The construction of cultural values and beliefs in Chinese language textbooks: A critical discourse analysis

Abstract

This article examines the discourses of cultural values and beliefs constructed in Chinese language textbooks currently used for primary school students nationwide in China. By applying story grammar analysis in the framework of critical discourse analysis, the article critically investigates how the discourses are constructed and what ideological forces are manifested in the textbooks. More specifically, it analyses how story grammar and textual devices are manipulated in the construction of selected versions of cultural values and beliefs for the child reader. Further, it explores how the discourses position the child reader to read through the ways that the discourses are constructed, and concludes that the discourses serve the interests of the government and its cultural elites, but not the interests of the child reader.