Painting Chinese mythology

Varying touches on the magazine covers of Time , The Economist , Der Spiegel , and China Today

Bibliographic Data

ID12898528
AuthorsKun Xu (0000-0002-0851-2495, Temple University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume80
Issue2
Pages135-157
Publication date2017-05-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Communication Gazette (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-0485 • E-ISSN: 1748-0493
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1748048517707386
OpenAlexW2614638179
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited23

This study applied semiotic analysis to examine the national image of China on the magazine covers of Time, The Economist, Der Spiegel, and China Today. This study sought to find out and explicate the myths of different, even conflicting portrayals of the image of China. By comparing the signs on these magazine covers, five themes were identified: a threatening China versus a friendly China, a collectivistic China versus an individualistic China, a paradoxical China versus a progressing China, a capitalist China versus a communist China, and a dark China versus a promising China. These themes further led to the construction of the transnational comparative framing model. The similarities and differences in presenting China’s image between Western magazine covers and Chinese magazine covers were also discussed in the study. The mechanisms for framing China’s national image include the use of objectification, collectivistic illustration, contradiction, dual identity, and reference to historical contexts

Art · China · Collectivism · Communism · Epistemology · Framing (construction · Individualism · Literature · Media studies · Mythology · Political science · Politics · Semiotics · Sociology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philosophy

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