什么叫两极传播论，两极传播论在传播与发展的历史上有什么样的作用与意义？

Communication is the start of any progress of the society. In the development history of the old oriental civilization, communication has played an important role. However, because of different historical conditions and cultural circumstances, the manifestation of communication in different society is quite different. Since remotest times, Chinese culture stresses on the connotation of communication, a concept of value that advocates modesty and implication, what is called “peaches and plums do not have to talk, yet the world beats a path to them” and “the gentlemen are speedy as a worker and cautious as a speaker”. Therefore, in ancient times, the mode of communication is quite implicit. Under these circumstances, people would like to set an example by personally taking part and never make reckless words. Many thoughts and ideas are disseminated under a self-evident communication rules. However, nowadays the pace of life is increasing with large amount of information. People’s values attach more importance to the quick and efficient communication, which requires for a timely, accurate and explicit propagation mode. The old connotation communication in ancient times is replaced by the popular public communication in modern society and it becomes the mainstream of all the propagation modes. However, the popular public communication has the order reversed for medium and audience for a long time. The medium is regarded as the sovereign authority of communication and it can “instill all sorts of ideas, feelings, knowledge or motivation into other people’s mind unconsciously”①. The audience becomes “medium servant” controlled by the media and it is placed in inferior position in dissemination. The neglect of the significance and function of the audience in communication not only misguides the theory of dissemination, but also jeopardize the communication practices.

传播是一切进步的开始。在古老的东方文明的发展史中，传播有其重要的贡献和不可磨灭的价值和地位。然而由于历史条件和文化环境的不同，传播在不同社会时代的表现方式是不同的。中国文化自古以来强调传播中的含蓄，这种以谦为美的社会价值观，注重“点到为止”。所谓“桃李不言，下自成蹊”，“君子敏于行，而讷于言”。因此在古代社会造就了一种含蓄的传播模式，在彼此的沟通中，重身体力行而轻言传，很多思想和理念就是在不言自明的沟通规则下进行传播的。然而现代社会的快节奏和大信息量的特点，让人们的价值观趋向于更重视传播中的高时效，这就要求一种及时，准确，让大多数人一目了然的传播方式。古代的这种含蓄传播自然让位于现代社会的最为普遍的大众传播,它也成为所有传播方式中的主流。但是，长期以来, 这种流行的大众传播把媒介和受众的关系本末倒置了。媒介被视为传播中至高无上的权威,可以把“各种各样的思想、感情、知识或动机从一个人的头脑里几乎不知不觉的灌输到另一个人的头脑里”①,受众成了被媒介所操纵的“媒介奴仆”,在传播学中的地位很卑微。这种不重视受众在传播中的地位和作用观念不仅误导了传播学的理论,而且给传播实践带来了很大的危害。