A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED DISCOURSE BY ZHOU ENLAI: 1950 - 1958

This study examined the strategies and major goals of selected discourse by Zhou Enlai, the late Premier and major foreign policy spokesman for the People's Republic of China (PRC), for the construction of his country's official position on Sino-American relations. Sixteen speechless, telegrams, and messages were drawn from 1950-1958, the period during which the basic PRC position was established. Because Zhou intended these messages for receipt by foreign audiences, official English translations from the PRC press was used. Utilizing a rhetorical analysis, this study identified and evaluated specific language strategies, terms, arguments, and themes that were chosen and strategically used by Zhou to achieve certain purposes.; Zhou developed three recurrent themes throughout the discourse: (1) the legitimacy of the PRC government; (2) the conflict between Chinese socialism and American Imperialism; and (3) the liberation of Taiwan. Four specific purposes were sought: (1) to create a favorable image of the PRC in or with foreign audiences; (2) to state and justify policy; (3) to establish the basis for further cooperation and negotiation with and acceptance of the PRC; and (4) to promote the Chinese leadership's internal goals. The study evaluated the strategies, arguments, and key terms used to develop each theme and to achieve each purpose.; These strategies and themes had limited positive influence on the development of Sino-American relations because of the hostility between the PRC and the U.S. The majority of Zhou's strategies and argumentation relied on the construction of a new national identity for China which stressed its strength and its socialist character, and the employment of strategies which differentiated the PRC from the U.S. The official position as developed by Zhou during the 1950's essentially constituted the major issues which the PRC continued to emphasize in the 1960's and 1970's and which was reflected in the 1972 Shanghai Communique, indicating the consistency of the PRC's official position on Sino-American relations for a period of more than 25 years.