The Construction Of China's National Image From The Perspective Of Critical Discourse Analysis

For a long time,related researches on the construction of China's national image at home and abroad have mostly focused on the fields of communication and international relations.There are also a few linguists who study the construction of China's national image from the perspective of critical discourse analysis.Most of which are limited to the use of Fairclough's three-dimensional framework model and Halliday's systemic functional grammar to study China's national image in news discourse.The current researches on the China-US trade friction are mainly concentrated in the political,economic,and diplomatic fields,while the number of researches from the perspective of critical discourse analysis are limited.Taking those factors into consideration,this thesis uses the Fairclough's three-dimensional framework as the analysis model to analyze the construction of the national image.Fairclough's theory of discourse analysis has been widely used in identity research and national image construction.He proposed a three-dimensional model of discourse analysis(i.e.text analysis,discourse practice,and social practice)and pointed out the three steps of discourse analysis(i.e.description,interpretation,and interpretation).In addition,Fairclough introduced the concept of intertextuality as a bridge between linguistic analysis and social practice analysis.This paper uses Fairclough's three-dimensional frame model to conduct a linguisticanalysis of the white paper,and explores how the Chinese government has shaped the image of the country in political texts through language.Intending to answer the following two questions:(1)What kind of national image does the white paper build from the perspective of linguistics from the textual perspective?(2)How is China's national image constructed in terms of description,interpretation,and explanation based on Fairclough's three-dimensional framework model?Through research,at the level of text analysis,the choice of keywords and use of metaphors manifest that the release of the white paper is to provide a comprehensive picture of China-US economic and trade consultations,as well as China's principled position on major issues.In addition,the frequent use of passive voice and modal verbs in the white paper at the grammatical level also shows China's determination and position on principle issues in economic and trade consultations.As a result,the Chinese government has established a firm,clear,restrained,and rational national image,resolutely safeguarding the global economic and trade order as well as the interests of China and the United States.At the level of discourse practice,by examining the specific intertextuality in the white paper,it is found that formulas are used extensively in the white paper,making the public more easier to accurately understand the information conveyed in the white paper.At the level of social practice,on the one hand,the white paper reflects the comprehensive picture of China-US economic and trade consultations.On the other hand,the release of the white paper is an effective way to build the image of China.It fully reflects that China is a responsible country which actively promotes economic globalization,and uses Chinese wisdom to solve economic and trade friction.It actively maintains multilateral trade rules and the new international economic order.In the course of multiple rounds of consultations,the attitude of Chinese government is positive,and restrained,and a good national image with great courage to face challenges and resolutely safeguard national interests has been built.