Restricting impoliteness: (Re)asserting morality in third-party mediation of Chinese interpersonal conflict

Abstract

Although recent scholarship on impoliteness has experienced a ‘moral turn’, limited attention has been paid to the pivotal role of morality in third-party mediation. Drawing on data from the Chinese television program, Qiantang Lao Niangjiu 钱塘老娘舅 (The Maternal Uncle in Qiantang), this study examines how moral frameworks operate to constrain impoliteness in interpersonal conflicts. The analysis reveals that the absent audiences of television mediation programs function both as moral supervisors and as recipients of moral education, whose perceived existence discourages interactants from engaging in impoliteness. Moreover, third-party mediators frequently employ two interrelated strategies—invoking latent and non-latent forms of morality—to regulate conflictual discourse. These strategies work by reinforcing behavioral norms through moral appeals and eliciting emotional resonance through shared values. These findings underscore the distinctive influence of television as a mediated communicative environment and the irreplaceable role of morality in restricting impoliteness. More broadly, this study advances our understanding of the dynamic interplay among impoliteness, mediation, and morality in multi-party interaction.