A Contrastive Analysis Of Chinese Female Image Presentation In Sino-US Mainstream Media From The Perspective Of Appraisal Theory (2016-2021)

Chinese female has been an important member of the international stage over recent years.Through the maintenance of positive image of Chinese women in the new era,it is of active and practical significance to enhance national prestige in the national external transmission and communication.Therefore,in the light of attitude system in appraisal theory,this study focuses on the reports of female images in China Daily and The New York Times(2016-2021),trying its best to delve into the obvious differences with regard to the reports of Chinese female images in the two mainstream media.The research has shown:Firstly,looking from the distribution of affect resources,China Daily and The New York Times contain less the expression of emotional attitude when reporting Chinese female images,showing a relative equilibrium distribution on the whole.However,there are still some differences.Only in a few emotional manifestation does China Daily master in the art of taking full advantage of positive words to publicize the time characteristics and modern charm of contemporary Chinese women,and uses nouns and verbs as the main means to achieve them.However,the opposite views held by The New York Times on Chinese women are still influenced by inherent ideas to a certain extent,and most of them are mainly expressed by negative adjectives and adverbs.Secondly,from the point of view of the distribution of judgement resources,judgement resources have the largest stake in in the mainstream media of the two countries,and most of them are separately displayed in the form of nouns and adjectives,revealing significant differences on the whole.By way of contrast,positive coverage gives priority to China Daily,while negative coverage is the main product in The New York Times.In China Daily,as independent and free roles,Chinese female shows the modern and subjective consciousness and highlights the power of women’s role models.In The New York Times,as a vulnerable group in the whole society,Chinese women assume the form of a passive,sympathetic and unfair role,resulting in conspicuous negative images.Thirdly,as regards the distribution of appreciation resources,China Daily and The New York Times have made more evaluations on the development process of Chinese female images in a period of time,whose frequency distribution is second only to judgement resources,and it is respectively displayed by nouns and adjectives,unveiling the characteristics of uneven changes as a whole.For instance,Chinese women in China Daily represents positive,united and struggling,which sets an good example for the dissemination of female image and even national image.However,the images of Chinese women in The New York Times are too stubborn and conservative,thus the true features of female roles cannot be fully displayed.Generally speaking,Chinese and American mainstream media tend to use judgement and appreciation resources to evaluate Chinese women’s attitudes,followed by affect resources.China Daily focuses on clearly and objectively presenting a positive,optimistic,smart and dedicated Chinese female image to the world.In contrast,The New York Times focuses more on portraying a narrow,weak and helpless image of Chinese women to the international community.Considering this,the mainstream media in China and the United States should actively communicate,eliminate their own prejudice,pay attention to the audience’s perspective,and guide the audience with correct remarks,so as to show the international community the true image of Chinese women in the new era with an objective and fair attitude.