Strategies and Features of Lobbyists' Speeches in Shiji

This paper intends to explore the strategies and features of ancient lobbyists' persuasive speeches in Shiji. Ten biographies from this masterpiece were selected as data. The persuasive speeches in them were divided into two occasions, domestic and foreign, based on the nationalities of the superior. Analyses reveal that metaphor, analogy, exemplification and logical reasoning were dominant persuasive strategies when the subordinate was persuading a domestic superior. Such persuasion tended to be indirect and humble, concentrating mainly on expressing the persuader's own viewpoints. In contrast, directives and commissives came to accompany representatives when the subordinate persuaded a foreign superior. Persuasive speeches in such context were more structurally-complex and strategically-rich. Certain face-threatening acts would be employed in an ingenious manner to enhance the persuasive power of utterances as long as the context allowed. Therefore, persuasion in foreign context demonstrated a strong sense of imposition and was relatively straightforward.