6 Conclusion...15

Bibliography16

 1 Introduction

Oratory is a science about oration, and a science studying the human oration phenomenon. Specifically speaking, this science recognizes and studies all speech phenomena of mankind, summarizes the practical experience, examines its constituents, explore its inherent laws, displays its acting characteristics, and reveal its operation techniques. Oration is the process or act of performing a presentation focused around an inpidual directly speaking to a live audience in a structured, deliberate manner in order to inform, influence, or entertain them. (Net.1) Oration as a main means of political ideological propaganda has been passed on and carried out by politicians of every era in history. In Chinese history, the ancient Chinese scholar Confucius toured different countries to “canvass”, and the ancient Greeks did "political debate", which was the original form of "oration" rising for political purpose. With development of the oratory through eras and dynasties, a political culture pattern came into being in China and the West where Chinese leaders use oration to unify the idea and minds of people and the western leaders use oration to compete in politics.

Lu Jinhua (2001:24) pointed out that Confucius's words with philosophy and universality reflected the Chinese nation’s traditional morals, and served the Chinese nation's rhetoric practice for over 2000 years, and that was a major contribution by Confucius to the Chinese vocabulary growth. Jiang Guobing (2010:90) illustrated that the ancient Greek orations and debates were based on public democracy, and influenced the political direction and democracy development of Ancient Greece. Difference between Chinese and American cultures viewed from their national leaders' inaugural orations was published by Luo Wenqing (1988:94). The inaugural orations by the national leaders are a type of political oration, reflecting the great ambition and strategy of a national leader. The inaugural orations can be regarded as the political guideline of the growth of a society, which inspire enthusiasm of the mass and meanwhile gain recognition and support from the mass. The article offers a comparative analysis of the inaugural orations by the Chinese chairman Xi Jingping and the American president Obama from three aspects, rhetoric technique, personal expression, oration style, and concluded that the national leaders' orations embody the difference in their national image and social status. The article concludes that the inaugural oration by a national leader as a form of language use can display the culture of a country and a great politician should be a great orator. That reflects the important influence of culture on oration style, and the importance of oration ability for a political leader.

At all times and in all over the world, political leaders use oration to demonstrate a stand, illuminate their point of view, and publicize their allegation with regard to domestic affairs and external relations, so as to display their grand aspiration and great talent and bold vision. The leader's oration also represents the policy platform of a nation about its social development to a extent and in a way can arouse the fervor of people and bring the recognition and support from the public for the leader. Therefore, oration as a sort of political implement, exerts influence on the political pattern of a state and a nation, whether it is adopted by the Chinese leaders for unifying the minds, or it is utilized by the Western leaders for political competition. As a result, both the 源Z自+吹冰/文%论,文]网[www.chuibin.com Chinese and Western leaders keep improving their oration ability and oration skills to seek their political goal and interests.

This thesis tends to take the perspective of oratory to explore the development of oration in China and the West, to discuss the adaptation of the rhetoric art in oration and the application of language art by the Chinese and Western politicians as well as to analyze the different oration styles of Chinese and Western leaders in their own cultural circumstances, thus exhibiting how the leaders in different cultures use oration to assist their political thoughts and express political feeling, and seek political goals.