An Analysis Of The Worship-Yin Philosophy Of Tao Te Ching From The Perspective Of Metaphor In Cognitive Linguistics

Tao Te Ching, the most representative foundational masterpiece of Taoist school, is famous for its mysterious unfathomable language, obscure abstract thought and disorder chapters. However, it is undeniable that there are mountains of vivid metaphors in this book to express its abstract philosophy, especially for Tao, the famous religious abstract concept. In compliance with mentioned theories in Metaphors We Live By written by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson and based on exhaustive description on metaphors in Tao Te Ching, there are three types of structural metaphors as follows:(a) the "mu"(mother), "ci" (female), "pin" female, "gen"(root) metaphors; (b) the "chizi"(newly born baby), "ying'er" (baby) metaphor; (c) the "shui "(water) metaphor and they play a decisive role in the whole metaphor system in Tao Te Ching. These structural metaphors named feminine metaphor play a coherent role in Tao Te Ching with disorder chapters.Though the coherent feminine metaphorical system centered on mu in Tao Te Ching, Lao Zi interpreted Tao in way of mu as the core in the feminine metaphorical system and the systemic correspondence between Tao and Mu in each level of the Gestalt experience of mu with the Tao's characteristics as the key link of the metaphorical system. So extensive use of these metaphors and the preference of femininity, it forms a self—evident philosophical system, never changed and with a gist—orship—Yin philosophy. In other words, in the philosophical system centered on Tao, worship—Yin philosophy is obvious with characteristics of "Chong Yin Shou Rou (femininity and gentleness) ", "Shou Jing (keeping quiet or Satori) ", "Chu Xia (staying lowness) ", "Wuwei (inaction) ". They are all worship Yin as the philosophical orientation of Tao Te Ching. These feminine metaphors and the worship—Yin philosophy expressed by them, both of them penetrate into Chinese culture and handed down to be the "cultural gene" and most essential part which are in common use of cite in ordinary conceptual system of our cultural.