Yin and Yang rhetoric and the prospects for public discourse in China

Abstract

Andy Kirkpatrick
Griffith University

In this presentation I shall first briefly review the Chinese rhetorical tradition and outline some principles of rhetoric in Chinese. I shall then argue that the Chinese rhetorical tradition and ways of persuasion are not being taught to Mainland Chinese students today, with the exception of a small minority of students in Departments of Chinese. Indeed, Chinese university students receive far more instruction in Anglo rhetoric and how to write academic English than they do in Chinese rhetoric and how to write academic Chinese.

The lack of interest in the Chinese rhetorical tradition can, in large part, be traced to the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), when a new aggressive and highly antagonistic rhetorical style was adopted. Mao himself often adopted this style.

The adoption of this new aggressive (yang) rhetorical style, coupled with the neglect of the study of Chinese rhetoric, has made it extremely difficult for concerned and responsible Chinese citizens to engage in constructive public discourse.

I will illustrate my argument by analyzing examples of contemporary Chinese rhetoric, including samples from Mao, the Cultural Revolution, the annual petition written by the mothers of those who died during the Tiananmen massacre of June 1989, and the infamous Charter 08.

I shall conclude by suggesting that, until China reintroduces Chinese rhetoric as a serious subject for study, the prospects for a civic-minded and constructive public discourse in China will remain bleak. This, in turn, means that the prospect of a mature civic society developing in China also remains bleak.