Nixon’s China Speeches:a Reexamination From The Perspective Of Western Rhetoric

To both China and America, the year1972witnessed a historic turn in mutual diplomacy. After twenty years of cold war, friendly bilateral relations began to dawn between the two great powers. This epoch-making turn of events has since become a major topic for academic studies. While concerned scholars home or abroad have taken a keen interest in Nixon’s China visit from the perspectives of politics, sociology, international studies and history, his China trip has rarely been examined from the perspective of western rhetoric. The negligence should not to be overlooked, especially by the Chinese side. For with the intensification of Sino-U.S. interactions, how to communicate diplomatically with America has become a major concern to China, and a rhetorical analysis of Nixon’s China speeches would certainly yield a deep and profound insight into the dialogue between the two nations in question and provide rich resources for better comprehending China-related American diplomatic discourses as well. It is in view of such an urgent need that this thesis undertakes a multi-level text rhetorical analysis on Nixon’s series of speeches in China.After a general introduction of some related rhetorical concepts---rhetorical situation, dramatistic pentad and identification, the paper scrutinizes Nixon’s speeches before, during and immediately following his state visit to China. In detail, it explores how Nixon adjusted his language to that specific rhetorical situation, identifies the rhetorical motives his utterances and remarks concealed, and above all, discusses the rhetorical resources he utilized for bringing the two peoples closely together and for the promotion of U.S.-Sino diplomatic relations.In diplomatic arena, envoys are often confronted with composite audiences. Whether Nixon succeeded in his diplomatic mission in China would to a significant extent depend on whether his complex audiences would simultaneously find his words acceptable. To this end, Nixon employed multiple identification strategies in content and form to win over as many audiences as possible by decreasing dissenting voices and increasing the degree of approval for the legitimacy of his trip.