The cultural pragmatics of “danger” in Chinese political discourse

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter examines a way of speaking about “looming danger” that is pervasive in Chinese Communist Party discourse but which has not been given much attention in studies of Chinese elite politics. It centres on cultural beliefs underlying the discourse of jū ān sī wēi ('think about danger during peaceful time') and unpacks its associated meaning and the cultural contents surrounding this discourse. The paper argues and demonstrates that political discourse is a form of cultural pragmatics, in that the former builds on fundamental beliefs and values of the culture in which the discourse is situated, and that these beliefs and values may be influenced and reinforced by historical events and national memory. It also demonstrates that Natural Semantics Metalanguage can be a useful tool for analysing and representing the cultural elements in political discourse.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPragmatics and Beyond New Series
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company
Pages194–216
Number of pages23
ISBN (Print)9789027246783
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024

Publication series

NamePragmatics and Beyond New Series
Volume346
ISSN (Print)0922-842X

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The cultural pragmatics of “danger” in Chinese political discourse'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this