Narrative And Semiotic Interpretations Of "Epidemic" In Modern Newspapers In Guangzhou(1929-1949)

During the COVID-19 pandemic,the Western media named the "COVID-19" as the "Chinese virus",stigmatizing China through symbolic rhetoric.Therefore,it has become an important topic to expose the deep-seated mechanism and derivation process of this epidemic symbolic rhetoric.Through researches in this area,we can establish the legitimacy and legitimacy of China’s “epidemic prevention narrative” in terms of historical tradition and local culture.From this perspective,this paper discusses the symbolic mechanism of“epidemic disease” in modern newspapers in Guangzhou.This research first uses the content analysis method,from the two dimensions of report content and narrative mechanism,a total of twelve categories.For the purpose of coding and classifying 1137 "epidemic" reports in Guangzhou’s official and civilian newspapers from1929 to 1949,Yuehua News,Guohua News,Guangzhou National Daily,Zhongshan Daily and Guangzhou Daily.Secondly,this paper divides the characteristics of the reporting period through cluster analysis,and then uses the Peirce semiotics theory to analyze the similarities in the meaning of the "epidemic" symbols and the differences in the narrative of the "epidemic" in the official and civilian newspapers at each stage.Finally,this paper sorts out the change and expansion of the “epidemic disease” connotation chain of Guangzhou newspapers and periodicals.The following are the research findings:First,in terms of report content and narrative mechanism,the number of “epidemic” reports by officials and people is positively correlated with the war.The content is mainly from official sources,the genre is mostly news,and the content is closely related;the narrative is based on first person narrative,often focusing on multiple subjects,hiding the identity of the narrator,mostly from medium and macro perspectives,and are good at presenting descriptive reports for the purpose of providing context.The difference between the two content lies in the fact that the civilian newspapers presented more expert sources and novel genres appeared,while the official newspapers presented more positive reports and mostly regional content.Second,with regard to the derivation of the symbol of "epidemic disease" as above,from 1929 to 1936,the narrative of "epidemic disease" by the officials and the people showed a tendency of "Western medicine first",and the constructed "epidemic disease" negative attitude inherited the Eastern and Western "theological health concepts".From1937 to 1945,influenced by the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and Guangzhou culture,the symbol of "epidemic disease" derived national and localized meanings such as "protecting the people and strengthening the country" and "inoculation in teahouses".From 1946 to 1949,influenced by the modernization of public health and international diplomacy,the symbol of "epidemic disease" derived modern and international connotations such as "vaccination syndrome norm" and "epidemic diplomacy".In terms of the difference in the meaning of the "epidemic" symbol,the three stages of "epidemic" narrative differences are presented as follows: the macro,propaganda and politicization of the official newspaper narrative;the microscopic,accountability and life-oriented narrative of the people’s newspaper.Third,on the connotation chain,the symbol of "epidemic disease" in modern Guangzhou has gradually abandoned the theological connotation of "worshiping gods and exorcising plagues".The construction of self-meaning has been completed under the combined action of three elements: knowledge context,modern Western health discourse and sudden war of aggression,and finally formed the meaning of Chinese medicine,Western medicine,nationality,localization,internationalization,modernization,and politication.