Rhetoric of the Chinese
Cultural Revolution
The Impact on Chinese Thought, Culture,
and Communication
Xing Lu
Now known to the Chinese as the “ten years of chaos,” the Chinese Cultural Revolution
(1966–1976) brought death to thousands of Chinese and persecution to millions.
Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution identifies the rhetorical features and
explores the persuasive effects of political language and symbolic practices during the
period. Xing Lu examines how leaders of the Communist Party constructed and enacted
a rhetoric in political contexts to legitimize power and violence and to dehumanize a
group of people identified as class enemies.
Lu provides close readings of the movement’s primary texts—political slogans, official propaganda, wall posters, and the lyrics of mass songs and model operas. She also
scrutinizes such ritualistic practices as the loyalty dance, denunciation rallies, political
study sessions, and criticism and self-criticism meetings. Lu enriches her rhetorical
analyses of these texts with her own story and that of her family, as well as with interviews conducted in China and the United States with persons who experienced the
Cultural Revolution during their teenage years.
Through rhetorical analyses Lu addresses the questions of why such a cultural holocaust happened in China, how speech became so cultic and politicized, and how the
rhetoric of fanaticism induced terror and mass hysteria. In the name of defending Mao’s
revolutionary cause, the Cultural Revolution polarized Chinese thought through its
deployment of moralistic terms, filled human relationships with hatred and mistrust, and
replaced rich artistic expression with formulaic political jargon and tedious ideological
clichés. To illustrate the severity of the revolution’s aftereffects, Lu examines public discourse in contemporary China and compares the rhetoric of the Cultural Revolution with
that of Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany.
Studies in Rhetoric/Communication • Thomas W. Benson, series editor
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XING LU is a professor in the Department of
Communications at DePaul University. The
recipient of the National Communication
Association’s James A. Winans–Herbert A.
Wichelns Award for Rhetoric in Ancient
China, Fifth to T h i rd Century B. C . E .: A
Comparison with Classical Greek Rhetoric
(University of South Carolina Press, 1998),
Lu received her undergraduate degree in
China, her M.A. in Australia, and her Ph.D.
from the University of Oregon. She lives
with her husband and daughter in Wilmette,
Illinois.
RHETORIC OF THE CHINESE
CULTURAL REVOLUTION
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