| 1.Research BackgroundStarting from the 17 th National Congress,the Communist Party of China(CPC)placed improving the soft power of national culture as a major strategic goal for national development.Consequently,the concept of “cultural soft power” has become a hot topic in the academic circles and an increasing number of scholars have conducted in-depth research on the soft power of culture.Especially with the implementation of the national development strategy of "going out" of Chinese culture,“China's exceptional traditional culture” has come to the center of the international stage.Among them,Chinese martial arts,known as "cultural treasures",has always been the vanguard of cultural "going out" strategy.In particular with the plan of developing the wushu industry(2019-2025)jointly issued by the General Administration of Sports and 14 other ministries and commissions.It outlines the commitment to building a ‘Strong Sports Country',issued by the General Office of the State Council.It defined the strategy of international development of Chinese martial arts as part of implementing the "going out" strategy.In this context,a quantitative study on Chinese martial arts culture's soft power was conducted with overseas audiences as the research objects.This research provided strong basis for a comprehensive implementation of "going out" strategy of Chinese martial arts culture.Such quantitative research on dimensions of Chinese martial arts culture's soft power has important value and practical significance for furthering external communication.2.Research ObjectBased on the strategy of national cultural power and theories of cross-cultural communication,international communication,and national traditional sports,the research topic of this study is the "Chinese martial arts international cultural soft power" and the research objective is to understand its current status.The research content,research budget,target principles,and conditions are divided and represented according to Huntington's major civilizations: Western civilization(the United States,Germany),Islamic civilization(Turkey),Indian civilization(India),Orthodox civilization(Russia),Japanese civilization(Japan),Latin American civilization(Brazil),and African civilization(South Africa).3.Research MethodsIn this context,this project commissioned the Qualtrics survey company to conduct online surveys in the United States,Germany,Japan,Russia,Turkey,India,Brazil and South Africa.The online surveys were based on the parameters of the general population in those eight countries.The respondents were asked various questions about Chinese marital arts culture,in order to obtain measurements of “cultural soft power.” This empirical research investigated the strength of Chinese martial arts cultural soft power(CMACSP).This study explores the “cultural soft power” of martial arts culture from overseas from the perspectives of international communication,international relations and national traditional sports.It combines the "three-tier theory" from martial arts culture,the "attraction theory" from cultural soft power,the "social type theory" from audience theory,and the "audience-effect" based on the "micro-theory" theory of communication effects.This allows to construct the micro-theoretical model of Chinese martial arts soft power.On the basis of this theoretical framework,the European Union Joint Research Center comprehensive index research method is used to comprehensively analyze and synthesize the “Chinese Martial Arts Cultural Soft Power Comprehensive Index” by using multivariate statistical analysis methods such as factor analysis,principal component analysis,and cluster analysis.Based on the empirical results,the strategies and suggestions for improvement of the soft power of Chinese martial arts culture are proposed.4.Main FindingsFirst,Chinese martial arts culture is one of China's outstanding traditional cultures.It has a cultural appeal,which lasts over time,space,and across countries.Its spiritual,moral,and physical aesthetic is an essential source of soft power.Chinese martial arts cultural soft power is a crucial component of cultural soft power.It refers to the aspects of soft power that are created by Chinese martial arts culture and transmitted to audiences and societies through media(channel)in the international diffusion process.As a result,research and development of martial arts cultural soft power can contribute to the overall promotion of China's cultural soft power.Second,in the process of international communication of martial arts cultural soft power was explained by a combination of different theories.It includes the "three-tier theory" of martial arts culture,"attraction theory" of cultural soft power,"social type theory" of audience theory,and "micro-theory" of communication effects.Moreover,the theoretical model of martial arts cultural soft power is built on Laswell's "5W" model.Martial arts cultural soft power can be divided into a micro-theoretical model of "audienceeffect" and a macro-theoretical model of "social-effect." This article is based on the "audience-effect" micro-theoretical model.Third,a combination of theory and practice is used to construct an evaluation index system for martial arts cultural soft power,and for objectivity,a weighting method is used to determine the index weight coefficient.Finally,a comprehensive evaluation index system for martial arts cultural soft power is constructed.It includes one target level(martial arts cultural soft power strength),three first-level indicators(cognition,attraction,and behavioral impact),nine second-level indicators(awareness of martial arts material culture,awareness of martial arts system,awareness of martial arts spiritual culture,attraction of martial arts material culture,attraction of martial arts system,attraction of martial arts spiritual culture,martial arts information-seeking behavior,practice of martial arts techniques,consumer behavior of martial arts culture),21 third-level indicators,and 187 measurement items.Fourth,among the three first-level indicators in the martial arts cultural soft power evaluation,the weight coefficient of Chinese martial arts cultural attraction is the highest(0.3793).The weight coefficient of Chinese martial arts cultural behavior is the second(0.3473),and the weight coefficient of cognitive awareness of Chinese martial arts culture is the lowest(0.2734).These findings show that the soft power of martial arts culture is more susceptible to the influence of attractiveness and behavioral indicators.It also reveals that when implementing strategic countermeasures to enhance martial arts cultural soft power,attention should be paid to attractiveness and behavioral performance.Fifth,two different cluster analysis methods for calculating sample distances based on factor analysis,inter-group connection method,and the Ward method.They were followed by tests of internal consistency and reliability of the indicators,which were used to elaborate the "audience-effect" micro-theoretical model of martial arts cultural soft power.The test results support the use of the theoretical model and evaluation index system of martial arts cultural soft power to a certain extent.Thus,the application of the "audienceeffect" micro-theoretical model of martial arts cultural soft power is justifiable.Sixth,generally,martial arts cultural soft power is weak,and the average value of the martial arts cultural soft power of the eight countries is 0.4548,which could be further improved.Statistical analysis found significant differences in martial arts cultural soft power in demographic variables such as country,age,gender,occupation,marital status,education level,religious belief,and family income.In terms of country,developing countries are better than developed countries,and political factors such as international relations and diplomatic relations have an important impact on the martial arts cultural soft power.For instance,in terms of age,martial arts cultural soft power is more influential among young people than seniors;in terms of marital status,it's is more influential among married people than people of other marital status groups.In the occupation,it's is more influential among freelancers than other occupation groups.In terms of education,it's is more influential among higher education levels.In income,the influences are higher in high income levels.In religion,it's is more influential for followers of Taoism than for people of other religions.Seventh,in the study of the key indicators for enhancing martial arts cultural soft power,it is found in the rankings that martial arts celebrities have the highest awareness(0.207),followed by awareness of martial arts morals(0.148),the third is power of attraction of martial arts thought and concepts(0.12),the fourth is attraction of martial arts morals(0.108),the fifth is cognition of martial arts thought and concepts(0.103),the sixth is new media types(0.098),the seventh is mass media types(0.073),the eighth is awareness of martial arts culture(0.04).Eighth,while surveying how overseas audience obtains martial arts cultural information from media,it is found that in new media,the audiences are more inclined to use local,video-type information.In traditional media,audiences are more likely to choose local TV shows and local screenings of Kung Fu films and programs.The media sources present information on martial arts culture to overseas audiences in a fast,convenient,and entertaining manner.It can be seen that creating high-quality Kung Fu film and programs,and online promotion of high-quality products are essential in media communication strategies that would enhance martial arts cultural soft power.5.SuggestionsFirst,enhancing CMACSP requires "precision" in the communication of martial arts culture.It is necessary to differentiate and implement martial arts cultural diffusion strategy internationally while relying on modern information science and technology to assess international audiences objectively.Second,enhancing CMACSP requires "refinement" in the communication of martial arts culture.In martial arts culture,every object,every link,and every detail must be refined and tuned the best.Focus on achieving refined target audiences and refined communication content.Third,enhancing CMACSP requires "proficiency" in the communication of martial arts culture,which includes disseminated of the contents of martial arts culture through various forms and good quality platforms.Fourth,improving CMACSP requires "expertise" in the management of martial arts culture.In the process of martial arts culture communication,the work of each link needs to be completed by an expert team with a high degree of professionalism.Fifth,enhancing CMACSP requires "diversity" in channels of communication of the martial arts culture.The diversity is necessary to complete the communication goals and meet the needs of diverse international audiences,different communication subjects,communication channels,and ideas. |
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