Studies in Literature and Language
Silk Metaphors in Chinese Characters
Abstract
Within the framework of cognitive linguistics, the research introduces the image-based feature of Chinese characters and explores metaphor motivations behind Chinese characters containing images of silk. By studying the existing earliest constructions of those characters and analyzing the corresponding form-meaning connections, three conceptual metaphors are put forward, namely, “LINK IS SILK”; “END IS KNOT”, and “THOUGHT IS SILK”. There are altogether seven characters with the “LINK IS SILK” motivation, and their character meanings form a coherent system in terms of different aspects of “LINK”. The metaphor “END IS KNOT” seems to be consistent with the metaphor “LINK IS SILK” and only one character is found motivated by the former. The metaphor “THOUGHT IS SILK” is reflected in the sound form and meaning connection of the Chinese character “思”，and the sound form is connected with the silk image. All the three metaphors are also reflected in Chinese words and literature, which shows the consistency of Chinese thought patterns. Comparison study with English reveals the three silk metaphors are probably specific to the Chinese language and culture.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Deignan, A. (2005). Metaphor and corpus linguistics. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins.
Ding, E. S. (2005). Hidden iconicity: A peircean perspective on the Chinese picto-phonetic sign. Semiotica, 154(1/4), 273-285.
Gibbs, R. W., Jr. (2017). Metaphor wars: Conceptual metaphors in human life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Goldwasser, O. (1995). From icon to metaphor: Studies in the semiotics of the hieroglyphs. Fribourg, Switzerland: Univ. Press.
Grady, J. (1997). Foundations of meaning: Primary metaphors and primary scenes. University of California, Berkeley: Ph.D. dissertation.
HYDZD. (2010). Hanyu Da Zidian [汉语大字典 the Grand dictionary of Chinese characters(2nded.)]. Chengdu, China: Sichuan Lexicographical Press.
HZYLZD. (2008). Hanzi Yuanliu Zidian [汉字源流字典 the Etymology dictionary of Chinese characters]. Beijing, China: Language & Culture Press.
Johnson, M. (1987). The body in the mind: The bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Kövecses, Z. (2000). Metaphor and emotion: Language, culture, and body in human feeling. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Kövecses, Z. (2005). Metaphor in culture: universality and variation. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Kövecses, Z. (2010). Metaphor and culture. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 2(2), 197-220.
Kövecses, Z. (2020). Extended conceptual metaphor theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Kövecses，Z. (2002). Metaphor: A practical introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Lakoff, G. (1987). Women, fire, and dangerous things: What categories reveal about the mind. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In Ortony, A. (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp.202-251). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980.) Metaphors we live by. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G., & Turner, M. (1989). More than cool reason: A field guide to poetic metaphor. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press.
Li, X. Q. (2013). Zi Yuan [字源Character Etymology] Tianjin, China: Tianjin Ancient Literature Press.
Tang, L. (2005). Chinese philology [中国文字学]. Shanghai, China: Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House.
Wang, N. (1994). Shuowenjiezi Yu Hanzi Xue [《说文解字》与汉字学 Shuowenjiezi and Chinese philology]. Zhengzhou, China: Henan People Press.
Xu, S. (2012). Shuowenjiezi [说文解字 Analyses and explanations of Chinese characters]. Beijing, China: China Publishing House.
Yu, N. (1998). The contemporary theory of metaphor: A perspective from Chinese. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Yu, N. (2007). Heart and cognition in ancient Chinese philosophy. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 1, 27-48.
Yu, N. (2008). Metaphor from body and culture. In R. W. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp.247-261). New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Zhang, Y. J. (2000). Contemporary Chinese philology [当代中国文字学]. Guangzhou, China: Guangdong Education Publishing House.
Zhu, M. S. (1998). Chinese paleography and Shuowenjiezi. Shanghai, China: Fudan University Press.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/12798
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2022 Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Share us to: 
Online Submission: http://cscanada.org/index.php/sll/submission/wizard
Reminder
How to do online submission to another Journal?
If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:
1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author
Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.
2. Submission
Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.
We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases: caooc@hotmail.com; sll@cscanada.net; sll@cscanada.org
Articles published in Studies in Literature and Language are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).
STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Editorial Office
Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org
E-mail: office@cscanada.net; office@cscanada.org; caooc@hotmail.com
Copyright © 2010 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 
