Hero is pharos that spangles the world. The hero worship is a reflection of common humanity, and is both universal and national. The heroes that different countries worship possess different qualities, which reflect the differences both in each nation’s identification of the hero and in their values. As the world’s first and second largest economies, the mutual cognition and identification between China and the United States not only benefit the improvement of bilateral relations, but also influence the dialogue of civilization and values between the East and the West. This paper starts with the study of Chinese heroes and aims to promote the exchange and integration of values between China and the United States.
This study takes the narrative rhetoric of American media’s reports on Chinese heroes as the research object, and analyzes the image, characteristics and evolution of Chinese heroes since the reform and opening up. The study combines critical discourse analysis, corpus, and content analysis to interpret American mainstream media’s reports on Chinese heroes in the past 42 years.
The study found that American media employed three rhetoric of “identification by sympathy”, “identification by antithesis” and “identification by inaccuracy” to narrate stories of Chinese heroes. The first is to shape national heroes, folk heroes, and charitable heroes through “identification by sympathy”, stimulating international community’s resonance with heroic virtues, which focuses on shaping the image of revolutionary leaders, medical personnel in disasters and rescues, and migrant workers. The second is to shape the rebellious heroes and activists through “identification by antithesis”, and to challenge and question Chinese system when constructing Chinese heroes, which includes the reports on figures such as activists, dissidents and environmental pioneers. And the third creates rhetorical illusions through “identification by inaccuracy”. In this way, the readers are affected unconsciously. When they identify with Chinese heroes, they also begin to resonate with narrative logic and values conveyed by American media. This category mainly focuses on the construction of scientists, business elites, and aerospace heroes who engender controversy between China and the United States.
From “identification by sympathy” to “identification by antithesis”, American media’s construction of Chinese heroes not only spread Chinese values through heroes’ image, but also publicize American values through narrative rhetoric. This research is an attempt to promote better mutual understanding and a dialogue of values between China and the United States.