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Illness Narrative Tactics and Eco-philosophy in Rick Bass’s Nature Stories
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2021
Pages:
18-23
Received:
29 March 2021
Accepted:
9 April 2021
Published:
23 April 2021
Abstract: Rick Bass’s nature stories are the stories of people adventuring in the wilderness. It is different from the traditional nature works mainly focusing on nature or animals to show the de-anthropocentric thoughts straightforward. In Bass’s nature works, ill people exist in most of his stories. The narrative tactics of ill people and their diseases play an important role in expressing Rick Bass’s ecological thoughts. In some stories, the description of ill people is long and complicated, but the narrative of animals is short; and in some other stories, the narrative of ill people is simple, but the narrative of animals is long and detailed. With such imbalanced narrative, Rick Bass shows the imbalanced situation between human beings and non-human beings in his stories to reflect and respond to the imbalanced situation between human beings and non-human beings in reality directly, and convey his ecological philosophy: On one side, in the short and simple narrative of ill people, he let readers understand the helpless situation of non-humans at the moment by empathy, which conveys his de-anthropocentric thoughts; and on the other hand, in the long and complicated description of ill people, he has revealed the therapy function of illness narrative, and the way to improve the relationship between human beings.
Abstract: Rick Bass’s nature stories are the stories of people adventuring in the wilderness. It is different from the traditional nature works mainly focusing on nature or animals to show the de-anthropocentric thoughts straightforward. In Bass’s nature works, ill people exist in most of his stories. The narrative tactics of ill people and their diseases pl...
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Designing the Kè Symbol from the Chinese Bagua Symbol: The Case of the Bamilekes of Western Cameroon
Djoukwo Tsanetse Majolie Carine,
Aihong Wang,
Elise Limunga Linda
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2021
Pages:
24-36
Received:
15 April 2021
Accepted:
5 May 2021
Published:
14 May 2021
Abstract: Among the Bamileke tribe in the West region of Cameroon, is a unique phenomenon known as Kè. That is a demonstration of spiritual, philosophical, religious, and magical concepts. A similar concept exists in China, expressed by the divinatory symbol of "Bagua," or "eight figures of divination." It is a basic philosophical idea from ancient China that was incorporated into "Taoism," "Yi Jing," "Feng Shui," martial arts, and navigation. The Chinese term denotes an octagonal diagram incorporating a "trigram" different from each side, representing the different aspects of the "Yin" and "Yang". Inspired by this concept of duality, we have set up a method of artistic creation allowing both juxtapose and merging the symbolic elements of the local Bamileke culture, especially those involved during Kè ceremonies. The method consists of associating the signs and symbols relating to the man and the woman concerning Yin and Yang and merging the local signs regarding trigrams. The goal is to translate the idea of complementarity that emerges from the Chinese symbol using the elements of the Bamileke crop. These multiple compositions lead to a series of figures that are similar to the Bagua symbol in their central parts. As for the four branches that contain mergers, they are inspired by the Bamileke divinatory symbol which is none other than a stylized Mygale spider. Because of their structures, these different proposals reflect the concept of Kè in the Bamileke and can validly represent it. It can therefore be appreciated on different objects and other supports put to contribution for the smooth running of the related festivities.
Abstract: Among the Bamileke tribe in the West region of Cameroon, is a unique phenomenon known as Kè. That is a demonstration of spiritual, philosophical, religious, and magical concepts. A similar concept exists in China, expressed by the divinatory symbol of "Bagua," or "eight figures of divination." It is a basic philosophical idea from ancient China tha...
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On the Discursive Construction of National Image from the Perspective of Appraisal Theory
Zhou Hai-ming,
Xu Qian,
Jiang Rong-chun,
Zhou Sen
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2021
Pages:
37-43
Received:
8 June 2021
Accepted:
21 June 2021
Published:
29 June 2021
Abstract: In the era of globalization, Sino-US relationship is currently the hottest topic, especially in the case of tensions in Sino-US trade relationship, and then the construction of national image of various countries becomes very important. Within the appraisal theory, this paper probes into the construction of national image from three perspectives, namely attitude, engagement and graduation. Through this study, the following findings have been highlighted. First, with reference to appraisal theory, the salient feature is that the text is emphatic. Emphatic words are widely used to enhance momentum of the expression and sharpen attitudes of the two anchors. Second, judgement is mainly used in the ATTITUDE system. Both sides prefer to construct the image of pursuing peaceful coexistence and wishing a better future for each other. Besides, they also incline to seek common ground while preserving difference. Third, heterogloss is the main application of the ENGAGEMENT system in the debate. The application of heterogloss can construct the national image of keeping objective and being fair by invoking a legal provision and using reference data. Fourth, emphatic words account for a high percentage in the debate according to the GRADUATION system. Both sides have a clear and sharp attitude to everything especially in face of the wrong perception of others. And they both construct the image of being gentle and modest, which shows the demeanor of a great country.
Abstract: In the era of globalization, Sino-US relationship is currently the hottest topic, especially in the case of tensions in Sino-US trade relationship, and then the construction of national image of various countries becomes very important. Within the appraisal theory, this paper probes into the construction of national image from three perspectives, n...
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