A Cognitive Study Of The "DEATH" Euphemisms In A Dream Of Red Mansions

Death is such a common physiological phenomenon that no one can ever avoid. For this reason, human beings are generally afraid of death and tend to avoid mentioning it in their speeches if possible. However, death is the inevitable destination of human beings, so it has to be mentioned in our life. Thus the "DEATH" euphemisms became people’s favorite expressions. A Dream of Red Mansions is a masterpiece of tragedy, where "death" is mentioned quite often. According to the author’s research, there are 104 "DEATH" euphemisms, accounting for 44% of all the euphemisms (250).However, the researches about the euphemisms of A Dream of Red Mansions are limited in two fields:translation of euphemisms and comparative studies between English and Chinese euphemisms. The above researches haven’t fully analyzed the euphemisms in A Dream of Red Mansions from a cognitive perspective. Thus, the thesis uses Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Conceptual Metonymy Theory and adopts a qualitative method to have a comparatively comprehensive analysis of the "DEATH" euphemisms in A Dream of Red Mansions from a cognitive aspect.The study tries to answer three research questions:(1)How many "DEATH" euphemisms are there in A Dream of Red Mansions? What are the specific features of them? (2)What are the cognitive mechanisms of meaning construction of the above "DEATH" euphemisms in A Dream of Red Mansions? (3)What are the cognitive foundations of the "DEATH" euphemisms in A Dream of Red Mansions’?Through the analysis, the main findings are as follows:(1) There are about 104 "DEATH" euphemisms in the book, including 15 monosyllables and 26 disyllables based on the monosyllables. The sociocultural feature is that the usage of "DEATH" euphemisms are closely related with the dead’s status, age, gender, religious beliefs and causes of death. Besides, there exist some temporary "DEATH" euphemisms in the book, whose euphemistic effects can only work in certain context. (2) The mayor conceptual metaphorical mechanisms of the "DEATH" euphemisms in A Dream of Red Mansions are conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy. The main metaphors are DEATH IS A DESTINATION OF JOURNEY, DEATH IS WITHERING OF PLANTS, DEATH IS BEING WITH GOD, DEATH IS DEPARTURE, DEATH IS COLLAPSE OF AN HEAVY OBJECT and DEATH IS AN END TO A TOUGH TASK; the main metonymies are RESULTS OF DEATH FOR DEATH, STATES OF DEATH FOR DEATH, PLACES OF BURIAL FOR DEATH and MEANS OF DEATH FOR DEATH. (3)The cognitive foundations of the "DEATH" euphemisms in A Dream of Red Mansions are social culture and human psychology. Social culture includes social hierarchy, religions, traditional customs, while human psychology includes fear to mention death, self-protection and treasuring lives, etc.The research is of theoretical value and pragmatic significance. (1) It further proves the universality and the great explanatory power of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Conceptual Metonymy Theory by adopting them to the analysis of ancient Chinese classical works. (2) It can not only help us better understand and appreciate the masterpiece but also enrich the euphemistic expressions in modern Chinese language. (3) It can enrich the researches of Redology and draw more scholars’ attention to the study of languages in A Dream of Red Mansions. (4) As we all know, euphemism is a common rhetorical device. The deep analysis of their cognitive mechanisms provides a new perspective for rhetorical teaching. (5) The cognitive foundations of the research are mainly social culture and human psychology, thus it can help readers to know more about the cultural background and social customs in Chinese feudal age and to know the thinking pattern of the people in the era.