The discourse employed in China to control the narrative on domestic and global issues has long attracted special attention. Confucian tradition placed fundamental importance on the “rectification of names.” Marxist ideology was obsessed with the language used in the “upbringing” of the masses to prevent what was disparaged as “false consciousness.” Mao Zedong carried the obsession much further in regulating language with the aim of “thought reform” until the people were left with little more than the “Little Red Book” to parrot as the only acceptable rhetoric. Specifying what approved speech is comes in the form of “tifa” or set expressions. Rejecting speech of a potentially disruptive nature comes through directives such as the “seven nos” in Chinese Communist Party Document No. 9, leaked during Xi Jinping’s first year as party secretary. As we consider various themes in international relations, the lens of the discourse chosen for expressing them deserves our attentive consideration. It is a major factor in shaping the national identity.

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