The purpose of this research is to examine the cross
cultural similarities and differences between the American/Western
theory and customs of writing rhetoric and the Chinese rhetorical
theory and customs. The plan of the research will be to set forth
the principal concepts presented by various commentators, and then
to discuss the chief ways in which their points of view have the
effect of illuminating the nexus of culture, history, and diction
To make a meaningful examination of the similarities and
differences between Western and Chinese rhetorical styles, which
Matalene explains is known as "contrastive rhetoric" (789), it is
useful (for a Westerner, at any rate) to first determine the
general position from which the culture of Western rhetoric and
expression proceeds. This position appears to be twofold. In one
sense, the tradition of Western grammar and style is prescriptive.
That is, the language is governed by specific rules and conventions
that determine its correct expression or writing. In another sense,
Western expression, or more exactly its structure, is logical; that
is, one idea flows from or is built upon another. Lang asserts that
the prescriptive nature of writing in the Western culture is
analogous to the prescriptive quality of moral actions within the
culture (25), specifically noting that in Strunk and White's (The
Elements_of_Style(, a handbook for writers, "the clarity and
precision that best serve communication are not valued primarily as
the means to [conveying information]: rather, like any moral
qualities, the values of good writing are first good in themselves"
(27). In other words, irrespective of the cultural values that
decent writing may convey, a claim is made for the intrinsic value
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of clear expression. This, in turn, cannot fa...