Narrative as Travelling: Digital Narrative Framework and Implementation Pathway for Cultural Heritage Based on Three Worlds Theory

Li Anrunze; Niu Li

doi:10.13266/j.issn.0252-3116.2026.07.003

2026 , Vol. 70 >Issue 7: 36 - 47

DOI: https://doi.org/10.13266/j.issn.0252-3116.2026.07.003

RESEARCH PAPERS

Narrative as Travelling: Digital Narrative Framework and Implementation Pathway for Cultural Heritage Based on Three Worlds Theory

Li Anrunze ,
Niu Li

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School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China Beijing 100872

Li He, Professor, PhD, Doctoral Supervisor, E-mail: lihe200303@163.com; Yang Xinmiao, Doctoral Candidate; Shen Wang, Professor, PhD, Doctoral Supervisor; Liu Jiayu, Assistant Research Fellow, Dingxin Postdoctoral Fellow, PhD; Hou Litie, Research Librarian, PhD.

Received date: 2025-02-08

Revised date: 2025-05-29

Online published: 2026-03-31

Supported by

This work is supported by the Special Project on Cultural Heritage Protection and Inheritance of National Social Science Fund of China, titled “Digital Trends and Applications in Museum Collection Management and Research” (Grant No. 24VWB029).

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Abstract

[Purpose/Significance] Under the implementation of the national cultural digitization strategy, GLAM institutions require new models for heritage development to adapt to evolving narrative paradigms. [Result/Conclusion] This study explores “what” digital heritage storytelling is, “how” to implement it, and “what” its effects are. Firstly, grounded in Popper’s Three Worlds Theory and digital narrative studies, the research conceptualizes cultural heritage digital narrative as a “World 1-2-3-2-1” cycle, driven by the synergy of seven core elements: narrative data, narrative structure, narrative intent, narrative techniques, narrative tools, narrative participants, and narrative experiences. Secondly, this study, from the perspectives of the author as storyteller and the audience as story listener, delineates the key processes of the narrative content arrangement pathway and the narrative discourse perception pathway under the influence of narrative elements. And finally, the research employs generative AI to produce the story of Seasonal Festivals surrounding the Cultural Landscape of West Lake in Hangzhou. [Result/Conclusion] Based on the three worlds theory, this research formulated a systematic methodological framework for digital storytelling. It further validated the efficacy of this path in facilitating the creative utilization of cultural heritage and the anchoring of public cultural memory within the digital intelligence era.

Key words： cultural heritage; digital narrative; three worlds theory; narrative as travelling

Cite this article

Li Anrunze , Niu Li . Narrative as Travelling: Digital Narrative Framework and Implementation Pathway for Cultural Heritage Based on Three Worlds Theory[J]. Library and Information Service, 2026 , 70(7) : 36 -47 . DOI: 10.13266/j.issn.0252-3116.2026.07.003

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