Production Of China’s Economic Image In Business Chinese Textbooks

Shaping China’s national image is a major issue that China cannot avoid in its quest for its own development.As an important part of the national image,the national economic image plays an important role for a country to maintain its prestige,consolidate its legal position and gain an advantageous position in the game of interests.Therefore,we believe that it is necessary and valuable to present a fair and attractive economic image of China.As special-purpose Chinese textbooks,Business Chinese textbooks are to meet the Chinese learning needs of people who may be engaged in foreign trade.Also,the descriptions and narratives about China’s economic situation are more prominent presentations.Business Chinese textbooks have a direct impact on learners’ understanding of China’s economic development and foreign trade and economic situation,so we believe that business Chinese textbooks are an important resource for presenting China’s economic image.As an important narrator and carrier of China’s economic image,business Chinese textbooks have a direct and explicit impact on learners due to their objective and authoritative nature.Therefore,we believe that it is necessary and valuable to explore the state of Chinese image production in business Chinese textbooks and reflect on what kind of Chinese image production we should achieve.The goal of this dissertation is to reflect on and examine the production of China’s economic image in business Chinese textbooks,and to explore how to achieve a more proactive and effective national image narrative in Chinses textbook.In this dissertation,we will use critical discourse analysis and corpus discourse analysis to explore and present the implicit Chinese economic image in the Business Chinese Conversation,reflect on the Chinese economic image presented in business Chinese textbooks,consider how to achieve fair,reasonable and effective production and dissemination of the Chinese economic image,so as to analyze and interpret the image of China in textbooks more strategically,improve the effective discourse mechanism for the production of the image of China in textbooks.Based on the concept of "economy" and our research subject,we limited the scope of economic images to three aspects and analyzed the presentation of each type of image in detail.The results of the study show that,the term " populous country " is used as the main reference to China in textbooks.For the presentation of Chinese enterprises,the textbook focuses on the “three capital enterprises” and “township enterprises”,assigning several positive evaluation attributes to them through the predicative strategy,and portraying an image of the “three capital enterprises” and “township enterprises”that are developing well and have a promising future,and are moving towards transnationalization.We use the first person plural as an important clue to index the group of Chinese businessmen and sort out five types of Chinese businessmen images presented in the textbook: 1)Chinese businessmen who face up to difficulties;2)Chinese businessmen who dare to face up to their own shortcomings;3)Chinese businessmen who look forward to fair competition,equality and mutual benefit;4)Chinese businessmen who attach importance to interpersonal interactions and feelings;5)Chinese businessmen who adapt to new forms and changes.The presentation of Chinese economic content in Business Chinese Conversation is mainly reflected in Chinese industries and Chinese products.We found that the textbook concentrates on China’s advertising industry,packaging industry,liquor industry,tea industry,garment industry,ceramic industry,construction industry,tourism industry and handicraft industry.And the description logic mostly follows a chronological order,with important points of industrial development in series,such as the initial formation of the industry,its history,development dilemma and future prospects.The textbook highlights three main types of Chinese industries: 1)industries with the traditional business model and historical heritage;2)industries influenced by foreign products;and 3)industries influenced by national policies.The Chinese products in the textbook focus on low value-added commodities such as textiles、agricultural and sideline products,presenting an export product structure dominated by light industrial products such as textiles,agricultural and sideline foods,and manufacturing products;in terms of product image,the overall image of Chinese products presented in the textbook is positive,with good quantity,low prices,and elaborate packaging as characteristics.In terms of product image,the overall image of Chinese products presented in the textbook is positive,with abundance,low prices and good packaging.The Chinese market in the textbook is dynamic and competitive,promising,great potential and diversified,including secondary industry-based markets such as jewelry,food,cultural industries,and garments,as well as commercial insurance markets,environmental industries,art markets,and goods trading markets.In terms of the highfrequency verb collocation of "market" in the textbook,the main economic subjects that appear in the textbook are the Chinese government and foreign businessmen,and the Chinese "market" is repeatedly mentioned as the object of the action.In terms of semantic content,the Chinese market is developing,and both manufacturers and domestic businessmen are actively responding to the changes in the market and are confident about its future.Overall,by analyzing the collocation of "market" words in the textbook,we can interpret a dynamic and promising image of the Chinese market.In summary,we believe that the textbook presents a fair and reasonable image of China’s economy in terms of its economic subjects,including China,Chinese enterprises and Chinese businessmen;its economic contents,including Chinese industries and Chinese products;and its economic environment: Chinese market.In terms of the form of China’s economic image presented in the textbook,we grasped the way in which the content of Business Chinese Conversation integrates the construction of the country’s economic image in terms of intertextual and dialogical features,and explained the positive role it plays in shaping China’s economic image in the textbook.In the analysis of the intertextuality of the textbook,we found that the textbook becomes a networked organic through the intertextual quotation of business proverbs,the intertextual linkage of unit headings,and the intertextual transformation of explanatory and conversational texts.The combination of texts makes the source text and the new text interact to produce different meanings,and the combined,rewritten and linked texts make the information conveyed by the content participate in the construction of the national economic image from different dimensions as a constantly reinforced cognitive representation,providing effective support for the presentation of the national economic image.In the analysis of the dialogical nature of the textbook,we unearthed traces of the collision of multiple voices in the text of Business Chinese Conversation and explored the process of presenting the country’s economic image in different dialogical forms in the text.We argued that the interaction of different types of texts in the textbook allows us to see the possibility of opening up the textbook’s discourse space,whether it is the expression of different attitudes in the dialogue,the direct invocation of the official discourse or the multiple presuppositions of the readers in the open-ended exercises.As the main producer of China’s economic image,Business Chinese Conversation allow for the emergence of external voices in their own discourse space,adapt to the context of the other in the interaction,and realize the meaningful construction of the Chinese economic image in this effective linkage.The result showed that Business Chinese Conversation presents the image of China’s economy fairly and objectively,but there are still relatively one-sided and misleading contents.For example,we found an inappropriate reference to China in Business Chinese Conversation.The text uses the proverb "How can you get a tiger’s son if you don’t enter a tiger’s den" as a metaphor for the challenges and risks of trading with China,and emphasizes the trade risk of "being eaten".The use of metaphors to reinforce the link between "risk" and "Chinese trade" in the dialogue is a textual way to cast a negative light on China.In our opinion,such arrangement in Chinese textbooks is worthy of further discussion.Also,we believe that Business Chinese Conversation could be further adjusted in its description of Chinese enterprises.The image of enterprises highlighted in the textbook is that of "three capital enterprises" and "township enterprises",which are two types of enterprises under the early historical backgrounds,both of which are distinctive economic products of China’s economic development process and have their corresponding backgrounds and contexts.There is nothing wrong with presenting them as important corporate images in China’s economic development process,but considering that Chinese textbooks are effective vehicles for language learning,it is necessary for textbooks to present vocabulary that fits the context of the times.Therefore,we believe that the Business Chinese Conversation should add vocabulary that are more frequently used in daily life,such as "state-owned enterprises," "central enterprises," "private enterprises," and "private enterprises,so that learners can have a better understanding of contemporary Chinese enterprises.Based on our research,this dissertation proposed four improvements for the compilation of business Chinese textbooks: 1)correctly interpreting China’s economic image;2)responding frankly to misunderstandings and prejudices;3)avoiding expressions that are prone to misunderstandings;and 4)avoiding monologue-like propaganda.In summary,this dissertation uses critical discourse analysis and corpus discourse analysis methods to organize the discourse resources embodying China’s economic image in Business Chinese Conversation through three levels: economic subject,economic content,and economic environment,and carefully excavates,examines,and reflects on China’s economic image in the textbook.Moreover,this paper integrates the ways in which the text realizes the construction of the country’s economic image by grasping the intertextual and dialogical features of the textbook,and explains its active role in shaping China’s economic image in the textbook.Finally,we sort out the advantages and possible improvements of Business Chinese Conversation in presenting China’s economic image,and put forward relevant suggestions for the compilation of business Chinese textbooks in terms of the presentation of China’s Economic Image in the textbook.