Chinese Rhetoric and Writing

An Introduction for Language Teachers

Andy Kirkpatrick, Zhichang Xu

• Publisher: Parlor Press, LLC
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781602353008
• eBook ISBN: 9781602353022
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: English Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Andy Kirkpatrick and and Zhichang Xu offer a response to the argument that Chinese students' academic writing in English is influenced by "culturally nuanced rhetorical baggage that is uniquely Chinese and hard to eradicate." Noting that this argument draws from "an essentially monolingual and Anglo-centric view of writing," they point out that the rapid growth in the use of English worldwide calls for "a radical reassessment of what English is in today's world." The result is a book that provides teachers of writing, and in particular those involved in the teaching of English academic writing to Chinese students, an introduction to key stages in the development of Chinese rhetoric, a wide-ranging field with a history of several thousand years. Understanding this important rhetorical tradition provides a strong foundation for assessing and responding to the writing of this growing group of students.

Table of contents

• Front cover
• Series page
• Title page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Rhetoric in Ancient China
• 2 The Literary Background And Rhetorical Styles
• 3 The Rules of Writing in Medieval China and Europe
• 4 The Ba Gu Wen（八股文）
• 5 Shuyuan and Chinese Writing Training and Practice
• 6 Principles of Sequencing and Rhetorical Organisation: Words, Sentences and Complex Clauses
• 7 Principles of Sequencing and Rhetorical Organisation: Discourse and Text
• 8 The End of Empire and External Influences
• 9 Party Politics, the Cultural Revolution and Charter 08
• 10 A Review of Contemporary Chinese University Writing (Course) Books
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Works Cited
• Back cover