A Rhetorical Contrastive Analysis Of Chinese And American News Editorials On Diaoyu Islands Dispute Based On DCI Model

News editorials, as an important supplement to the news reports, are remarks on major issues made by editors on behalf of the press. With its powerful capability of information and popularity, the news editorials play a significant role in the political life, which usually leads and shapes people’s thoughts of politics. Different from other genres, the news discourse constantly claims and emphasizes the objectivity, justice and reality in the discourse. However, all the news happen under certain social, cultural and historical backgrounds, with the media themselves being the spokesmen of their governments, the news discourse particularly the political news editorials are not as objective as they claim to be, there are often covert motives between the lines.Under the frame of the DCI rhetorical model(Dramatic pentad analysis-Cluster analysis-Identification),which is based on Burke’s new rhetroric, this thesis attempts to analyze the rhetorical processes and the hidden motives in the news editorials from the main media in China and America. This study selects four news editorials from New York Times on the Diaoyu Islands(Senkaku in Japanese) dispute in 2013 and four editorials during the same period from China Daily as samples to analyze. The DCI analysis is conducted by three steps: dramatistic pentad analysis, cluster analysis and identification. In dramatistic pentad analysis, the political news editorials are analyzed in terms of ratios of five factors demonstrating rhetors’ motives. In addition, as an important supplement to dramatic pentad analysis from the lexical level, cluster analysis is applied to demonstrate rhetors’ attitude in terms of terministic screen. In the identification section, two major identification strategies are focused on, identification by sympathy and identification by antithesis. The two strategies along with the pentad and cluster analysis help the rhetors’ finally identify themselves with the audience.According to the outcomes of the study, New York Times, by means of their frequently-used rhetorical strategies and methods, with premised rhetorical motives, constantly pictures China of a negative image, which is rising but bullying its neighbor countries. As to the sovereignty of Diaoyu Islands, the American media deliberately sets a series of terministic screens to weaken this core issue and emphasizes Japan’s actual administration again and over again, thus making Japan look like a victim. By contrast, China Daily, by proper rhetorical strategies and methods, with weaker motives, reiterates that Diaoyu Islands are China’s inherent part from the ancient times. And when describing Japan and the US, with less terministic screens settings, China Daily is more moderate than New York Times. Therefore, when facing up with unjust, unfair but implicit criticism of China by the American editors or rhetors, as the countermeasures, the Chinese media should respond more actively with more powerful rhetorical strategies. Meanwhile, as for the readers, when reading and comprehending the news reports and editorials, it is quite necessary for them to be aware of this implicit premise and to be with more critical thinking.