Modern Social Science Research

This study employs tools such as the UAM Corpus Tool and AntConc to analyze the lexical choices, syntactic structures, and rhetorical features from the perspective of Appraisal Theory, of China Dailys reports on the Chinese space station from April 29, 2021, to April 30, 2024, aiming to examine how these reports construct a positive image of the Chinese space program through linguistic strategies. It is found that China Daily predominantly utilizes positive language from the judgment, affect, and appreciation systems. It skillfully uses tenses, voices, and sentence lengths, and rhetorical devices such as parallelism, analogy, and contrast. These strategies work together to create a vivid and multi-dimensional portrayal of the technological progress of the Chinese space station and its international cooperation achievements. Consequently, the reports in China Daily successfully construct images such as "the executor of meticulous planning" "the pioneer of unwavering innovation" "the supporter of international cooperation" and "the disseminator of scientific spirit". Furthermore, these positive images play significant roles in enhancing trust, dispelling doubts, boosting soft power, and promoting the spirit of science.

National image construction; Appraisal theory; Positive discourse analysis; China Daily; Chinese space station