Study of the Self-constructed National Image in the Reports on the Belt and Road Initiative in China Daily

Abstract

Taking the news reports on the the Belt and Road Initiative from September 9, 2013 to December 31, 2020 in China Daily, the mainstream English media in China, as the research object, this study adopts the critical metaphor analysis method to make a quantitative and qualitative analysis of conceptual metaphors in the news reports on the the Belt and Road Initiative, and explore the self-constructed national image. The research finds that (1) there are 12 main types of conceptual metaphors in the news reports, including architectural metaphors, friendship metaphors, travel metaphors, traffic metaphors, plant metaphors, war metaphors, etc; (2) The 12 types of conceptual metaphors are unevenly distributed. Architectural metaphors are used most frequently (46.98%), followed by friendship metaphors (22.55%), travel metaphors (8.85%), and traffic metaphors (5.87%), which account for 84.25% of the total; (3) It has created a pragmatic, friendly, indomitable and courageous national image. This study has a certain reference for China's news media to shape the national image and spread the Chinese voice.