Proquest Dissertations

A Chinese rhetorical tradition? Case studies in the history of Chinese rhetorical theory and practice Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Cai, Guanjun, 1964- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 02:22:39 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288824 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 A CfflNESE RHETORICAL TRADITION? CASE STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF CHINESE RHETORICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE by Guanjun Cai Copyright © Guanjun Cai 1998 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND THE TEACHING OF ENGUSH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 9 8 DMI Number; 9831815 Copyright 1998 by Cai, Gueinjun All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9831815 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Guanj un Cai entitled A Chinese Rhetorical Tradition? Case Studies in the History of Chinese Rhetorical Theory and Practice and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy hoinas-\Miller Date 2. <9 esa Enos Date - 'rF Roxanne Mountford Date Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. giafieftation "Director Thomas Miller Date 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: 4 Acknowledgments would like to thank Thomas P. Miller, Theresa Enos, and Roxanne I Mountford for their guidance, expertise, and support throughout this project. As my professors, they have not only been exceptionally helpful with this project, but also taught me to learn with energy and passion. I am grateful to C. Bernhardt Brohaugh for his incisive editorial comments and Karen Brohaugh for her warm encouragement over the years. I value them in many ways. I also appreciate the enthusiastic support from my friends Buff and Sandy, who drew me a cartoon with the caption: "No TV until you finish your dissertation!" I owe special thanks to Yan Liang, my sister-in-law and friend, for her assistance with my research and resources in China. My greatest debt is to my wife, Jie, for her love, patience, and support that made tJiis project possible and for her invaluable comments that made it so much better. J To my parents who teach me the rhetoric of being 6 Table of Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 8 ABSTRACT 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 11 CHAPTER 2 •'WHO KNOWS NOT BUT SPEAKS IS NOT WISE; WHO BCNOWS BUT SPEAKS NOT IS NOT LOYAL": THE RHETORIC OF LEGALISM 18 Philosophy as a Mode of Rhetorical Discourse 20 Han's Legalist Philosophy and the Art of Quan-Fu 24 Conclusion 51 CHAPTER 3 "A WAR TO TOUCH THE SOUL": THE IDEOLOGY OF THE GREAT PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION 53 Ideology as Rhetorical 56 The Term Cultural Revolution 62 Mao's Thought as the Ideology of the Cultural Revolution 65 Mao's Thought Materialized in Revolutionary Practices 70 Conclusion 86 CHAPTER 4 KAIMEN JIAN SHAN (OPEN THE DOOR TO SEE THE MOUNTAIN): ACADEMIC WRITING THEORY AND INSTRUCTION IN CHINA 88 The Eight-Legged Essay 91 Contents continued The Influence of Western Academic Discourses HK) Mao's Ban of the "Party Eight-Legged Essay" 108 Writing Theory and Instruction in Contemporary China 110 Conclusion 128 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION: MOVING FROM RHETORIC TO COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 130 Theory and Research in Comparative Rhetoric 131 Reception of Comparative Rhetoric in Composition Studies 142 Objectives of Comparative Rhetorical Studies 144 Conclusion 170 WORKS CITED 172 s List of Dlustrations FIGURE 2.1: /?£3V (VIRTUE) 25 FIGURE 2.2: DAO (THE WAY) 29 FIGURE 2.3: FA (LAW) 35 FIGURE 2.4: 5/FC/(TACTICS) 40 FIGURE 2.5: 5w(AuraoRiTY) 46 FIGURE 3.1: YIAO'SLRMEREDBOOK 72 FIGURE 3.2: BIG-CHARACTER POSTERS 84 FIGURE 3.3: MAO'S RED GUARDS 85 FIGURE 4.1: CHARACTER 102 FIGURE 4.2: BASIC ELEMENTS OF WRITING 116 FIGURE 4.3: THE WRITING PROCESS DL^GRAM 116 FIGURE 5.1: KAPLAN'S DL\GRAM ON CULTURAL THOUGHT PATTERNS 136 9 Abstract his dissertation investigates rhetorical theories and practices in Chinese cultural history. I examine the rhetorics that are explicit and implicit in Chinese philosophical, political, and academic theories and practices. Based on my case studies in Chinese history, I argue that rhetoric is a social, cultural, and historical construct, and rhetoric in the Chinese context is better understood as the study and practice of putting philosophy into social action for practical purposes. These case studies also illustrate that since assumptions about rhetoric are integrally related to particular cultural assumptions, the conventions of "good writing" are also culture-specific. I begin by refuting the notions that rhetoric is entirely Western and that Western rhetoric is universal. Rhetoric is better understood as having a cultural dimension. In the succeeding chapter, I examine the rhetorical expositions and implications of Han Fei-tzu's (c. 298-233 BCE) legalist philosophy. A concept of rhetoric, I argue, is explicitly developed in Han's theories of qiian-fu or the art of speaking to convince and shui-shii or the art of advising. I also explore the conceptions of rhetoric that is implicit in his legalist theories of fa, shu, shi, which assume that persuasion and coercion are used simultaneously to preserve social order. In Chapter 3,1 argue that the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) provides a good example of how ideology 10 functions as a system of rtietoric. I analyze The Little Red Book as an exemplary ideological discourse to show that the Thought of Mao Zedong, which was the dominant ideology of the Cultural Revolution, determined what was discursive, what was possible, and what was acceptable. In Chapter 4, I argue that Chinese academic writing has always served clearly defined sociopolitical purposes that have historically adapted with changes in political ideology. My analyses in the preceding chapters should give readers an historically grounded sense of Chinese rhetorics. With my case studies as points of reference, I conclude by exploring the implications of this project for the theories of rhetoric and comparative rhetoric. I examine how theories of comparative rhetoric can be developed with historical research on rhetorical conventions, cultural assumptions, and social practices. I also show how such an historically informed comparative rhetoric can be applied to teaching students to negotiate cultviral differences in their writing. 11 Chapter 1 Introduction In the West rhetoric has a clearly defined history as an autonomous discipline, but even those who have been most attentive to Chinese traditions have concluded that rhetoric has not been understood to be a separate discipline. In China, according to Robert Oliver, rhetoric has "received continuous attention," but it has been treated as an "integral part of generalized philosophical speculation" and never been "separated from philosophy," literature, or law (260). Because rhetoric has not been theorized as a distinct domain in China, traditionalist rhetoricians believe there are no such things as Chinese rhetorics. This ethnocentric assumption is evident in James Murphy's claim that "there is no evidence of an interest in rhetoric in ancient civilizations of Babylon or Egypt, for instance.

Load more