Abstract:

Derived from visual rhetoric, the rhetorical  of space depends on the physical development of visual rhetoric, the modern generation of visual context and the establishment of space as a mechanism for the production of its meaning. The rhetorical discourse in public cultural space not only has an impact on individual's aesthetic experience, but also regulates the generative logic of cultural memory and cultural identification. The production of spatial rhetoric in the National Museum of China effectively promotes the rhetorical practice of the visually “persuasive” discourse through the spatial layout and structural design of the architecture, the aesthetic application of lights and enclosures, and the scenic restoration of the narrative context of exhibits. The intervention of multiple symbols based on technical media allows the spatial rhetoric of the museum to change from the physical space to the symbolic space, virtual space and emotional space. The intertextual structure of representational symbols becomes the modern representation of the spatial rhetoric of the museum.

Key words:

spatial rhetoric, cultural memory, visual rhetoric, cultural identification, National Museum of China