A thematic analysis of Mao's rhetoric in Yanan (1936--1947).

摘要

This thesis intends to fill the deficiency in research of Mao Zedong's rhetoric by focusing on Mao's rhetoric in the Yanan period (1936-1947). The Yanan period was pivotal in the history of the Mao-led Chinese communist revolution. Mao wrote his major works during this period, and Maoism, the paradigm for the Chinese communist revolution and political actions, was formed and substantially articulated during the Yanan period. Mao's blueprint for the Chinese communist revolution was manifested in the following three major themes: depicting a romantic utopia to represent the communist cause, sinicizing Marxism, and disparaging intellectuals. The impact and effects of Mao's rhetoric in the Yanan period are far-reaching and profound. It not only helped Mao to win his prominent status on the theoretical front and to consolidate his leadership within the Chinese Communist Party, but also was recycled after 1949 to further Mao's status as deity and to help carry out Mao's later political campaigns. This thesis uses rhetorical theories to analyze and critique Mao's Yanan rhetoric. It also attempts to delineate the Chinese rhetorical tradition, on which Mao's rhetoric is built, from linguistic, semantic and cultural points of view. This study discovers the universality (striking similarities between the Chinese and the Western rhetorical traditions) and the uniqueness of Chinese rhetoric (because rhetoric is culture-specific). The study concludes that there is a rich Chinese rhetorical tradition, much richer and more comprehensive than what the current scholarship suggests.