A Corpus-based Study On The Evolution Of China's Diplomatic Image(1949-2018)

National image is a comprehensive cognition,affection,and evaluation that people from domestic and international communities have of a nation.National image can be divided into auto-image and hetero-image,positive image and negative image.It is generally accepted that positive national image can bring benefits and interests to a nation while negative national image may incur disadvantages or even harm to national interests.So,nations around the globe spare no efforts in constructing positive national image in order to safeguard national interests and benefits.With the rapid growth of its economy and comprehensive national strength,China has attached ever increasing importance to the construction and promotion of its national image in the international community.Scholars of imagology,international politics,communication,linguistics and translation as well as other disciplines have conducted studies on China's national image in media discourse,literary works,films and multimedia discourse,and other discourses.National image can be constructed at different levels and from diverse dimensions.Diplomacy,as direct communication and exchanges with other countries and regions,is one of the most important ways for a nation to present itself on the international stage and hence one of the most significant channels and platforms to construct its national image.However,not much work has been done in the study of China's diplomatic image,not to mention China's diplomatic auto-image constructed through its diplomatic discourse.Taking a corpus-based approach,this thesis explores China's diplomatic image constructed through Chinese diplomatic discourse and its evolution during three different periods.Specifically,this thesis first proposes a new framework–the Framework for National Image Analysis/Construction that combines Fairclough's Three Dimensional Model for Discourse Analysis,theories of national image analysis and corpus-based discourse analysis;second,based on the Diachronic Corpus of Chinese Diplomatic Discourse(1949-2018),China's diplomatic image constructed through the application of the keywords,the high frequency words,the modal verbs and their significant collocations and the randomly selected we-clauses of the Chinese diplomatic discourse are analyzed with the proposed framework;last,the social,economic and historical factors that contribute to the construction of China's diplomatic image in different periods are explored.The study shows that that the major objects of China's diplomacy include the United States,former Soviet Union,Japan,UK,and countries in Asia,Africa,Latin-America,etc.;the objectives of China's diplomacy is to safeguard world peace while opposing war,to promote development through cooperation,and to establish good relations with people of all countries in the world;the scope of China's diplomacy has been constantly expanding,from diplomatic exchanges with socialist countries and neighboring countries in the 1^st period,to communication and exchanges with more countries in the 2^ndperiod,and to diplomatic exchanges and cooperation in all respects in the 3^rd period;the priorities of China's diplomacy to establish the statehood and be recognized by other countries in the 1^st period,economic development in the 2^nd period,and all-round political,economic and social development in the 3^rd period.China's diplomatic image,as an impression and evaluation that people have of China's diplomacy,is subject to change in accordance with the domestic and international political,economic and social situations.Specifically,China's diplomatic image of the 1^st period is constructed as a victim of war,a staunch defender of world peace,a newly established socialist country,an active player on the world stage to establish relations with other countries and to restore its seats in UN,and it is poor and weak but enthusiastic in building up the country,and active in settling border issues with its neighbors.However,to safeguard its national interests,it at first joined the socialist camp and fought against the imperialists,the United States and Japan in particular,but later it changed its diplomatic policies and established diplomatic relations with the United States,the United Kingdom and Japan.In the 2^nd period,it is shaped as a developing socialist country who takes economic development and people's living standard as its diplomatic priorities while resolutely safeguarding national integrity and sovereignty,and one who upholds the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,and one who is active in participating in various international cooperation and international affairs.It has altered its focus from self-defense and civil wars and political struggle to domestic economic development through cooperation,from the fight against imperialists to the unification of Hong Kong and Macao,from the division of socialist and imperialist camps to the cooperation with countries around the world,and from the entry to the UN to taking more responsibility as a member of UN to safeguard world peace and stability.Quite different from the image of the previous two periods,China's diplomatic image of the 3^rd period is constructed as an active initiator,coordinator and promoter of international development and innovation,a determined defender of world peace and stability,and a major player on the international stage that would like to share its experiences and wisdom in terms of development and governance.Besides,with a vision of global cooperation and development,China is ready to share its technologies and models of development to make contribution to international and regional cooperation and development and to raise the people's living standard worldwide.In addition,it is staunch defender of global rules and regulations that actively seeks solutions to global and regional issues.It is argued that the factors that contribute to the construction of China's diplomatic image and its evolution lie mainly in three aspects,namely,the diplomatic policies adopted by China in different periods of time in accordance with China's national interests and benefits and the ever-changing international and domestic situations,the property and content of Chinese diplomatic discourse,and the translation of the Chinese diplomatic discourse.The study adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the exploration of China's diplomatic image,which draws insights from linguistics,imagology,corpus-based discourse analysis,diplomacy,and international politics.It is hoped that the proposed framework for national image analysis/construction will be one of the frameworks used to study national image in different discourses and it will be of some value in guiding the construction of a designed national image.Besides,combining corpus-based discourse analysis with imagology,this study will be of some theoretical significance to the growing body of studies on national image,China's national image in particular.In addition,the use of diachronic corpus with a time span of 70 years to explore China's diplomatic image constructed in the Chinese diplomatic discourse can also be of some value for studies on national image in diverse discourses with corpus methodology.