A Cognitive Linguistic Study Of The Conceptual Unity Of Space And Time And Their Quantification In The YiChing

The relationship between time and space in language and cognition is an important topic in cognitive linguistics and cognitive science,and increasingly prominent in cross-linguistic and cross-cultural studies.The relationship between these cognitive domains and that of quantification(including numerical quantification)in language and cognition is also a topic that is receiving growing attention in the linguistic study of time and space.Quantification is understood here as practices and concepts measuring quantity,including number cognition.Most of the research on the relationship between space,time and quantity(including number)in the West are carried out within the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science employing experimental paradigms,while most of the research in China are conducted from the perspective of philosophy and culture,and there are few research on the conceptualization,cognition and internal relationship between space,time and their quantification in cognitive linguistics so far.The original spatial,temporal and numerical concepts of ancient China can be traced back to the ancient classics,in particular the Yi Ching易经(the“head”and first of the Five Classics in China).The focus of this study is the conceptualization of space and time and their quantification in ancient China,with the aim of analyzing and summarizing their inter-relations between the three elements of language and cognition in terms of their linguistic and cultural conceptual systems,with a particular focus on the intrinsic logical relations of space,time and quantity.A central topic is how quantity(whether numerical or not)is mapped to both spatial and temporal dimensions of the unity of space and time.In modern cognitive science,influenced by the Western philosophical tradition,the domains of space and time are held to be asymmetric,with space being more basic than time,and the source domain in the metaphorical conceptualization of temporal concepts.In contrast,this study argues for the fundamental unity of space and time in the Chinese cultural and philosophical tradition.That is,the domains of space and time are integrally connected and inseparable as two aspects of a single domain.The overall aim of the study is to demonstrate the objective reality and plausibility of the empirical statement from philosophy and cultural history that space and time are not separate conceptual domains in Classical Chinese thought and language,but constitute a holistic unity,and that this unity is reflected in their quantification.This study hopes thereby to contribute an original cognitive linguistic perspective or interpretation on the holistic thinking typifying the world view of ancient Chinese culture and language,and to provide solid linguistic evidence and lay a foundation for further research,so as to complement both the experimental paradigm and the Euro-American centeredness of cognitive science research in the West.Specifically,this study attempts to answer the following research questions:1.What are the linguistic representation and cultural conceptualization of the relations between space and time in ancient China,as expressed in the Yi Ching?2.How was the unity of space and time and their quantification(including numerical quantification)manifested in the Yi Ching?3.What is the cognitive mechanism generating the unity of space and time and their quantification in the Yi Ching?The answers to these research questions can help us better understand the holistic view of ancient China.This study attempts to draw on an ancient Chinese classical text to explain the relationship between space and time and their quantification,trying to make a contribution to the different views of time and space between the West and China.The study adopts the methodological approach of Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies(CADS),attempting to elucidate the logic of the linguistic and conceptual relationships between space and time and their quantification in the historical and cultural context of the Yi Ching.The corpus for analysis consists of the ancient texts,mainly taking the Jing Text(Jingwen经文)as examples,in which the total number of textual segments or lines is 450,including 386 statements and instances of 64 hexagrams(every hexagram consists of one guaci卦辞and six yaoci爻辞,except for Qian乾and Kun坤,having seven yaoci).The results can be summarized as follows.Firstly,the results of the corpus study of the Yi Ching text indicate that space and time in linguistic representation are conventionalized in one unity,and both temporal process and spatial entity can be represented by quantification.The ancient philosophy of shi时and wei位in the Yi Ching can be treated as a way to unite concepts of space and time in cultural conceptualization.For space,time and quantity are core conceptual and linguistic domains that structure the Yi Ching,and concepts of space,time and quantity are not treated(e.g.,in the Yi Ching)in a purely abstract way,they are integrated with and related to the central thematic concerns of the Yi Ching,namely human life in its temporal unfolding in the context of social norms and social relationships.These concerns are encapsulated in the translation of the Book’s English title as The Book of Changes.That is,the changes in the Yi Ching are mainly represented by guahua卦画and guayao卦爻statements.Guahua卦画consist of six lines,which can have different temporal sequences and spatial positions,and which can all be represented by numerical expressions like liu er六二or liu san六三.Secondly,this study holds that the unity of space and time and their quantification can be achieved by two ways,one is numerical quantification,and the other is motion in space and time.The quantification of the unity of space and time is the core,and this study argues that space,time and their quantification cannot be analyzed as separate elements when addressing their conceptualization in ancient Chinese culture,but be done by dominant and recessive quantity.The explicitness of correspondence between space and time in the Yi Ching,including their quantification,plays an important role in the metaphorical conceptualization of the natural world.The central issue in this study is thus the unity of space and time,and it is argued that quantification of both domains(quantity in language or number)also show evidence for conceptual unity,and for the further conclusion that the Chinese classical domain structure is “space-time and number”,not “space,time and number”.Empirical support for this conclusion can be sought in the fact that the unity of space and time and their quantification expressed in the hexagrams form the core of the Yi Ching.Finally,this study claims that MOTION and LIFE metaphors are analyzed as the cognitive mechanism of the holistic unity of space and time and their quantification in the Yi Ching,interpreting growth experience and all changes.And bodily experience,cultural knowledge and practices,and certain other notions like “weal” or “woe”,can motivate metaphorical conceptualizations of space and time,and the ways in which these are quantified.Across languages and cultures,temporal and spatial change is often metaphorically conceptualized in terms of concepts of MOTION and LIFE,and the same is true of the Yi Ching.However,metaphors that occur in many different times and places take their particular forms from prevailing patterns of cultural meaning,and this question is also addressed in this study.Especially,they should be seen as integrated by their role in the understanding and representation of the experience of growth,which is based on the Conceptual Metaphors whose source domains in the Yi Ching are MOTION and LIFE.Usually,the process of growth takes time,and the progression of growth can be represented by degrees of spatial magnitude or numerical change.In the particular context of the Yi Ching,concepts in the domains of space and time and their quantification are schematized on the basis of metaphorical extensions of concepts from the source domains of MOTION and LIFE.In sum,the 64 hexagrams in the Yi Ching represent the internal logic of the world or universe as a dynamic whole,changing or alternating the processes of events based on the conceptual unity of space and time and their quantification.Each hexagram has a conventional meaning,representing a specific configuration of space-time-quantity,which shows a type of change based upon concepts of GROWTH EXPERIENCE.