This paper examines the development of sales genres in mainland China
in the pre-reform period (1949-78) and the reform period (1978 to the
present). In the first period, sales qingshi (requests raised by subordi
nates), sales pifu (official replies), and sales tongzhi (circulars) were
used. In the second period, sales qingshi and pifu disappeared while
sales letters and sales invitations began to appear. In addition, sales
tongzhi have evolved in response to changes in the economic context.
All of these sales genres are related to the three larger genres in Chi
nese written discourse: xiaxing wen (the superior writing to the subordi
nate), shangxing wen (the subordinates writing to the superior) and
pingxing wen (equals writing to each other). In the history of Chinese
written discourse, these three genres reflect the social structure.
Changes in the social structure are the fundamental reason for changes
in specific sales genres.
Amin, S. (1974). Accumulation on world scale: A critique of the theory of under-development. Vol. 1. New York: Monthly Review Press.
2.
Aurner, R.R. (1958). Effective communication in business. 4th ed. Chicago: South Western.
3.
Bhatia, K.V. (1993). Analysing genre: Language use in professional settings. New York: Longman Group UK Limited.
4.
Campbell, C.P. (1996, March 26). Rhetorical ethos: A bridge between high-context and low-context cultures? Paper submitted to the International LAUD Symposium.
5.
Chen W. ( 1991). Shuxin daquan [A general introduction to letters]. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiaoyu Chubanshe.
6.
Crookes, G. (1986). Towards a validated analysis of scientific text structure. Applied Linguistics, 7, 57-70.
7.
dos Santos, M.B. (1996). The textual organisation of research papers abstracts in applied linguistics. Text, 16, 481-499.
8.
Douglas, H., & Hildebrandt, H. W. (Eds.). (1985). Studies in the history of business writing. Champaign, IL: Association for Business Communication.
9.
Duszak, A. (1994). Academic discourse and intellectual styles. Journal of Pragmatics, 21, 291-313.
10.
Freadman, A., & Macdonald, A. (1992). What is this thing called "genre"? Four essays in the semiotics of genre. Boombana, Mt. Nebo [Queensland, Australia]: Boombana Publications .
11.
Gu, M. (Ed.). (1995). Zhongguo xiandian yingyongwen quanshu [An introduction to modern practical writings of Chinese]. Changchun: Shidai Yishu Chubanshe.
12.
Huckin, T. (1997). Cultural aspect of genre knowledge. AILA ReviewApplied Linguistics Across Disciplines, 12, 68-78.
13.
Hymes, D. (1974). Foundations in sociolinguistics: An ethnographic approach. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
14.
Kan, S. D. (Ed.). (1990). Zhongguo shiyong wenti daoquan [Introduction to the Chinese yingyong wen] . Shanghai: Shanghai Wenhua Chubanshe .
15.
Kathpalia, S.S. (1992). A genre analysis of promotional texts. Ph.D. dissertation. Microfiche. National University of Singapore .
16.
Kirkpatrick, A. (1993). Information sequencing in Mandarin in modern Standard Chinese. Ph.D. Dissertation, Australian National University .
17.
Krone, J.K., Ling, C., & Hongmei, X. (1997). Approaches to managerial influence in the People's Republic of China. The Journal of Business Communication, 34, 289-315.
18.
Lesikar, R.V. (1976). Business communication: Theory and application . Home-wood, IL: Irwin.
19.
Li, J. (Ed.). (1983). Yingyong xiezuo [On the writing of practical documents]. Beijing : Zhongyiang Guangbo Dianshi Daxue.
20.
Li, S. (1993). Gongwen yu yingyong wen xiezhuo [The writing of official and practical documents]. Xiezuo (Composition) , 4, 32-33.
21.
Liang, Q., Huang, C., Chen, F., & Shu, Z. (Eds.). (1992) Gujin gongwen wenzhong huishi [An introduction to classical and modern official letters]. Chengdu: Sichuan Daxue Chubanshe.
22.
Locker, K.O. (1987). "As per your request": A history of business jargon. Journal of Business andTechnical Communication, 1, 27-43.
23.
Ma, S. (Ed.). (1984). Henyu yufa xiuci [The rhetoric of Chinese language]. Jinan: Shangdong Jiaoyu Chubanshe.
24.
Martin, J.R., & Rothery, J. (1986). What a functional approach to writing tasks can show teachers about "good writing." In B. Couture (Ed.). Functional approaches to writing: Research perspectives (pp. 248-274). Norwood, NJ: Ablex .
25.
McLaren, M., & Locker, K.O. (1995). Business and administrative communication. First Australasian EditionSydney: Irwin .
26.
Miller, C.R. (1984). Genre as social action. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70, 151-167.
27.
Skulstad, A.S. (1996). Rhetorical organisation of chairmen's statements . International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 6, 43-63.
28.
Song, Z. (Ed.). (1984). Xiandai hanyu xucixue [The rhetoric of modern Chinese]. Yanbian : Jilin Renmin Chubanshe.
29.
Saville-Troike, M. (1984). The ethnography of communication. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
30.
Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
31.
Taylor, G., & Chen, T. (1991). Linguistic, cultural, and subcultural issues in contrastive discourse analysis: Anglo-American and Chinese scientific texts . Applied Linguistics, 12, 319-336.
32.
Teh, G.S. (1986). An applied discourse analysis of sales promotion letters. M.A. thesis. Microfiche. National University of Singapore.
33.
Ulijn, J.M., & Li, X. (1995). Is interrupting impolite? Some temporal aspects of turn-taking in Chinese-Western and other intercultural business encounters . Text, 15, 589-627.
34.
Varner, I., & Beamer, L. (1995). Intercultural communication in the global workplace . Chicago: Irwin.
35.
Zhang, S. (Ed.). (1983). Wenzhangxue gailun [An general introduction to writing]. Jinan: Shangdong Jiaoyu Chubanshe.
36.
Zhuge, R., & Chen, X. (Eds.). (1994). Duewai maoyi wenshu xiezuo [Practical writings in foreign trade]. Beijing: Renmin Daoxue Chubanshe.
37.
Zhu, Y. ( 1996, January 8-10). An analysis of "tongzhi" or circular letters' genre in Chinese business communication. Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Language and Linguistics (pp. 1369-1398).
38.
Zhu, Y. ( 1997a). An analysis of structural moves in Chinese sales genres . Text, 17, 543-566.
39.
Zhu, Y. ( 1997b). Examining the native speakers' understanding of the communicative purposes of a written genre in modern standard Chinese. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 20, 133-149.
40.
Zhu, Y. ( 1998a). A study of genre in Chinese business communication: Sales genres used in mainland China. Ph.D. Dissertation. Australian National University, Canberra.
41.
Zhu, Y. ( 1998b). Using a combined approach to teach business Chinese . Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 45-60.
42.
Zhu, Y. ( 1999). Business communication in China. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
