1887

Discourse and the Development of Public Sphere in China

A Law Case Study

This article examines public debate over the Wu Ying lawsuit case during February and March 2012. In particular, it investigates discursive strategies made use of by the public to form public opinion and to operate with on the Internet. Starting from the CDA premise that discourse is constitutive in social practice and Habermas’ conceptualization of public sphere, the article brings the discursive strategies deployed into a discussion in relation to the complexity of the discourse and the development of the public sphere in China. It is found that the Internet-related new media devices contribute to the development of a public sphere in China, and their contribution is facilitated by the deliberate use of discursive strategies as social practice.

References

  1. Chilton, Paul , Tian, Hailong , and Wodak, Ruth
    2010 “Reflections on Discourse and Critique in China and the West.” Journal of Language and Politics9(4): 489–507. doi: 10.1075/jlp.9.4.02chi
    https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.9.4.02chi [Google Scholar]
  2. Chouliaraki, Lilie , and Fairclough, Norman
    1999Discourse in Late Modernity: Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Fairclough, Norman , and Wodak, Ruth
    1997 “Critical Discourse Analysis.” InDiscourse as Social Interaction, ed. by Teun A. van Dijk , 258–284. London: Sage Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Foucault, Michel
    1984 “The Order of Discourse.” InLanguage and Politics, ed. by Michael Shapiro , 108–138. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Fowler, Roger
    1991 “On Critical Linguistics.” InCritical Discourse Analysis: Essential Readings, ed. by Hailong Tian , and Peng Zhao , 3–15. Tianjin: Nankai University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Habermas, Jurgen
    1996The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into the Category of Bourgeois Society. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Chinese Trans. by Cao Weidong et al. Shanghai: Xuelin Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Hall, Stuart
    1997 “The Work of Representation.” InRepresentation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. ed. by Stuart Hall , 12–74. London: Sage in association with The Open University.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Halliday, Michael A.K
    1994/2000An Introduction to Functional Grammar. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press & Edward Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Koller, Veronika , and Wodak, Ruth
    2008 “Introduction: Shifting Boundaries and Emergent Public Sphere.” InHandbook of Communication in the Public Sphere. ed. by Ruth Wodak , and Veronika Koller , 1–17. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Kong, Kenneth C.C
    2001 “Marketing of Beliefs: Intertextual Construction of Network Marketer’s Identity.” Discourse and Society12(4): 473–503. doi: 10.1177/0957926501012004004
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926501012004004 [Google Scholar]
  11. Ku, Agnes S.M
    1999Narratives, Politics, and the Public Sphere: Struggles over Political Reform in the Final Transitional Years in Hong Kong (1992–1994). Aldershot: Ashgate.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Myers, Greg
    2010Discourse of Blogs and Wikis. London and New York: Continuum.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Peng, Lei
    (彭垒) 2007 “The First Successful Attempt at the Public Sphere in China’s Modern Newspaper: Zou Taofen and the Correspondence Column of Life and Mass Life (中国近代报刊公共领域形成的首次成功尝试:邹韬奋和《生活》、《大众生活》的信箱栏目).” Journal of Jiangxi Finance and Economy University (江西财经大学学报) 1: 116–120.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Thompson, Geoff
    2008Introducing Functional Grammar (2nd edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and Hodder Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. van Leeuwen, Theo
    2008Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  16. Wang, Di
    (王笛) 1996 “The Development of Public Sphere in Upper Yangzhi River Area in Later Qing Dynasty (晚清长江上游地区公共领域的发展).” Historical Studies (历史研究) 1: 5–16.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Wodak, Ruth
    2001 “The Discourse-historical approach.” InMethods of Critical Discourse Analysis, ed. by Ruth Wodak , and Michael Meyer , 63–94. London: Sage Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Wright, Scott
    2008 Language, Communication and the Public Sphere: Definitions. InHandbook of Communication in the Public Sphere, ed. by Ruth Wodak , and Veronika Koller , 21–43. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Yan, Lihua
    (严利华) 2010 “Reflections on the Development of Public Sphere in China (公共领域理论在中国的发展及其思考).” Hubei Social Sciences (湖北社会科学) 4: 33–35.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Zhang, Changyong
    (张常勇) 2012 “Local Construction of Transplanted Discourse: Harbamas’s ‘Public Sphere’ in China (移植话语的本土建构:哈贝马斯‘公共领域’概念的中国境遇).” News Dissemination (新闻传播) 4: 208–211.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Zhou, Songqing
    (周松青) 1998 “Public Sphere and the Origin of Autonomy in Shanghai (公共领域与上海地方自治的起源).” Archives and History (档案与史学)1: 37–44.
    [Google Scholar]

References

  1. Chilton, Paul , Tian, Hailong , and Wodak, Ruth
    2010 “Reflections on Discourse and Critique in China and the West.” Journal of Language and Politics9(4): 489–507. doi: 10.1075/jlp.9.4.02chi
    https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.9.4.02chi [Google Scholar]
  2. Chouliaraki, Lilie , and Fairclough, Norman
    1999Discourse in Late Modernity: Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Fairclough, Norman , and Wodak, Ruth
    1997 “Critical Discourse Analysis.” InDiscourse as Social Interaction, ed. by Teun A. van Dijk , 258–284. London: Sage Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Foucault, Michel
    1984 “The Order of Discourse.” InLanguage and Politics, ed. by Michael Shapiro , 108–138. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Fowler, Roger
    1991 “On Critical Linguistics.” InCritical Discourse Analysis: Essential Readings, ed. by Hailong Tian , and Peng Zhao , 3–15. Tianjin: Nankai University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Habermas, Jurgen
    1996The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into the Category of Bourgeois Society. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Chinese Trans. by Cao Weidong et al. Shanghai: Xuelin Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Hall, Stuart
    1997 “The Work of Representation.” InRepresentation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. ed. by Stuart Hall , 12–74. London: Sage in association with The Open University.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Halliday, Michael A.K
    1994/2000An Introduction to Functional Grammar. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press & Edward Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Koller, Veronika , and Wodak, Ruth
    2008 “Introduction: Shifting Boundaries and Emergent Public Sphere.” InHandbook of Communication in the Public Sphere. ed. by Ruth Wodak , and Veronika Koller , 1–17. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Kong, Kenneth C.C
    2001 “Marketing of Beliefs: Intertextual Construction of Network Marketer’s Identity.” Discourse and Society12(4): 473–503. doi: 10.1177/0957926501012004004
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926501012004004 [Google Scholar]
  11. Ku, Agnes S.M
    1999Narratives, Politics, and the Public Sphere: Struggles over Political Reform in the Final Transitional Years in Hong Kong (1992–1994). Aldershot: Ashgate.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Myers, Greg
    2010Discourse of Blogs and Wikis. London and New York: Continuum.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Peng, Lei
    (彭垒) 2007 “The First Successful Attempt at the Public Sphere in China’s Modern Newspaper: Zou Taofen and the Correspondence Column of Life and Mass Life (中国近代报刊公共领域形成的首次成功尝试:邹韬奋和《生活》、《大众生活》的信箱栏目).” Journal of Jiangxi Finance and Economy University (江西财经大学学报) 1: 116–120.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Thompson, Geoff
    2008Introducing Functional Grammar (2nd edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and Hodder Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. van Leeuwen, Theo
    2008Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  16. Wang, Di
    (王笛) 1996 “The Development of Public Sphere in Upper Yangzhi River Area in Later Qing Dynasty (晚清长江上游地区公共领域的发展).” Historical Studies (历史研究) 1: 5–16.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Wodak, Ruth
    2001 “The Discourse-historical approach.” InMethods of Critical Discourse Analysis, ed. by Ruth Wodak , and Michael Meyer , 63–94. London: Sage Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Wright, Scott
    2008 Language, Communication and the Public Sphere: Definitions. InHandbook of Communication in the Public Sphere, ed. by Ruth Wodak , and Veronika Koller , 21–43. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Yan, Lihua
    (严利华) 2010 “Reflections on the Development of Public Sphere in China (公共领域理论在中国的发展及其思考).” Hubei Social Sciences (湖北社会科学) 4: 33–35.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Zhang, Changyong
    (张常勇) 2012 “Local Construction of Transplanted Discourse: Harbamas’s ‘Public Sphere’ in China (移植话语的本土建构:哈贝马斯‘公共领域’概念的中国境遇).” News Dissemination (新闻传播) 4: 208–211.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Zhou, Songqing
    (周松青) 1998 “Public Sphere and the Origin of Autonomy in Shanghai (公共领域与上海地方自治的起源).” Archives and History (档案与史学)1: 37–44.
    [Google Scholar]
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