The Rhetoric of Mao Zedong: Transforming China and Its People (Studies in Rhetoric & Communication)

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Synopsis
This thorough examination of Mao&’s speeches and writings and how they reshaped a nation &“is critical to an understanding of modern China&” (Choice). Mao Zedong fundamentally transformed China from a Confucian society characterized by hierarchy and harmony into a socialist state guided by communist ideologies of class struggle and radicalization. It was a transformation made possible largely by Mao&’s rhetorical ability to attract, persuade, and mobilize millions of Chinese people. In this book, Xing Lu analyzes Mao&’s speeches and writings over a span of sixty years, tracing the sources and evolution of his discourse, analyzing his skills as an orator and mythmaker, assessing his symbolic power and continuing presence in contemporary China, and observing that Mao&’s rhetorical legacy has been commoditized, culturally consumed, and politically appropriated since his death. Applying both Western rhetorical theories and Chinese rhetorical concepts to reach a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of his rhetorical legacy, Lu shows how Mao employed a host of rhetorical appeals and strategies drawn from Chinese tradition and how he interpreted the discourse of Marxism-Leninism to serve foundational themes of his message. She traces the historical contexts in which these themes, his philosophical orientations, and his political views were formed and how they transformed China and Chinese people. Lu also examines how certain ideas are promoted, modified, and appropriated in Mao&’s rhetoric. His appropriation of Marxist theory of class struggle, his campaigns of transforming common people into new communist advocates, his promotion of Chinese nationalism, and his stand on China&’s foreign policy all contributed to and were responsible for reshaping Chinese thought patterns, culture, and communication behaviors.
Copyright:
2017

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
280 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781611177534
Related ISBNs:
9781611177527
Publisher:
University Of South Carolina Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
University of South Carolina
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Language Arts, Communication, Politics and Government
Reading Age:
18 and up
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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