An Ideological/Cultural Analysis of Political Slogans in Communist China

By employing the frameworks of McGee's discussion on the relationship between ideology and ideographs, Wander's approach to the identification of fact and negation in cultural analysis, and by addressing Arendt's question on the process of indoctrination in totalitarian regimes, this study examines the use of political slogans in Communist China from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. It discusses rhetorical impacts of these political slogans on transforming Chinese ideology from Confucianism to Maoism, and to Deng Xiaoping's pragmatism. The analysis indicates that political slogans are coined to meet the changing need of social conditions as well as the need of authorities to establish control. Moreover, the pervasive use of these political slogans has altered the face of Chinese culture and affected the Chinese thought pattern. The rhetorical strategies and techniques employed by Communist China resemble closely those employed by other totalitarian regimes.