Abstract:
Building an independent knowledge system for Chinese sport journalism and communication is a necessary endeavor to address the demands of disciplinary development within the context of Chinese-style modernization. It is also a practical application of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important directive to "accelerate the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, and better answer the questions posed by China, the world, the people, and the times". Grounded in a historical overview of Chinese sport journalism and communication, this study explores the historical trajectory of constructing an autonomous knowledge system within the discipline. It posits that the field must address the "Questions of China" by leveraging the distinctive Chinese sport journalism practices and formulating indigenous knowledge with enhanced explanatory power. To resolve the "Questions of the World", it advocates for a de-westernized paradigm rooted in exchange and mutual learning among civilizations. It answers the "Questions of the People" through the resource transformation from academic theories derived from mass sport communication practices. Concurrently, it navigates the "Questions of the Times" via a critical examination of technological imperatives, capital logics, and the reconfigured communication landscape. In so doing, this research tries to provide a theoretical benchmark for the discipline's structural transition from a quantitative proliferation of knowledge production to a substantive ascendancy in discourse power.