Chinese Semiotic Studies
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Editor-in-Chief:
Yongxiang Wang
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Managing Editor:
Hongbing Yu
About this journal
Objective
Chinese Semiotic Studies (CSS) aims to advance the global dialogue on semiotics—broadly understood as the scientific and intellectual inquiry (à la C.S. Peirce) into meaning-making—by bridging Eastern and Western traditions in sign theory and cultural studies. Published by De Gruyter and sponsored by the International Institute for Semiotic Studies at Nanjing Normal University and the Chinese Association for Comparative Studies of Languages and Cultures, CSS holds the distinction of being China’s first international semiotics journal published in English.
The journal is dedicated to exploring the interplay—both diachronic and synchronic—between Eastern and Western semiotic phenomena and sign theories, their reciprocal influences, and their applications in contemporary research across fields such as philosophy, anthropology, biology, cognition, neuroscience, psychology, art, linguistics, and literary theory. Through its rigorous peer-reviewed publications, CSS seeks to promote interdisciplinary scholarship, inspire innovative approaches to semiotic studies, and deepen the understanding of "humans as interpretive beings" across diverse cultural and academic contexts.
Topics
- Comparative Semiotics
- Comparative Philosophy
- Literary Theory
- Art Theory
- Linguistic Studies
- Area Studies
- Asian Studies
- Culture Studies
Article formats
Original Research Articles, Review Articles, and Book Reviews.
Open Access
Starting with the 2024 volume, all new articles will be published in Open Access under the CC-BY license. For authors, the publication is free of charge. The archive volumes 2009 to 2023 are freely accessible via Free Access.
Your Benefits
- Unique journal bridging Eastern and Western semiotics
- Internationally recognized editorial board
- Versatile platform of exchanging research experience in comparative semiotics
History
CSS was first published in September 2009. Since 2014, CSS has been co-published by De Gruyter Mouton and Nanjing Normal University in four issues per year.
Other publications in the field
Journals:
Cognitive Semiotics
Semiotica
Book series:
Semiotics, Communication and Cognition [SCC]
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Issue 4Cultural Signs and Sign Theories
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Issue 3The visage as text: physiognomy, semiotics, and face reading from antiquity to artificial intelligence; Guest Editors: Remo Gramigna and Massimo Leone
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Issue 2Cultural Signs and Sign Theories
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Issue 1Special Issue: Championing Global Semiotics: In Honor of Paul Cobley; Guest Editor: Hongbing Yu
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Issue 4
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Issue 3
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Issue 2
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Issue 1Special Section – Communication and Meaning-Making; Guest Editor: Deping Lu
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Issue 4Special issue: Thomas A. Sebeok for the 21st century; Guest Editor: Hongbing Yu
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Issue 3
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Issue 2
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Issue 1
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Issue 4Special Issue: Languaging – the Extended Ecology of Semiosis Issue Editor: Stephen J. Cowley
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Issue 3
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Issue 2
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Issue 1
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Issue 4
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Issue 3Special Issue: Deely in Review Issue Editor: Paul Cobley
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Issue 2Festschrift: Semiotics as an interdisciplinary methodology: Studies in Honor of Jie Zhang
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Issue 1Special Issue: The Study of Linguistic Sign Systems in the 21st Century, Issue Editors: Hongbing Yu and Linda L. Thornburg
Journal Impact Factor | 0.3 | 2024, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2025) |
5-year Journal Impact Factor | 0.5 | 2024, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2025) |
Journal Citation Indicator | 0.55 | 2024, Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2025) |
CiteScore | 0.7 | 2024, Scopus (Elsevier B.V., 2025) |
SCImago Journal Rank | 0.238 | 2024, SJR (Scimago Lab, 2025; Data Source: Scopus) |
Source Normalized Impact per Paper | 0.530 | 2024, CWTS Journal Indicators (CWTS B.V., 2025; Data Source: Scopus) |
Submission
Please submit your manuscript here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/chss
All contributions should be in American English (and spell-checked) before submission.
Your benefits of publishing with us
- Decisions on your submission made as soon as possible
- Optional open access publication
- Every article easily discoverable because of SEO and comprehensive abstracting and indexing services
- Secure archiving by De Gruyter and the independent archiving service Portico
- Ahead-of-print publishing ensures faster processing of fully proof-read, DOI-citable articles
Submission process
- Submit your paper to: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/chss following the De Gruyter Mouton journal stylesheet
- Reviewing process and decision on your paper
- In case of any problems the editorial staff will make its best to answer all your queries
- Before submitting your article please have a look at our Publication Ethics Statement and our copyright agreement
- Once your article is accepted you have the option to publish it open access.
- Our repository policy allows you to distribute 30 PDF copies of your published article to colleagues (the PDF has to include the information that it is an author's copy). Please also feel free to distribute the link to the online abstract
- If you have any general questions please visit our FAQ page for journal authors
We look forward to receiving your manuscript!
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Yongxiang Wang
International Institute for Semiotic Studies (NNU), Nanjing, China
MANAGING EDITOR
Hongbing Yu
International Institute for Semiotic Studies (NNU), Nanjing, China
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Catherine Schwerin
German/English Editing & Translation, Australia
PRESIDENT OF EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Jie Zhang
International Institute for Semiotic Studies (NNU), Nanjing, China
VICE PRESIDENTS OF EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Di Wu, Zhejiang University, Nanjing, China
Hongbing Yu, International Institute for Semiotic Studies (NNU), Nanjing, China
Yongxiang Wang, International Institute for Semiotic Studies (NNU), Nanjing, China
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Adrian Pablé, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Arthur Asa Berger, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA
Bin Xin, International Institute for Semiotic Studies (NNU), Nanjing, China
Dana Osborne, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada
Christopher Hart, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
Delu Zhang, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Deping Lu, Beijing Language and Culture University China, Beijing, China
Eero Tarasti, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Ersu Ding, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
Farouk Y. Seif, Antioch University Seattle, Seattle, USA
Hsiu-chih Tsai, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China
Jamin Pelkey, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada
Jia Peng, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Kalevi Kull, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Lei Han, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Liqian Zhou, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Marcel Danesi, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Massimo Leone, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Mingyu Wang, Tianjin Foreign Studies University, Tianjin, China
Myrdene Anderson, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
Ning Wang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Paolo Granata, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Paul Bouissac, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Paul Cobley, Middlesex University, London, UK
Richard Lanigan, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA
Stéphanie Walsh Matthews, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada
Stephen Cowley, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Susan Petrilli, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
Terrence Deacon, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Theo van Leeuwen, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Wei Li, University College London, London, UK
Winfried Nöth, Catholic U. of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Yiheng Zhao, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Zhijun Yan, International Institute for Semiotic Studies (NNU), Nanjing, China
Zhuanglin Hu, Beijing University, Beijing, China
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