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A Cognitive Study of Metaphors in Su Shi’s Ci

Author: ZhongJianXing
Tutor: ZouZhiYong
School: Wuhan University of Technology
Course: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Keywords: Su Shi’s ci metaphor cognitive study working mechanism
CLC: H15
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2010
Downloads: 467
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Abstract

Traditionally, metaphor was regarded only as a persuasive device in rhetoric and viewed as a primary ornament in language. Therefore, metaphor research used to be restricted to rhetoric and literature. However, with the rising and development of cognitive linguistics, the nature of metaphor has acquired a renewed recognition. Metaphor is not only a matter of language phenomena, but also an important cognitive tool. According to Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory, metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought. It is a powerful cognitive tool for human conceptualization of abstract categories and a systematic way for human to think, act and express thought.Poetry is a sea of metaphors. In the history of Chinese poetry, Song ci are also the gem of Chinese language and culture that can match Tang poetry. Ci, as a special kind of poetry, attains its fluorescence in the Song Dynasty with abundant pieces of ci of high quality. Among these ci poets, Su Shi, by succeeding in broadening the theme and promoting the status of ci, makes ci genre reach the peak of perfection. Since then, ci has ascended the palace of literature from the "bypath" and become a new form of lyric poetry from the appendage of music.The dissertation aims to make a study of metaphors in Su Shi’s ci from cognitive perspective. With the illumination of conceptual metaphor theory, the author finds abundant metaphors in Su Shi’s ci through careful study on about 360 pieces of ci of Su Shi. According to the theme of these metaphors that they reveal, they are classified into six groups: life metaphors (e.g. +LIFE IS A DREAM+), time metaphors (e.g. +TIME IS FLOATING WATER+), emotion metaphors (e.g. +EMOTION IS THE M00N+), plant metaphors (e.g. +PLANT IS HUMAN+), official career metaphors (e.g. +AN UNFORTUNATE OFFICIAL CAREER IS A STORMY DAY+) and aspiration metaphors (e.g. +FREEDOM IS CRANE+). Then the author analyzes the working mechanism of these metaphors on the basis of similarity between the source domain and the target domain. For one thing, the findings demonstrate that conceptual metaphors are grounded in systematic correlations within our experience with physical world and in turn serve as the evidence to further confirm conceptual metaphor theory. For another, they reveal that conceptual metaphors are culture-specific for metaphors are also constrained by history, customs and value standards of a specific culture.The dissertation is a tentative study by the application of contemporary metaphor theory to examine traditional Chinese culture. It is of great significance to the appreciation, translation, and transmission of classical Chinese poetry. Meanwhile, it provides the cross-culture evidence for the confirmation of contemporary metaphor theory from the corpus of Chinese language and culture.

A Cognitive Study of Metaphors in Su Shi’s Ci

Abstract

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