A Study On Communication Based On The Narrative Paradigm

In the era of increasingly frequent cultural communication, narrative ability, regarded as one of the crucial intercultural communication abilities, has played a significant role in cultural communication effects. As the communication theory that concerns standards for good stories, the narrative paradigm is of great value to enhance communicators’ narrative ability to achieve desired cultural communication effects.Based on the narrative paradigm, this paper presents a narrative structural analysis, a story type analysis, a narrative wide-angle perspective analysis and a content analysis of the Hua Mulan story in The Woman Warrior to explain to its successful dissemination, to test the hypothesis of standards for telling good stories, that is, the narrative rationality in the theory of narrative paradigm and to offer suggestions for Chinese cultural communication.The hypothesis of narrative rationality is confirmed by showing that taking advantage of readers’ narrative rationality is a critical reason for the success of the adapted Mulan story. In the aspect of narrative structure, the Mulan story has a clear, coherent and complete structure, which enables the story to be more convincing and appealing. In the aspect of narrative materials, the writer integrates universal story types and motifs into the traditional Chinese Mulan story, which is advantageous for readers to generate cultural empathy to smooth the way for accepting the story. In the aspect of narrative characters, the stylization of Mulan facilitates identifying and remembering the character and gains great communicational power. In the aspect of values, the Mulan story contains both the values of individualism and collectivism and reflects Chinese Americans lives. By complying with the mainstream values, the story is recognized and accepted by readers. Though the Mulan story deliberately catering to western readers is not good for them to make an objective judgment of Chinese culture, the story is still successful when judged from the angle of communication solely. This study confirms that narrative rationality has a significant impact on whether readers accept a story or not.The narrative techniques of the Mulan story will be the reference point for Chinese cultural communication. On the basis of the consistency of narrative structure, it is applicable to have a reversal of certain narrative structural elements to create fresh narrative experience. For narrative materials, we can enrich unique narrative materials through cultural imagination and cultural analogies to retell a more acceptable story. In the level of narrative characters, it is recommended to diversify those stylized characters. As for values, writers are supposed to awaken people’s inner visions and to tell a "realization of the inner vision" story to communicate values.