A critical-discourse analysis of the mottos of public universities in China

A critical-discourse analysis of the mottos of public universities in China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A critical-discourse analysis of the mottos of public universities in China Jingjing Li, Hang Gao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8638016/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract University mottos, as culturally situated linguistic symbols, are extremely concise yet densely encapsulate institutions’ core educational philosophies and value orientations. They serve as important vehicles through which universities construct cultural identity and disseminate ideology. Public universities occupy a dominant position within China’s higher education system; examining their mottos therefore offers insight into the prevailing values and ideologies underpinning Chinese higher education. Existing studies have largely focused on the 116 elite universities officially designated by the Chinese government, making it difficult to capture the broader discursive landscape. Methodologically, prior research has tended to adopt historical or educational perspectives, while linguistically oriented analyses—particularly those grounded in critical discourse analysis—remain relatively limited. Drawing on Fairclough’s ( 1992 ) three-dimensional framework, this study conducts an exhaustive analysis of the mottos of 848 public universities in China. Departing from approaches that rely primarily on textual form or lexical frequency, the study develops a semantic framework comprising nine categories and applies a dual-coding procedure to systematically classify and quantify all mottos. The findings show that, on the one hand, some university mottos have evolved over time, reflecting increasingly diverse value orientations and educational ideals; on the other hand, core values related to morality, scholarship, and practice continue to dominate the overall distribution. This study offers a novel perspective for comparative research on higher education discourse in China and Western contexts. Social science/Education Humanities/History Social science/History Humanities/Language and linguistics Social science/Language and linguistics Humanities/Literature University mottos Critical discourse analysis Semantic distribution patterns Value orientations Ideological construction Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 1. Introduction University culture, understood as an institutional system of ideas, is gradually constructed and continuously reshaped within specific historical contexts. It represents a collective articulation of educational philosophy, value norms, and organizational identity (Zhang, 2020 ). In institutional practice, university mottos play a central role in cultural construction and spiritual cultivation through their highly condensed linguistic form. They not only convey educational goals and value orientations, but also constitute an important component of higher education discourse. At a deeper level, a university motto functions as a symbolic projection of the institution’s interpretation of national governance expectations, social value norms, and academic traditions. Through intergenerational transmission, it continues to contribute to the construction of cultural identity and value guidance. As a form of implicit governance, mottos do not rely on formal coercion; instead, they operate discursively to shape collective identification and articulate institutional missions. In doing so, they facilitate value orientation and identity construction, which are gradually internalized as self-motivated cultural practices (Sun and Gao, 2020 ; Sun, 2022 ; Balmer, 2023 ). In recent years, scholars have increasingly moved beyond viewing university mottos merely as symbolic artifacts, emphasizing instead their deeper discursive functions. Mottos are now widely regarded as responsive expressions through which universities articulate positions on knowledge production, social responsibility, and national identity (Delanty, 2001 ; Barnett, 2011 ). In Western contexts, research has focused on university mottos in relation to branding strategies, historical continuity and identity formation, public values and ideological discourse, and cross-cultural communication (De Freitas, 2012 ; Wang et al., 2022 ; Balmer, 2023 ; O’Sullivan, 2024 ; Wang & Ran, 2025 ). In contrast, within East Asian Confucian cultural traditions, mottos are more often examined as sites for the reproduction of traditional ethics and collectivist values (Lee and Kwon, 2020 ). In China, research on public university mottos has attracted growing scholarly attention (e.g., Wang and Zhang, 2013 ; Mai, 2018 ; Zhai, 2018 ; Zhang, 2020 ; Zou and Wang, 2021 ; Zhang and Elliot, 2021 ; Sun and Gao, 2020 ; Sun et al., 2022 ; Sun, 2022 ). However, existing studies tend either to adopt historical or educational perspectives, or to employ linguistic approaches limited to a sample of 116 elite universities officially designated by the Chinese government. As a result, systematic and exhaustive analyses of mottos across Chinese public universities remain scarce. Moreover, prior research has often insufficiently explored the dominant values and ideological meanings embedded in these mottos. Analyses that are detached from broader socio-cultural contexts frequently lack explanatory depth and theoretical penetration. To address these limitations, this study analyzes the mottos of all public universities in China, constructing a corpus that is both extensive in scope and diverse in institutional representation. Methodologically, the study moves beyond keyword frequency counts and structural pattern analysis by developing a semantic category framework. Integrating intertextual analysis with socio-historical contextualization, the study examines how value orientations and ideologies are discursively constructed in Chinese higher education through patterns of semantic distribution and the interaction between textual resources and social meanings. By uncovering the value structure and ideological logic underlying the discourse of Chinese public universities, this research also offers a new perspective on how the state constructs social identity and cultural values through the higher education system. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews relevant literature, including definitions of university mottos and prior research on Chinese university mottos. Section 3 outlines the theoretical framework. Section 4 details the data collection procedures and semantic analysis process. Section 5 presents an in-depth discussion of the educational discourse, value orientations, and ideologies embedded in university mottos. Section 6 concludes the paper. 2. Literature review 2.1 Defining university mottos In the Chinese context, university mottos can be described as an early endogenous phenomenon. While ancient academies possessed practices functionally equivalent to mottos, the term itself did not formally exist (Sun et al., 2022 ). The modern concept of the university motto emerged in the late Qing dynasty, alongside the establishment of modern educational institutions. Historical research suggests that the Chinese term xiàoxùn (校训) was borrowed from the Japanese translation kōkun (校訓) of the English word motto , and was introduced into China only after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 (Wang, 2006 ). The Encyclopedia of China (1930) defines a school motto as selected moral precepts displayed publicly on campus to encourage constant reflection and practice. This definition highlights both the moral-educational function of mottos and their public, declarative character. Within educational research, university mottos are commonly understood as distilled expressions of institutional philosophy that have taken shape through long-term development, embodying university spirit and cultural heritage (Zhang, 2020 ). They are widely recognized as authoritative value judgments that articulate educational objectives and institutional orientations, serving as symbolic representations of pedagogical ideals and value choices (Zhai, 2018 ). As a form of “regulative culture,” mottos also exert educational, normative, and motivational influence on the behavior of faculty and students (Han, 2019 ). From an international perspective, the term motto has a broader scope of application, encompassing not only universities but also corporations and social organizations. Major dictionaries generally define a motto as a short sentence or phrase expressing an institution’s aims, beliefs, or guiding principles (Merriam-Webster; Oxford; Cambridge). Scholarly interpretations further emphasize its symbolic role in representing institutional character and mission, as well as its functions in brand commitment and discursive mobilization (De Freitas, 2012 ; Balmer, 2023 ). Drawing on Allen’s (1990) definition of a motto as a maxim adopted as a rule of conduct, De Freitas ( 2012 ) argues that a motto constitutes a condensed expression of an institution’s core identity and values, characterized by historical continuity and cultural symbolism, and serving dual functions of internal cohesion and external communication. Accordingly, in Western contexts, mottos are widely understood as key textual symbols through which universities articulate identity, values, and cultural narratives. 2.2 Western research on university mottos In Western scholarship, university mottos have been examined across education, sociology, branding studies, and discourse analysis. Three recurring concerns stand out. First, mottos are treated as institutional memory and corporate heritage that help legitimate continuity and mission (e.g., Balmer, 2023 ). Second, under marketization and internationalization, mottos work with logos and other symbolic resources to project brand identity, while critics warn against reducing them to empty slogans (O’Sullivan, 2024 ; Giroux, 2014 ). Third, mottos can become contested public discourse, where religious or cultural language raises debates over inclusion and the boundaries of public space (De Freitas, 2012 ). Together, these strands suggest that mottos are simultaneously historical resources, strategic communicative assets, and ideological texts, motivating analyses that connect linguistic choices with institutional positioning and broader socio-political environments. 2.3 Research on university mottos in China Systematic research on Chinese university mottos began relatively late but has diversified rapidly. A first line traces historical formation and cultural genealogy, highlighting hybridity between Confucian moral learning and modern university discourse, as well as the co-existence of classical-style and vernacular mottos under political-discursive regulation (e.g., Li Hui, 2005; Zhou and Tao, 2005 ; Li and Xu, 2005 ; He, 2009 ). Related studies stress enduring dual orientations of valuing tradition while embracing reform (Ni and Yang, 2011 ; Zhai, 2018 ) and identify virtue (“德”, dé ) as a salient value orientation (Pan, 2012 ), sometimes discussed in relation to contemporary initiatives such as the “Double First-Class” policy (Han, 2019 ; Sun et al., 2022 ). A second line focuses on linguistic form, reporting preferences for four-character and eight-character parallel structures and recurring lexical combinations, as well as concerns about increasing homogenization across institutions (Lin et al., 2005 ; Mai, 2018 ; Wang and Zhang, 2013 ). Functionalist work, in turn, treats mottos as media of guidance, cohesion, and ideological education and examines their role in ritual contexts, while also warning about formalism under assessment regimes (Duan, 2010 ; Sun and Gao, 2020 ; Zhang, 2020 ; Fang, 2011 ). Comparative research contrasts Chinese value emphases (e.g., virtue and collectivism) with Western mottos that foreground truth and freedom, yet increasingly calls for more nuanced readings beyond simple binaries (Li, 2010 ; Wang and Zhang, 2013 ; Zhu and Yang, 2015 ; Geng et al., 2015 ). Finally, translation-oriented studies discuss how to balance cultural fidelity with target-language naturalness in English versions of mottos (Fan, 2008 ; Zhang and Elliot, 2021 ; Mai, 2018 ; Wang and Ran, 2025 ). 2.4 Research gaps Despite this growing body of work, four limitations remain prominent. First, sample selection is often skewed toward the 112 government-designated elite universities, leaving most public universities—especially local and newly established institutions—underexplored. Second, many studies rely on surface-level keyword counts or symbolic readings without transparent semantic criteria or sufficient contextual evidence (e.g., official motto explanations, institutional histories, and policy discourse), which constrains interpretability. Third, the literature tends to privilege affirmative functional accounts (cultural inheritance, educational guidance) and pays less attention to power relations and ideological negotiation in motto production and circulation. Fourth, cross-cultural comparisons sometimes reproduce simplified Confucian–Western dichotomies and rarely examine how mottos are interpreted and enacted in institutional life. These gaps call for full-coverage corpus evidence, explicit semantic classification, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) that links textual patterns with intertextual resources and discursive practice. 3. Theoretical framework CDA investigates how language participates in producing and legitimizing social power and ideology. Among influential approaches, Fairclough’s three-dimensional model relates (i) textual features, (ii) discursive practice (production, circulation, interpretation), and (iii) social practice (institutional and ideological conditions) in a unified analytical framework (Fairclough, 1992 ). This framework conceptualizes discourse as a form of social practice and highlights the dialectical relationship between language, discourse processes, and broader social structures. Despite its early formulation, Fairclough’s model continues to offer both theoretical depth and methodological clarity, which explains its persistent relevance across diverse fields of study. This study adopts Fairclough’s model to treat university mottos as minimalist institutional texts whose meanings are stabilized through repetition, official interpretation, and ritualized circulation. At the textual level, we use frequency-based distribution analyses and category co-occurrence analyses grounded in semantic coding to identify dominant value themes and recurring value configurations across 848 institutions. At the discursive and social-practice levels, we examine how these themes are recontextualized through institutional explanations and higher-education governance discourses to construct legitimacy and value order. Table 1 summarizes how the three analytical dimensions are operationalized in the present study. Table 1 Operationalization of Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Framework CDA Dimension Analytical Focus Data Sources Analytical Procedures Text Lexical choice, semantic domains, value clustering, structural patterning Motto texts from 848 Chinese public universities Corpus construction; semantic categorization; dual coding; frequency analysis; co-occurrence and distribution analysis Discursive Practice Production, dissemination, and institutional stabilization of mottos Official motto explanations, university websites, policy documents, ceremonial texts Contextual interpretation; intertextual comparison; examination of authorization and ritualization processes Social Practice Ideological orientation and value construction in higher education National higher education policies, socio-historical context, cultural traditions Interpretive analysis linking discursive patterns to policy discourse, cultural norms, and governance structures 4. Research design 4.1 Research questions This study adopts a critical discourse analysis perspective to conduct a systematic examination of university mottos across all Chinese public universities, with the aim of uncovering the dominant values and ideological orientations embedded in Chinese higher education. By moving beyond analyses limited to elite institutions, the study seeks to provide a comprehensive discursive portrait of the sector as a whole. It also establishes an empirical and conceptual basis for future comparative research between Chinese higher education and that of Western countries, such as the United States, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of China’s cultural positioning and institutional logic in higher education. Addressing the above research gap, the study is guided by the following three research questions: (1) At the semantic level, what major semantic categories are manifested in the mottos of Chinese public universities, and how are these categories distributed? How do these semantic patterns reflect dominant discursive tendencies and value priorities in Chinese higher education? (2) At the intertextual level, which cultural and discursive traditions serve as primary sources for the linguistic resources and expressive forms found in university mottos? How do these intertextual references participate in the reproduction of educational discourse? (3) At the level of social practice, how do university mottos construct and disseminate specific value orientations and ideological meanings within their broader socio-historical context? 4.2 Data collection To overcome the object and coverage bias in prior research that concentrates on the 112 elite universities designated by the Chinese government, this study builds a full-sample corpus of mottos from Chinese public universities nationwide. The sampling frame comprises 848 public universities, excluding Sino-foreign cooperative universities and institutions in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The university list was compiled from the most recent roster published on the official website of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. All motto texts were collected from official university websites, primarily from dedicated “university motto” pages or institutional profile pages. Where universities had revised their mottos over time, the currently displayed version on the official website was treated as the authoritative text for the purpose of synchronic comparison. For five universities that did not provide a formal motto, the database records the entry as “none.” To facilitate contextualized interpretation of motto functions and ideological positioning, the corpus was expanded to include official interpretive materials associated with mottos. These materials were drawn from four sources: (1) motto interpretation sections or related introductions on official university websites; (2) verified institutional communication channels (e.g., official accounts on major Chinese social media platforms, such as Weibo and WeChat, as well as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and university newspapers); (3) reports and feature commentaries published by authoritative national media outlets (e.g., Guangming Daily, People’s Daily Online, and China Education Daily ); and (4) public speeches by university leaders (particularly party secretaries and presidents) delivered at major institutional events (e.g., opening ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, and anniversary celebrations), with attention to passages explicating the values and educational philosophy embodied in the motto. A priority-based collection principle was applied to enhance comparability: official websites were collected first, followed by institutional social media, national media reports, and leadership speeches. All retrieved materials were stored in the database as linked records in the format “motto text + interpretive texts,” allowing for both corpus-based patterning analysis and discourse interpretation. For 139 universities, no official interpretive texts were found across the four sources. In these cases, brief researcher-inferred glosses were added solely to support semantic coding (e.g., via etymological reference and conventional usage), and were explicitly marked as non-official notes to avoid conflation with institutional interpretations. The semantic coding scheme, dual-coding procedures, and validation steps are detailed in Section 4.3 . 4.3 Data analysis To address the research questions with methodological rigor and replicability, all motto texts and associated interpretive materials from 848 Chinese public universities were standardized after collection. Standardization included deduplication, format unification, and structured data entry, resulting in a purpose-built corpus suitable for both quantitative analysis and qualitative discourse interpretation. For analytical clarity, this study distinguishes “semantic categories” as methodological coding units from “value domains” as higher-level interpretive constructs derived from coded patterns. “Value orientation” refers to dominant normative tendencies observable in motto discourse, while “ideology” is used in a restricted sense to denote institutionalized meaning systems embedded in higher-education governance discourse. 4.3.1 Rationale and unit of analysis A purely keyword-based approach is insufficient for university mottos, which frequently express institutional values through condensed sentences, metaphors, or classical allusions rather than explicit lexical markers. Semantically equivalent values may also be realized through lexically divergent expressions, leading to under-coverage if analysis relies only on high-frequency keywords. To address these issues, the present study adopts semantic category analysis as the primary analytic strategy. The basic coding unit was determined by either (a) the core lexical item(s) that directly signal a value category, or (b) the holistic semantic orientation of the motto when values are conveyed through phrases, complete sentences, or allusive formulations. When a motto contained stable value-signaling terms that could be mapped onto a category, classification was based on their conventional meanings. When the motto’s value was conveyed implicitly, categorization was determined by its overall meaning rather than by mechanically segmenting individual words. This principle minimized misclassification caused by formal variation and enabled the analysis to capture mottos as ideologically condensed institutional discourse. 4.3.2 Semantic taxonomy and coding reliability Semantic annotation was carried out using a mutually exclusive taxonomy of nine categories, designed to be theoretically coherent while empirically adequate for the dataset. The taxonomy comprises nine mutually exclusive categories: (1) Morality and Virtue (MOR), ethical cultivation and integrity; (2) Scholarship and Knowledge (SCH), inquiry and truth-seeking; (3) Action and Practice (ACT), unity of knowledge and action; (4) Diligence and Perseverance (DIL), sustained effort and self-discipline; (5) Willpower and Aspiration (WILL), aspiration-driven agency; (6) Innovation and Openness (INNO), creativity and openness to change; (7) Professional Excellence (PROF), specialized competence and professional ethics; (8) Inclusiveness and Tolerance (INCL), pluralism and openness to diversity; and (9) Reasoning and Reflection (REAS), critical and reflective inquiry. In particular, DIL and WILL were explicitly differentiated to reduce conceptual overlap: DIL captures process-oriented perseverance and disciplined effort, whereas WILL foregrounds aspiration-driven agency and goal setting. To enhance reliability and transparency, the coding scheme was piloted on a random sample of 100 mottos prior to full-scale annotation, and category boundaries were refined accordingly. Two researchers then independently coded the full dataset. Inter-coder reliability was assessed using Cohen’s kappa (κ) for the nine-category annotation (κ = 0.75), with an overall percent agreement of 87%. Disagreements were resolved through discussion and iterative refinement; a small number of remaining cases were adjudicated by a third researcher using contextual information and, where available, official institutional interpretations. 4.3.3 Quantitative measures and integration with CDA Because many mottos combine multiple value emphases, the study adopted a multi-label recording strategy. All categories present in each motto were documented to capture composite value structures. For aggregate prevalence analysis, a “ one university–one count ” rule was applied: if multiple lexical items within a single motto belonged to the same category, that category was counted only once for that institution. This reduced inflation caused by repetitive wording and enabled a clearer assessment of category distribution across universities. Following manual semantic coding, quantitative analyses were conducted to identify (a) frequency distributions of categories across the full sample and (b) category co-occurrence patterns, capturing how value orientations cluster within mottos. These results were then incorporated into the broader critical discourse analysis design to connect textual patterning with discursive practices and social meanings. Specifically, distributional patterns and co-occurrence tendencies informed the selection of representative cases for contextualized interpretation and supported analysis of how institutional values are discursively organized and legitimized within higher education. In addition, the study examined the intertextuality of university mottos, with attention to both classical traditions and contemporary governance discourse. When official interpretations explicitly identified textual sources, those attributions were adopted. When sources were not specified, dictionary-based and reference-based etymological tracing was used to identify likely classical origins, allowing a distinction between explicit intertextuality (direct citations) and implicit intertextuality (conceptual adaptation or reformulation). Detailed rules and coding procedures for intertextual analysis are presented in the subsequent section. At the level of discursive and social practice, the study combined content analysis with critical discourse analysis to interpret how motto meanings are produced, stabilized, and mobilized. This stage drew on official interpretive texts, authoritative speeches, and related media materials to examine how value orientations are linked to cultural functions and institutional authority. The operational procedures for this contextual analysis are reported in the corresponding sections on discursive practice and social practice. Taken together, the multi-stage procedure enables a layered progression from semantic patterning in motto language to contextualized interpretation of discursive and ideological processes, providing a robust empirical basis for the findings presented in Section 5 . 5. Research findings and discussion This section reports the main findings from the corpus-based semantic coding and contextual analysis of mottos from 848 Chinese public universities, guided by Fairclough’s ( 1992 ) three-dimensional CDA framework. Section 5.1 presents the overall distribution and co-occurrence patterns of the nine semantic categories at the textual level (RQ1). Section 5.2 examines intertextual alignments with Confucian classics and contemporary policy discourse, focusing on how such resources are appropriated and recontextualized (RQ2). Section 5.3 then situates these patterns in social practice by analyzing how mottos are produced, circulated, and institutionalized, and how they negotiate educational and political demands (RQ3). 5.1 Analysis at the textual level Based on the semantic coding results, this section reports the distribution and co-occurrence patterns of the nine categories across the mottos of 848 Chinese public universities (RQ1). Figure 1 shows the frequency of each category in the corpus. Because mottos may contain multiple categories and repeated expressions, frequencies are calculated using a “one university–one count” rule: a category is counted once for an institution if it appears anywhere in that institution’s motto. This operationalization captures cross-institutional prevalence rather than within-text lexical density. This methodological choice minimizes potential distortions caused by intensive repetition of specific value terms in individual mottos and allows for a clearer depiction of the relative prevalence of different semantic categories across Chinese public universities. As a result, the analysis foregrounds patterns of institutional value distribution rather than stylistic variation at the individual-text level, providing a more robust basis for interpreting the dominant semantic tendencies of motto discourse. In terms of overall distribution, moral discourse (MOR) and scholarly discourse (SCH) each account for more than 60% of the total semantic resources, jointly constituting the dominant core of Chinese university motto discourse. This dual emphasis on morality and learning should not be understood as a simple juxtaposition of values. Rather, it is closely aligned with the holistic tradition of Chinese philosophy—particularly Confucian thought—which conceives moral cultivation and learning practice as mutually constitutive processes. Across the corpus, Morality (MOR) and Scholarship (SCH) each appear in over 60% of mottos, forming the core value pair of the genre. This co-dominance aligns with a Confucian learning–cultivation nexus in which learning is framed as a route to moral self-cultivation and practical wisdom rather than value-neutral knowledge accumulation; accordingly, MOR and SCH are discursively integrated rather than treated as competing priorities. Action/Practice (ACT) and Aspiration/Will (WILL) constitute the next tier, extending the MOR–SCH core toward enactment and commitment and echoing the ideal of uniting knowledge with practice. By contrast, Innovation (INNO), Inclusiveness (INCL), and Reasoning (REAS) remain comparatively marginal, suggesting that mottos—as tradition-laden symbolic texts—privilege historically stabilized value resources over more recent policy-driven themes. By contrast, the relatively marginal presence of categories such as innovation (INNO), inclusiveness (INCL), and reasoning (REAS), highlights the selective integration characteristic of university motto discourse. Although innovation has become a central theme in contemporary higher-education policy, its frequency in mottos remains limited, suggesting that innovation is more strongly emphasized in policy documents and institutional practices than in this highly condensed and symbolic textual genre. Similarly, the low visibility of inclusiveness and reasoning indicates that, within the motto genre, Confucian priorities—ethical primacy, holistic harmony, and practice-oriented cultivation—continue to shape value integration at a deeper level. This does not imply a rejection of modern educational ideals, but rather reflects the tendency of university mottos, as symbolic cultural texts, to privilege stable values with strong historical continuity over emerging or policy-driven discourses. Building on this distributional analysis, the study further conducts a quantitative and structural examination of the internal semantic resources within the Morality and Virtue (MOR) category. A total of 902 MOR-related lexical items were identified across the corpus. Among them, expressions explicitly containing the character “德”( dé , virtue)account for 406 instances, representing approximately 45% of all MOR-related terms. This makes virtue-centered expressions the largest and most structurally consolidated value cluster in university motto discourse. These figures indicate that moral discourse not only occupies a central position in terms of overall semantic frequency, but also exhibits a rich and systematically organized internal lexical repertoire. While the quantitative analysis reveals the prominence and internal richness of virtue-centered expressions, it does not by itself explain how moral meanings are systematically constructed in discourse. To address this issue, the study advances a three-dimensional analytical framework, shown in Fig. 2 . The framework illustrates how moral meanings are constructed through textual structures (verb–object, modifier–head, and coordinate constructions), organized across hierarchical value levels (individual, social, and national), and realized through ideological functions including symbolization, regulation, and legitimation in alignment with the national policy of fostering virtue through education. To further elucidate the internal semantic logic of the MOR category, the 902 identified expressions were classified into two complementary subtypes. The first consists of explicit virtue terms, which are lexically anchored by the character “德”( dé ) and display relatively stable formal patterns. The second comprises implicit virtue terms, which do not contain “德”༈ dé ༉ but nevertheless directly index ethical norms and moral expectations. Together, these two subtypes constitute a comprehensive semantic field of moral virtues within university mottos, operating across the textual, discursive, and social-practice dimensions to shape and sustain distinctive pathways of value production and transmission in Chinese higher education. Within the explicit virtue subtype, the most structurally salient and practice-oriented expressions are verb-object constructions such as “修德” ( xiū dé , cultivating virtue) and “立德” ( lì dé , establishing virtue), which account for approximately 60% of all dé -based terms. By foregrounding action through verbal predicates, these expressions transform abstract moral ideals into actionable moral imperatives, thereby constructing a clear orientation toward practice within motto discourse. In doing so, they discursively resonate with the national educational principle of “立德树人” ( lì dé shù rén , fostering virtue through education). By contrast, modifier-head constructions such as “厚德” ( hòu dé , profound virtue) and “宏德” ( hóng dé , magnanimous virtue) place greater emphasis on the idealized qualities and symbolic elevation of virtue itself, highlighting the moral standards to which individuals are expected to aspire. Also noteworthy, despite their relatively low frequency, are coordinative constructions such as “德-才” ( dé-cái 、virtue and talent) and “德-学” ( dé - xué 、virtue and learning). By consistently positioning “德”( dé ) as the first element, these expressions encode a hierarchical value order that affirms the priority of moral cultivation while simultaneously accommodating multiple forms of competence. This discursive strategy enables the coordination of morality, scholarship, and skills within a unified framework oriented toward the formation of the ideal educated subject. A particularly illustrative case is the term “明德”༈ míng dé ༉, whose semantic ambiguity allows it to be interpreted either as a verb-object structure (“to illuminate virtue”) or as a modifier-head structure (“illuminated virtue”). This strategic openness permits the term to satisfy policy-driven demands for actionable moral guidance while preserving the elevated moral imagination characteristic of classical ethical discourse, thus facilitating flexible negotiation between regulation and moral aspiration. In contrast, implicit virtue terms rely primarily on semantic reference rather than lexical form to convey ethical demands, and they exhibit a clear progression from individual character formation to social relations and, ultimately, national responsibility. At the individual level, high-frequency items such as “修身” ( xiū shēn , self-cultivation, 14 instances), “诚” ( chéng , integrity, 13), “信” ( xìn , trustworthiness, 10), and “勇” ( yǒng , courage, 3) emphasize the internal shaping of moral character, aligning with the moral anthropology underlying Chinese cultural traditions. At the social level, expressions such as “团结” (tuán jié, solidarity, 31), “树人” ( shù rén , cultivating people, 10), and “责任” ( zé rèn , responsibility, 4) foreground interpersonal norms and social ethical obligations. At the national level, terms including “忠诚” ( zhōng chéng , loyalty, 19), “济世” ( jì shì , serving the world, 16), “爱国” ( ài guó , patriotism, 9), and “奉献” ( fèng xiàn , dedication, 8) extend moral expectations toward public mission and national identification. This layered structure closely mirrors the Confucian logic of moral extension from self-cultivation to social harmony and state responsibility. It highlights an ethical orientation in which personal moral refinement serves as the foundation for collective order, with the ultimate goal of integrating individual virtue into broader social and political commitments. Within university motto discourse, this configuration underscores a value system that privileges moral primacy, collective responsibility, and the maintenance of holistic order as guiding principles of educational purpose. This section has addressed Research Question (1) through a combined analysis of macro-level distributional patterns and micro-level semantic structures. At the macro level, quantitative results demonstrate that Morality (MOR) and Scholarship (SCH) together constitute the value core of Chinese public university mottos. This dual emphasis on moral cultivation and learning establishes the overarching discursive orientation of the genre. At the same time, university mottos rarely function as single-value proclamations. More than 90% of the texts integrate two to four semantic categories, reflecting their capacity to condense multiple educational objectives—most notably the coordination of moral orientation with practice (ACT) and aspiration (WILL)—within an extremely limited textual space. By contrast, the relatively marginal presence of modern categories such as Innovation (INNO), Inclusiveness (INCL), and Reasoning (REAS) highlights the stability and selectivity with which this highly symbolic and tradition-laden textual genre incorporates emerging educational discourses. Within this overall configuration, the micro-level analysis of the MOR category reveals a highly structured and internally differentiated ethical system. Drawing on an analytical framework that integrates the Confucian progression of self-cultivation, social regulation, and public responsibility with the individual–society–state structure embedded in socialist core values, this study offers an empirically grounded account of the ethical logic underlying Chinese higher education discourse. Formally, moral values are textualized through grammatical patterns such as verb–object and modifier–head constructions, which translate abstract virtues into both actionable moral directives and idealized ethical aspirations. Substantively, implicit moral expressions follow a clear hierarchical progression—from individual character formation, through social responsibility, to national commitment—systematically covering a comprehensive range of ethical expectations. Taken together, Chinese university mottos operate through a highly structured semantic encoding mechanism that integrates cultural tradition, educational philosophy, and contemporary state objectives. At the discursive level, this mechanism provides a concrete articulation of moral education as the foundation of higher education, while simultaneously distinguishing itself from Western higher education traditions that tend to privilege abstract and universalized forms of individual virtue. Rooted in a collectivist cultural framework and oriented toward modern nation-building, this distinctive ethical configuration offers a solid textual foundation for the subsequent analysis of the ideological functions of university mottos at the level of discursive and social practice. 5.2 Intertextuality analysis From an intertextual perspective, Chinese public university mottos exhibit a strong reliance on Confucian classical texts, combined with a pronounced pattern of selective appropriation. The following is a list of the classical sources referenced. Table 2 , the intertextual repertoire of university mottos is overwhelmingly drawn from Confucian canonical texts, with clear concentration on a limited set of foundational works. Table 2 Classical Sources Referenced in University Mottos No. Source Text Frequency Description 1 The Book of Rites 《礼记》 637 One of the Confucian Thirteen Classics; systematically articulates ritual ideals, ethical norms, and social order. 2 The Analects 《论语》 486 Core Confucian classic recording the sayings and actions of Confucius and his disciples; foundational to Confucian thought. 3 The Book of Changes 《周易》 272 Premier Confucian classic exploring cosmological change through the hexagram system. 4 The Book of Documents 《尚书》 125 Historical classic within the Confucian canon, preserving political speeches and moral governance ideals of ancient rulers. 5 The Xunzi 《荀子》 127 Major Confucian philosophical work advocating the doctrine of human nature as evil. 6 Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals 《春秋左氏传》 43 Authoritative historical commentary interpreting the Spring and Autumn Annals through narrative historiography. 7 Mencius 《孟子》 39 Key Confucian text elaborating the doctrines of innate human goodness, benevolent governance, and people-centered politics. 8 Instructions for Practical Living 《传习录》 32 Ming-dynasty Confucian work by Wang Yangming , expounding “the unity of knowledge and action.” 9 Classified Conversations of Master Zhu 《朱子语类》 27 Record of Zhu Xi ’s teachings, representing the systematic development of Neo-Confucian thought. 10 The Book of Songs 《诗经》 17 Earliest Chinese poetry anthology; a literary Confucian classic associated with moral education and political symbolism. 11 Rites of Zhou 《周礼》 3 Institutional Confucian classic outlining an idealized bureaucratic and ritual system of early China. 12 Collected Commentaries on the Doctrine of the Mean 《中庸章句集注》 3 Zhu Xi ’s annotated interpretation of The Doctrine of the Mean, central to the Four Books tradition. 13 Complete Works of Zhu Xi 《朱子全书》 2 Comprehensive collection of Zhu Xi ’s writings on Confucian philosophy. 14 Family Sayings of Confucius 《孔子家语》 2 Text recording Confucius’ teachings and anecdotes associated with the Confucian lineage. 15 Kongcongzi 《孔丛子》 2 Confucian work traditionally attributed to descendants of Confucius. 16 Erya 《尔雅》 1 Earliest Chinese lexicon and a Confucian exegetical aid for interpreting classical texts. 17 Classic of Filial Piety 《孝经》 1 Ethical Confucian classic emphasizing filial devotion as a moral foundation. 18 Reflections on Things at Hand 《近思录》 1 Introductory Neo-Confucian anthology compiled by Zhu Xi . 19 Collected Annotations 《集注》 1 Zhu Xi ’s authoritative commentary on The Analects. 20 Ten Wings 《易传》 1 Philosophical commentaries traditionally associated with Confucius, interpreting The Book of Changes. 21 Tuan Commentary 《彖辞》 1 Component of the Ten Wings (《易传》) explaining hexagram meanings. 22 Alternative Interpretations of the Analects 《论语别裁》 1 Modern reinterpretation of The Analects by Nan Huaijin . 23 Correct Meaning of the Book of Rites 《礼记正义》 1 Tang-dynasty official commentary on The Book of Rites by Kong Yingda . 24 Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals 《春秋传》 1 Hu Anguo ’s interpretation of the Spring and Autumn Annals showcases the thought of Southern Song Confucianism and the classic’s place among China’s Six Classics. 25 Great Commentary on the Book of Changes 《周易大传》 1 Early systematic Confucian interpretation of The Book of Changes . 26 Standards for Being a Good Student 《弟子规》‌ 1 Qing-dynasty moral primer emphasizing ethical conduct. 27 Annotated Commentary on the Greater Dai Rites 《大戴礼记解诂》 1 Qing-dynasty scholarly commentary by Wang Pinzhen on The Greater Dai Rites serves as a valuable reference for understanding early Chinese society and Confucian ideology.‌ 28 Recorded Sayings of the Cheng Brothers 《二程语录》 1 Sayings of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi , foundational figures of Neo-Confucianism. 29 On Teachers 《师说》 1 Essay by Han Yu articulating Confucian views on pedagogy and moral authority. 30 Memorial on Statecraft 《陈政事疏》 1 Political essay by Jia Yi reflecting Han-dynasty Confucian governance thought. 31 Biographies of Exemplary Women 《列女传》 1 Didactic text compiled by Liu Xiang to promote Confucian moral ideals through female exemplars. 32 Model Sayings 《法言》 1 Western Han Confucian text by Yang Xiong modeled on The Analects. A systematic survey of mottos from 848 universities identifies references to 32 Confucian classics and related works, of which pre- Qin foundational texts account for 95.2% of all intertextual sources, forming the unquestionable core of the intertextual repertoire. Among these, The Book of Rites (《礼记》, 637 instances), The Analects (《论语》, 486 instances), and The Book of Changes (《周易》, 272 instances) together constitute nearly 90% of all intertextual occurrences, resulting in a highly concentrated structure centered on early canonical texts. By contrast, later interpretive works associated with Song and Ming Dynasties Neo-Confucianism—such as Wang Yangming ’ s Instructions for Practical Living or Zhu Xi ’s Classified Conversations —are rarely cited, accounting for only about 3.6%. This distribution suggests that universities tend to prioritize original canonical texts while avoiding later exegetical traditions marked by doctrinal divergence, thereby maintaining authority, stability, and ideological coherence in value expression. Such an intertextual pattern should not be understood as a passive inheritance of traditions. Rather, it reflects an intentional discursive strategy shaped by educational institutions. Within Fairclough’s ( 1992 ) framework, text production is not merely the reuse of linguistic resources but a socially oriented practice that reproduces power relations and meaning. The selective mobilization of pre- Qin Confucian classics allows universities, on the one hand, to draw upon their deep-rooted cultural authority to legitimize value claims, and on the other hand, to align these classical expressions with contemporary educational objectives, thereby securing discursive legitimacy across both cultural and political domains. Intertextuality here operates as a strategic form of integration, through which institutions actively filter cultural resources that resonate with dominant ideological orientations, achieving a dual purpose of cultural continuity and alignment with state educational discourse. Among the intertextual sources, The Book of Rites (《礼记》)—particularly its core chapters The Great Learning (《大学》༉ and The Doctrine of the Mean ༈《中庸》༉ —emerges as the most influential foundation. This prominence reflects not only their canonical status but also the enduring relevance of the ethical order and educational ideals they embody. Concepts such as “manifesting virtue” (明德, míng dé ), “renewing the people” (新民, xīn mín ), and “reaching ultimate goodness” (止于至善, zhǐ yú zhì shàn ) recur frequently, indicating the continued endorsement of an educational vision that integrates moral self-cultivation with social responsibility. Notably, “明德” ( míng dé ) is widely reinterpreted in mottos and official explanations, extending beyond its classical meaning of moral illumination to encompass modern values such as patriotism, social responsibility, and national rejuvenation. For example, the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences explicitly links moral self-cultivation to national destiny in its interpretation of “明德” ( míng dé ), illustrating the continued resonance of the Confucian ideal of progressing from personal cultivation to public responsibility within contemporary higher education. Similarly, “reaching ultimate goodness” (止于至善, zhǐ yú zhì shàn ) is often framed as a symbolic representation of “人格完善” (moral self-cultivation) and moral self-awareness, reflecting a shared understanding that higher education should balance knowledge transmission with character formation. The Doctrine of the Mean (《中庸》) provides a more operational cognitive–practical framework, as evidenced by the frequent co-occurrence of “extensive learning” (博学, bó xué) and “earnest practice” (笃行, dǔ xíng ). These condensed expressions mirror the classical learning sequence—“learning extensively, inquiring carefully, reflecting prudently, discerning clearly, and practicing earnestly”—but are streamlined into key stages corresponding to cognitive development and moral action. This transformation demonstrates how Confucian notions of the unity of knowledge and action are adapted into modern educational goals. Official explanations and revision records further confirm the active and negotiated nature of this discursive production. Case studies show that universities often contextualize classical references through institutional missions, disciplinary orientations, or national strategies. This process goes beyond linguistic reuse and constitutes active participation in national educational discourse. For instance, Tsinghua University traces “Self-discipline and social commitment” (自强不息·厚德载物、 zì qiáng bù xī hòu dé zài wù ) to The Book of Changes (《周易》) while linking it to contemporary leadership cultivation; Beijing Jiaotong University reinterprets the “knowledge-action” tradition in light of its engineering focus; and Nanjing Agricultural University’s revision process—marked by historical review, stakeholder consultation, and multiple rounds of deliberation—illustrates the institutionalized and participatory nature of educational discourse construction. These examples demonstrate that motto formation functions as a structured practice through which universities negotiate identity, mission, and value transmission. The intertextual structure centered on The Book of Rites (《礼记》), The Analects (《论语》), and The Book of Changes (《周易》) not only sustains Confucian ethical norms but also transforms classical vocabulary into vehicles for contemporary state educational strategies. Concepts such as “明德”༈ míng dé ༉ and self-cultivation “修身” ( xiū shēn , self-cultivation) are re-embedded within policy discourses such as “moral education as the foundation of higher education” and “cultural confidence,” enabling universities to translate national educational goals into culturally resonant value expressions. University mottos thus function not as static cultural artifacts but as “living texts” that are continuously rewritten and reinterpreted, mediating between tradition and modernity, individual development and national aspirations, and knowledge and practice. Meaning production does not end with textual formulation but is further reinforced through social circulation. University mottos are engraved on stone monuments, displayed on campus buildings, incorporated into school songs, and repeatedly recited during ceremonies such as opening and graduation events. Through these material and ritual practices, mottos are institutionalized as shared value symbols. Media dissemination and official promotion further relocate them into broader public discourse, enabling ongoing recontextualization. In Fairclough’s terms, meaning stabilizes through cycles of production, circulation, and reproduction. Repeated appearance across campus and public domains consolidates discursive authority and embeds mottos within collective memory and national identity. Overall, the intertextual analysis reveals a “selection-integration-recontextualization” logic underlying Chinese public university mottos. In production, pre- Qin Confucian resources are selectively activated to establish cultural legitimacy and respond to state educational strategies; in circulation, symbolic and media practices reinforce and reaffirm meaning; and in social practice, mottos become embedded within national ideology and collective value formation. This process illustrates how educational discourse innovatively transforms traditional resources while sustaining cultural identity and value consensus in the context of globalization. 5.3 Discursive level analysis Based on a full-corpus analysis of the mottos of 848 public universities in China, this section examines university mottos at the level of discursive practice, focusing on how they are produced, circulated, and institutionalized within the educational system, and how they thereby participate in the construction of national ideology and educational values. In contrast to the preceding analyses of textual features and intertextual resources, the emphasis here is not on what university mottos explicitly express, but on how these expressions acquire legitimacy, stability, and normative force within specific institutional and social contexts. The findings suggest that university mottos are not isolated linguistic texts but rather highly institutionalized forms of symbolic discourse. The production of their meanings relies on the coordinated operation of multiple discursive practices. On the one hand, through the recurrent activation of core semantic categories—such as MOR, SCH, ACT, DIL, and WILL—mottos construct a relatively stable value framework centered on moral cultivation, academic pursuit, and the integration of knowledge and practice. On the other hand, through the selective intertextual appropriation and recontextualization of Confucian classics, this value framework is embedded within cultural traditions endowed with historical authority, thereby securing legitimacy that extends across temporal contexts. Within this process, university mottos function as key discursive nodes linking traditional cultural resources, modern educational ideals, and national educational objectives. Their formulation and interpretation are typically embedded in institutional procedures at the university level and are accompanied by official explanatory texts and public dissemination practices. As a result, mottos do not merely serve as declarative value statements; rather, through sustained repetition and routinized use, they are transformed into institutional norms that can be collectively recognized and internalized. Consequently, the discursive function of university mottos goes beyond that of symbolic identification, positioning them as important ideological instruments within the higher education system for mediating cultural continuity, policy orientation, and talent cultivation goals. 5.3.1 The historical and institutionalization process of university mottos as ideological discourse University mottos in their modern sense emerged alongside the formation of the modern higher education system in China, and their discursive forms have been shaped by shifting relations among imported university ideals, nation-state projects, and inherited cultural resources. Over time, mottos became an interface through which institutional identity was aligned with broader political and educational agendas. After Reform and Opening-up in the 1980s, expanding functions of higher education and intensified competition encouraged motto discourse to move beyond singular political slogans toward more diversified formulations. From the 1990s onward, many institutions revitalized classical cultural resources and emphasized distinctive histories and disciplinary orientations, while humanistic value emphases also became more visible in some cases. Overall, these changes reflect an institutionalization process in which mottos are repeatedly recontextualized to negotiate tradition, modernization, and national imperatives. 5.3.2 Institutional mechanisms for the stabilization of motto meaning: repetition, selection, and normalization If Sections 5.1 and 5.2 reveal what university mottos express, the discursive practice perspective draws attention to how these expressions are stabilized over time as “taken-for-granted” value consensuses. The findings indicate that the stability of motto meanings does not stem from individual acts of textual creation, but rather relies on a set of institutionalized discursive practices. First, the high frequency of core semantic categories (such as MOR, SCH, ACT, and WILL) reflects a repetition-based process of meaning stabilization. By repeatedly activating similar value configurations across different universities and historical periods, university mottos gradually form a highly recognizable “standard discourse pattern,” through which “cultivating virtue—valuing learning—committing to practice” becomes naturalized as the fundamental logic of higher education. This repetition is not mere imitation; rather, under conditions of institutional endorsement, these expressions are continuously replicated, circulated, and reproduced, thereby acquiring normative status. Second, the ways in which semantic categories are combined reflect the ideological orientation underlying discursive selection. Although the vast majority of mottos adopt multi-category composite structures, their internal arrangements are far from random. Instead, they commonly follow a sequential logic in which virtue precedes learning and practice follows thereafter. This structural preference integrates individual moral cultivation, the pursuit of knowledge, and social responsibility into an indivisible whole, while simultaneously directing higher education goals toward national and societal functions. In this way, university mottos formally accomplish a modern translation of the Confucian ethical framework of self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, and world harmony, and substantively achieve a deep alignment between educational objectives and national narratives. Third, the relative marginalization of certain modern educational values—such as innovation (INNO), inclusiveness (INCL), and critical reasoning (REAS)—reveals a selective mechanism in the incorporation of new ideas within motto discourse. As a highly institutionalized and strongly symbolic textual form, university mottos tend to prioritize the integration of values that can maintain continuity with established ethical traditions or national development goals, while adopting a more cautious stance toward ideas that emphasize critical thinking, individual difference, or epistemic reflexivity. This selectivity does not indicate a lack of values, but rather reflects institutional discourse’s effort to balance stability and change. Therefore, university mottos should not be understood as mere “mirror texts” that passively reflect shifts in educational ideas. Instead, they function as institutional discursive forms that continuously produce and stabilize dominant values through practices of repetition, selection, and normalization. In this sense, university mottos constitute a key discursive site for observing how Chinese higher education negotiates cultural tradition, state ideology, and educational reform agendas within the contexts of globalization and modernization. 6. Limitations Several limitations of the present study should be acknowledged. First, although the dataset covers 848 Chinese public universities and offers broad representativeness at the national level, the analysis focuses exclusively on officially promulgated motto texts and their authorized interpretations. As such, it does not capture how mottos are interpreted, contested, or recontextualized by students and faculty in everyday institutional life. Second, semantic category coding, while conducted through a transparent and reliability-tested procedure, inevitably involves interpretive judgment, particularly in cases where moral values are conveyed implicitly rather than through explicit lexical markers. Although inter-coder agreement was substantial and disagreements were resolved through discussion, alternative categorizations remain theoretically possible. Third, the study prioritizes cross-institutional distributional patterns over diachronic change. While historical references are incorporated through intertextual analysis, longitudinal shifts in motto discourse across different historical periods are not systematically examined. Future research could extend the present framework by integrating diachronic corpora or reception-based approaches to further explore the evolving functions of university mottos in higher education discourse. 7. Conclusion Although the term university motto is a product of modern higher education, its normative foundations can be traced back to the educational ideals of traditional academies and are deeply shaped by Confucian ethics. Based on a systematic analysis of the mottos of 848 public undergraduate universities in China, this study uncovers the underlying relationship between linguistic distribution and value orientation within Chinese higher education discourse. The findings demonstrate that university mottos, as a highly condensed and institutionalized form of educational discourse, exhibit interconnected and mutually reinforcing characteristics across the textual, intertextual, and discursive-practice dimensions. At the textual level, the semantic distribution of mottos reveals a highly concentrated core structure. Moral discourse (MOR) and scholarship-related discourse (SCH) jointly constitute the central value orientation, establishing a fundamental pattern of moral cultivation alongside knowledge pursuit. The prominent presence of action-oriented (ACT) and will-related (WILL) categories further completes a logical sequence that moves from value grounding and learning to practical engagement. By combining two to four semantic categories within a limited textual space, most mottos integrate multiple educational objectives, reflecting an emphasis on coherence and holistic value construction in Chinese higher education. At the intertextual level, university mottos display a strong reliance on and selective appropriation of pre-Qin Confucian classics. Canonical texts such as The Book of Rites (《礼记》), The Analects (《论语》), and The Book of Changes (《周易》) constitute the core intertextual resources, while later interpretive works are cited far less frequently. This pattern indicates not a passive inheritance of tradition but a strategic mobilization of culturally authoritative texts to secure cross-temporal legitimacy. Through processes of recontextualization, classical concepts are endowed with contemporary meanings, allowing Confucian ethical resources to remain actively involved in the construction of modern educational values. At the level of discursive practice, university mottos function not as isolated texts but as symbolic forms that are continuously produced, circulated, and normalized through institutional procedures, official interpretations, and public dissemination. The stability of their meanings is not the result of single textual acts, but of repeated activation of core semantic categories, structured value sequencing, and the selective incorporation of new educational ideas. Through these mechanisms, the framework of “moral cultivation, committed learning, and practical engagement” is naturalized as a taken-for-granted logic of university education and transformed into an internalized institutional norm. Taken together, this study demonstrates that Chinese university mottos operate through a highly structured semantic system and institutionalized discursive practices to negotiate cultural tradition, modern educational ideas, and national educational objectives. Rather than serving as purely mirror texts that passively reflect shifts in educational ideas, university mottos function as an active discursive mechanism in ideological construction and value integration. By foregrounding mottos as a meaningful object of analysis, this research contributes empirical evidence and a linguistic perspective to the study of ideology in higher education discourse. Declarations Author Contribution J.J. L. is responsible for writing the first draft of the paper under the guidance of H. G. and also for completing all the technical details. H. G. is responsible for the organization of the study and the continual revision of the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Data Availability The dataset generated and analyzed during the current study, including the anonymized coding table of university mottos and their semantic annotations, is available in the Supplementary Materials. To protect institutional anonymity and ensure ethical use, university identifiers have been removed. The semantic coding scheme, category definitions, and coding procedures are fully documented in Supplementary File. References Fairclough N (1992) Discourse and social change . Polity Press, Cambridge Zhang EX (2020) Inheriting and carrying forward the Yan’an Spirit through university motto culture. Higher Education Exploration 47–49. 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[in Chinese] Fang JH (2011) A critical review of current issues in university mottos and their normative aspirations. Chinese Journal of Education 35–38. [in Chinese] Li QZ (2010) The characteristics of world-class university mottos in America and the Implications. Comparative Education Review (11):37-41. [in Chinese] Zhu HL, Yang SG (2015) A comparative study of value orientations in Chinese and American university mottos: Evidence from “Project 211” universities and the top 100 U.S. universities. Higher Education Exploration (6): 64–68. [in Chinese] Geng FY, Zhao LL, Zhao T (2015) The inspiration of American universities’ mottos to the construction of university institutions in China. Journal of Higher Education Management 9(4):50-55. https://doi.org/10.13316/j.cnki.jhem.2015.04.016. [in Chinese] Fan WQ (2008) University motto translation: Existing problems and tentative solutions. Shanghai Journal of Translators (2):41-44. [in Chinese] Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterials1DataResearcher1.xlsx SupplementaryMaterials1DataResearcher2.xlsx SupplementaryMaterials1FoundationalData.xlsx SupplementaryMaterials2SemanticCodingSchemeandCodingProcedure.xlsx SupplementaryMaterials3ExamplesofIndependentCodingDisagreementsandNegotiatedResolutions.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 14 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 02 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 07 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 03 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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17:28:57","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":73353,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrequency Distribution of Semantic Categories in Chinese University Mottos\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8638016/v1/aca0dd280d2dc41a49ae5767.png"},{"id":104515896,"identity":"6ef9027d-0531-4cf1-8f07-1ad55939dfc7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-12 17:28:57","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":157384,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA three-dimensional analytical framework of moral discourse in Chinese university mottos.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8638016/v1/4dc3ebbbfac0e1d0565ad1ff.png"},{"id":104784592,"identity":"0f20f63c-3952-453d-b69e-49a883006752","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 08:08:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1270020,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8638016/v1/c3292db8-ff66-41e0-a3ff-8bff2af4a0ea.pdf"},{"id":104781323,"identity":"378e9712-3830-4cb1-b512-e5dc8018cdb1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 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17:28:57","extension":"xlsx","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":12777,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterials3ExamplesofIndependentCodingDisagreementsandNegotiatedResolutions.xlsx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8638016/v1/42010209426d9937ffb2006d.xlsx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A critical-discourse analysis of the mottos of public universities in China","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eUniversity culture, understood as an institutional system of ideas, is gradually constructed and continuously reshaped within specific historical contexts. It represents a collective articulation of educational philosophy, value norms, and organizational identity (Zhang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). In institutional practice, university mottos play a central role in cultural construction and spiritual cultivation through their highly condensed linguistic form. They not only convey educational goals and value orientations, but also constitute an important component of higher education discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt a deeper level, a university motto functions as a symbolic projection of the institution\u0026rsquo;s interpretation of national governance expectations, social value norms, and academic traditions. Through intergenerational transmission, it continues to contribute to the construction of cultural identity and value guidance. As a form of implicit governance, mottos do not rely on formal coercion; instead, they operate discursively to shape collective identification and articulate institutional missions. In doing so, they facilitate value orientation and identity construction, which are gradually internalized as self-motivated cultural practices (Sun and Gao, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Sun, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Balmer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn recent years, scholars have increasingly moved beyond viewing university mottos merely as symbolic artifacts, emphasizing instead their deeper discursive functions. Mottos are now widely regarded as responsive expressions through which universities articulate positions on knowledge production, social responsibility, and national identity (Delanty, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e; Barnett, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). In Western contexts, research has focused on university mottos in relation to branding strategies, historical continuity and identity formation, public values and ideological discourse, and cross-cultural communication (De Freitas, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Wang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Balmer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; O\u0026rsquo;Sullivan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Wang \u0026amp; Ran, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). In contrast, within East Asian Confucian cultural traditions, mottos are more often examined as sites for the reproduction of traditional ethics and collectivist values (Lee and Kwon, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn China, research on public university mottos has attracted growing scholarly attention (e.g., Wang and Zhang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Mai, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Zhai, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Zhang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Zou and Wang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Zhang and Elliot, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Sun and Gao, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Sun et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Sun, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). However, existing studies tend either to adopt historical or educational perspectives, or to employ linguistic approaches limited to a sample of 116 elite universities officially designated by the Chinese government. As a result, systematic and exhaustive analyses of mottos across Chinese public universities remain scarce. Moreover, prior research has often insufficiently explored the dominant values and ideological meanings embedded in these mottos. Analyses that are detached from broader socio-cultural contexts frequently lack explanatory depth and theoretical penetration.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo address these limitations, this study analyzes the mottos of all public universities in China, constructing a corpus that is both extensive in scope and diverse in institutional representation. Methodologically, the study moves beyond keyword frequency counts and structural pattern analysis by developing a semantic category framework. Integrating intertextual analysis with socio-historical contextualization, the study examines how value orientations and ideologies are discursively constructed in Chinese higher education through patterns of semantic distribution and the interaction between textual resources and social meanings. By uncovering the value structure and ideological logic underlying the discourse of Chinese public universities, this research also offers a new perspective on how the state constructs social identity and cultural values through the higher education system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e reviews relevant literature, including definitions of university mottos and prior research on Chinese university mottos. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e outlines the theoretical framework. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e details the data collection procedures and semantic analysis process. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec15\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e presents an in-depth discussion of the educational discourse, value orientations, and ideologies embedded in university mottos. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec21\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e concludes the paper.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Literature review","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Defining university mottos\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the Chinese context, university mottos can be described as an early endogenous phenomenon. While ancient academies possessed practices functionally equivalent to mottos, the term itself did not formally exist (Sun et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). The modern concept of the university motto emerged in the late Qing dynasty, alongside the establishment of modern educational institutions. Historical research suggests that the Chinese term \u003cem\u003exi\u0026agrave;ox\u0026ugrave;n\u003c/em\u003e (校训) was borrowed from the Japanese translation \u003cem\u003ekōkun\u003c/em\u003e (校訓) of the English word \u003cem\u003emotto\u003c/em\u003e, and was introduced into China only after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894\u0026ndash;1895 (Wang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Encyclopedia of China\u003c/em\u003e (1930) defines a school motto as selected moral precepts displayed publicly on campus to encourage constant reflection and practice. This definition highlights both the moral-educational function of mottos and their public, declarative character. Within educational research, university mottos are commonly understood as distilled expressions of institutional philosophy that have taken shape through long-term development, embodying university spirit and cultural heritage (Zhang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). They are widely recognized as authoritative value judgments that articulate educational objectives and institutional orientations, serving as symbolic representations of pedagogical ideals and value choices (Zhai, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). As a form of \u0026ldquo;regulative culture,\u0026rdquo; mottos also exert educational, normative, and motivational influence on the behavior of faculty and students (Han, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom an international perspective, the term \u003cem\u003emotto\u003c/em\u003e has a broader scope of application, encompassing not only universities but also corporations and social organizations. Major dictionaries generally define a motto as a short sentence or phrase expressing an institution\u0026rsquo;s aims, beliefs, or guiding principles (Merriam-Webster; Oxford; Cambridge). Scholarly interpretations further emphasize its symbolic role in representing institutional character and mission, as well as its functions in brand commitment and discursive mobilization (De Freitas, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Balmer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Drawing on Allen\u0026rsquo;s (1990) definition of a motto as a maxim adopted as a rule of conduct, De Freitas (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e) argues that a motto constitutes a condensed expression of an institution\u0026rsquo;s core identity and values, characterized by historical continuity and cultural symbolism, and serving dual functions of internal cohesion and external communication. Accordingly, in Western contexts, mottos are widely understood as key textual symbols through which universities articulate identity, values, and cultural narratives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Western research on university mottos\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Western scholarship, university mottos have been examined across education, sociology, branding studies, and discourse analysis. Three recurring concerns stand out. First, mottos are treated as institutional memory and corporate heritage that help legitimate continuity and mission (e.g., Balmer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Second, under marketization and internationalization, mottos work with logos and other symbolic resources to project brand identity, while critics warn against reducing them to empty slogans (O\u0026rsquo;Sullivan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Giroux, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Third, mottos can become contested public discourse, where religious or cultural language raises debates over inclusion and the boundaries of public space (De Freitas, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). Together, these strands suggest that mottos are simultaneously historical resources, strategic communicative assets, and ideological texts, motivating analyses that connect linguistic choices with institutional positioning and broader socio-political environments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Research on university mottos in China\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSystematic research on Chinese university mottos began relatively late but has diversified rapidly. A first line traces historical formation and cultural genealogy, highlighting hybridity between Confucian moral learning and modern university discourse, as well as the co-existence of classical-style and vernacular mottos under political-discursive regulation (e.g., Li Hui, 2005; Zhou and Tao, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Li and Xu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; He, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Related studies stress enduring dual orientations of valuing tradition while embracing reform (Ni and Yang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Zhai, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) and identify virtue (\u0026ldquo;德\u0026rdquo;, \u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e) as a salient value orientation (Pan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), sometimes discussed in relation to contemporary initiatives such as the \u0026ldquo;Double First-Class\u0026rdquo; policy (Han, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Sun et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA second line focuses on linguistic form, reporting preferences for four-character and eight-character parallel structures and recurring lexical combinations, as well as concerns about increasing homogenization across institutions (Lin et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Mai, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Wang and Zhang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Functionalist work, in turn, treats mottos as media of guidance, cohesion, and ideological education and examines their role in ritual contexts, while also warning about formalism under assessment regimes (Duan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Sun and Gao, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Zhang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Fang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparative research contrasts Chinese value emphases (e.g., virtue and collectivism) with Western mottos that foreground truth and freedom, yet increasingly calls for more nuanced readings beyond simple binaries (Li, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Wang and Zhang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Zhu and Yang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Geng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Finally, translation-oriented studies discuss how to balance cultural fidelity with target-language naturalness in English versions of mottos (Fan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Zhang and Elliot, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Mai, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Wang and Ran, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4 Research gaps\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite this growing body of work, four limitations remain prominent. First, sample selection is often skewed toward the 112 government-designated elite universities, leaving most public universities\u0026mdash;especially local and newly established institutions\u0026mdash;underexplored. Second, many studies rely on surface-level keyword counts or symbolic readings without transparent semantic criteria or sufficient contextual evidence (e.g., official motto explanations, institutional histories, and policy discourse), which constrains interpretability. Third, the literature tends to privilege affirmative functional accounts (cultural inheritance, educational guidance) and pays less attention to power relations and ideological negotiation in motto production and circulation. Fourth, cross-cultural comparisons sometimes reproduce simplified Confucian\u0026ndash;Western dichotomies and rarely examine how mottos are interpreted and enacted in institutional life. These gaps call for full-coverage corpus evidence, explicit semantic classification, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) that links textual patterns with intertextual resources and discursive practice.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Theoretical framework","content":"\u003cp\u003eCDA investigates how language participates in producing and legitimizing social power and ideology. Among influential approaches, Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s three-dimensional model relates (i) textual features, (ii) discursive practice (production, circulation, interpretation), and (iii) social practice (institutional and ideological conditions) in a unified analytical framework (Fairclough, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e). This framework conceptualizes discourse as a form of social practice and highlights the dialectical relationship between language, discourse processes, and broader social structures. Despite its early formulation, Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s model continues to offer both theoretical depth and methodological clarity, which explains its persistent relevance across diverse fields of study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study adopts Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s model to treat university mottos as minimalist institutional texts whose meanings are stabilized through repetition, official interpretation, and ritualized circulation. At the textual level, we use frequency-based distribution analyses and category co-occurrence analyses grounded in semantic coding to identify dominant value themes and recurring value configurations across 848 institutions. At the discursive and social-practice levels, we examine how these themes are recontextualized through institutional explanations and higher-education governance discourses to construct legitimacy and value order.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e summarizes how the three analytical dimensions are operationalized in the present study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOperationalization of Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s Three-Dimensional Framework\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCDA Dimension\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalytical Focus\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eData Sources\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalytical Procedures\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eText\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLexical choice, semantic domains, value clustering, structural patterning\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMotto texts from 848 Chinese public universities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorpus construction; semantic categorization; dual coding; frequency analysis; co-occurrence and distribution analysis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiscursive Practice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduction, dissemination, and institutional stabilization of mottos\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOfficial motto explanations, university websites, policy documents, ceremonial texts\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContextual interpretation; intertextual comparison; examination of authorization and ritualization processes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial Practice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdeological orientation and value construction in higher education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational higher education policies, socio-historical context, cultural traditions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterpretive analysis linking discursive patterns to policy discourse, cultural norms, and governance structures\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4. Research design","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 Research questions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study adopts a critical discourse analysis perspective to conduct a systematic examination of university mottos across all Chinese public universities, with the aim of uncovering the dominant values and ideological orientations embedded in Chinese higher education. By moving beyond analyses limited to elite institutions, the study seeks to provide a comprehensive discursive portrait of the sector as a whole. It also establishes an empirical and conceptual basis for future comparative research between Chinese higher education and that of Western countries, such as the United States, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of China\u0026rsquo;s cultural positioning and institutional logic in higher education.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAddressing the above research gap, the study is guided by the following three research questions:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1) At the semantic level, what major semantic categories are manifested in the mottos of Chinese public universities, and how are these categories distributed? How do these semantic patterns reflect dominant discursive tendencies and value priorities in Chinese higher education?\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2) At the intertextual level, which cultural and discursive traditions serve as primary sources for the linguistic resources and expressive forms found in university mottos? How do these intertextual references participate in the reproduction of educational discourse?\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3) At the level of social practice, how do university mottos construct and disseminate specific value orientations and ideological meanings within their broader socio-historical context?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 Data collection\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo overcome the object and coverage bias in prior research that concentrates on the 112 elite universities designated by the Chinese government, this study builds a full-sample corpus of mottos from Chinese public universities nationwide. The sampling frame comprises 848 public universities, excluding Sino-foreign cooperative universities and institutions in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The university list was compiled from the most recent roster published on the official website of the Ministry of Education of the People\u0026rsquo;s Republic of China.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll motto texts were collected from official university websites, primarily from dedicated \u0026ldquo;university motto\u0026rdquo; pages or institutional profile pages. Where universities had revised their mottos over time, the currently displayed version on the official website was treated as the authoritative text for the purpose of synchronic comparison. For five universities that did not provide a formal motto, the database records the entry as \u0026ldquo;none.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo facilitate contextualized interpretation of motto functions and ideological positioning, the corpus was expanded to include official interpretive materials associated with mottos. These materials were drawn from four sources: (1) motto interpretation sections or related introductions on official university websites; (2) verified institutional communication channels (e.g., official accounts on major Chinese social media platforms, such as Weibo and WeChat, as well as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and university newspapers); (3) reports and feature commentaries published by authoritative national media outlets (e.g., \u003cem\u003eGuangming Daily, People\u0026rsquo;s Daily Online, and China Education Daily\u003c/em\u003e); and (4) public speeches by university leaders (particularly party secretaries and presidents) delivered at major institutional events (e.g., opening ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, and anniversary celebrations), with attention to passages explicating the values and educational philosophy embodied in the motto.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA priority-based collection principle was applied to enhance comparability: official websites were collected first, followed by institutional social media, national media reports, and leadership speeches. All retrieved materials were stored in the database as linked records in the format \u0026ldquo;motto text\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;interpretive texts,\u0026rdquo; allowing for both corpus-based patterning analysis and discourse interpretation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor 139 universities, no official interpretive texts were found across the four sources. In these cases, brief researcher-inferred glosses were added solely to support semantic coding (e.g., via etymological reference and conventional usage), and were explicitly marked as non-official notes to avoid conflation with institutional interpretations. The semantic coding scheme, dual-coding procedures, and validation steps are detailed in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4.3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3 Data analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo address the research questions with methodological rigor and replicability, all motto texts and associated interpretive materials from 848 Chinese public universities were standardized after collection. Standardization included deduplication, format unification, and structured data entry, resulting in a purpose-built corpus suitable for both quantitative analysis and qualitative discourse interpretation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor analytical clarity, this study distinguishes \u0026ldquo;semantic categories\u0026rdquo; as methodological coding units from \u0026ldquo;value domains\u0026rdquo; as higher-level interpretive constructs derived from coded patterns. \u0026ldquo;Value orientation\u0026rdquo; refers to dominant normative tendencies observable in motto discourse, while \u0026ldquo;ideology\u0026rdquo; is used in a restricted sense to denote institutionalized meaning systems embedded in higher-education governance discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3.1 Rationale and unit of analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA purely keyword-based approach is insufficient for university mottos, which frequently express institutional values through condensed sentences, metaphors, or classical allusions rather than explicit lexical markers. Semantically equivalent values may also be realized through lexically divergent expressions, leading to under-coverage if analysis relies only on high-frequency keywords. To address these issues, the present study adopts \u003cb\u003esemantic category analysis\u003c/b\u003e as the primary analytic strategy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe basic coding unit was determined by either (a) the core lexical item(s) that directly signal a value category, or (b) the holistic semantic orientation of the motto when values are conveyed through phrases, complete sentences, or allusive formulations. When a motto contained stable value-signaling terms that could be mapped onto a category, classification was based on their conventional meanings. When the motto\u0026rsquo;s value was conveyed implicitly, categorization was determined by its overall meaning rather than by mechanically segmenting individual words. This principle minimized misclassification caused by formal variation and enabled the analysis to capture mottos as ideologically condensed institutional discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3.2 Semantic taxonomy and coding reliability\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSemantic annotation was carried out using a mutually exclusive taxonomy of nine categories, designed to be theoretically coherent while empirically adequate for the dataset. The taxonomy comprises nine mutually exclusive categories: (1) Morality and Virtue (MOR), ethical cultivation and integrity; (2) Scholarship and Knowledge (SCH), inquiry and truth-seeking; (3) Action and Practice (ACT), unity of knowledge and action; (4) Diligence and Perseverance (DIL), sustained effort and self-discipline; (5) Willpower and Aspiration (WILL), aspiration-driven agency; (6) Innovation and Openness (INNO), creativity and openness to change; (7) Professional Excellence (PROF), specialized competence and professional ethics; (8) Inclusiveness and Tolerance (INCL), pluralism and openness to diversity; and (9) Reasoning and Reflection (REAS), critical and reflective inquiry. In particular, DIL and WILL were explicitly differentiated to reduce conceptual overlap: DIL captures process-oriented perseverance and disciplined effort, whereas WILL foregrounds aspiration-driven agency and goal setting.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo enhance reliability and transparency, the coding scheme was piloted on a random sample of 100 mottos prior to full-scale annotation, and category boundaries were refined accordingly. Two researchers then independently coded the full dataset. Inter-coder reliability was assessed using Cohen\u0026rsquo;s kappa (κ) for the nine-category annotation (κ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.75), with an overall percent agreement of 87%. Disagreements were resolved through discussion and iterative refinement; a small number of remaining cases were adjudicated by a third researcher using contextual information and, where available, official institutional interpretations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3.3 Quantitative measures and integration with CDA\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause many mottos combine multiple value emphases, the study adopted a \u003cb\u003emulti-label recording\u003c/b\u003e strategy. All categories present in each motto were documented to capture composite value structures. For aggregate prevalence analysis, a \u0026ldquo;\u003cb\u003eone university\u0026ndash;one count\u003c/b\u003e\u0026rdquo; rule was applied: if multiple lexical items within a single motto belonged to the same category, that category was counted only once for that institution. This reduced inflation caused by repetitive wording and enabled a clearer assessment of category distribution across universities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing manual semantic coding, quantitative analyses were conducted to identify (a) frequency distributions of categories across the full sample and (b) category co-occurrence patterns, capturing how value orientations cluster within mottos. These results were then incorporated into the broader critical discourse analysis design to connect textual patterning with discursive practices and social meanings. Specifically, distributional patterns and co-occurrence tendencies informed the selection of representative cases for contextualized interpretation and supported analysis of how institutional values are discursively organized and legitimized within higher education.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, the study examined the \u003cb\u003eintertextuality\u003c/b\u003e of university mottos, with attention to both classical traditions and contemporary governance discourse. When official interpretations explicitly identified textual sources, those attributions were adopted. When sources were not specified, dictionary-based and reference-based etymological tracing was used to identify likely classical origins, allowing a distinction between \u003cb\u003eexplicit intertextuality\u003c/b\u003e (direct citations) and \u003cb\u003eimplicit intertextuality\u003c/b\u003e (conceptual adaptation or reformulation). Detailed rules and coding procedures for intertextual analysis are presented in the subsequent section.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the level of discursive and social practice, the study combined content analysis with critical discourse analysis to interpret how motto meanings are produced, stabilized, and mobilized. This stage drew on official interpretive texts, authoritative speeches, and related media materials to examine how value orientations are linked to cultural functions and institutional authority. The operational procedures for this contextual analysis are reported in the corresponding sections on discursive practice and social practice.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaken together, the multi-stage procedure enables a layered progression from semantic patterning in motto language to contextualized interpretation of discursive and ideological processes, providing a robust empirical basis for the findings presented in Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec15\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Research findings and discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis section reports the main findings from the corpus-based semantic coding and contextual analysis of mottos from 848 Chinese public universities, guided by Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e) three-dimensional CDA framework. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec16\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5.1\u003c/span\u003e presents the overall distribution and co-occurrence patterns of the nine semantic categories at the textual level (RQ1). Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec17\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5.2\u003c/span\u003e examines intertextual alignments with Confucian classics and contemporary policy discourse, focusing on how such resources are appropriated and recontextualized (RQ2). Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec18\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5.3\u003c/span\u003e then situates these patterns in social practice by analyzing how mottos are produced, circulated, and institutionalized, and how they negotiate educational and political demands (RQ3).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.1 Analysis at the textual level\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on the semantic coding results, this section reports the distribution and co-occurrence patterns of the nine categories across the mottos of 848 Chinese public universities (RQ1). Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows the frequency of each category in the corpus. Because mottos may contain multiple categories and repeated expressions, frequencies are calculated using a \u0026ldquo;one university\u0026ndash;one count\u0026rdquo; rule: a category is counted once for an institution if it appears anywhere in that institution\u0026rsquo;s motto. This operationalization captures cross-institutional prevalence rather than within-text lexical density.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis methodological choice minimizes potential distortions caused by intensive repetition of specific value terms in individual mottos and allows for a clearer depiction of the relative prevalence of different semantic categories across Chinese public universities. As a result, the analysis foregrounds patterns of institutional value distribution rather than stylistic variation at the individual-text level, providing a more robust basis for interpreting the dominant semantic tendencies of motto discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of overall distribution, moral discourse (MOR) and scholarly discourse (SCH) each account for more than 60% of the total semantic resources, jointly constituting the dominant core of Chinese university motto discourse. This dual emphasis on morality and learning should not be understood as a simple juxtaposition of values. Rather, it is closely aligned with the holistic tradition of Chinese philosophy\u0026mdash;particularly Confucian thought\u0026mdash;which conceives moral cultivation and learning practice as mutually constitutive processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcross the corpus, Morality (MOR) and Scholarship (SCH) each appear in over 60% of mottos, forming the core value pair of the genre. This co-dominance aligns with a Confucian learning\u0026ndash;cultivation nexus in which learning is framed as a route to moral self-cultivation and practical wisdom rather than value-neutral knowledge accumulation; accordingly, MOR and SCH are discursively integrated rather than treated as competing priorities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAction/Practice (ACT) and Aspiration/Will (WILL) constitute the next tier, extending the MOR\u0026ndash;SCH core toward enactment and commitment and echoing the ideal of uniting knowledge with practice. By contrast, Innovation (INNO), Inclusiveness (INCL), and Reasoning (REAS) remain comparatively marginal, suggesting that mottos\u0026mdash;as tradition-laden symbolic texts\u0026mdash;privilege historically stabilized value resources over more recent policy-driven themes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy contrast, the relatively marginal presence of categories such as innovation (INNO), inclusiveness (INCL), and reasoning (REAS), highlights the selective integration characteristic of university motto discourse. Although innovation has become a central theme in contemporary higher-education policy, its frequency in mottos remains limited, suggesting that innovation is more strongly emphasized in policy documents and institutional practices than in this highly condensed and symbolic textual genre. Similarly, the low visibility of inclusiveness and reasoning indicates that, within the motto genre, Confucian priorities\u0026mdash;ethical primacy, holistic harmony, and practice-oriented cultivation\u0026mdash;continue to shape value integration at a deeper level. This does not imply a rejection of modern educational ideals, but rather reflects the tendency of university mottos, as symbolic cultural texts, to privilege stable values with strong historical continuity over emerging or policy-driven discourses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBuilding on this distributional analysis, the study further conducts a quantitative and structural examination of the internal semantic resources within the Morality and Virtue (MOR) category. A total of 902 MOR-related lexical items were identified across the corpus. Among them, expressions explicitly containing the character \u0026ldquo;德\u0026rdquo;(\u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e, virtue)account for 406 instances, representing approximately 45% of all MOR-related terms. This makes virtue-centered expressions the largest and most structurally consolidated value cluster in university motto discourse. These figures indicate that moral discourse not only occupies a central position in terms of overall semantic frequency, but also exhibits a rich and systematically organized internal lexical repertoire.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile the quantitative analysis reveals the prominence and internal richness of virtue-centered expressions, it does not by itself explain how moral meanings are systematically constructed in discourse. To address this issue, the study advances a three-dimensional analytical framework, shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe framework illustrates how moral meanings are constructed through textual structures (verb\u0026ndash;object, modifier\u0026ndash;head, and coordinate constructions), organized across hierarchical value levels (individual, social, and national), and realized through ideological functions including symbolization, regulation, and legitimation in alignment with the national policy of fostering virtue through education.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo further elucidate the internal semantic logic of the MOR category, the 902 identified expressions were classified into two complementary subtypes. The first consists of explicit virtue terms, which are lexically anchored by the character \u0026ldquo;德\u0026rdquo;(\u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e) and display relatively stable formal patterns. The second comprises implicit virtue terms, which do not contain \u0026ldquo;德\u0026rdquo;༈\u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e༉ but nevertheless directly index ethical norms and moral expectations. Together, these two subtypes constitute a comprehensive semantic field of moral virtues within university mottos, operating across the textual, discursive, and social-practice dimensions to shape and sustain distinctive pathways of value production and transmission in Chinese higher education.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin the explicit virtue subtype, the most structurally salient and practice-oriented expressions are verb-object constructions such as \u0026ldquo;修德\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003exiū d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e, cultivating virtue) and \u0026ldquo;立德\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003el\u0026igrave; d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e, establishing virtue), which account for approximately 60% of all \u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e-based terms. By foregrounding action through verbal predicates, these expressions transform abstract moral ideals into actionable moral imperatives, thereby constructing a clear orientation toward practice within motto discourse. In doing so, they discursively resonate with the national educational principle of \u0026ldquo;立德树人\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003el\u0026igrave; d\u0026eacute; sh\u0026ugrave; r\u0026eacute;n\u003c/em\u003e, fostering virtue through education). By contrast, modifier-head constructions such as \u0026ldquo;厚德\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003eh\u0026ograve;u d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e, profound virtue) and \u0026ldquo;宏德\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003eh\u0026oacute;ng d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e, magnanimous virtue) place greater emphasis on the idealized qualities and symbolic elevation of virtue itself, highlighting the moral standards to which individuals are expected to aspire.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlso noteworthy, despite their relatively low frequency, are coordinative constructions such as \u0026ldquo;德-才\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;-c\u0026aacute;i\u003c/em\u003e、virtue and talent) and \u0026ldquo;德-学\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e-\u003cem\u003exu\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e、virtue and learning). By consistently positioning \u0026ldquo;德\u0026rdquo;(\u003cem\u003ed\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e) as the first element, these expressions encode a hierarchical value order that affirms the priority of moral cultivation while simultaneously accommodating multiple forms of competence. This discursive strategy enables the coordination of morality, scholarship, and skills within a unified framework oriented toward the formation of the ideal educated subject. A particularly illustrative case is the term \u0026ldquo;明德\u0026rdquo;༈\u003cem\u003em\u0026iacute;ng d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e༉, whose semantic ambiguity allows it to be interpreted either as a verb-object structure (\u0026ldquo;to illuminate virtue\u0026rdquo;) or as a modifier-head structure (\u0026ldquo;illuminated virtue\u0026rdquo;). This strategic openness permits the term to satisfy policy-driven demands for actionable moral guidance while preserving the elevated moral imagination characteristic of classical ethical discourse, thus facilitating flexible negotiation between regulation and moral aspiration.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, implicit virtue terms rely primarily on semantic reference rather than lexical form to convey ethical demands, and they exhibit a clear progression from individual character formation to social relations and, ultimately, national responsibility. At the individual level, high-frequency items such as \u0026ldquo;修身\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003exiū shēn\u003c/em\u003e, self-cultivation, 14 instances), \u0026ldquo;诚\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ech\u0026eacute;ng\u003c/em\u003e, integrity, 13), \u0026ldquo;信\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ex\u0026igrave;n\u003c/em\u003e, trustworthiness, 10), and \u0026ldquo;勇\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003eyǒng\u003c/em\u003e, courage, 3) emphasize the internal shaping of moral character, aligning with the moral anthropology underlying Chinese cultural traditions. At the social level, expressions such as \u0026ldquo;团结\u0026rdquo; (tu\u0026aacute;n ji\u0026eacute;, solidarity, 31), \u0026ldquo;树人\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003esh\u0026ugrave; r\u0026eacute;n\u003c/em\u003e, cultivating people, 10), and \u0026ldquo;责任\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ez\u0026eacute; r\u0026egrave;n\u003c/em\u003e, responsibility, 4) foreground interpersonal norms and social ethical obligations. At the national level, terms including \u0026ldquo;忠诚\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ezhōng ch\u0026eacute;ng\u003c/em\u003e, loyalty, 19), \u0026ldquo;济世\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ej\u0026igrave; sh\u0026igrave;\u003c/em\u003e, serving the world, 16), \u0026ldquo;爱国\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003e\u0026agrave;i gu\u0026oacute;\u003c/em\u003e, patriotism, 9), and \u0026ldquo;奉献\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003ef\u0026egrave;ng xi\u0026agrave;n\u003c/em\u003e, dedication, 8) extend moral expectations toward public mission and national identification.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis layered structure closely mirrors the Confucian logic of moral extension from self-cultivation to social harmony and state responsibility. It highlights an ethical orientation in which personal moral refinement serves as the foundation for collective order, with the ultimate goal of integrating individual virtue into broader social and political commitments. Within university motto discourse, this configuration underscores a value system that privileges moral primacy, collective responsibility, and the maintenance of holistic order as guiding principles of educational purpose.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis section has addressed Research Question (1) through a combined analysis of macro-level distributional patterns and micro-level semantic structures. At the macro level, quantitative results demonstrate that Morality (MOR) and Scholarship (SCH) together constitute the value core of Chinese public university mottos. This dual emphasis on moral cultivation and learning establishes the overarching discursive orientation of the genre. At the same time, university mottos rarely function as single-value proclamations. More than 90% of the texts integrate two to four semantic categories, reflecting their capacity to condense multiple educational objectives\u0026mdash;most notably the coordination of moral orientation with practice (ACT) and aspiration (WILL)\u0026mdash;within an extremely limited textual space. By contrast, the relatively marginal presence of modern categories such as Innovation (INNO), Inclusiveness (INCL), and Reasoning (REAS) highlights the stability and selectivity with which this highly symbolic and tradition-laden textual genre incorporates emerging educational discourses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin this overall configuration, the micro-level analysis of the MOR category reveals a highly structured and internally differentiated ethical system. Drawing on an analytical framework that integrates the Confucian progression of self-cultivation, social regulation, and public responsibility with the individual\u0026ndash;society\u0026ndash;state structure embedded in socialist core values, this study offers an empirically grounded account of the ethical logic underlying Chinese higher education discourse. Formally, moral values are textualized through grammatical patterns such as verb\u0026ndash;object and modifier\u0026ndash;head constructions, which translate abstract virtues into both actionable moral directives and idealized ethical aspirations. Substantively, implicit moral expressions follow a clear hierarchical progression\u0026mdash;from individual character formation, through social responsibility, to national commitment\u0026mdash;systematically covering a comprehensive range of ethical expectations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaken together, Chinese university mottos operate through a highly structured semantic encoding mechanism that integrates cultural tradition, educational philosophy, and contemporary state objectives. At the discursive level, this mechanism provides a concrete articulation of moral education as the foundation of higher education, while simultaneously distinguishing itself from Western higher education traditions that tend to privilege abstract and universalized forms of individual virtue. Rooted in a collectivist cultural framework and oriented toward modern nation-building, this distinctive ethical configuration offers a solid textual foundation for the subsequent analysis of the ideological functions of university mottos at the level of discursive and social practice.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.2 Intertextuality analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom an intertextual perspective, Chinese public university mottos exhibit a strong reliance on Confucian classical texts, combined with a pronounced pattern of selective appropriation. The following is a list of the classical sources referenced. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, the intertextual repertoire of university mottos is overwhelmingly drawn from Confucian canonical texts, with clear concentration on a limited set of foundational works.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eClassical Sources Referenced in University Mottos\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSource Text\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescription\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Book of Rites\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《礼记》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e637\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne of the Confucian Thirteen Classics; systematically articulates ritual ideals, ethical norms, and social order.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Analects\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《论语》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e486\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCore Confucian classic recording the sayings and actions of Confucius and his disciples; foundational to Confucian thought.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Book of Changes\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《周易》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e272\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePremier Confucian classic exploring cosmological change through the hexagram system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Book of Documents\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《尚书》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e125\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHistorical classic within the Confucian canon, preserving political speeches and moral governance ideals of ancient rulers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Xunzi\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《荀子》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e127\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMajor Confucian philosophical work advocating the doctrine of human nature as evil.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eZuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《春秋左氏传》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthoritative historical commentary interpreting the Spring and Autumn Annals through narrative historiography.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMencius\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《孟子》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKey Confucian text elaborating the doctrines of innate human goodness, benevolent governance, and people-centered politics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eInstructions for Practical Living\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《传习录》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMing-dynasty Confucian work by \u003cem\u003eWang Yangming\u003c/em\u003e, expounding \u0026ldquo;the unity of knowledge and action.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eClassified Conversations of Master Zhu\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《朱子语类》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecord of \u003cem\u003eZhu Xi\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s teachings, representing the systematic development of Neo-Confucian thought.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Book of Songs\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《诗经》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEarliest Chinese poetry anthology; a literary Confucian classic associated with moral education and political symbolism.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRites of Zhou\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《周礼》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInstitutional Confucian classic outlining an idealized bureaucratic and ritual system of early China.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCollected Commentaries on the Doctrine of the Mean\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《中庸章句集注》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eZhu Xi\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s annotated interpretation of The Doctrine of the Mean, central to the Four Books tradition.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eComplete Works of Zhu Xi\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《朱子全书》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComprehensive collection of \u003cem\u003eZhu Xi\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s writings on Confucian philosophy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFamily Sayings of Confucius\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《孔子家语》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eText recording Confucius\u0026rsquo; teachings and anecdotes associated with the Confucian lineage.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eKongcongzi\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《孔丛子》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConfucian work traditionally attributed to descendants of Confucius.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eErya\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《尔雅》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEarliest Chinese lexicon and a Confucian exegetical aid for interpreting classical texts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eClassic of Filial Piety\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《孝经》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEthical Confucian classic emphasizing filial devotion as a moral foundation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReflections on Things at Hand\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《近思录》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroductory Neo-Confucian anthology compiled by \u003cem\u003eZhu Xi\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCollected Annotations\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《集注》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eZhu Xi\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s authoritative commentary on The Analects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTen Wings\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《易传》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhilosophical commentaries traditionally associated with Confucius, interpreting The Book of Changes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTuan Commentary\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《彖辞》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComponent of the \u003cem\u003eTen Wings\u003c/em\u003e(《易传》) explaining hexagram meanings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAlternative Interpretations of the Analects\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《论语别裁》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModern reinterpretation of The Analects by \u003cem\u003eNan Huaijin\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCorrect Meaning of the Book of Rites\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《礼记正义》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTang-dynasty official commentary on The Book of Rites by \u003cem\u003eKong Yingda\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCommentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《春秋传》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHu Anguo\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s interpretation of the Spring and Autumn Annals showcases the thought of Southern Song Confucianism and the classic\u0026rsquo;s place among China\u0026rsquo;s Six Classics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGreat Commentary on the Book of Changes\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《周易大传》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEarly systematic Confucian interpretation of \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Changes\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eStandards for Being a Good Student\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《弟子规》\u0026zwnj;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQing-dynasty moral primer emphasizing ethical conduct.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAnnotated Commentary on the Greater Dai Rites\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《大戴礼记解诂》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQing-dynasty scholarly commentary by \u003cem\u003eWang Pinzhen\u003c/em\u003e on The Greater Dai Rites serves as a valuable reference for understanding early Chinese society and Confucian ideology.\u0026zwnj;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRecorded Sayings of the Cheng Brothers\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《二程语录》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSayings of \u003cem\u003eCheng Hao\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCheng Yi\u003c/em\u003e, foundational figures of Neo-Confucianism.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOn Teachers\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《师说》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEssay by \u003cem\u003eHan Yu\u003c/em\u003e articulating Confucian views on pedagogy and moral authority.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMemorial on Statecraft\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《陈政事疏》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitical essay by \u003cem\u003eJia Yi\u003c/em\u003e reflecting Han-dynasty Confucian governance thought.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBiographies of Exemplary Women\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《列女传》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDidactic text compiled by \u003cem\u003eLiu Xiang\u003c/em\u003e to promote Confucian moral ideals through female exemplars.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eModel Sayings\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e《法言》\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWestern Han Confucian text by \u003cem\u003eYang Xiong\u003c/em\u003e modeled on The Analects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA systematic survey of mottos from 848 universities identifies references to 32 Confucian classics and related works, of which pre-\u003cem\u003eQin\u003c/em\u003e foundational texts account for 95.2% of all intertextual sources, forming the unquestionable core of the intertextual repertoire. Among these, \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Rites\u003c/em\u003e (《礼记》, 637 instances), \u003cem\u003eThe Analects\u003c/em\u003e (《论语》, 486 instances), and \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Changes\u003c/em\u003e (《周易》, 272 instances) together constitute nearly 90% of all intertextual occurrences, resulting in a highly concentrated structure centered on early canonical texts. By contrast, later interpretive works associated with \u003cem\u003eSong\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMing\u003c/em\u003e Dynasties Neo-Confucianism\u0026mdash;such as \u003cem\u003eWang Yangming\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;\u003cem\u003es Instructions for Practical Living\u003c/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eZhu Xi\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s \u003cem\u003eClassified Conversations\u003c/em\u003e\u0026mdash;are rarely cited, accounting for only about 3.6%. This distribution suggests that universities tend to prioritize original canonical texts while avoiding later exegetical traditions marked by doctrinal divergence, thereby maintaining authority, stability, and ideological coherence in value expression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSuch an intertextual pattern should not be understood as a passive inheritance of traditions. Rather, it reflects an intentional discursive strategy shaped by educational institutions. Within Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e) framework, text production is not merely the reuse of linguistic resources but a socially oriented practice that reproduces power relations and meaning. The selective mobilization of pre-\u003cem\u003eQin\u003c/em\u003e Confucian classics allows universities, on the one hand, to draw upon their deep-rooted cultural authority to legitimize value claims, and on the other hand, to align these classical expressions with contemporary educational objectives, thereby securing discursive legitimacy across both cultural and political domains. Intertextuality here operates as a strategic form of integration, through which institutions actively filter cultural resources that resonate with dominant ideological orientations, achieving a dual purpose of cultural continuity and alignment with state educational discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmong the intertextual sources, \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Rites\u003c/em\u003e (《礼记》)\u0026mdash;particularly its core chapters \u003cem\u003eThe Great Learning\u003c/em\u003e (《大学》༉ and \u003cem\u003eThe Doctrine of the Mean\u003c/em\u003e༈《中庸》༉ \u0026mdash;emerges as the most influential foundation. This prominence reflects not only their canonical status but also the enduring relevance of the ethical order and educational ideals they embody. Concepts such as \u0026ldquo;manifesting virtue\u0026rdquo; (明德, \u003cem\u003em\u0026iacute;ng d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e), \u0026ldquo;renewing the people\u0026rdquo; (新民, \u003cem\u003exīn m\u0026iacute;n\u003c/em\u003e), and \u0026ldquo;reaching ultimate goodness\u0026rdquo; (止于至善, \u003cem\u003ezhǐ y\u0026uacute; zh\u0026igrave; sh\u0026agrave;n\u003c/em\u003e) recur frequently, indicating the continued endorsement of an educational vision that integrates moral self-cultivation with social responsibility. Notably, \u0026ldquo;明德\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003em\u0026iacute;ng d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e) is widely reinterpreted in mottos and official explanations, extending beyond its classical meaning of moral illumination to encompass modern values such as patriotism, social responsibility, and national rejuvenation. For example, the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences explicitly links moral self-cultivation to national destiny in its interpretation of \u0026ldquo;明德\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003em\u0026iacute;ng d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e), illustrating the continued resonance of the Confucian ideal of progressing from personal cultivation to public responsibility within contemporary higher education.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSimilarly, \u0026ldquo;reaching ultimate goodness\u0026rdquo; (止于至善, \u003cem\u003ezhǐ y\u0026uacute; zh\u0026igrave; sh\u0026agrave;n\u003c/em\u003e) is often framed as a symbolic representation of \u0026ldquo;人格完善\u0026rdquo; (moral self-cultivation) and moral self-awareness, reflecting a shared understanding that higher education should balance knowledge transmission with character formation. \u003cem\u003eThe Doctrine of the Mean\u003c/em\u003e (《中庸》) provides a more operational cognitive\u0026ndash;practical framework, as evidenced by the frequent co-occurrence of \u0026ldquo;extensive learning\u0026rdquo; (博学, \u003cem\u003eb\u0026oacute; xu\u0026eacute;)\u003c/em\u003e and \u0026ldquo;earnest practice\u0026rdquo; (笃行, \u003cem\u003edǔ x\u0026iacute;ng\u003c/em\u003e). These condensed expressions mirror the classical learning sequence\u0026mdash;\u0026ldquo;learning extensively, inquiring carefully, reflecting prudently, discerning clearly, and practicing earnestly\u0026rdquo;\u0026mdash;but are streamlined into key stages corresponding to cognitive development and moral action. This transformation demonstrates how Confucian notions of the unity of knowledge and action are adapted into modern educational goals.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOfficial explanations and revision records further confirm the active and negotiated nature of this discursive production. Case studies show that universities often contextualize classical references through institutional missions, disciplinary orientations, or national strategies. This process goes beyond linguistic reuse and constitutes active participation in national educational discourse. For instance, Tsinghua University traces \u0026ldquo;Self-discipline and social commitment\u0026rdquo; (自强不息\u0026middot;厚德载物、\u003cem\u003ez\u0026igrave; qi\u0026aacute;ng b\u0026ugrave; xī h\u0026ograve;u d\u0026eacute; z\u0026agrave;i w\u0026ugrave;\u003c/em\u003e) to \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Changes\u003c/em\u003e (《周易》) while linking it to contemporary leadership cultivation; Beijing Jiaotong University reinterprets the \u0026ldquo;knowledge-action\u0026rdquo; tradition in light of its engineering focus; and Nanjing Agricultural University\u0026rsquo;s revision process\u0026mdash;marked by historical review, stakeholder consultation, and multiple rounds of deliberation\u0026mdash;illustrates the institutionalized and participatory nature of educational discourse construction. These examples demonstrate that motto formation functions as a structured practice through which universities negotiate identity, mission, and value transmission.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe intertextual structure centered on \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Rites\u003c/em\u003e(《礼记》), \u003cem\u003eThe Analects\u003c/em\u003e (《论语》), and \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Changes\u003c/em\u003e (《周易》) not only sustains Confucian ethical norms but also transforms classical vocabulary into vehicles for contemporary state educational strategies. Concepts such as \u0026ldquo;明德\u0026rdquo;༈\u003cem\u003em\u0026iacute;ng d\u0026eacute;\u003c/em\u003e༉ and self-cultivation \u0026ldquo;修身\u0026rdquo; (\u003cem\u003exiū shēn\u003c/em\u003e, self-cultivation) are re-embedded within policy discourses such as \u0026ldquo;moral education as the foundation of higher education\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;cultural confidence,\u0026rdquo; enabling universities to translate national educational goals into culturally resonant value expressions. University mottos thus function not as static cultural artifacts but as \u0026ldquo;living texts\u0026rdquo; that are continuously rewritten and reinterpreted, mediating between tradition and modernity, individual development and national aspirations, and knowledge and practice.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeaning production does not end with textual formulation but is further reinforced through social circulation. University mottos are engraved on stone monuments, displayed on campus buildings, incorporated into school songs, and repeatedly recited during ceremonies such as opening and graduation events. Through these material and ritual practices, mottos are institutionalized as shared value symbols. Media dissemination and official promotion further relocate them into broader public discourse, enabling ongoing recontextualization. In Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s terms, meaning stabilizes through cycles of production, circulation, and reproduction. Repeated appearance across campus and public domains consolidates discursive authority and embeds mottos within collective memory and national identity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, the intertextual analysis reveals a \u0026ldquo;selection-integration-recontextualization\u0026rdquo; logic underlying Chinese public university mottos. In production, pre-\u003cem\u003eQin\u003c/em\u003e Confucian resources are selectively activated to establish cultural legitimacy and respond to state educational strategies; in circulation, symbolic and media practices reinforce and reaffirm meaning; and in social practice, mottos become embedded within national ideology and collective value formation. This process illustrates how educational discourse innovatively transforms traditional resources while sustaining cultural identity and value consensus in the context of globalization.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.3 Discursive level analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on a full-corpus analysis of the mottos of 848 public universities in China, this section examines university mottos at the level of discursive practice, focusing on how they are produced, circulated, and institutionalized within the educational system, and how they thereby participate in the construction of national ideology and educational values. In contrast to the preceding analyses of textual features and intertextual resources, the emphasis here is not on what university mottos explicitly express, but on how these expressions acquire legitimacy, stability, and normative force within specific institutional and social contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings suggest that university mottos are not isolated linguistic texts but rather highly institutionalized forms of symbolic discourse. The production of their meanings relies on the coordinated operation of multiple discursive practices. On the one hand, through the recurrent activation of core semantic categories\u0026mdash;such as MOR, SCH, ACT, DIL, and WILL\u0026mdash;mottos construct a relatively stable value framework centered on moral cultivation, academic pursuit, and the integration of knowledge and practice. On the other hand, through the selective intertextual appropriation and recontextualization of Confucian classics, this value framework is embedded within cultural traditions endowed with historical authority, thereby securing legitimacy that extends across temporal contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin this process, university mottos function as key discursive nodes linking traditional cultural resources, modern educational ideals, and national educational objectives. Their formulation and interpretation are typically embedded in institutional procedures at the university level and are accompanied by official explanatory texts and public dissemination practices. As a result, mottos do not merely serve as declarative value statements; rather, through sustained repetition and routinized use, they are transformed into institutional norms that can be collectively recognized and internalized. Consequently, the discursive function of university mottos goes beyond that of symbolic identification, positioning them as important ideological instruments within the higher education system for mediating cultural continuity, policy orientation, and talent cultivation goals.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.3.1 The historical and institutionalization process of university mottos as ideological discourse\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eUniversity mottos in their modern sense emerged alongside the formation of the modern higher education system in China, and their discursive forms have been shaped by shifting relations among imported university ideals, nation-state projects, and inherited cultural resources. Over time, mottos became an interface through which institutional identity was aligned with broader political and educational agendas.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter Reform and Opening-up in the 1980s, expanding functions of higher education and intensified competition encouraged motto discourse to move beyond singular political slogans toward more diversified formulations. From the 1990s onward, many institutions revitalized classical cultural resources and emphasized distinctive histories and disciplinary orientations, while humanistic value emphases also became more visible in some cases. Overall, these changes reflect an institutionalization process in which mottos are repeatedly recontextualized to negotiate tradition, modernization, and national imperatives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.3.2 Institutional mechanisms for the stabilization of motto meaning: repetition, selection, and normalization\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIf Sections \u003cspan refid=\"Sec16\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5.1\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Sec17\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5.2\u003c/span\u003e reveal what university mottos express, the discursive practice perspective draws attention to how these expressions are stabilized over time as \u0026ldquo;taken-for-granted\u0026rdquo; value consensuses. The findings indicate that the stability of motto meanings does not stem from individual acts of textual creation, but rather relies on a set of institutionalized discursive practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst, the high frequency of core semantic categories (such as MOR, SCH, ACT, and WILL) reflects a repetition-based process of meaning stabilization. By repeatedly activating similar value configurations across different universities and historical periods, university mottos gradually form a highly recognizable \u0026ldquo;standard discourse pattern,\u0026rdquo; through which \u0026ldquo;cultivating virtue\u0026mdash;valuing learning\u0026mdash;committing to practice\u0026rdquo; becomes naturalized as the fundamental logic of higher education. This repetition is not mere imitation; rather, under conditions of institutional endorsement, these expressions are continuously replicated, circulated, and reproduced, thereby acquiring normative status.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, the ways in which semantic categories are combined reflect the ideological orientation underlying discursive selection. Although the vast majority of mottos adopt multi-category composite structures, their internal arrangements are far from random. Instead, they commonly follow a sequential logic in which virtue precedes learning and practice follows thereafter. This structural preference integrates individual moral cultivation, the pursuit of knowledge, and social responsibility into an indivisible whole, while simultaneously directing higher education goals toward national and societal functions. In this way, university mottos formally accomplish a modern translation of the Confucian ethical framework of self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, and world harmony, and substantively achieve a deep alignment between educational objectives and national narratives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird, the relative marginalization of certain modern educational values\u0026mdash;such as innovation (INNO), inclusiveness (INCL), and critical reasoning (REAS)\u0026mdash;reveals a selective mechanism in the incorporation of new ideas within motto discourse. As a highly institutionalized and strongly symbolic textual form, university mottos tend to prioritize the integration of values that can maintain continuity with established ethical traditions or national development goals, while adopting a more cautious stance toward ideas that emphasize critical thinking, individual difference, or epistemic reflexivity. This selectivity does not indicate a lack of values, but rather reflects institutional discourse\u0026rsquo;s effort to balance stability and change.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTherefore, university mottos should not be understood as mere \u0026ldquo;mirror texts\u0026rdquo; that passively reflect shifts in educational ideas. Instead, they function as institutional discursive forms that continuously produce and stabilize dominant values through practices of repetition, selection, and normalization. In this sense, university mottos constitute a key discursive site for observing how Chinese higher education negotiates cultural tradition, state ideology, and educational reform agendas within the contexts of globalization and modernization.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"6. Limitations","content":"\u003cp\u003eSeveral limitations of the present study should be acknowledged. First, although the dataset covers 848 Chinese public universities and offers broad representativeness at the national level, the analysis focuses exclusively on officially promulgated motto texts and their authorized interpretations. As such, it does not capture how mottos are interpreted, contested, or recontextualized by students and faculty in everyday institutional life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond, semantic category coding, while conducted through a transparent and reliability-tested procedure, inevitably involves interpretive judgment, particularly in cases where moral values are conveyed implicitly rather than through explicit lexical markers. Although inter-coder agreement was substantial and disagreements were resolved through discussion, alternative categorizations remain theoretically possible.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird, the study prioritizes cross-institutional distributional patterns over diachronic change. While historical references are incorporated through intertextual analysis, longitudinal shifts in motto discourse across different historical periods are not systematically examined. Future research could extend the present framework by integrating diachronic corpora or reception-based approaches to further explore the evolving functions of university mottos in higher education discourse.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"7. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough the term university motto is a product of modern higher education, its normative foundations can be traced back to the educational ideals of traditional academies and are deeply shaped by Confucian ethics. Based on a systematic analysis of the mottos of 848 public undergraduate universities in China, this study uncovers the underlying relationship between linguistic distribution and value orientation within Chinese higher education discourse. The findings demonstrate that university mottos, as a highly condensed and institutionalized form of educational discourse, exhibit interconnected and mutually reinforcing characteristics across the textual, intertextual, and discursive-practice dimensions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the textual level, the semantic distribution of mottos reveals a highly concentrated core structure. Moral discourse (MOR) and scholarship-related discourse (SCH) jointly constitute the central value orientation, establishing a fundamental pattern of moral cultivation alongside knowledge pursuit. The prominent presence of action-oriented (ACT) and will-related (WILL) categories further completes a logical sequence that moves from value grounding and learning to practical engagement. By combining two to four semantic categories within a limited textual space, most mottos integrate multiple educational objectives, reflecting an emphasis on coherence and holistic value construction in Chinese higher education.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the intertextual level, university mottos display a strong reliance on and selective appropriation of pre-Qin Confucian classics. Canonical texts such as \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Rites\u003c/em\u003e (《礼记》), \u003cem\u003eThe Analects\u003c/em\u003e (《论语》), and \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Changes\u003c/em\u003e (《周易》) constitute the core intertextual resources, while later interpretive works are cited far less frequently. This pattern indicates not a passive inheritance of tradition but a strategic mobilization of culturally authoritative texts to secure cross-temporal legitimacy. Through processes of recontextualization, classical concepts are endowed with contemporary meanings, allowing Confucian ethical resources to remain actively involved in the construction of modern educational values.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the level of discursive practice, university mottos function not as isolated texts but as symbolic forms that are continuously produced, circulated, and normalized through institutional procedures, official interpretations, and public dissemination. The stability of their meanings is not the result of single textual acts, but of repeated activation of core semantic categories, structured value sequencing, and the selective incorporation of new educational ideas. Through these mechanisms, the framework of \u0026ldquo;moral cultivation, committed learning, and practical engagement\u0026rdquo; is naturalized as a taken-for-granted logic of university education and transformed into an internalized institutional norm.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaken together, this study demonstrates that Chinese university mottos operate through a highly structured semantic system and institutionalized discursive practices to negotiate cultural tradition, modern educational ideas, and national educational objectives. Rather than serving as purely mirror texts that passively reflect shifts in educational ideas, university mottos function as an active discursive mechanism in ideological construction and value integration. By foregrounding mottos as a meaningful object of analysis, this research contributes empirical evidence and a linguistic perspective to the study of ideology in higher education discourse.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eJ.J. L. is responsible for writing the first draft of the paper under the guidance of H. G. and also for completing all the technical details. H. G. is responsible for the organization of the study and the continual revision of the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe dataset generated and analyzed during the current study, including the anonymized coding table of university mottos and their semantic annotations, is available in the Supplementary Materials. To protect institutional anonymity and ensure ethical use, university identifiers have been removed. The semantic coding scheme, category definitions, and coding procedures are fully documented in Supplementary File.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFairclough N (1992) \u003cem\u003eDiscourse and social change\u003c/em\u003e. Polity Press, Cambridge\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZhang EX (2020) Inheriting and carrying forward the Yan\u0026rsquo;an Spirit through university motto culture. \u003cem\u003eHigher Education Exploration\u003c/em\u003e 47\u0026ndash;49. [in Chinese]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSun L, Gao CG (2020) Integrating university motto culture into ideological and political education in higher education institutions. \u003cem\u003eHigher Education Exploration\u003c/em\u003e (2): 61\u0026ndash;63. 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[in Chinese]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"University mottos; Critical discourse analysis, Semantic distribution patterns, Value orientations, Ideological construction","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8638016/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8638016/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUniversity mottos, as culturally situated linguistic symbols, are extremely concise yet densely encapsulate institutions\u0026rsquo; core educational philosophies and value orientations. They serve as important vehicles through which universities construct cultural identity and disseminate ideology. Public universities occupy a dominant position within China\u0026rsquo;s higher education system; examining their mottos therefore offers insight into the prevailing values and ideologies underpinning Chinese higher education. Existing studies have largely focused on the 116 elite universities officially designated by the Chinese government, making it difficult to capture the broader discursive landscape. Methodologically, prior research has tended to adopt historical or educational perspectives, while linguistically oriented analyses\u0026mdash;particularly those grounded in critical discourse analysis\u0026mdash;remain relatively limited. Drawing on Fairclough\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e) three-dimensional framework, this study conducts an exhaustive analysis of the mottos of 848 public universities in China. Departing from approaches that rely primarily on textual form or lexical frequency, the study develops a semantic framework comprising nine categories and applies a dual-coding procedure to systematically classify and quantify all mottos. The findings show that, on the one hand, some university mottos have evolved over time, reflecting increasingly diverse value orientations and educational ideals; on the other hand, core values related to morality, scholarship, and practice continue to dominate the overall distribution. This study offers a novel perspective for comparative research on higher education discourse in China and Western contexts.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A critical-discourse analysis of the mottos of public universities in China","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-12 17:28:52","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8638016/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-14T14:22:02+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"154170049771353533367594327835304695824","date":"2026-05-02T07:02:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"184152336850214692362638479829700854520","date":"2026-04-27T07:27:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-17T13:31:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"290388157714211793621610989252694853772","date":"2026-04-03T09:09:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-09T02:26:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-02T08:08:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-07T12:13:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-02-03T14:18:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","date":"2026-02-03T13:55:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b4f690b2-911a-4127-ab0a-956beb5289fc","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 12th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-14T14:22:02+00:00","index":104,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"154170049771353533367594327835304695824","date":"2026-05-02T07:02:11+00:00","index":96,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":64193231,"name":"Social science/Education"},{"id":64193232,"name":"Humanities/History"},{"id":64193233,"name":"Social science/History"},{"id":64193234,"name":"Humanities/Language and linguistics"},{"id":64193235,"name":"Social science/Language and linguistics"},{"id":64193236,"name":"Humanities/Literature"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-12T17:28:52+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-12 17:28:52","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8638016","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8638016","identity":"rs-8638016","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}