An analysis of cultural dissemination and national image construction in Chinese influencer Li Ziqi’s vlogs and its impact on international viewer perceptions on YouTube  

作　　者：Thomas William Whyke Zhen Troy Chen Joaquin Lopez‑Mugica 

机构地区：[1]University of Nottingham Ningbo China,Ningbo,Zhejiang,China [2]London College of Communication,University of the Arts London,Elephant and Castle,London SE16SB,UK [3]University of Wenzhou-Kean,Wenzhou,China

出　　处：《The Journal of Chinese Sociology》2022年第1期295-313,共19页中国社会学杂志（英文）

基　　金：the Ningbo Social Science Research Base on Internationalizing Ningbo’s Screen Industries(宁波市影视文创产业国际化发展基地)[JD5-PY19];Ningbo Science and Technology Bureau as part of the match-funding scheme for the AHRC Centre for Digital Copyright and IP Research in China[JD5-PY17];Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies(IAPS),University of Nottingham Ningbo China on The Changing Landscape of Public Diplomacy:The Case of China.

摘　　要：International social exchanges have always been important to China’s cultural soft power and image construction overseas.This study focuses on an internationally renowned mega influencer Li Ziqi and her vlogs on YouTube.These orchestrated vlogs tell stories of rural Chinese life and construct a desirable traditional Chinese rural culture for netizens at home and abroad.Informed by framing and cultivation theory,this study examines how user-generated content on national images can affect social media users’perceptions of reality.Content analysis is used to analyze the visual portrayals of Chinese rural culture,including its customs and values,aesthetics,and cultural and scenic places in Li’s vlogs.Discourse analysis is further used to examine user comments and demonstrate her vlog content’s impact on user perceptions of Chinese rural culture.This study sheds light on how a complex and hybrid national image with‘Chineseness,’and a personal image with self-Orientalized and performed‘soft but independent’Chinese rural female image,is constructed by a social media influencer Li Ziqi with affective associations.At a conceptual and practical level,the findings of this study contribute to the ongoing scholarly discussions on how China engages with the globalized world through cultural diplomacy from the bottom-up,while existing research primarily takes a top-down approach.

关 键 词：Li Ziqi Influencer Self-orientalism Cultural dissemination National image construction Cultural diplomacy Cultural soft power 

分 类 号：G206[文化科学—传播学]