Cover not available

Article published In: Journal of Asian Pacific Communication: Online-First Articles

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Interdiscursivity in Chinese discourse on plagiarism

ORCiD logo with link | University of Hong Kong
ORCiD logo with link | Lancaster University | University of London
Published online: 13 March 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.25047.li
Abstract
While much research has explored attitudes toward plagiarism, there has been limited focus on how different socio-cultural groups articulate their criticisms of plagiarism. This paper examines how Chinese secondary school students and editors of student magazines employ interdiscursive rhetorical strategies to critique plagiarism. The data comprises a rare public-facing corpus of published Chinese texts, including reports written by students who exposed plagiarism in compositions published in student magazines, and responses from magazine editors. The analysis centres on the use of figurative language — such as idioms, proverbs, and metaphors; and double-voicing — the use of another’s language to convey two meanings at once. These two key rhetorical strategies reveal socio-cultural attitudes toward plagiarism in the data. The strategies are examined for their cultural implications and contributions to broader societal attitudes toward plagiarism. The findings highlight the potential of interdiscursive analysis to inform academic integrity education and pedagogy globally.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Correspondence texts on plagiarism cases: A feature in Chinese publications
  • 3.Theoretical framework
    • 3.1Interdiscursivity and intertextuality: Conceptual distinctions and analytical focus
    • 3.2Interdiscursivity in educational contexts
    • 3.3Cultural contexts of interdiscursive practices
    • 3.4Yinyong: Cultural resonance and figurative rhetoric
    • 3.5Double-voicing as irony and alignment
    • 3.6Rhetorical force and moral positioning
    • 3.7Integrating discursive strategies with cultural conceptions of integrity
  • 4.Methods
  • 5.Findings
    • 5.1Figurative language
      • 5.1.1Figurative language in students’ disclosure reports
      • 5.1.2Figurative language in editors’ responses
      • 5.1.3Synthesis
    • 5.2Double-voicing
      • 5.2.1Double voicing in students’ disclosure reports
        • 5.2.1.1The voice of the teacher
        • 5.2.1.2The voice of the polite student
        • 5.2.1.3The voice of the flatterer
        • 5.2.1.4The voice of the storyteller
      • 5.2.2Double voicing in editors’ responses
        • 5.2.2.1The voice of the public critic
        • 5.2.2.2The voice of the storyteller
        • 5.2.2.3The voice of the classical scholar
        • 5.2.2.4The voice of the incentive announcer
      • 5.2.3Synthesis
  • 6.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (50)
References
Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics. (C. Emerson, Ed. & Trans.). (Original work published 1929 in Leningrad under the title Problems of Dostoevsky’s Creative Art). University of Minnesota Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barajas, E. D. (2010). The function of proverbs in discourse: The case of a Mexican transnational social network. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beach, R., & Anson, C. M. (1992). Stance and intertextuality in written discourse. Linguistics and Education, 41, 335–357. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beach, R., & Kalnin, J. (2005). Studying value stances in institutional settings. In R. Beach, J. Green, M. Kamil, & T. Shanahan (Eds.), Multidisciplinary perspectives on literacy research (2nd ed.) (pp. 209–241). Hampton Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bhatia, V. K. (2017). Critical genre analysis: Investigate interdiscursive performance in professional practice. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bloome, D., & Egan-Robertson, A. (1993). The social construction of intertextuality in classroom reading and writing lessons. Reading Research Quarterly, 28(4), 305–333. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chang, C.-M., Chen, Y.-L., Huang, Y., & Chou, C. (2015). Why do they become potential cyber-plagiarizers? Exploring the alternative thinking of copy-and-paste youth in Taiwan. Computers and Education, 871, 357–367. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chien, S.-C. (2017). Taiwanese college students’ perceptions of plagiarism: Cultural and educational considerations. Ethics & Behavior, 27(2), 118–139. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
China Daily. (2019a, February 15). Ministry of Education addresses Zhai plagiarism case. China Daily. Retrieved from [URL]
. (2019b, March 22). Finding the cure for plague of plagiarism. Retrieved from [URL]
. (2019c, April 4). Hunan University strips degree in plagiarism case. Retrieved from [URL]
. (2019d, February 11). Film academy probes PhD actor accused of academic plagiarism. Retrieved from [URL]
. (2020, January 20). Universities in the firing line. Retrieved from [URL]
Chu, S. K. W., Hu, X., & Ng, J. (2020). Exploring secondary school students’ self-perception and actual understanding of plagiarism. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 52(3), 806–817. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Crystal, D. (1998). Language play. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dant, D. R. (1986). Plagiarism in high school: A survey. The English Journal, 75(2), 81–84. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fairclough, N. (1992a). Discourse and social change. Polity Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1992b). Intertextuality in critical discourse analysis. Linguistics & Education, 41, 269–293. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1992c). Discourse and text: Linguistic and intertextual analysis within discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 3(2), 193–217 Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1995). Media discourse. E. Arnold.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2015). Language and power (3rd ed.). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Frisch, M. (1990). A shared authority: Essays on the craft and meaning of oral and public history. SUNY Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gallelli, B. (2018). Doing things with metaphors in contemporary China: Analysing the use of creative metaphors in the discourse on the Chinese Dream. Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale, 54(Supplemento), 595–617. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hyland, K. (2004). Genre and second language writing. The University of Michigan Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kam, C. C. S., Hue, M. T., & Cheung, H. Y. (2018). Plagiarism of Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong. Ethics & Behavior, 28(4), 316–335. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kamberelis, G. (2001). Producing of heteroglossic classroom (micro)cultures through hybrid discourse practice. Linguistics and Education, 12(1), 85–125. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kamberelis, G., & Scott, K. D. (1992). Other people’s voices: The coarticulation of texts and subjectivities. Linguistics and Education, 4(3), 359–403. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
King, K., & ChatGPT. (2023). The impact of ChatGPT on higher education. Frontiers in Education, 81, 1206936. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kumar, A. P. V. (2015). Translation as ‘reported’ verbalization: An extension of the theoretical postulates of ‘the Bakhtin Circle’. International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, 3(1), 16–23. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Y. (2025). Perspectives on plagiarism in China: History, genres, and education. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Y., Chen, Q., Ge, M., & Wang, S. (2022). “The stone from another mountain can help to polish jade”: Imitation as a Chinese-L1 composition pedagogy. L1-Educational Studies in Language & Literature, 22(1), 3–29. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Y., & Flowerdew, J. (2023). Chinese attitudes to plagiarism: A genre analysis of editorial statements on plagiarism cases (1950s-1960s). Ethics & Behavior, 33(7), 579–596. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liddicoat, A. J., Scrimgeour, A., & Chen, T. (2008). Intertextuality in Chinese high school students’ essay writing. Language and Education, 22(6), 380–392. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lund, J. R. (2004). Plagiarism: A cultural perspective. Journal of Religious & Theological Information, 6(3–4), 93–101. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Matalene, C. (1985). Contrastive rhetoric: An American writing teacher in China. College English, 471, 789–808. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Miller, S., & McDonald, K. (2021). Critical literacy and education: Theories and practices for transforming teaching and learning. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mitchell, S. (2007). Penguins and plagiarism: Stemming the tide of plagiarism in elementary school. Library Media Connection, 25(7), 47–47. [URL]
Pecorari, D., & Shaw, P. (Eds.). (2018). Student plagiarism in higher education: Reflections on teaching practice (1st ed.). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Polio, C., & Shi, L. (2012). Perceptions and beliefs about textual appropriation and source use in second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(2), 95–101. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pudasaini, S., Miralles-Pechuán, L., Lillis, D., & Llorens Salvador, M. (2024). Survey on AI-generated plagiarism detection: The impact of large language models on academic integrity. Journal of Academic Ethics. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Roberts, T. S. (Ed.) (2008). Student plagiarism in an online world: Problems and solutions. Information Science Reference. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shi, L. (2004). Textual borrowing in second-language writing. Written Communication, 21(2), 171–200. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Singer, N. (2023, August 24). Despite cheating fears, schools repeal ChatGPT bans. The New York Times. Retrieved from [URL]
Sowden, C. (2005). Plagiarism and the culture of multilingual students in higher education abroad. ELT Journal, 59(3), 226–233. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tardy, C. (2021). The potential power of play in second language academic writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 100833. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Todd, K. K. (2022). Martha C. Nussbaum: Educational justice and critical thinking. In B. A. Geier (Ed.), The Palgrave handbook of educational thinkers (pp. 1–16). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wood, A. T. (2023). Confucianism and social structure. In J. Oldstone-Moore (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Confucianism (pp. 382–394). Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue