Chinese medical television series (yiliaoju 医疗剧) operate as hybrid cultural artifacts that blend entertainment with informal health education and convey social and moral values. These productions shape public perceptions of healthcare, trust in medical institutions, and doctor–patient relationships, while simultaneously serving as vehicles for the dissemination of specialized medical language. This study offers a preliminary investigation of the strategies employed by Chinese yiliaoju to popularize medical knowledge and terminology, focusing on the 2024 series Live Surgery Room (Shoushu zhibo jian 手术直播间). Using a qualitative approach, the analysis draws on a corpus comprising 130 minutes of drama to explore how verbal and visual resources support comprehension of clinical concepts and practices. Within the framework of written popularization discourse, eight strategies are identified and organized into four overarching categories: concept identification, linguistic re-elaboration, relational mapping, and contextualization. When assessed against these criteria, the preliminary results demonstrate that the series operates through the integrated use of verbal explanations, subtitles, visual didacticism, and immersive simulations to make complex medical phenomena accessible to non-specialist audiences, underscoring the potential of yiliaoju to mediate and disseminate specialized medical knowledge.

Alahmari, A. Abdussalam. 2023. "Professionalism, Ethics, and Realism of Television Medical Dramas as Perceived by Saudi Medical Students". Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development 10: 1-6.

https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205231175037

Anesa, Patrizia, and Antoinette Fage-Butler. 2015. "Popularizing Biomedical Information on an Online Health Forum". Ibérica 29: 105-128. [14/08/2025].

https://revistaiberica.org/index.php/iberica/article/view/251

Bednarek, Monika. 2015. "Corpus-Assisted Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Television and Film Narratives". In Corpora and Discourse Studies: Integrating Discourse and Corpora, edited by Paul Baker and Tony McEnery, 63-87. London: Palgrave Macmillan (Palgrave Advances in Language and Linguistics).

https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137431738_4

Baidu 百度. 2025. "Shoushu zhibo jian 手术直播间" ['Live Surgery Room']. Baike Baidu 百科百度. [27/10/2025].

baike.baidu.com/item/手术直播间/58512960#reference-26

Bertulessi, Chiara. 2025. "Il discorso sulla divulgazione scientifico-tecnologica in Cina attraverso le fonti istituzionali". OrizzonteCina 16 (2): 106-120.

https://doi.org/10.82002/119548

Bhatia, Kumar Vijay. 1983. "Simplification v. Easification: The Case of Legal Texts". Applied Linguistics 4 (1): 42-54.

https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/4.1.42

Boginskaya, Olga A. 2023. "Popularization Strategies in Eliminating Knowledge Asymmetry in Expert-Lay Discourse". Science Journal of VolSU. Linguistics 22 (2): 164-174.

https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu2.2023.2.13

Bucchi, Massimiano. 1996. "When Scientists Turn to the Public: Alternative Routes in Science Communication". Public Understanding of Science 5 (4): 375-394.

https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-6625/5/4/005

Calsamiglia, Helena, and Teun A. van Dijk. 2004. "Popularization Discourse and Knowledge about the Genome". Discourse and Society 15 (4): 369-389.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926504043705

Chen, Li. 2019. "Vulnerable Live Patients, Powerful Dead Patients: A Textual Analysis of Doctor-Patient Relationships in Popular Chinese Medical Dramas". Cogent Arts & Humanities 6 (1): 1-16.

https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2019.1622626

Chung, Jae Eun. 2014. "Medical Dramas and Viewer Perception of Health: Testing. Cultivation Effects". Human Communication Research 40 (3): 333-349.

https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12026

Ciapuscio, Guiomar. 2003. "Formulation and Reformulation Procedures in Verbal Interactions between Experts and Semi-Laypersons". Discourse Studies 5 (2): 207-233.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445603005002004

CLEC (Jiaoyubu Zhongwai Yuyan Jiaoliu Hezuo Zhongxin 教育部中外语言交流合作中心 [Center for Language Education and Cooperation]) and CTI (Hankao Guoji 汉考国际 [Chinese Testing International Co.]). 2020. Yixue hanyu shuiping kaoshi (MCT) dagang 医学汉语水平考试(MCT)大纲 [Medical Chinese Test (MCT) outline]. Beijing: Gaodeng jiaoyu chubanshe 高等教育出版社.

Gan, Shixiu 甘师秀. 2013. "Guanyu jinyibu guifan yixue lei keji mingci de tantao 关于进一步规范医学类科技名词的探讨" [Medical terms should be further standardized]. Zhongguo keji shuyu 中国科技术语 15 (5): 50-53.

https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-8578.2013.05.012

Gao, Ya, Chen Chen, Hui Hong, Chen Mingyue, Chen Ning, Chen Hong, Zeng Weiming, Wei Yan, Wang Zhaoxin, and Shi Jianwei. 2022. "Improving Health Literacy: Analysis of the Relationship between Residents' Usage of Information Channels and Health Literacy in Shanghai, China". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19: 1-11.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19106324

Garzone, Giuliana. 2006. Perspectives on ESP and Popularization. Milano: CUEM.

Gotti, Maurizio. 2014. "Reformulation and Recontextualization in Popularization Discourse". Ibérica 27: 15-34. [14/08/2025].

https://revistaiberica.org/index.php/iberica/article/view/260

Gülich, Elisabeth. 2003. "Conversational Techniques Used in Transferring Knowledge between Medical Experts and Non-Experts". Discourse Studies 5 (2): 235-263.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445603005002005

Guo, Lijun. 2013. "Status quo of Language Use in Medical Documents and on Medicinal Packages". In The Language: Situation in China, vol. 1: 2006-2007, edited by Li Yuming and Li Wei, 145-157. Boston (MA) - Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614512530.145

Hyland, Ken. 2007. "Applying a Gloss: Exemplifying and Reformulating in Academic Discourse". Applied Linguistics 28 (2): 266-285.

https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm011

Jiang, Xuelin 姜学林. 1998. Yiliao yuyanxue chulun 医疗语言学初论 [Introduction to medical linguistics]. Beijing: Zhongguo yiyao keji chubanshe 中国医药科技出版社.

Kim, Hyang-Sook, and Kyongseok Kim. 2019. "The Effects of Open Captions in a Medical Drama on the Acquisition of Medical Terminology about Chronic Health Conditions Related to Physical Injury". American Journal of Health Education 50 (5): 318-329.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2019.1642267

Kohler, Moritz, Claudia Forstner, Maximilian Zellner, and Michael Noll-Hussong. 2019. "Bias by Medical Drama: Reflections of Stereotypic Images of Physicians in the Context of Contemporary Medical Dramas". In Handbook of Popular Culture and Biomedicine, edited by Arno Gorgen, German Alfonso Nunez, and Heiner Fangerau, 337-349. Cham (Switzerland): Springer.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90677-5_25

Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. 2003. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470993.001.0001

Li, Qian 李茜. 2017. Jiankang chuanbo shiyu xia wo guo yiliaoju neirong yanjiu 健康传播视阈下我国医疗剧内容研究 [Research on the Chinese medical drama's content under the perspective of health communication]. Beijing: Beijing gongshang daxue 北京工商大学.

Li, Zunyi 李樽彝. 2020. "Qianxi guochan yiliaoju de fazhan yu chuangxin - yi 'Xinshu' wei li 浅析国产医疗剧的发展与创新-以《心术》为例" [Analysis on the development and innovation of domestic medical drama. Taking 'Angel Heart' as an example]. Shi ting 视听 4: 61-63.

Li, Jiachen. 2022. "A Comparative Study of Medical Dramas in China, South Korea, and the United States". Journal of Innovation and Social Science Research 9 (1): 16-22.

https://doi.org/10.53469/jissr.2022.09(01).03

Li, Yuanyuan, Lü Xiaofeng, Liang Jun, Dong Hengjin, and Chen Changgui. 2022. "The Development and Progress of Health Literacy in China". Frontiers in Public Health 10: 1-11.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1034907

Lin, Liying 林丽颖. 2020. "Cong jiankang chuanbo shijiao pingxi guonei yiliaoju 从健康传播视角评析国内医疗剧" [Analysis of domestic medical dramas from the perspective of health communication]. Zhongguo gaoxiao renwen shehui kexue xinxi wang 中国高校人文社会科学信息网: 1-3. [27/10/2025].

https://www.sinoss.net/c/2020-01-05/558514.shtml

Liu, Tianyang, and Tan Xiao. 2021. "Troublemaking in Hospitals: Performed Violence against the Healthcare Professions in China". Health Sociology Review 30 (2): 157-170.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2020.1779105

Lü, Weiwei 吕玮玮. 2014. "Dangdai Zhong-Mei zhuliu yiliao ticai dianshiju bijiao yanjiu 当代中美主流医疗题材电视剧比较研究" [Comparative study of Sino American medical drama]. Nanjing yishu xueyuan 南京艺术学院.

Mićić, Sofija. 2013. "Languages of Medicine: Present and Future". JAHR 7: 217-233.

https://ojs.srce.hr/index.php/jahr/article/view/16194

MoST (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Kexue Jishubu 中华人民共和国科学技术部 [Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC]). 2024. "Zhonghua renmin gongheguo kexue jishu puji fa 中华人民共和国科学技术普及法" [Law on Science and Technology Popularization]. Gov.cn. [27/10/2025].

https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229010535.019

https://www.most.gov.cn/xxgk/xinxifenlei/fdzdgknr/fgzc/flfg/202412/t20241226_192778.html

Pilz, Merle, Walter Stummer, and Markus Holling. 2020. "Neurosurgery in Contemporary Medical Dramas: How Grey's Anatomy & Co. May Affect Perception of Neurosurgery in the Media". Journal of Neurological Surgery. Part A, Central European Neurosurgery 81 (6): 495-500.

https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1709169

Ren, Fujun, Lin Yin, and Gauhar Raza, eds. 2021. Science Communication Practice in China. Singapore: Springer.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3203-7

Richards, Jack C., John Platt, and Heidi Platt, eds. 2002. Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics 朗文语言教学与应用语言学词典. Beijing: Waiyu jiaoxue yu yanjiu chubanshe 外语教学与研究出版社.

Riva, Natalia F. 2025. "Doctors, Values, and the Nation: Exploring the Cultural and Socio-Political Dimensions of Chinese Medical Dramas". In Italian Association for Chinese Studies. Selected Papers 5, edited by Alessandra Brezzi and Paolo De Troia. Venezia: Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina.

Riva, Natalia, and Matteo Tarantino. 2023. "The Politics of Fictional Medicine: Entertainment, Propaganda, and Education in Chinese Medical Dramas in the Xi Era". In 14th Media Mutations International Conference. Investigating Medical Drama TV Series: Approaches and Perspectives, edited by Stefania Antonioni and Marta Rocchi, 46-66. Bologna: Media Mutations Publishing.

https://doi.org/10.21428/93b7ef64.1b0951e7

Sohu 搜狐. 2024a. "Dianshiju shoushilü bandan jiemi: 'Shoushi zhibo jian' diezhi di er, ni zhui na yi bu? 电视剧收视率榜单揭秘：《手术直播间》跌至第二，你追哪一部？" [TV drama ratings list revealed: 'Live Surgery Room' drops to second place, which one are you following?]. Sohu 搜狐. [27/10/2025].

https://www.sohu.com/a/771676898_121642975

Sohu 搜狐. 2024b. "Zhang Binbin Shoushi zhibo jian koubei jiemi, guanzhong pingfen yu pingjia yizhenjianxue! 张彬彬手术直播间口碑揭秘，观众评分与评价一针见血！" [The reputation of Zhang Binbin's surgery live broadcast room is revealed, and the audience ratings and comments are to the point!]. Sohu 搜狐. [27/10/2025].

https://www.sohu.com/a/771805493_121642659

Sohu 搜狐. 2024c. "Dianshiju shoushilü bandan jiexiao, 'Shoushi zhibo jian' xiahua zhi ci xi, ni zhui na yi bu? 电视剧收视率榜单揭晓，《手术直播间》下滑至次席，你追哪一部？" [The TV drama ratings list has been announced, and 'Live Surgery Room' has dropped to second place: which one are you following?]. Sohu 搜狐. [27/10/2025].

https://www.sohu.com/a/772159816_120970327

Sonego, Allegra, and Marta Rocchi. 2024. "Medical Drama TV Series: A Semi-Systematic Literature Review". Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies 14 (4): 1-29.

https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/15268

State Council of the PRC (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Zhongyang Renmin Zhengfu 中华人民共和国中央人民政府). 2016. "Zhonggong Zhongyang Guowuyuan yinfa 'Jiankang Zhongguo 2030' guihua gangyao 中共中央国务院印发《健康中国2030》规划纲要" [The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the guidelines for the 'Healthy China 2030' initiative]. Gov.cn. [27/10/2025].

https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2016-10/25/content_5124174.htm

Sterk, Florentine M., and Merel M. van Goch. 2023. Re-presenting Research: A Guide to Analyzing Popularization Strategies in Science Journalism and Science Communication. Cham (Switzerland): Palgrave Macmillan.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28174-7

Sun, Huanqi, Katrin Herget, and João P. Silvestre. 2024. "Popularization Strategies in Public Health Discourse: A Corpus Based Analysis in Portuguese and Chinese". In International Conference New Perspectives in Science Education - 13th Edition. Conference Proceedings, edited by Pixel International Conferences, 18-23. Bologna: Filodiritto Editore.

Sun, Qingxiang 孙庆祥, and Li Dingjun 李定钧. 2012. "Yixue shuyu xinci de laiyuan, dingming yu hanyi 医学术语新词的来源、定名与汉译" [Etymological analysis of new medical terms and principles for Chinese translation]. Zhongguo keji shuyu 中国科技术语 14 (3): 10-14.

https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-8578.2012.03.003

Tian, Yan, and Jina H. Yoo. 2020. "Medical Drama Viewing and Medical Trust: A Moderated Mediation Approach". Health Communication 35 (1): 46-55.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2018.1536959

Vallati, Alessandro. 2024a. "Caratteristiche morfolessicali del cinese medico-scientifico". In Declinazioni di umanesimo tra etica, natura e scienza, a cura di Marco Taddei, 209-242. Milano: Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

Vallati, Alessandro. 2024b. "La promozione dell'identità nazionale cinese in ambito sanitario: il potere discorsivo del Medical Chinese Test". OrizzonteCina 15 (2): 42-65.

https://doi.org/10.13135/2280-8035/11139

Vignozzi, Gianmarco. 2020. "'Multiple g. s.ws to the chest. b.p. 90 over 60. Pulse in the 120s. Push 1 of epi!': A Preliminary Study on the Representation of Spoken Medical English in Grey's Anatomy". Lingue e Linguaggi 40: 187-209.

https://dx.doi.org/10.1285/i22390359v40p187

Wan, Mei 万梅. 2019. "Yixue shuyu zhong de tongyi xianxiang ji cunzai yuanyin fenxi 医学术语中的同义现象及存在原因分析" [Analysis of synonymous phenomenon in medical terms and the reasons for existence]. Zhongguo keji shuyu 中国科技术语 21 (4): 19-23.

https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-8578.2019.04.003

Wan, Mei 万梅. 2020. "Xiyao mingci de yinyi yanjiu 西药名词的音译研究" [On the transliteration of Western medicine terms]. Zhongguo keji shuyu 中国科技术语 22 (2): 41-45.

https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-8578.2020.02.010

Wenxiaobai 问小白. 2024. "Yiliaoju zhenshixing zhi zheng: 'Shoushu zhibo jian' yinfa guanzhong shendu taolun 医疗剧真实性之争：《手术直播间》引发观众深度讨论" [The debate over the authenticity of medical dramas: 'Live Surgery Room' sparks in-depth discussion among viewers]. Wenxiaobai 问小白. [27/10/2025].

https://www.wenxiaobai.com/api/expends/detail?article=25250848-6e3a-47a9-9fb0-40a98ed3701d

Wicclair, R. Mark. 2008. "The Pedagogical Value of House, M.D. - Can a Fictional Unethical Physician Be Used to Teach Ethics?". The American Journal of Bioethics 8 (12): 16-17.

https://doi.org/10.1080/15265160802478503

Wu, Wei 吴卫. 2008. "Cong ciyuanxue jiaodu tan yixue shuyu 从词源学角度谈医学术语" [Medical terminology from an etymological perspective]. Zhongguo keji shuyu 中国科技术语 10 (1): 55-57.

https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-8578.2008.01.002

Xia, Zhonghua 夏中华. 1986. "Xiandai hanyu kexue shuyu chutan 现代汉语科学术语初探" [A preliminary exploration of modern Chinese scientific terminology]. Jinzhou shiyuan xuebao 锦州师院学报 2: 94-100.

https://doi.org/10.13831/j.cnki.issn.1672-8254.1986.02.018

Yanagi, Natsuyo, Hiroki Satoh, and Yasufumi Sawada. 2023. "The Impact of a Medical Drama Featuring a Hospital Pharmacist on the Perception of Pharmacists among High School Students and Guardians: A Quasi-Experimental Study". Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy 11: 1-8.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100286

Yang, Wenjie 杨文杰. 2024. "Dianshiju 'Shoushu zhibo jian' zhuli jieru yixue chuanbo 电视剧《手术直播间》助力介入医学传播" [The TV series 'Live Surgery Room' helps spread interventional medicine]. Beijing Youth Daily. [27/10/2025].

https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2024/11-19/10322034.shtml

Ye, Yinjiao, and Kristina E. Ward. 2010. "The Depiction of Illness and Related Matters in Two Top-Ranked Primetime Network Medical Dramas in the United States: A Content Analysis". Journal of Health Communication 15 (5): 555-570.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2010.492564

Zago, Daniela, Peter Cautero, Enrico Scarpis, Erika Pompili, Gianluca Voglino, Roberta Siliquini, Silvio Brusaferro, and Laura Brunelli. 2024. "TV Medical Dramas: Assessing the Portrayal of Public Health in Primetime". Frontiers in Public Health 12: 1-9.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1432528

Zhao, Yunqian 赵云茜. 2016. "Tansuo gu Xila Luoma shenhua dui yixue yingyu shuyu de yingxiang 探索古希腊罗马神话对医学英语术语的影响" [Impact of ancient Greek and Roman mythology on the etymology of medical terminology]. Zhongguo keji shuyu 中国科技术语 18 (3): 47-50.

https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-8578.2016.03.011