Language: Rhethorics and Propaganda in China

Rhetoric and Propoganda in China

In this text we provide a brief overview of rhetoric and propoganda in ancient China. The chronology of Ancient Chinese dynasties and periods is :

21-16 centuries BCE: The XiaDynasty (a legendarydynasty about which little is known) 16-11 centuries BCE: The Shang Dynasty (aka Yin) 1027-770 BCE: The Zhou Dynasty (which Confucius looks back on as the golden age) 722- 481 BCE: The Spring and Autumn Period(Chun Qiu) 475- 221 BCE: The Warring States Period (ZhanGuo)

Rhetoric and propoganda is most commonly perceived as the art of persuasion, the artistic use of oral and written expressions, for the purpose of changing thought and action at social, political and individual levels. However, the notion of rhetoric and propoganda have many different meanings within the Chinese tradition, as it does within the Western one. Chinese rhetoric and propoganda have enjoyed an extremely long history, but did not enjoy the status of a distinct discipline until the early twentieth century. Thus rhetoric has been known under a variety of different terms.The ancient Chinese (up to 221 BCE) had a well-developed sense of rhetoric but called various branches of it by different names. A professor provides the meanings of key Chinese rhetorical and propoganda terms as used in classical Chinese texts.

Yan (言) speech, talks and the use of language Ci (辞) modes of speech, types of discourse,eloquence, style Jian (谏) giving advice, persuasion Shui/shuo (说) persuasion/ explanation, idea, thought Ming (名) naming, symbol using, rationality, epistemology Bian (辩) distinction change, justice-eloquence, arguments, persuasion, debate, disputation and discussion

So persuasion was known as shui (说), explanation ming (名), and argumentation bian (辩). Although there is overlap between these terms (and others), it argues that each word has a particular function in conceptualising and contextualising persuasive discourse. For example shui is associated with face-to-face persuasion and ming deals with the use of symbols in social and еріѕtеmоlоgісаl соntехtѕ. Lu ѕuggеѕtѕ thаt thе tеrm mіng bіаn хuе (名辩学) іѕ comparable to the Western study of rhetoric, with ming aiming to seek truth and justice and bian concerning the art of persuasion. This term also captures the contradiction inherent in the two key concepts of Western rhetoric, namely viz truth and/or persuasion.

A common misunderstanding is that Chinese rhetorical perspectives were monolithic. This was not the case. In ancient China, the Ming school whose best-known protagonist was perhaps Gong-sun Long (325-250 BCE), was concerned with probability, relativism and classification under the general umbrella of epistemology and social justice. Confucian concerns included issues of morality and the moral impact of speech and moral character of the speaker on ethical behaviour and social order. Mohism (480-250 BCE) was concerned with developing a rational system of argumentation (Angus Graham). The concerns of Daoism (cf. Zhuangzi 369-286 BCE) included antirational and transcendental mode of philosophical and rhetorical enquiry. Legalism, founded by the philosopher Han Feizi (280-233 BCE), was concerned with the use of language and persuasion to strengthen centralised political power.

As Anglo-American rhetoric owes much to its classical Greek and Latin, forebears, we here briefly consider the different emphases placed on speaking and writing in Greek and Chinese rhetoric respectively. As is well known, Sicily was the birth place of classical Greek rhetoric. After the expulsion of the tyrantsin 467 BCE, a number of civil law suits were brought by citizens. Many were eager to reclaim property that had been, as it were, "tyrannised" and a system for pleading these suits was developed by Corax, who wrote the first books on rhetoric, defining rhetoric as "the artificer of persuasion." Corax divided the plea, or speech, into either three parts, namely : the exordium; the arguments, both constructive and refutative; and the epilogue; or into five parts, namely: the exordium; the narrative; the arguments; the subsidiary arguments; and the epilogue. Although the speeches were written, they were written to be read aloud. The forensic nature of this rhetoric is of great importance as it presupposes two parties- -the antagonist and the protagonist- -who are trying to persuade a third party- -usually some form of judge- of the justice of their particular case. Each case had its own facts and these facts could be shown orproved, although this is not to say this is what always happened. This forensic rhetoric was practiced under an adversarial legal system and practiced by people who were, to a large extent, political equals. This contrasts strongly with the Chinese legal system which was inquisitorial and hierarchical.

rhetoric [ˈretərɪk] n. 说服；修辞

Propaganda [ˌprɑːpəˈɡændə] n.宣传；呼吁；口号

Conceptualize [kənˈseptʃuəlaɪz] vt.构思;使形成观念;将…概念化(为…)

Contextualize [kənˈtekstʃuəlaɪz] vt.将…置于背景中考虑;将…置于上下文中理解

Epistemology [ɪˌpɪstəˈmɑːlədʒi] n.认识论

Monolithic [ˌmɑːnəˈlɪθɪk] adj.庞大而单一的;（组织或体系）庞大而僵化的;单一的;庞大而无特点的，巨大而单调的;独块巨石的，整（体）料的，由块料组成的;整体式的;<电子>单片的，单块的

Transcendental [ˌtrænsenˈdentl] adj.超验的，越一般常识（或信念）的;卓越的，杰出的;（尤指宗教或精神方面）超凡的，玄奥的;<哲>先验（论）的，超验（主义）的;抽象的，晦涩难懂的;<数>超越的，超越函数的

1.When did Chinese rhetoric enjoy the status of a distinct discipline？

2.What's the exact meaning of "Yan" ?

3.What was Gong-sun Long, the best-known protagonist of the Ming School, concerned with？