Conceptual metonymies and metaphors behind the Five Phases

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-104
Author(s):  
Chun Lan ◽  
Dongmei Jia
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Semantic Networks ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Chinese Thought ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
The World ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Ancient Chinese ◽  
Five Phases

This paper is based on an investigation of the Five Phases (五行, wuxing) in traditional Chinese thought within a cognitive linguistic framework. In analyzing three of the five concepts in the wuxing scheme, namely WOOD (木, mu), EARTH (土, tu) and METAL (金, jin), as recorded in ancient and modern Chinese, we attempt to find out (1) the conceptual metonymies and metaphors they have developed, (2) the similarities and differences between the three concepts in ancient and modern Chinese, and (3) the possible reasons for those similarities and differences and the implications they have for ancient and modern Chinese ways of cognizing the world. Our comparative analysis shows that while the semantic networks of the three concepts remain largely consistent from ancient to modern Chinese, those conceptual metaphors which are closely tied to the wuxing scheme are much less active in modern Chinese. On the whole it can be claimed that the ancient Chinese believed in the unity of Heaven and human and constructed the world based on three fundamental conceptual metaphors: “nature operates in accordance with WUXING”, “THE HUMAN BODY OPERATES IN ACCORDANCE WITH WUXING” and “SOCIETY OPERATES IN ACCORDANCE WITH WUXING”. Yet it seems that this belief in the unity of Heaven and human has weakened in the modern Chinese mind and modern Chinese people no longer rely on the wuxing scheme to understand the world.

Conceptual metonymies and metaphors behind SHUI (WATER) and HUO (FIRE) in ancient and modern Chinese

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-310
Author(s):  
Chun Lan ◽  
Dongmei Jia
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Chinese Thought ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
The World ◽  
Five Elements ◽  
Bodies Of Water

AbstractThis paper investigates the conceptual metonymies and metaphors behind SHUI (水, water) and HUO (火, fire), two of the Five Elements (五行, wu-xing) in traditional Chinese thought, as recorded in ancient and modern Chinese. Our analysis shows that: (1) SHUI in ancient Chinese is built around the conceptual metonymies SHUI FOR FEATURES OF WATER, SHUI FOR BODY LIQUID and SHUI FOR BODIES OF WATER and the conceptual metaphors THOSE WITH FEATURES OF WATER ARE SHUI and THOSE WITH FEATURES OF SHUI XING ARE SHUI. (2) HUO in ancient Chinese is built around the metonymies HUO FOR FEATURES OF FIRE and HUO FOR THE POWER/DESTRUCTION OF FIRE and the metaphors THOSE WITH FEATURES OF FIRE ARE HUO and THOSE WITH FEATURES OF HUO XING ARE HUO. (3) SHUI and HUO in modern Chinese show an overall similarity with their ancient counterparts, the main differences being that the metaphor THOSE WITH FEATURES OF SHUI XING ARE SHUI is absent from modern Chinese and that the metaphor THOSE WITH FEATURES OF HUO XING ARE HUO has a much narrower coverage in modern Chinese. We discuss what this kind of selective inheritance suggests about the development of Chinese people’s conceptualization of the world.

The Heart Admonition of the Ancient Chinese Classic Shujing: An Episode from History of Its Interpretation in the West and Russia

2021 ◽  
pp. 194-208
Author(s):  
Lidiya V. Stezhenskaya ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Russian Translation ◽  
Chinese Philosophy ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
The West ◽  
Chinese Thought ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Ancient Chinese ◽  
Chinese Classic ◽  
Better Than

Autochthonous traditional Chinese thought in its most developed form could be found in the philosophy of Neo-Confucianism, which continues to be a sig­nificant factor in the modern national consciousness of the Chinese people. At the same time, the pre-emptive attention of Western Sinology and Russian Chinese studies to early Confucianism does not fully take into account the Neo-Confucian interpretation of the ancient Chinese classics. Russian and Western translations of the so-called Sixteen-Word Heart Admonition (Shi liu zi xin chuan), a passage from Chapter III “Da Yu mo” (Councel of Yu the Great) of the ancient Chinese classic The Book of Historical Documents (Shujing) by A. Gaubil, N.Ya. Bichurin, D.P. Sivillov, W.H. Medhurst, J. Legge, S. Couvreur, and W.G. Old demonstrate the gradual assimilation of its Neo-Confucian inter­pretation by Western and Russian translators. Archimandrite Daniil (Dmitry P. Sivillov), in his unpublished Russian translation of Shujing of the early 1840s, adopted this interpretation earlier and understood it better than the others. It is assumed that rejection of the Manchu language mediation and peruse of the con­temporary Neo-Confucian commentaries played the key role in his success. The importance of Neo-Confucian hermeneutics research for the studies of tradi­tional Chinese philosophy, including ancient Chinese classics, is emphasized. The text of the previously unpublished Shujing Chapter III Da Yu mo Russian transla­tion by archimandrite Daniil is attached.

scholarly journals Medieval Daoist Concepts of the Middle Kingdom

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-196
Author(s):  
Yi Liu ◽  
Casey Lee
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Middle Kingdom ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
Profound Influence ◽  
The World ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
The Ancient Chinese

AbstractThe ancient Chinese people believed that they existed at the center of the world. With the arrival of Buddhism in China came a new cosmic worldview rooted in Indian culture that destabilized the Han [huaxia 華夏] people’s long-held notions of China as the Middle Kingdom [Zhongguo 中國] and had a profound influence on medieval Daoism. Under the influence of Buddhist cosmology, Daoists reformed their idea of Middle Kingdom, for a time relinquishing its signification of China as the center of the world. Daoists had to acknowledge the existence of multiple kingdoms outside China and non-Han peoples [manyi 蠻夷] who resided on the outskirts of the so-called Middle Kingdom as potential followers of Daoism. However, during the Tang dynasty, this capacious attitude ceased to be maintained or passed on. Instead, Tang Daoists returned to a notion of Middle Kingdom that reinstated the traditional divide between Han and non-Han peoples.

scholarly journals A Comparative Analysis of Chinese and British Consumers’ Consumption Behaviours and Attitudes Toward Fast-Fashion Brand as Zara and H&M

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Shan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Research Result ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Chinese Consumers ◽  
Fast Fashion ◽  
Consumption Behavior ◽  
Fashion Brand ◽  
The World ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Major Factors

With emerging of economy and increasing awareness, fast-fashion consumption has been a popular trend around the globe. With features of rapid updating speed, competitive capability and unerring insight, fast-fashion brand consumption had been a regular experience for people in the world. However, owning to different consumption perception and cultural background, attitude towards fast-fashion brands varied from one country to another. Therefore, this research was aimed to conduct a comparative analysis on consumption behavior and attitude about fast-fashion brands between Chinese consumers and British consumers. By means of distributing questionnaires to Chinese consumers and British consumers respectively, this research figured out the similarities and differences in relation to consumption behavior and attitude between Chinese consumers and British consumers. Moreover, major factors were explored to analyze their influence on consumption behavior and attitude of consumers. Finally, with the help of research result and its analysis, effective measures were put forward to help fast-fashion brands to motivate Chinese consumers and British consumers to have fast-fashion brand consumption.

scholarly journals The Reference of Nietzsche’s Moral Philosophy to Remodel Chinese’s Personality

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Zhang Yuan ◽  
Yu Tao
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Chinese Thought ◽  
Traditional Morality ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
Chinese Scholars ◽  
Major Defect ◽  
Severe Weakness

<p>In China, the traditional moral is absolute holism which caused the traditional personality a blind altuism and be short of healthy individualism. And more seriously, servility in the personality of Chinese people is a severe weakness rooted in the traditional morals of China which was criticised by Chinese scholars fierecely, and this major defect of Chinese personality is the huge obstacle of the development of modern Chinese thought. To eliminate all the weakness of Chinese traditional morality and to renew the personality of Chinese, we could learn from the essence of Nietzsche’s theories of “superman morality” which advocated the independent and self-esteem strongly, thus create an independent personality for Chinese which urges people to be free, self-esteem, creative, courageous and with healthy psychology. </p>

scholarly journals Numerical code in the phraseological picture of the world of various linguistic cultures: experience of comparative analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Zh.B. Zhauynshiyeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
The World ◽  
Symbolic Meanings ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Comparative Study

The article deals with numerical values in the phraseological picture of the world of various linguistic cultures. Based on a comparative analysis of symbolic meanings of stable combinations of Kazakh, Russian, German, Spanish and English, the description of their culturally determined semantics is carried out. Special attention is paid to the symbolism of the prototypical numbers seven, forty, nine, which are part of many phraseological units and explicate cultural meanings that go back to the key values of folk philosophy. The authors conclude that the comparative study of numbers provides information about culturally determined quantitative criteria, allows us to determine the similarities and differences of numerical values in different linguistic cultures.

scholarly journals SHÌ (是) DALAM BAHASA CINA MODERN (现代汉语) DAN KLASIK (古代汉语)

Bambuti ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Yulie Neila Chandra
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Analysis Methods ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
Classical Chinese ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Similarities And Differences

Abstract. This article describes the use of the word 是(shi) in Modern Chinese Language (Mandarin/MCL) and Classical Chinese Language (CCL), and compares them so that can understand the similarities and differences of the word, both the structure (includes the class of words) and their meaning. This study describes the symptoms of language especially in syntactic and semantic, using comparative analysis methods. The results of analysis indicates that generally the word 是(shi) in MCL is verb, functions as a predicate, and becomes a connecting verb (copula) between the subject and its object, or connects nouns, pronouns, other phrases, and expresses many meanings. Conversely, the use of 是(shi) in CCL is very rare, and generally not as verbs or copula, but as pronouns and conjuctions. 

scholarly journals The Translation of Japanese Manga Meitantei Conan to Indonesian: The Similarities and Differences between The Original Japanese Version and the Indonesian Translated Version

IZUMI ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-108
Author(s):  
Idrus Idrus
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Japanese Version ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Binding System ◽  
Translation Strategy ◽  
Cultural Terms ◽  
The World ◽  
Specific Order ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Words And Images

Japanese comics or manga have caught the world’s attention in recent years. It conveys stories through words and images in a specific order resulting in beautiful works. Now, manga is translated into various languages in the world, including Indonesian. The following study entailed a comparative analysis of the manga Meitantei Conan into Indonesia, primarily concentrating on: the format, for example, the arrangement of pages, lettering, and typography, what was translated what was not. In translating Japanese manga into Indonesian, it was found that there were similarities (retained elements) and differences (adjusted elements). We can found similarities between the original Japanese version and the Indonesian translated version of manga in the writing composition on the chapter title and onomatopoeia. Besides, there are also similarities in cultural terms because the translator maintains terms in Japanese as a translation strategy. The main difference between Original Japanese comics and the Indonesian translated version is the binding system of using, the type of font, and the use of Indonesian cultural elements so that the dialogue of the story characters is more communicative and easy to understand.

Development of services in selected countries in the world

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Agata Szczukocka
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Gross Value Added ◽  
The World ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Intensive Development

Intensive development of the service sector (as evidenced by economic indicators, such as gross value added and employment levels) pointed out the similarities and differences existing in the world. The study used statistical data on gross value added, employed, exports and imports of services and spending on research and development. To conduct a comparative analysis Ward methods and multidimensional scaling were used. The application of these methods made it possible to isolate groups of countries are similar in terms of the development of the services sector and the countries in which this development is significantly different from the others.

scholarly journals Comparative analysis of the concept BEAR in language consciousness of the Russian and Chinese people (on the material of explanatory dictionaries)

Neophilology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
Meng Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Russian Language ◽  
Dictionary Definitions

We consider the problem of language and concept in the framework of cognitive linguistics. The purpose of the work is to identify the mental differences in the conceptualization of the concept BEAR in the linguistic consciousness of the Russian and Chinese people. We present an approach according to which dictionary definitions are considered as a language representative of a concept called a dictionary word. The dictionary is considered as a collection of our knowledge about the world, which was formed as a result of its conceptualization and categorization. We compare different aspects of the lexeme BEAR in the “Dictionary of the Russian Language” (MAS) edited by A.P. Evgenyeva and the “Xinhua Zidian” edited by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: interpretation of the word, its illustrative materials, including phraseological units. In the study of a foreign language, reliance on dictionary definitions allows us to use lexicographic representation of concepts as one of the active and initial methods for understanding and perceiving national mentality.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document