A Study on the Intentional Use of Chinese Idioms in the Historical Drama Love Like the Galaxy

Kanokporn  Jangsawat; Thawanruethai  Sudsanthia; Preenapan  Khomphosaeng; Aritsaraphon  Kaeosisai

Authors

Kanokporn Jangsawat Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, Thailand
Thawanruethai Sudsanthia Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, Thailand
Preenapan Khomphosaeng Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, Thailand
Aritsaraphon Kaeosisai Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, Thailand

Keywords:

Chinese Idioms, Communicative Intention, Chinese Drama

Abstract

This research, entitled A Study on the Intentional Use of Chinese Idioms in the Historical Drama Love Like the Galaxy (《星汉灿烂》), aims to examine the communicative intentions behind the use of Chinese idioms (成语) appearing in the dialogues of the historical Chinese television drama Love Like the Galaxy, which was broadcast in 2022 and gained considerable popularity in Thailand. The study seeks to analyze the contextual meanings and communicative functions conveyed through idiomatic expressions in different conversational situations.

The data were collected from all 56 episodes of the drama streamed on the WeTV application between June and July 2025. A total of 114 Chinese idioms were identified and analyzed based on contextual usage and communicative intentions through a qualitative content analysis approach grounded in pragmatics.

The findings revealed six categories of communicative intentions in the use of Chinese idioms: 1) warning intentions: 20 idioms (17.54%); 2) sarcastic intentions: 16 idioms (14.04%); 3) opinion-expressing intentions: 13 idioms (11.40%); 4) admonishing intentions: 30 idioms (26.32%); 5) appreciative intentions: 12 idioms (10.53%); and 6) other intentions: 23 idioms (20.18%). Among these categories, idioms expressing admonishing intentions appeared most frequently. This finding may be attributed to the dramatic themes of political conflict, interpersonal tension, strategic survival, and criticism of characters’ behaviors throughout the series.

The study demonstrates that Chinese idioms function not only as artistic linguistic devices but also as important communicative tools reflecting emotions, attitudes, interpersonal relationships, cultural values, and social perspectives in Chinese society. Understanding the communicative intentions behind idiom usage contributes to deeper knowledge of Chinese language use, intercultural communication, Chinese language learning and teaching, and translation studies.

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