<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze language as an instrument of symbolic domination in Mao Zedong’s speech “Wèi rénmín fúwù” (为人民服务) based on Bourdieu’s theory. The study employed a descriptive qualitative approach using content analysis of 34 purposively selected linguistic data. The analysis focused on four components of Bourdieu’s theory: symbolic capital, symbolic power, field, and symbolic domination. The results reveal that Mao Zedong’s linguistic strategies systematically construct symbolic domination through four classifications. First, the Communist Party’s legitimacy is constructed through collective identity, leadership legitimization, and symbolic labeling of revolutionary forces. Second, ideological legitimacy is developed through representations of struggle, devotion, and sacrifice, including the construction of Zhang Si as an exemplary figure and death as a moral standard. Third, political legitimacy is strengthened through cultural metaphors, exemplary behavior, and the representation of the Communist Party as open to criticism. Fourth, the interests of the people function as the primary source of political legitimacy and a basis for evaluating policies and organizational success. These findings demonstrate that language functions not only as communication but also as a symbolic mechanism for establishing legitimacy, generating social recognition, reproducing ideological values, and maintaining the Communist Party’s dominant position in social and political spheres.]]>
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