The Double Meaning Of The Chinese "rhetoric" Study

This dissertation, established in speech communication, regards the rhetoric of double meanings used in Chinese as main research object. On the basis of the appliance of Chinese rhetoric theories, it benefits a lot from the relative theories and research methodologies of western semantics, pragmatics, cognitive linguistics, psychology, context etc., doing an overall research and elucidation of its structural characteristics, meaning relations, manipulation process and formation background from multiple aspects and levels.The whole dissertation consists of introduction, main body and conclusion. The introduction outlines the history and status quo, contents and structure, train of thoughts and method, object and importance of this research. Chapter one to Chapter five is the main body of this dissertation. Chapter one, the definition of the rhetoric of double meanings, is the first part. In this chapter, the modern linguistic theories and comparative analysis method are applied to define the contents, scope, distribution, and types etc. of the research object and also to differentiate and analyze some easily confusable concepts, establishing some core concepts of this research, such as the surface meaning, deep meaning, double meanings etc, differentiating their differences and relations from literal meaning, implication, implicature, ambiguity. Chapter two, the internal construction and semantic relationships, is one part of this dissertation. In this chapter, the rhetoric of double meanings is undergone a static analysis from constructive form and the relations between the double meanings, pointing out the separable characteristic of the discourse of the rhetoric of double meanings; at the same time unveiling the complex relations among symbols, construct, and meaning. From the perspective of meaning, three classes of the rhetoric of double meanings are divided: polysemy, synonymy and antonymy. From the perspective of thought and cognizance, many paradigms of the rhetoric of double meanings covering different cognitive domains are deducted. In Chapter three, mainly from the different aspects of speaker and hearer, the dynamic manipulation process of the rhetoric of double meanings is researched, which brings out the best in each with Chapter two, the static description. In this chapter the generation process of the Chinese rhetoric of double meanings is firstly studied; and then from the establishment of the attention focus in its intention orientation, the choice of its rhetorical strategies, the drawing of the relative discourse materials,and the arrangement of the relations among involvement, form and meaning are carefully described. By analyzing the mapping manners of many discourses with double meanings from one meaning to another meaning, the main mapping types of the rhetoric of double meanings are induced. Then from the perspective of the hearer, the acceptive characteristics of the rhetoric of double meanings are uncovered from the acceptive order, acceptive type and acceptive degree. Mainly according to cooperation principle and relevance theory, the judgment and recognition of the rhetoric of double meanings, the regularity taking on when its deep meaning is revivified and cognized are induced; and at the same exhibiting specifically the meaning reasoning process of the acceptor of the rhetoric of double meanings of polysemy, synonymy, and antonym. Chapter four and Chapter five are one part, mainly discussing the external factors of the process of the construction and acceptance of the rhetoric of double meanings. Chapter four, context and the rhetoric of double meanings, based on the achievement of the research of the context home and abroad, from multiple perspectives discusses the relative between context and the rhetoric of double meanings; and at the same time on the basis of the context theory of Halliday, the relations between it and the discourse of double meanings are discussed thoroughly and particularly. Chapter five, the cultural interpretation of the rhetoric of double meanings, further elucidates the phenomenon from the cultural perspective. First, the role of the Chinese traditional thought of "the oneness of human beings and heaven" and the dialectical thinking method in the construction of the rhetoric of double meanings is discussed; then from the ethnic psychology the rhetoric of double meanings is elucidated, tendence to auspice and fleeing from ill omen, and esteeming intelligence to the construction of the rhetoric of double meanings. The conclusion, on the basis of the discussions of the former chapters, summarizes the research contents and the main ideas of this dissertation.In a word, this dissertation, applying systematic, scientific method and new perspective, constructs the structure of the rhetoric of double meanings and the research framework of elucidation. It not only unveils the new rhetoric law, enriches the theoretical system of rhetoric , but also has some guiding to speech communication and linguistic teaching and research.