In the wake of the Wenchuan earthquake: the function of story-sharing in rebuilding communities in the quake disaster zone

Abstract

In May 2008, a massive earthquake of 8.0 on the Richter scale struck China's Sichuan Province. This study investigated survivors’ communication practices in two communities in Beichuan during summer 2009, focusing on survivors’ sharing of earthquake stories, which was a pervasive phenomenon in those communities. Four major purposes were identified in quake survivors’ narratives: (1) memorializing loved ones and the past, (2) clarifying conflicting emotions, (3) reappraising reality and life values, and (4) rebuilding community. This study suggests that sharing such stories serves a therapeutic purpose that helps survivors of earthquakes and similar natural disasters cope with negative experiences and emotions, and to rebuild their communities.

Keywords:

• Wenchuan Earthquake
• Beichuan
• survivor
• story-sharing
• narrative

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the Wenchuan earthquake survivors in Beichuan who allowed him to study their life experiences and communicative practices. This article is written for them and their loved ones who died in the earthquake on 12 May 2008. The author wishes to thank Professor Lawrence Frey at University of Colorado Boulder and the anonymous reviewers and associate editor for their comments on earlier versions of this article. A previous version of this manuscript was presented at the 2010 International Communication Association conference in Singapore.