Confucianism in Journey to the West
University:University of Leiden14 June 2012
Department:Language and Culture of China
Course: Visual Political Communication (BA3)
Semester:Summer Semester 2011/2012
Lecturer: Florian Schneider
Journey to the West
A Textual Visual Discourse Analysis
Name: Stefan Ruijsch (Student No. 0620203)
Major: Chinese Studies, BA 3
E mail:
[email protected]
Phone: 06 48369645
Address: Vrijheidslaan 256, 2321 DP LeidenWord Count: 9,387
Table of Contents
page
1. Introduction..........................................................1
2. Theory..................................................................4 2.1. Discourse theory A Short
Explanation...............4 2.2. Confucianism................................................6 2.2.1. The Principles of
Confucianism...............6 2.2.2. The Confucian ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Ever since, I wondered whether this impression was correct. The goal of this thesis is to satisfy
this curiosity and to determine, through textual and visual analyses, if the 1986 television series
also carries a Confucian message, or whether it was solely produced for entertainment purposes.
This leads to the following research question:
How does the 1986 television series Journey to the West convey the novel s original Confucian
message, and what does this suggest for its production purposes?
I argue that authors and producers often attempt to impose their own set of cultural and political
ideologies on its audience through a certain depiction of right and wrong. In this manner, works of
fiction might influence, perhaps even alter, the ideologies of the audience.[3] Accordingly,
analyzing the depiction of ideologies in media content can serve as a basis for further research on if
and how producers intend to influence their audience.
This particular case of Confucianism in the 1986 Journey to the West television series is especially
interesting, due to China s socio political setting of that time. The influence of the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) on media content[4] combined with its usage of Confucianism to secure
its own right to rule[5] make the Journey to the West television series the perfect medium to
promote Confucianism to the masses. The enormous popularity of Journey to the West