On Cognitive Metaphor Of Semantic Meaning In Ancient Chinese

The thesis introduces a new conception of metaplereme aiming for componential analysis at the inspiration of image schema belonging to cognitive linguistics, and explains the meaning change of ancient Chinese with lexical metaphors and grammatical metaphors based on the theory of proportional metaphor of Aristotle, image schema projection of cognitive linguistics, grammatical metaphors of Halliday.The theory of cognitive linguistics maintains that, the motivation of metaphor is projection of image schema which, is a orgainized structure connecting abstract relation with concrete image of human experience and understanding, and a basic structure relating to understanding and cognitiving conception more complicated. Correspondingly, there should be same abstract and basic plereme called metaplereme in the structure of lexical meaning. Reviewing the development of metaphoric theory, the thesis introduces a new conception metaplereme in chapter two.There are theoretical bases on which the metaplereme was introduced. First, according to Langacker, a famous cognitive grammar, there is cognitive domain which is a primitive representational field providing experience and understanding of other conception with its basis and reference. Second, in terms of an experiment carried out by Vygotsky who is a psychologist in Soviet Union, human being has a ability capable of abstracting common character from completely different things. Third, from studies of ancient Chinese grammar, we can see that there is a classing meaning in the non-cognate. All these cognitive domain, common character and classing meaning are correspond to metaplereme.Any word has a metaplereme, so the meaning of a word can be analyzed into three types: metaplereme, central-plereme which indicates semantic field the word belonging to, and defined-plereme which indicates semantic attribute. For example, the plereme of word "节" is:节=[交接][部位][竹子], among which, [交接]is a metaplereme, [部位]is a defined-plereme, [竹子]is a central-plereme. Usually, one word has different metaplereme comparing with different word. For example, the word "节" has two metaplereme, one is [交接]comparing with word "节奏", another is [约限]comparing with word "束" .As a base of lexical metaphors, metaplereme can used to explain the meaning change of a word. If metaplereme of one meaning which has ready-word is similar to metaplereme of another which has not ready-word, the projection of metaplereme will take place, and ready-word can express the meaning of non-ready-word. In the process of projection, the metaplereme fuse defined-plereme of non-ready-word meaning into a new meaning. In this way, the meaning of a word changes. For example, the metaphplereme of the word "首" is [上], the metaplereme of meaning expressing something beginning is also [上], then "首" can project into matter domain, its metaplereme [上]fuge defined-plereme of matter domain [过程]into new meaning "开始". Being different from analised meaning, the metaphoric meaning is originated in the projection of two words whose common point only lie in metaplereme whereas analised meaning is originated in the projection of two words whose common point lie in not only metaplereme but also defined-plereme. Also being different from metonymic meaning, the metaphoric meaning is originated from projection whereas metonymic meaning is originated from salience or Association by Contiguity.The semantic relations such as synonymy, cognate, antonymy also could be explained by metaphor. If one word's metaplereme is similar to another's, it is possible to use one word to express the meaning of another, so that two words become synonymy. For example, the word "愚" means foolish, the word "昧" means dim, both two words have common metaplereme[低], therefore, the word "昧" also means foolish later and two words become synonymy. Moreover, since cognate means that they have common metaplereme, cognate could be defined as word group whose sound is similar or approximate and whose metaplereme is similar. In the process of some antonymy constructing, metaphor takes leading part. Some become antonymy by metaphor, e. g.胜-败, some by metonym, e. g.甘-苦, some by both metaphor and metonym, e. g.详-略. It is thus evident that lexical metaphors based on metaplereme could be used to explain some meaning change of ancient Chinese.Hallidayan theory of metaphor have syntax structure in mind, and is called grammatical metaphors. Grammatical metaphors also result in meaning change especially gramatical meaning. In chapter five and six, the thesis lays special emphasis on the relation between grammatical metaphosr and meaning change of ancient Chinese including活用of the parts of speech and meaning change of modal particle and honorific speech. The活用of the parts of speech relates to ideational metsphors which is involved three steps: one is that speaker represent one process as another process, for example, "有" which indicates existential process is represented as a material process in sentence "天子有命"; another is that one functional elements be represented as another functional elements or process, for example, "策" which is circumstantial elements has been represented as material process in sentence of "策驷马"; the other is that the parts of speech has be metaphorised although process and functional elements hasn't metaphorised, for example, the noun "人"of sentence "豕人立而啼" plays the role of circumstantial elements. All of these three steps result in活用of the parts of speechs.Interpersonal metaphors fall into metaphors of modality and metaphors of mood. Metaphors of modality is that associated with modality. In ancient Chinese, one modality may be represented as another modality and consequently result in grammatical meaning change, for example, "其" , always indicating modality of doubt or rhetorical question, becomes a adverb indicating imperative mood because of its representation of imperative mood. Metaphors of mood is that associated with mood. In this type of interpersonal metaphor, the speaker's opinion regarding the propability or tendentiousness is coded not as a mood verb and mood auxiliary but as a separate, projecting clause in a hypotactic clause complex. Sometimes it is coded as cognitive mental process such as "吾恐……","君惠……", sometimes as relational process such as "盖……", so as to conceal true mood of speaker. At the same time, these word functioning as process have a honorific meaning.