Abstract

This contribution outlines the rationale and scope of the journal issue on Discourse and the Contemporary Chinese Media. It argues that discourse analysis provides a valuable framework for examining how language, ideology, and power interact within China’s evolving media landscape. The article highlights the relevance of discourse-analytical and pragmatic approaches for investigating media narratives across diverse platforms, genres, and audiences in contemporary China. It also addresses the methodological debate surrounding the application of discourse theories developed in Western contexts to Chinese media, arguing that such approaches remain effective when grounded in rigorous methodology and informed contextual knowledge. By introducing the contributions collected in this issue, the article demonstrates how discourse studies can illuminate processes of meaning-making, representation, and ideological construction in contemporary Chinese media.

China, Chinese media, context, discourse studies, frames, media, narratives, representation, positioning, pragmatics.

Bamberg, Michael. 1997. "Positioning between Structure and Performance". Journal of Narrative and Life History 7 (1-4): 335-342.

https://doi.org/10.1075/jnlh.7.42pos

Bateson, Gregory. 1972. Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychology, Evolution and Epistemology. San Francisco (CA): Chandler.

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

Bruns, Axel. 2023. "From 'the' Public Sphere to a Network of Publics: Towards an Empirically Founded Model of Contemporary Public Communication Spaces". Communication Theory 33 (2-3): 70-81.

https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad007

Cao, Qing. 2014. "Introduction: Legitimation, Resistance and Discursive Struggles in Contemporary China". In Discourse, Politics and Media in Contemporary China, edited by Qing Cao, Tian Hailong, and Paul Chilton, 1-25. Amsterdam - Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Charmaz, Kathy. 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage.

de Burgh, Hugo, Emma Lupano, and Bettina Mottura, eds. 2018. Lingue Culture Media­zio­ni / Languages Cultures Mediation - LCM 5 (2: Emerging Chinese Theory and Practice of Media).

https://doi.org/10.7358/lcm-2018-002-debu

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

Glaser, Barney G., and Anselm L. Strauss. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New Brunswick - London: Aldine Transaction.

Goffman, Erving. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press.

Hall, Stuart. (1997) 2003. "The Work of Representation". In Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, edited by Stuart Hall, 13-74. Reprint, Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage.

Lams, Lutgard. 2017. "Othering in Chinese Official Media Narratives during Diplomatic Standoffs with the US and Japan". Palgrave Communications 3 (33): 1-11.

https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-017-0034-z

Lams, Lutgard. 2018. "Examining Strategic Narratives in Chinese Official Discourse under Xi Jinping". Journal of Chinese Political Science 23 (3): 387-411.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-018-9529-8

Lams, Lutgard. 2019. "Ideological Patterns in Chinese State Media Narratives Concerning Issues of Security and Sovereignty". In Routledge Handbook of Chinese Discourse Analysis, edited by Chris Shei, 444-457. Oxford: Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315213705-31

Lams, Lutgard. 2026. Narratives of the Hong Kong Sovereignty Transfer: The Pragmatics of Language and Ideology in the Taiwanese and Chinese English-Language Press. New York: Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/b22869

Lams, Lutgard, Rui Zhang, and Emma Lupano. 2025. Meaning Generation in Chinese Official Media Discourse. New York: Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003454069

Miskimmon, Alister, Ben O'Loughlin, and Laura Roselle. 2013. Strategic Narratives: Communication Power and the New World Order. 1st ed. New York: Routledge.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315871264

Papacharissi, Zizi. 2014. Affective Publics: Sentiment, Technology, and Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199999736.001.0001

Sperber, Dan, and Deirdre Wilson. 1995. Relevance: Communication and Cognition. 2nd ed. Oxford - Cambridge (MA): Blackwell.

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

Tian, Hailong, and Paul Chilton. 2014. "Issues in Discourse Approach to Social Transformations in China: A Synopsis". In Discourse, Politics and Media in Contemporary China, edited by Qing Cao, Hailong Tian, and Paul Chilton, 195-208. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.54.09tia

van Dijk, Teun A. 1998. Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Approach. London: Sage.

van Leeuwen, Theo. 2008. Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001