Many varying factors contribute to the dynamics of Chinese communication, which both resembles and differs from its Western counterparts. In this provocative new collection of essays, an international group of scholars challenges the conventional notion of Chinese culture as static, recognizing the causes of cultural change and strategies of resistance. Examining communication contexts in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Chinese Communication Studies: Context and Comparisons considers the relationship between culture and communication in Chinese political, gender, family, and media contexts, providing the reader with insight both into how enduring Chinese cultural values are, and how they are being appropriated to meet political and economic goals.

Moreover, comparisons and distinctions are made between Chinese and Western communication concepts and practices on the issues of human rights, world opinions, pedagogical approaches, and instruction of rhetoric. In a work sure to be of value to many disciplines, the authors trace the historical development of ideas and value systems of both cultures, rendering an understanding of similarities and differences in both communication and cultural mindsets.

XING LU is Associate Professor in the Department of Communications at DePaul University. The author of Rhetoric in Ancient China: Fifth to Third Century B.C.E.: A Comparison with Classical Greek Rhetoric, Lu has also published many journal articles and book chapters on the subjects of Chinese rhetoric and Chinese communication studies.

WENSHAN JIA is Assistant Professor of Communication in the Department of Communication and Media at the State University of New York, New Paltz. A scholar of intercultural communication theory, he is the author of The Remaking of Chinese Character and Identity in the 21st Century: The Chinese Face Practices (Ablex, 2001).

D. RAY HEISEY is Professor and Director Emeritus at the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University. The author of many journal articles and book chapters, he is also the editor of Chinese Perspectives in Rhetoric and Communication (Ablex, 2000).