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The International Communication of Cultural Symbols in the Construction of China’s National Image

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National Image

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Abstract

National image is a complex and multi-dimensional concept with rich connotations. It is constituted by sub-images portraying a country’s economy, government, general public, culture and security. Chinese culture can be expressed through a wide spectrum of symbols. In a certain period, a given cultural symbol may be used to promote a particular sub-image, but it may also work against other sub-images at the same time, especially the core image. For example, cultural symbols like the Terracotta Army and imperial court exhibitions are valuable to constructing the image of “an ancient civilization.” However, they can also mislead the international community into thinking that the Chinese people were belligerent, ignorant and backward, thus hindering the construction of the image featuring “peaceful development.”

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Located in Lintong County, Shaanxi Province, northwest China, the Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures dating back to 208 BC. With more than 8000 warriors, 130 chariots and 670 horses, the Army was created to represent the armies of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, 259 BC–210 BC, literal: the first emperor of the Qin dynasty). The sculptures were buried with the emperor to guard his safety in his afterlife.

  2. 2.

    Wu (2012).

  3. 3.

    Han (2006).

  4. 4.

    Information Office of the State Council, the People’s Republic of China (2011).

  5. 5.

    Wu (2012).

  6. 6.

    Legge (1990, p. 340).

  7. 7.

    Legge (2017, p. 57).

  8. 8.

    Lin (n.d.).

  9. 9.

    Wu (2009, p. 49).

  10. 10.

    China.org.cn (2012).

  11. 11.

    Xi (2018).

  12. 12.

    Xi (2018, pp. 274–275).

  13. 13.

    Enlai (1981).

  14. 14.

    Xi (2018, pp. 3132).

  15. 15.

    Changhe (2014).

  16. 16.

    Zhou (n.d., pp. 9–20).

  17. 17.

    Zhou (n.d. pp. 21–27).

  18. 18.

    Anon (1972).

  19. 19.

    Huntington (1996, p. 21).

  20. 20.

    Huntington (1996, pp. 28–29).

  21. 21.

    Huntington (1996, p. 318).

  22. 22.

    Liu (1997, p. 2).

  23. 23.

    China.org.cn (2012).

  24. 24.

    Jintao (2009).

  25. 25.

    China.org.cn (2012).

  26. 26.

    Anon (2005). Cited in Ye (2010).

  27. 27.

    Embassy of The People’s Republic of China In The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. (2013). Xi Jinping Delivers Speech on Trade and Other Issues at the Eighth G20 Leaders’ Summit. [Online]. [Accessed 19 April 2019]. Available from: http://np.china-embassy.org/eng/zgwj/t1076346.htm.

  28. 28.

    Liu (2007).

  29. 29.

    UN.org (2013).

  30. 30.

    Cheng (2007).

  31. 31.

    Owen et al. (2003, p. 1).

  32. 32.

    Sun (1924).

  33. 33.

    Long (2012, p. 70).

  34. 34.

    Kang (2002).

  35. 35.

    Fiske (1989, p. 34).

  36. 36.

    Pan (2005).

  37. 37.

    Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993, p. 6).

  38. 38.

    Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993, p. 3).

  39. 39.

    Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993, p. 3).

  40. 40.

    Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993, p. 8).

  41. 41.

    Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993, pp. 9–10).

  42. 42.

    Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993, p. 11).

  43. 43.

    Parliament of the World’s Religions (1993, p. 12).

  44. 44.

    Pan (2005, p. 72).

  45. 45.

    Lin (2004).

  46. 46.

    Ramo (2007, pp. 16, 39–40).

  47. 47.

    Ramo et al. (2008).

  48. 48.

    Ramo (2007, p. 16).

  49. 49.

    Ramo (2007, pp. 18, 40).

  50. 50.

    China.org.cn (2012).

  51. 51.

    Xi (2018, pp. 179–180).

  52. 52.

    Xi (2018, p. 180).

  53. 53.

    Shen (2008).

  54. 54.

    Robertson (1992, p. 5).

  55. 55.

    Tu and Gong (2008).

  56. 56.

    International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems (1980, p. 14).

  57. 57.

    Zhuang (2004).

  58. 58.

    China.org.cn (2012).

  59. 59.

    Wu (2009, pp. 61–62).

  60. 60.

    This is drawn on the views of celebrated Chinese philosophers Zhang Dainian (1909–2004) and Fang Keli (1938–). They proposed three main functions of Chinese culture: to create national cohesion, motivate and integrate values. See: Zhang and Fang (1994).

  61. 61.

    Zheng (1992, p. 4).

  62. 62.

    Long (2012, p. 78).

  63. 63.

    Delannoi et al. (2005, p. 197).

  64. 64.

    Kara-Murza (2003, p. 630).

  65. 65.

    Lin Zexu (1785–1850) was a Chinese scholar-official of the Qing dynasty. As an Imperial Commissioner, he launched the campaign to suppress opium use in Guangdong Province, Southeast China in 1838. On June 3, 1839, Lin commanded to destroy 1,000 long tons of illegal opium imported from the Great Britain at Humen Town. The event is later known as the Destruction of Opium at Humen, which became a catalyst for the First Opium War.

  66. 66.

    Mou (2009).

  67. 67.

    Following its defeat in the first Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Empire of Japan on April 17, 1895, leading to the former’s cessation of Taiwan and Liaodong to Japan in perpetuity. In April and May of the same year, Chinese scholars and reformers Kang Youwei (1858–1927) and Liang Qichao (1873–1929) led 603 civil servant candidates to petition to Emperor Guangxu (1871–1908; reign: 1975–1908), expressing opposition to the Treaty and calling for its cancellation. This event marked the first political campaign conducted by the reformers.

  68. 68.

    “The May 4th Movement refers narrowly to the outburst of political demonstrations that occurred on May 4th, 1919 [in Beijing], in response to the humiliating provisions of the Treaty of Versailles (among them that Shandong should be transferred to Japanese control). Taken more broadly, the term covers the movement for political, cultural and social change that was set in motion by these demonstrations but grew out of trends within Chinese society and thought. The demonstrations themselves were originally student-led, but set in motion a wave of sympathy demonstrations and strikes that spread beyond the student milieu to encompass everyone from workers to industrialists in cities across the country.” Quoted from Barua, Kaushik. (n.d.). May 4th Movement. [Online]. [Accessed 23 May 2019]. Available from: https://www.academia.edu/8433998/May_4th_Movement.

  69. 69.

    Xi (2017).

  70. 70.

    Xi (2018, p. 188).

  71. 71.

    Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (2014).

  72. 72.

    Laozi. English translation by Eno, Robert. (2010). Dao De Jing, Version 1.2, p. 17. [Online]. [Accessed 23 May 2019]. Available from: http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Daodejing.pdf.

  73. 73.

    Translators Association of China. (2009). The Latest Suggested Chinese-into-English Translation on Expressions regarding Building a Harmonious Society by the Translators Association of China. [Online]. [Accessed 23 May 2019]. Available from: http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/trans/2009-10/21/content_8827779.htm.

  74. 74.

    Zhao (2018).

  75. 75.

    Klein (2018, p. 14).

  76. 76.

    This translation of “走出去” is now revised into “going global.”

  77. 77.

    General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China & General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. (2006). Outline of the National “11th Five Year Plan” Period Cultural Development Plan. [Online]. Updated on 23 December 2010. [Accessed 28 May 2019]. Available from: https://chinacopyrightandmedia.wordpress.com/2006/09/13/outline-of-the-national-11th-five-year-plan-period-cultural-development-plan/.

  78. 78.

    China.org.cn (2012).

  79. 79.

    Anon (2013).

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    Xiangfei Meng

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Meng, X. (2020). The International Communication of Cultural Symbols in the Construction of China’s National Image. In: National Image. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3147-7_5

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