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  5. 06 Words of Power, the Power of Words. The Twentieth-Century Communist Discourse in International Perspective
  6. Ideology and Discourse: Rhetorical Construction of Mao Zedong’s ‘New Communist Person’ (1949-1976)
 
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Ideology and Discourse: Rhetorical Construction of Mao Zedong’s ‘New Communist Person’ (1949-1976)

Lu, Xing
2019
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ISBN
978-88-5511-086-0
http://hdl.handle.net/10077/29380
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e-ISBN
978-88-5511-087-7
Abstract
In his Marxism and the Philosophy of Language, Mikhail Bakhtin contends that language does not merely reflect the world, but actually constructs ideology of a society. The ideology of Chinese communism is disseminated through morally charged slogans, political campaigns, and the mass participation of political rituals. This chapter explores the discursive construction of ‘the new communist person’ by examining the speeches and writings of Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China between 1949 to 1976. While vehemently propagating Marxist theory of class struggle and reinforcing class-consciousness into the Chinese mind, Mao’s discursive construction of ‘the New Communist Person’ utilized and appropriated traditional Chinese values and rhetorical resources. Through rhetorical features such as metaphors, analogies, role models, and guilt redemption, Mao successfully persuaded many Chinese people to become selfless, loyal to the Party, and dedicated to the communist cause. I will identify and analyze these rhetorical features. I contend that while Mao’s discourse has its moral appeal, it has also created a radical ideology and unrealistic illusion among the Chinese people. The forced self-criticism political ritual used to construct ‘the new communist person’ has brought humiliation to many Chinese intellectuals. Whereas Mao’s legacy lives on in today’s China, the discourse of ‘the socialist core values’, propagated by the current Chinese government has lost its rhetorical appeal due to ideological crisis.
Journal
Studi di Storia
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Xing Lu, "Ideology and Discourse: Rhetorical Construction of Mao Zedong’s ‘New Communist Person’ (1949-1976)" in: "Words of Power, the Power of Words. The Twentieth-Century Communist Discourse in International Perspective", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2019, pp. 401-420
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en
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internazionale
Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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