Construction Of Soft Power In China From The Mass Media Perspective

In 1990, Joseph Nye, the Dean of Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, first proposed the concept of"soft power". Since then the research and application of the"soft power"has started up. In recent years,"soft power"has become a popular vocabulary in the field of both national and international relations. The research and practice of it have already presented a splendid sight. Cultural soft power is the core of a country's soft power, while the mass media is not only a carrier of culture communication, but also a core component of cultural soft power. In today's media society, the vitality, cohesion, creativity and influence of culture depend largely on the strength of the media. Mass media, as the principal part of cultural exports, has played an important role in the constructing level of soft power, and appears as an important form of"soft power". As Nye said,"In the information age, soft power depends not only on the universality of culture and philosophy, but also on transmitting channels a state has owned, because it can have influence on how to explain the problems."From the above, Nye regards"culture"and"the media"itself as two main components of a country's soft power in the information age. To enhance the soft power of a country, it is necessary to improve the degree of"global popularization"of its culture, which depends on the"diffusion"and"spreading abroad"of the culture. And only when the country's culture and values are widely popular and generally recognized in the international community, the soft power is really upgraded.This thesis will focus on the perspective of mass media to study the construction and communication of China's soft power. It is divided into four parts: The first part analyzes the presentation, the rise and the development of the"soft power"theory in China, and then points out that this study emphasizes particularly on composing element of soft power—cultural appeal, and the government's definitions of the concept and of the elements of China's soft power.The second part deals with the construction of the mass media and soft power, and theoretic review of the mass media. And it is put forward that mass media, as a cultural medium and the carrier, is closely related with the composing elements of soft power. And then mass media is the composing part of cultural soft power. Also the representation and function of mass media in constructing"soft power"are analyzed in this part.The third part analyzes the current status of the Chinese"soft power", and of the external"soft power"of China from the perspective of the external communication, and assesses the spread of Chinese culture.The fourth part indicates that the present soft power of China is still in insufficient communication, and lack of constructions, and that the existing carriers and platforms of soft power are not enough to ensure the basic needs of display and communication, according the analysis of the current status of the Chinese"soft power"in part three. In addition, the strategic options of the mass media in enhancing China's soft power are proposed, on the basis of combining the construction and the practical development of"soft power".With the depth development of globalization, the country's dependence on the mass media is reinforced. Moreover the mainstream media is an important tool in terms of the transfer and infusion of cultural ideology, governing ideas, and value concepts. If the mainstream media of one country is accepted by the international community, the country's influence in world opinions will be significantly increased, and its soft power will be enhanced as well. For China, from the point of view of the real interest, it is an important reference that unearthing and arranging essence and details, and endowing the spirit of the times with them, can explain the development model and the concept of dealing with affairs of China in the international community, and can construct China's soft power.In a word, the mass media has visual and emotional advantages in publicizing the national culture, enhancing the national image and constructing China's soft power, and should naturally become the first force to construct and increase its soft power.