A Comparative Study On The Conceptual Metaphors In The Analects And Tao Te Ching

The Analects and Tao Te Ching are the comprehensive carriers of the thought of Confucianism and Taoism,and full of metaphors.However,previous research mainly focuses on the annotation text,philosophical values,English translation.Although some scholars study the metaphors in the two masterpieces from cognitive perspective,there is hardly one that is contrastive.Therefore,this thesis in accordance with Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson,adopts quantitative,qualitative,and comparative methods,analyzes the main conceptual metaphors in The Analects and Tao Te Ching,compares their similarities and differences,and explains the reasons behind these similarities and differences.It is found that:1.In The Analects,there are nine main conceptual metaphors: THE PROCESS OF LEARNING THE TRUTH IS A JOURNEY,PEOPLE METAPHOR,WATER METAPHOR,AN IDEAL SOCIETY IS A HARMONIOUS FAMILLY,SHANG/ZHONG/XIA METAPHOR,DONG/XI/NAN/BEI METAPHOR,REN/TE METAPHOR,COUNTRY METAPHOR,and AUTHORITY METAPHOR.In Tao Te Ching,there are five main conceptual metaphors: TAO METAPHOR,TE METAPHOR,SHANG/ZHONG/XIA METAPHOR,ZUO/YOU METAPHOR,and COUNTRY METAPHOR.2.The similarities and differences between The Analects and Tao Te Ching are discussed in four aspects: type,source domain,surface meaning and implied meaning(through themes such as self-cultivation,family-regulating,state-governing,war).(1)As for similarities,first of all,the type of main conceptual metaphors in two books contains structural metaphor,orientational metaphor,and ontological metaphor(entity and substance metaphor,and personification).What's more,both two books choose images related to nature as the source domain to express Confucius' and Laotse's thoughts.Furthermore,their understanding on the surface meaning of nature of Tao and orientational metaphor is similar.Last but not least,their comprehension of implied meaning on self-cultivation(cultivating people)and state-governing(the emphasis of the importance between the governor and common people)is the same.It is known that human conceptual system is grounded on experience and culture so there are three reasons for these similarities: the same historical environment of being troubled times and the special Chinese culture of two masterpieces,as well as the similar experience in work and education of Confucius and Laotse.(2)With regard to differences,first of all,the proportion of the type of main conceptual metaphors in two books is different.The structural metaphor in The Analects takes up high proportion but ontological metaphor accounts for great percentage in Tao Te Ching.For source target,apart from natural images,Confucius chooses things related to daily life as the source domain,while Laotse perfers things involved with female.More importantly,their understanding on the surface meaning of water,Tao,xia,and zhong is different.Last,their comprehension of implied meaning on family-regulating,state-governing(attitude on the talent and social hierarchy),and war is distinct.In addition,there are two reasons for these differences: the different personal experience in family,work,and education of Confucius and Laotse,and special cultural background of Laotse.Through the comparative study on the conceptual metaphors in The Analects and Tao Te Ching,this thesis deepens the nature and the working mechanism of conceptual metaphor,and proves the universality of conceptual metaphor theory.Also,this study has important inspiration on the connotation of The Analects and Tao Te Ching and provides a new research perspective for the study of ancient Chinese classics.