cultural affinity and identity within short-video spaces. Drawing upon Stuart Hall’s cultural identity theory, digital embodiment, and platform affordance frameworks, this study systematically analyzes the communicative subjects, content features, and audience responses within this trend. The study uncovers a bottom-up, reverse pathway of identity construction: rather than relying on prior cultural literacy or political alignment, global audiences start from low-barrier bodily imitation, proceed through utilitarian physiological feedback and affective lifestyle affinity, and eventually consolidate identity-based community belonging. Diasporic creators serve as essential "cultural intermediaries" who deconstruct and translate cultural symbols, while algorithmic recommendations accelerate cross-cultural diffusion. By replacing macro-ideological persuasion with everyday embodied practices, this phenomenon highlights a paradigmatic shift in China's cross-cultural communication—from external projection "going out" to everyday integration "blending in".