Changes in the Media Image of Chinese Medicine during the Fight against Novel Coronavirus/ 抗疫背景下中医媒介形象之变化

Against the backdrop of the Chinese approach to containing Covid-19 via joint application of both western medicine and traditional medicine, this study explores how traditional medicine’s media image has changed over the period of anti-epidemic combat Employing a bigdata based content analysis of nearly ten thousand (N=9 981) articles from four mainstream Chinese media outlets before and after the outbreak of the epidemic in China, this study attempts to depict the changes empirically We conceptualize the media image of Chinese medicine from five dimensions, i e , science, technological products, culture, institutes or organizations, and professionals We found that amid the epidemic, the media coverage of traditional medicine was more likely to be positive compared to that before the epidemic, while the framing strategies of both western and Chinese medicine before and after the epidemic basically remained the same However, while Chinese medicine was mainly portrayed as a representative of cultural heritage before the epidemic, it was more highlighted as the common treasure of humanity all over the world after the outbreak of Covid-19 Generally speaking, the media image of Chinese medicine significantly improved via its active involvement in the anti-epidemic efforts, which has substantially consolidated its social status