Research on the content of communication based on chinese stories told by international students in China

Telling Chinese stories well is an important proposition for foreign communication in the new era, which is related to the construction of China's national image and international discourse system. As important storytellers of Chinese stories, international students in China can effectively carry out cross-cultural communication from the perspective of others and shape China's national image in the international community. Telling Chinese stories well is an art of choosing Chinese facts, and it is necessary to base ourselves on facts, reflect values, and achieve the upgrade from "speaking with facts" to "telling Chinese stories well". The Chinese story is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the materials that can be told are rich and diverse and all-encompassing. To meet the common interests of international audiences, it is necessary to choose content with story value, including five characteristics: novelty, importance, proximity, representativeness, and interactivity. At the same time, we must also pay attention to the cross-cultural communication value of stories to achieve better communication effects. In the process of international students coming to China to tell Chinese stories, educators in China should actively play a leading role and take multiple measures to help students in China tell Chinese stories well, realize the international expression of Chinese stories, build a good national image, and show the world a true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China.

[Keywords] national image; cross-cultural communication; international students in China; Chinese stories; communication content

In the context of globalization, "telling the Chinese story well" is not only a new task for cultural dissemination, but also a new challenge to shape the country's image and enhance the country's cultural soft power. In August 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideological Work, pointing out that it is necessary to promote international communication capacity building, tell Chinese stories well, spread Chinese voices, show the world a true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China, and improve the soft power of national culture and the influence of Chinese culture. In the era of social media, telling Chinese stories well, disseminating Chinese voices, and building a good national image are important propositions for cross-cultural communication.

As a cross-cultural communicator, the other is an essential element for the subject to construct self-meaning, and the Chinese stories told by the other are easier to understand and accept. International students who come to China have great advantages in the process of cultural dissemination of Chinese stories. How to help international students dig up meaningful Chinese stories and how to guide international students to become excellent storytellers of good stories are important topics for educators in China.

Flowchart of telling Chinese stories

First, telling the Chinese story well is an art of choosing Chinese facts

Telling Chinese stories is a process of cross-cultural dissemination, which should truly, objectively and comprehensively display the political, economic, cultural and social features of today's China, and show the long history of the ancient country and the splendid modern civilization.

(1) The content is true and the facts are respected

Today's international public opinion pattern is strong in the west and weak in the west, and several major mainstream media in the West have almost influenced the direction of public opinion in the world, and the construction of China's good national image is facing great challenges. In the digital era, with the continuous innovation of technology, the main body of mass communication has long changed, and the era of national media has arrived. To build a rich, diverse and three-dimensional image of China, it is necessary to respect the reality of China's development, and telling the Chinese story truthfully is the primary condition for telling the Chinese story well.

First, the origin of the Chinese story is the fact, without which there can be no communication. Only true stories can persuade people and move people from the bottom of their hearts. Deviating from the facts, or even fabricating the facts, is divorced from the most basic requirements of storytelling, can not become the material for a good story, and can not let the international students as the dissemination of content.

Second, the main body of communication and the diversification of communication channels have expanded, and the authenticity requirements for the content of communication have become more stringent. The storytellers of China's story are no longer just professional media departments, not limited to "opinion leaders" in mass communication, but really fall on everyone. Traditional mass communication is the process of large-scale media organizations delivering large-scale information to a wide range of audiences, and now, every international student in China can pick up a microphone to tell a story, and every story they tell has the opportunity to be seen and heard by everyone. Therefore, only the authentic communication content can stand the test and be accepted by more people.

Third, only real content can obtain real feedback, which is conducive to further improving the construction of the national image. After the audience receives the information, it will be back-propagated, that is, the feedback that is disseminated. Chinese stories are told to foreigners, and if they are blindly beautified and covered up, they will not achieve the real communication effect, let alone let us get real feedback information.

(2) Based on facts, reflect value

International students tell Chinese stories, telling Chinese facts, Chinese emotions, and Chinese truths, based on objective facts, but also integrating the subjective value orientation of international students. Storytelling is different from news reporting, not only to convey information, but also to convey excellent values. Studying abroad life is rich and colorful, social events are complex, in the huge information to identify, select, examine, transmit, is an art worth exploring, telling the Chinese story is an art of choosing Chinese facts.

(III) From "Speaking with Facts" to "Telling the Chinese Story Well"

Speaking with facts is the basis of storytelling. The discourse system of telling Chinese stories well is deeply rooted in the communication experience of speaking with facts, and is a new requirement for cross-cultural communication in the new era and new context.

China's study and life experience has deepened the cognition and understanding of China for international students in China, and the Chinese stories in their mouths are more objective and true, coupled with natural local communication media resources and diversified discourse fields, their communication content is more authentic and appealing to the audience. Cultivating international students to come to China to tell Chinese stories well, breaking prejudices through the dissemination of others, and shaping a comprehensive and true national image are important contents of the education work of studying in China. Educators studying in China should do a good job of guiding and checking the work, so that international students in China can have good stories to tell, are willing to tell stories, and tell stories well, so that students studying in China can become excellent storytellers of China's good stories and active promoters of China's good image.

Second, the selection criteria for Chinese stories

(1) What is the Chinese story

The Chinese story is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and all the social practices that occur in China are the basic materials that constitute the Chinese story. Telling the Story of China is to show the true, three-dimensional and comprehensive face of China, to interpret China's road and Chinese principles, and to enhance the international discourse power and let the international community and the general public hear China's voice. To tell the story of China well, we can start from three dimensions: first, tell the story of the CPC's governance of the country, second, tell the story of the struggle of the Chinese people to realize their dreams, and third, tell the story of China's peaceful development and win-win cooperation. For international students in China, telling Chinese stories well should be based on the truth of the content of the communication, convey the correct values, and truly achieve "Chinese discourse and international expression" in a way that can be understood and accepted. International students coming to China should pay attention to the following points to tell the story of China:

First, the Chinese story runs through ancient and modern times, encompassing both ancient civilizations and modern developments. China's long history and civilization are well-known all over the world, not only creating a broad and profound Chinese culture, but also making indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization. The Chinese story of ancient civilization is well known to the world, but the modern development is poorly understood. Many foreigners' impression of Chinese stories is still stuck in the bicycle-ridden 1980s and 1990s, and even in the more distant costume TV series, they simply cannot imagine the rapid development of China's social and economic conditions today, not to mention the Chinese-style high-speed railway, scan code payment, shared bicycles, online shopping and other content that they have not personally experienced. International students in China have experienced modern life in China, truly experienced the convenience and efficiency of social life, and their stories can enable foreigners to understand the colorful contemporary Chinese life.

Second, the Chinese story is all-encompassing, with both great achievements and trivial life. Unlike large media organizations specializing in China, international students may not be able to broadcast China's big events and big news every day, but they can share china's life from their own perspective. These small fragments of life form a complete picture of China, echoing China's world-renowned achievements and shaping a complete national image.

Third, China's story has been twisted and turned, not only to talk about the rapid progress, but also to face the shortcomings in development. Any communication behavior has a motive of persuasion, and the communication intention and motivation of the communicator are inversely proportional to the effect of communication. Therefore, when students come to China to tell Chinese stories, they should not only blindly praise, but all of them are good. Only by standing in an objective and neutral point of view, daring to speak, and speaking well can we convince more audiences, let them fully understand China, and best gain the recognition of the audience. No development has been smooth sailing, the tortuous road has shown the chinese nation's indomitable and unremitting spirit of struggle, we draw strength from failures and deficiencies, such a Chinese story can touch people's hearts even more.

Fourth, the Chinese story is very moving, not only to tell the facts, but also to explain the emotions, but also to understand the truth. In May 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed at the 30th collective study on strengthening the mainland's international communication capacity building at the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee that holding high the banner of a community with a shared future for mankind, relying on the vivid practice of mainland development, based on more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, comprehensively expounded the mainland's concept of development, civilization, security, human rights, ecology, international order and global governance. At the same time, we must be good at using various vivid and touching examples to show that China's development itself is the greatest contribution to the world and has contributed wisdom to solving human problems. When students come to China to tell Chinese stories, they must use vivid and touching stories to create a credible, lovely, and respectable image of China.

(2) Story value

The audience of Chinese stories is wide, and to meet the common interests of the public in the international community, it is necessary to choose content with story value. The value of the story is the characteristics contained in the event itself that arouse the common interest of the public in the international community. Here these characteristics are summarized into five aspects, this article combined with the Ministry of Education's Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, the Ministry of Education Study Abroad Service Center sponsored by the "I meet with China's beauty" to China international students essay contest activities in the past five years to talk about these characteristics in detail.

1. Novelty. Stories from the past are nothing new to audiences, and stories that are new and unknown to the audience often arouse their curiosity. The current hot spots and topics of global concern are what the audience wants to see, and the storytellers of the story should seize the opportunity, grasp the rhythm, pay attention to the strategy, and deliver the story that can attract them to the audience.

At the beginning of the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Western media used various "conspiracy theories" to smear China's image, and China's positive, positive and efficient anti-epidemic work was not really reported by the international media. In this context, the Chinese story of international students in China is particularly precious. In 2020, Nusrat Qudrat (Chinese name: Yang Kang) from Afghanistan mentioned his anti-epidemic story in Wuhan in his article "My Heroic Dream":

It is gratifying that with the joint efforts of all people, Wuhan has once again ushered in a warm spring. Our efforts have not been in vain, there is not a single case of infection among international students in the whole school, and everyone is healthy and happy to see the bright lights on the Yellow Crane Tower again. And the moment I took off my protective clothing and took off my goggles, I felt the strength that courage and responsibility gave me.

The heroic medical workers who are fighting in the frontline have built a healthy defense line with their own bodies; the brave and fearless heroes of Wuhan have let themselves be "trapped" in this heroic city; the heroic Chinese government and people have reached out to the world while fighting the epidemic, and my motherland has also received a large number of medical supplies from China...

After this time, I also understood what I should bring back to my home country when I graduate next year. In addition to the valuable knowledge and wealth I have gained in China, I also want to bring back China's great love and selflessness, the breadth and grandeur of Chinese culture, and the bravery and responsibility of China's heroic people.

Combined with current events, he wrote down his real life experience, expressed the correct leadership of the Chinese government and the indomitable fighting spirit of the Chinese people, and showed the world the real anti-epidemic situation of China.

2. Importance. The more important the event, the higher its own value, and the more attention it will receive, especially the content that is closely integrated with the audience's own interests, which will naturally attract people's attention.

For example, Jang Jin Song (Chinese name: Jang Chun-sung) from North Korea, in his article "My Beautiful Encounter with China", talked about the great power of the Chinese Communist Party under the epidemic prevention and control, and expressed his feelings for the centennial party and the rule of China to the audience:

In the face of the sudden epidemic, the Communist Party of China and the people have worked together to achieve great victories in this thrilling war without smoke of gunfire. During the epidemic, I have been paying attention to the relevant news, witnessing this touching people's defense war, hearing the success of the scientific research position, and getting to know the ordinary heroes emerging from all walks of life. In those stories that are either inspiring or moving, I have experienced the great power of the Chinese people to unite as one and unite as one. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and I believe that China, which has such a great party and the people, will certainly inherit the "Chinese spirit" from generation to generation.

David Janna David (Chinese name: David Hainer) from Colombia mentioned in the article "I want to see what China looks like - insight into China's "Global Competence Social Practice", mentioned that he studied the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, participated in the symposium to study the "Belt and Road" initiative, understood the "core values of socialism", and went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall to see the exhibition photos of Wenchuan earthquake relief, he said:

Thanks to the country of China, thanks to the city of Beijing, which is so open and inclusive, it gives our international students the opportunity to learn, to experience, to become part of China's progress and development, and to participate in the important period of China's social development and change.

These important meetings, important ideas, and important events come out of the mouths of Chinese students studying abroad, which are more realistic and convincing than the external propaganda of some media.

3. Proximity. Physical distance and spatial barriers have brought certain obstacles to the spread of Chinese stories. In the process of cross-cultural communication, people with different cultural backgrounds are most likely to have the misunderstanding that the other culture is no different from their own culture, and once the difference between the other party's culture is found, it will often lead to confusion and disappointment, resulting in the failure of cross-cultural communication. Using stories that are close to each other can make them psychologically receptive to the audience. Some things, even if they happen thousands of miles away, can be quickly recognized, understood, and aroused empathy. Russia's Karpushina Tatiana (Chinese name: Tania) wrote in the article "Art Without Borders, Art Barrier-free : A Letter to Li Yugang":

I felt the charm of your songs, I translated them, tried my best to match their original meaning, selected the most suitable Russian words, and retained the poetic mood of your lyrics until they were translated into a complete work. After the translation, I put it on the Russian network and spread your art in Russia. Your work struck the hearts and minds of Russians and received a warm response from them. Have you ever heard of the Russian poet Yesenin? In Russia he was a very famous poet who, like Pushkin, gained the love of the people. Your songs "Hometown" and "Princess Ridge" are particularly similar to his compositions. You are more gracious to Russians than you think.

Tania introduced her artistic experience when she was studying in China, shared the story of her going to see Li Yugang's concert, starting from two artists with similarities, bringing foreign audiences closer together and allowing Russians listening to the story to be more emotionally close to this small story about art.

4. Representativeness. To tell the Chinese story well, we must take the initiative to speak out and enhance our international discourse power. There are many Chinese elements, and communicators set up topics independently, select representative elements and representative stories to spread, which can deepen the audience's impression of the communication content and make it easier to form a positive Chinese story discourse system.

Muhsin Billah Bin Khashru (Chinese name: Mu Sen) of Bangladesh mentioned China in the article "Seven Years of Admiration", saying that it is a big country where ancient civilizations and modern civilizations collide and have unlimited charm. He depicted the quiet and good scene of the ancient city, the enthusiastic modern life, the dignified and elegant national temperament, and the avant-garde and fashionable information development:

The high-speed railway with a speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour is driving the country forward at a high speed, the sharing economy mode is a new exploration made by the country in terms of low-consumption green development, and e-commerce is changing the way of life of all people, and even changing the structure of economic development.

Hong Giung of South Korea (Chinese name: Hong Qixiong) summed up the new understanding of China with four sentences: "The people take food as the sky", "reading thousands of books, traveling thousands of miles", "friends from afar, happy", "seeking common ground while reserving differences, inclusiveness":

Now China's rapid development speed, is no longer the China you know, in many ways we need to learn from China, I really hope that you will have the opportunity to travel to China in the future, will definitely surprise you.

In the many stories of international students, some microcosm of the social development of China today is mentioned, and these very typical elements not only embellish the life of studying abroad, but also become the representative of the content of communication.

5. Interactivity. A good Chinese story should mobilize the common interest of both sides, convey value through interesting and meaningful content, cause both sides to think, and achieve good interaction effects, so as to receive feedback on the communication effect. Effective communication is more than once, and a good communication interaction process should be multiple, reciprocating, and constantly moving forward. International students come to China to tell stories, foreign audiences listen to stories, this is an interactive process of information sharing, only a fairly high-quality story, in order to achieve a satisfactory communication effect.

Norin Haneef (Chinese name: Sherry) from Pakistan recounted his "first time" in China in his article "A Letter to China":

The first time you take a fast train, the first time you ride a shared bicycle on the street, the first time you climb a scenic mountain, the first time you run indulgently on the beach, the first time you stand on the stage and speak loudly, the first time you fall in love... Every time I buy something, if the salesman is not willing to reduce the price, I will say with a little sad expression, "I am Pakistani", your "Pakistani railway", and then he will give me the real price. Every time I take the subway, I will hear the kind reminder of Wuhan Line 2. When I buy something, I always unconsciously want to ask the boss, do you have Alipay? When I visit the scenic spots here, I can't help but introduce your great rivers and mountains to my friends around me...

These vivid and interesting plots will unconsciously let the audience brain make up interesting pictures and produce the feeling of being on the scene. I believe that when Xie Li tells these stories to her compatriots, they will also be tempted to imagine the scene of their own life in China, and they will also express their own views and communicate interesting interactions between the two sides.

Chinese stories not only contain these qualities, but also add more valuable content with the progress of the times. As educators in China and also the gatekeepers of disseminating content, we must be good at searching, sorting out and recommending valuable stories, guide international students to tell stories in their own way, and build the image of the mainland from the perspective of others.

(3) Cross-cultural communication values

International students in China should tell Chinese stories well, in addition to the value of the story itself, they should also pay attention to the cross-cultural communication value of the story. First of all, the intrinsic value of Chinese stories should be consistent with the concept of Chinese cultural diplomacy and the direction of audience cognition. Stories with intrinsic consistency are easily accepted in the process of dissemination and are less likely to cause cultural conflicts. In the process of telling Chinese stories, it is necessary to meet the audience's language, interests, cognition, habits, etc., but at the same time, it is necessary to maintain their own values and characteristics. Second, tell stories of different forms and different contents for audiences with different characteristics and different regions. Listeners come from different countries and tell stories in a targeted manner, which can maximize the directed communication. Targeted selection of story content can avoid cultural conflicts to a certain extent. Third, international students should tell Chinese stories concisely, typically, and powerfully, in a more understandable way and language. Typical examples can make a strong point in one to ten. Finally, the timing and occasion for international students to tell stories is also important. Choosing a timely opportunity to tell a story can effectively reduce the "propaganda color" and "persuasion intention" of the story, not only so that they can hear and understand, but also let them listen to some thoughts and listen to gains.

In fact, to tell Chinese stories well, in addition to the most basic value of the story itself and the cross-cultural communication value in the process of storytelling, it should also include the aesthetic value of the narrative rhetoric of the story, the knowledge value of the cultural origin, etc., and the synthesis of these components constitutes a good story that moves people.

3. International expression of the Chinese story

The process of telling Chinese stories can be represented by such a flowchart (see left figure). Educators studying in China should enrich the source of Chinese stories as much as possible, so that international students have stories to choose from and stories to tell. To tell Chinese stories well to the outside world, we need to play a good role as "gatekeepers", attach importance to the setting of topics, and actively build communication content with story value and cross-cultural communication value. We must be good at discovering excellent "speakers", who may be the best in the group of international students, may have profound cultural heritage and smooth language expression ability, may be close to China ideologically, embrace China in feelings, and may provide convenient conditions for dissemination from multiple channels and technical perspectives. In the process of storytelling, efforts should be made to help international students build a platform for speaking out. Young international students express themselves in their favorite ways and styles, and telling stories is a three-dimensional, diverse and rich modern communication behavior, which has a fairly good communication effect and influence. For different audiences, it is necessary to understand and contact in a targeted manner, one is to facilitate the dissemination of the story, and the other is to facilitate the collection of feedback. Storytelling is not a one-time communication ends, we need to get feedback from the story audience and communication effect, to investigate the real communication situation, constantly improve their work, better use the value of the story, present a better storytelling process, and achieve a better cross-cultural communication effect.

The good telling of Chinese stories by international students in China is not only their own cultural dissemination behavior, but also an important practice of The Chinese discourse system in the international community. It is a comprehensive and comprehensive test of the quality of chinese story dissemination for studying in China, and is the focus and orientation of the education work in China. We should play an active leading role, take multiple ways at the same time, help students studying in China to tell Chinese stories well, become the narrators of "Chinese stories and international expressions" and the builders of excellent Chinese national image, show the world a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China, and contribute to promoting exchanges and communication between China and the world. (The author Yin Siqin is an international Chinese teacher at the School of International Education of China University of Geosciences [Wuhan]; Xu Feng is the vice dean of the School of International Education of China University of Geosciences [Wuhan])

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Source: Shenzhou Scholar, No. 4, 2022

Author: Yin Siqin Xu Feng