Selected Publications
In each of my research projects, I seek to explore the nuances of meaning-making process, sociocultural dynamics, and cultural-specific characteristics of human communication.
Li, X. The art of implicitness in high-context classical Chinese rhetoric. Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric, forthcoming.
What is the nature of implicitness? What crucial role does it play in classical Chinese rhetoric? How does it function as a strategic means of persuasion in influential texts in the Chinese cultural traditions?
Although implicitness is among the defining characteristics of East Asian rhetorical traditions and contributes to the misunderstanding of ancient Chinese texts, there has been limited discussion of the role played by implicitness in classical Chinese rhetoric and argumentation. This article explicates the nature of implicitness rooted in the high- context Chinese language, literary, and philosophical traditions and explores the function of implicitness as a strategic means of persuasion in influential texts in the Chinese rhetorical tradition such as Mencius.
The essay contributes to a multicultural knowledge of Chinese classical rhetoric beyond the Eurocentric traditions for understanding rhetoric, language, and communication in non-European cultures.
Keywords: Implicitness, Classical Chinese Rhetoric, High-Context Culture, Radicals, Persuasion
Note: This is the first article published in Rhetorica by a Chinese researcher on classical Chinese rhetoric since the journal launched in 1983.As a reputable international journal of the history of rhetoric, Rhetoria had four articles on Chinese rhetoric since 1983. The other three articles are authored by Mary Garrett on Lű's Annals (吕氏春秋/Lűshi Chunqiu) in 2012, Andy Kirkpatrick on Wen Ze (文则/The Rules of Writing) in 2005, and J. Vernon Jensen on Daoism in 1987.
Li, X. (2024). The convergence of public sphere and state advocacy: A case study of the Qing Lang movement in China’s entertainment industry. The Journal of Argumentation in Context, 13(1), 49-73.
https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.22015.li
Does China have a public sphere? How is such a sphere similar to and different from that of the West?
In 2021, China’s entertainment industry experienced a series of unusual argumentative controversies followed by the creation of the Qing Lang movement initiated by the Chinese government that called for tackling irregularities in the industry. With strong support from the Chinese public, the Qing Lang movement presents an intriguing case to examine a new model of social argument representing both the public and state interest in resolving social problems in the Chinese version of the public sphere. In this paper, I identity key characteristics defining a reciprocal model of social activism in state-sponsored actions in China exemplified by the Qing Lang movement. The paper also argues for the value of a culture-specific approach to understanding public sphere and social activism and clarifies the function of argument in Chinese society.
Keywords: Chinese entertainment industry, Chinese public sphere, public argument, Qing Lang, reciprocal model, social movement advocacy
Note: This research received the Kim Giffin Research Award from the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas in May 2022.
Li, X. (2024). The application of contemporary Western argumentation theories in English speech and debate in China. In R. Boogaart, B. Garssen, H. Jansen, M. V. Leeuwen, R. Pilgram, A. Reuneker (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation (p. 561-569). Amsterdam: Sciential International Centre for Scholarship in Argumentation Theory. https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4107843
Modern argumentation studies in China were not revived until the 1990s and the local research has been heavily influenced by Western traditions, especially the pragma-dialectics and informal logic. With the background of the overall argumentation studies in contemporary China, this paper focuses on how Western theories are applied in the emerging domain of English speech and debate. A synoptic review of the three different stages of English forensic education in China is provided with a brief discussion of its implications to develop Chinese contemporary argumentation theories.
Keywords: argumentation theories, critical thinking, contemporary China
Note: This publication is a proceeding of the ISSA (the International Society for the Study of Argumentation) conference held at Leiden University in the Netherlands in July 2023.
Li, X. (2023). The Chinese Dream as cultural myth: A narrative analysis of President Xi Jinping’s speech. Western Journal of Communication, 87(5), 879-897. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2022.2136977
What are the cultural characteristics of the Chinese Dream? How and why does it different from the American Dream?
The Chinese Dream is the most important national narrative in Chinese political discourse. Existing studies have mainly focused on its political implications or diplomatic influences. However, limited study has been done to examine the narrative structure and mythic natures of the Chinese Dream. This study provides a cross- cultural analysis of the Chinese Dream narrative, revealing the significant role of the collective hero and the dynamics of a dual protagonist that are deep-rooted in the Chinese cultural and historical context. The analysis of the Chinese Dream has important implications for understanding the significance of cultural dimensions in narrative criticism.
Keywords: Chinese Narrative Theory, Collective Hero, Mythic Criticism,
The Chinese Dream, Xi Jinping
Note: This research received the Top Paper Award from the Association of Chinese Communication Studies (ACCS) at National Communication Association (NCA) in November 2022.
Li, X. (2021). Chinese argumentation in war rhetoric. In D. Hample (Ed.), Local theories of argument (pp.
270-275). Routledge.
On February18th, 1943, the US Congress saw a historical speech made by Soong Meiling, also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who was the third female and the first Chinese who had ever spoken at the US Congress. As an unconventional speech made by an unconventional rhetor in an unconventional historical scenario, Soong’s address presented a unique vantage point for seeing a forgotten history of catastrophe in China in the early and middle twentieth century.
The paper analyzes Soong’s speech in terms of Chinese argumentative traditions and modes of persuasion in classical works like the Art of War. The analysis focuses on the paradoxical view in Daoism and how it shapes Soong’s argumentative discourse in the congressional speech to rally international support for China during WWII.
Key words: Chinese traditions, Daoism, Chinese argumentation, war
rhetoric, WWII
Note: This publication is a book chapter in Local Theories of Argument, an edition of the papers for the ALTA Conference of the National Communication Association (NCA) organized by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in July 2019.