A Cognitive Study On Textual Metaphors In Zhuangzi

Metaphors abound in Zhuangzi: lexical metaphors, textual metaphors, or a blendof both. These metaphors, coupled with Zhuangzi’s romantic artistic expressions andoriginal language, have been essential in conveying Zhuangzi’s Taoist philosophy－“Tao as the source of the world”,“Uniformity of things”,“Non-action in the face ofnature” and “Absolute freedom”.Textual metaphors in Zhuangzi show striking features, especially in terms ofstructure and function. This thesis will analyse the structural features of textualmetaphors in Zhuangzi in three respects: the internal structural features of each textualmetaphor; the structural relationship between textual metaphors in each chapter; andthe overall structural features of textual metaphors in Zhuangzi as a whole.Textual metaphors have a clear edge over lexical metaphors when it comes toexplanation and persuasion. This explains why textual metaphors are widely used byZhuangzi to express his philosophical thought. This thesis will proceed from theperspective of cognitive metaphor to illustrate6functions of textual metaphors inZhuangzi: explanation, persuasion, reconceptualization, analogical argument, fillinglexical gaps, expressing emotion.