An Approach To The Popularity Of Western Festivals From The Perspective Of Cultural Semeiology

Ever since 1990s, the emergence and popularity of Western festivals as a newborn culture phenomenon in China has been influencing the behaviours, the beliefs and the living styles of the urbans especially the youth.Under the background of the cultural globalization and the modernization of China, this thesis, on the basis of the theories of cultural semeiology, provides an analysis of the culture phenomenon from various perspectives in comparison with the Chinese traditional festivals, thus explores the causes of its popularity, hoping to help advocate the Chinese traditional festivals and rebuild the value systems for the urbans of consumerism with the humanism involved in the traditional festivals.Chapter One (introduction) briefly introduces the academic significance of the thesis, containing the historical review of the research project and the thesis statement with the methodology concerned.The main body of the thesis falls into five chapters: festivals and culture (Chapter Two, Chapter There)— culture and symbols (Chapter Four)— symbols and consume ( the first section in Chapter Five)— consume and culture (the second section and third section in Chapter Five)—culture and festivals (Chapter Six).constructing a circular, the five parts echo with each other.Chapter Two gives a vivid description of the popularity of western festivals in China. It then introduces in detail the traditional festivals in China and in the Westrespectively, on the basis of which the author compare and contrast the culture differences by the adoption of the dualistic model.Chapter Three points out the predicament of the Chinese traditional festivals in the modern society. It elaborates the reasons which results in the culture change in the process of modernization (the change from the agriculture society to industrial society, outward-looking turn of the national spirit), the development of rationalism, the tendency of globalization and the government's indifference to cultural protection.Chapter Four employs cultural semiology comprehensively as the critical approach, probes theoretically into the inevitable symbolization tendency of the festival culture with an eye to guarantee the communicative efficiency and thoroughly analyzes the great attraction introduced by the spiritual carnival of the western festivals to Chinese people, especially the youth sub-cultural group.Chapter Five firstly examines the economic basis for the popularity of the western festivals, i.e. the rapid development of the consumer economy, and simultaneously demonstrates its inner logic: Consumer economy is semiotic economy. The second part of Chapter Four, aided by modern critical methods, carries out text analysis on western festivals in modern Chinese context (open-up to the outside world, social transformation and the consumer society), and affirms its positive significance as well. The third and fourth parts interpret in the consumer semiotic term the functions of the accepters—the youth group and communicative subject—businessmen and the media.Chapter Six summarizes the beneficial elements which can be assimilated from western festivals. It is proposed to explore the acceptability of national traditional festivals among contemporary youngsters by way of reference system, aiming at overcoming consumption-oriented disadvantages and reviving national tradition and humanism. Under the impact of globalization, we are supposed to further maintain our independent national orientation and promote the harmony and development of our society.Chapter Seven (Conclusion)sums up the whole thesis based on the fifteen propositions.