Cross-cultural interpretation of cultural symbols in Chinese film and television dramas in Central Asia

This article examines the cross-cultural interpretation of cultural symbols in Chinese film and television dramas in the Central Asian context. It argues that Chinese dramas function not only as entertainment products, but also as carriers of historical memory, ethical values, social norms, and civilizational imagination. Drawing on cross-cultural communication theory, audience reception theory, and symbolic analysis of media texts, the study identifies the major categories of cultural symbols in Chinese dramas and analyzes their narrative and communicative functions. Particular attention is paid to how Central Asian audiences decode these symbols under the influence of local traditions, religious background, subtitle mediation, digital platforms, and generational differences. The article concludes that the reception of Chinese dramas in Central Asia is an active process of symbolic negotiation shaped by both cultural proximity and cultural distance, with important implications for cultural exchange and the practical limits of soft power.